List of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1779 facts for kids

This article is about the laws passed by the Parliament of Great Britain in the year 1779. These laws are called Acts of Parliament. They were important rules that shaped life in Great Britain back then.

To understand these laws, it helps to know that Great Britain was a country that existed before the United Kingdom. It was formed by the union of England and Scotland in 1707. Later, in 1801, Great Britain joined with Ireland to form the United Kingdom.

Laws are often referred to by a special chapter number. For example, "19 Geo. 3 c. 67" means it was the 67th law passed during the 19th year of King George III's rule. This system helped people keep track of all the new laws.

Before 1793, a law was considered active from the very first day of the parliamentary meeting when it was discussed. This means some laws listed for 1779 might have actually been passed in late 1778.

Laws of 19 George III (1779)

This section covers the laws passed during the fifth meeting of the 14th Parliament of Great Britain. This meeting took place from November 26, 1778, to July 3, 1779.

Public Acts: Laws for Everyone

Public acts were laws that affected everyone in Great Britain. Many of these laws were about taxes, the military, or managing the country. Here are some examples from 1779:

• Habeas Corpus Suspension Act 1779 (Chapter 1): This law temporarily stopped a very important right called Habeas Corpus. This right usually protects people from being held in prison without a good reason. This act allowed the King to hold people suspected of treason in America or piracy without trial for a time.
• Land Tax Act 1779 (Chapter 2): This was a law about taxes on land. It helped the government collect money for the year 1779.
• Malt Duties Act 1779 (Chapter 3): This act continued taxes on malt (used to make beer), mum (a type of beer), cider, and perry (a drink made from pears). These taxes also helped fund the government.
• Prize Act 1779 (Chapter 5): This law helped people who captured enemy ships (called "prizes") during wartime. It made it easier for them to bring and sell French ships they had captured in Great Britain.
• Court-martial on Admiral Keppel Act 1779 (Chapter 6): This was a special law that allowed a military trial (court-martial) for Admiral Augustus Keppel to be held on land instead of on a ship. This trial was about charges brought against him by another admiral.
• Marine Mutiny Act 1779 (Chapter 8): This law set the rules and punishments for the King's marine forces (soldiers who serve on ships) when they were on land.
• Recruiting Act 1779 (Chapter 10): This act changed an earlier law to make it easier and more effective to recruit people for the King's army and marines.
• Leeds Coal Supply Act 1779 (Chapter 11): This law helped the town of Leeds get more coal. It allowed Charles Brandling, a coal mine owner, to supply more coal and set rules for its price and transport.
• Navigation Act 1779 (Chapter 14): This law was about getting more sailors and mariners to serve on the King's warships and merchant ships.
• Madhouses Act 1779 (Chapter 15): This act continued an earlier law that regulated "madhouses," which were places where people with mental health issues were kept.
• Mutiny Act 1779 (Chapter 16): Similar to the Marine Mutiny Act, this law set rules for the army, including punishments for mutiny (rebellion) and desertion (leaving without permission), and how soldiers were paid and housed.
• National Debt Act 1779 (Chapter 18): This law was about raising money for the government by selling annuities (regular payments over time) and by setting up a lottery.
• Ministers' Widows Fund (Scotland) Act 1779 (Chapter 20): This act helped create a fund to support the widows and children of ministers in the Church of Scotland and professors in Scottish universities.
• Lottery Office Keepers Act 1779 (Chapter 21): This law was about licensing and regulating people who ran lottery offices.
• Taxation Act 1779 (Chapter 25): This act introduced new taxes on various goods and services managed by customs and excise departments.
• White Herring Fishery Act 1779 (Chapter 26): This law aimed to encourage the white herring fishing industry.
• Nonconformist Relief Act 1779 (Chapter 44): This important law offered more freedom to Protestant Dissenting ministers and schoolmasters. It meant they didn't have to follow certain religious rules as strictly as before.
• Duchy of Lancaster Act 1779 (Chapter 45): This act allowed the Duchy of Lancaster (a special estate belonging to the Crown) to sell certain rents and to free copyhold tenants (people who held land under old rules) from their obligations. It also encouraged growing timber on Duchy lands.
• Payment of Lace Makers' Wages Act 1779 (Chapter 49): This law was created to stop unfair practices in how lace makers were paid their wages.
• Duties on Houses, etc. Act 1779 (Chapter 59): This law changed the taxes on inhabited houses and also amended a previous tax on servants.
• East India Company Act 1779 (Chapter 61): This act allowed the East India Company to continue controlling the lands and revenues they had gained in India for a set period. It also continued parts of an earlier law that regulated the company's affairs.
• Salaries of Judges Act 1779 (Chapter 65): This law increased the salaries of the junior judges in the King's Bench and Common Pleas courts, and the Barons of the Exchequer court.
• Stamp Duties Act 1779 (Chapter 66): This act added new taxes on stamped paper, parchment, and other legal documents, and aimed to better collect these taxes.
• Navy Act 1779 (Chapter 67): This law was designed to encourage more seamen to join the Navy and to make it quicker and more effective to staff the King's ships.
• Smuggling, etc. Act 1779 (Chapter 69): This act aimed to stop smuggling and offered forgiveness to people who had committed customs and excise offenses, under certain conditions.
• Penitentiary Act 1779 (Chapter 74): This law clarified and updated rules about transporting criminals, imprisoning them, and other forms of punishment.
• Militia Act 1779 (Chapter 76): This act was about increasing the size of the Militia, which was a military force made up of ordinary citizens, used for defense.

