teen Years, to Commence from the Day of the First Publish- ing the same, and no longer; And that if any other Bookseller, Printer, or other Person whatsoever, from and after the Tenth Day of April, One thousand seven hundred and ten, within the times Granted and Limited by this Act, as aforesaid, shall Print, Reprint, or Import, or cause to be Printed, Reprinted, or Imported any such Book or Books, without the Consent of the Proprietor or Proprietors thereof first had and obtained in Writing, Signed in the Presence of Two or more Credible Witnesses; or knowing the same to be so Printed or Reprinted, without the Consent of the Proprietors, shall Sell, Publish, or Expose to Sale, or cause to be Sold, Published, or Exposed to Sale, any such Book or Books, without such Consent first had and obtained, as afore- said, Then such Offender or Offenders shall Forfeit such Book or Books, and all and every Sheet or Sheets, being part of such Book or Books, to the Proprietor or Proprietors of the Copy thereof, who shall forthwith Damask and make Waste-Paper of them: And further, That every such Offender or Offenders, shall Forfeit One Peny [sic] for every sheet which shall be found in his, her, or their Custody, either Printed or Printing, Published or Exposed to Sale, contrary to the true intent and meaning of this Act, the one Moiety thereof to the Queens [sic] most Excellent Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, and the other Moiety thereof to any Person or Persons that shall Sue for the same, to be Recovered in any of Her Majesties [sic] Courts of Record at Westminster, by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Information, in which no Wager of Law, Essoign, Privilege, or Protection, or more than one Imparlance, shall be allowed.
And whereas many Persons may through Ignorance Offend against this Act, unless some Provision be made whereby the Pro- perty in every such Book, as is intended by this Act to be Se- cured to the proprietor or Proprietors thereof, may be ascertain- ed, as likewise the Consent of such Proprietor or Proprietors for the Printing or Reprinting of such Book or Books may from time to time be known; Be it therefore further Enacted by the Au- thority aforesaid, That nothing in this Act contained shall be construed to extend to subject any Bookseller, Printer, or other Person whatsoever, to the Forfeitures or Penalties therein men- tioned, for or by reason of the Printing or Reprinting of any Book or Books without such Consent, as aforesaid, unless the Title to the Copy of such Book or Books hereafter Published shall, before such Publication be Entred [sic], in the Register-Book of the Company of Stationers, in such manner as hath been usual, which Register-Book shall at all times be kept at the Hall of the said Company, and unless such Consent of the Proprietor or Proprietors be in like manner Entred [sic], as aforesaid, for every of which several Entries, Six Pence shall be Paid, and no more; which