Many other public acts were passed to improve local areas, such as:

• Building or improving roads (e.g., Linlithgow Roads and Bridges Act, Somerset Roads Act, Yorkshire and Durham Roads Act).
• Improving towns (e.g., Wells, Somerset (Improvement) Act, Bridgwater Markets Act, Burton-on-Trent (Improvement) Act).
• Managing poor relief (e.g., Hartsmere, etc., Suffolk (Poor Relief) Act, Cosford, Suffolk (Poor Relief) Act).
• Draining land (e.g., Bedford Level (Drainage) Act, Lancaster (Drainage) Act, Swaffham (Drainage) Act).
• Building new jails (e.g., Pembroke Gaol Act).
• Improving navigation on rivers (e.g., River Lee Navigation Act).
• Building or improving bridges (e.g., Worcester Bridge Act, Tyne Bridge Act).

Private Acts: Laws for Specific People or Places

Private acts were laws that affected only specific people, families, or small groups of people, often dealing with land, estates, or personal matters.

Many private acts in 1779 were about Inclosure. This meant dividing up common lands (land used by everyone in a village) into private plots. This changed how people farmed and lived. Examples include:

• Winforton (Herefordshire) Inclosure Act 1779 (Chapter 1)
• Wood Bastwick (Norfolk) Inclosure Act 1779 (Chapter 3)
• Bugbrooke (Northamptonshire) Inclosure Act 1779 (Chapter 5)
• Barkby (Leicestershire) Inclosure Act 1779 (Chapter 7)
• And many more across different counties like Wiltshire, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Surrey, Staffordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Oxfordshire.

Other private acts included:

• Naturalization Acts: These laws granted British citizenship to people from other countries (e.g., John Daniel Hose, Theodorus Martinus Mispelblom Beijer, Henry Amsinck, Peter Daille Bonnevaux, John Sellon, James Charuaud).
• Name Change Acts: These allowed individuals to legally change their surnames, often to inherit property (e.g., Nathaniel Lee Acton's Name Act, William House's Name Act, John Raincock's Name Act).
• Divorce Acts: In this era, a special Act of Parliament was often needed to get a divorce (e.g., Hugh Baron and Ann Baroness Percy's Divorce Act, Francis Osborne Marquis of Carmarthen's divorce from Lady Amelia D'Arcy, Henry Sealy's divorce from Ann Woodroffe, Thomas Bailey Heath Sewell's divorce from Lady Elizabeth Birmingham, Charles Bromfield's divorce from Ann Broom, Charles Francois and Ann Catherine Dumergue's divorce).
• Estate Acts: These laws dealt with the sale, exchange, or management of large family estates, often to pay debts or manage inheritances (e.g., Jane Willson's estate, Sir Charles Style's estate, John Tempest's estate, Roderick Gwynne's estates).

See also

• List of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain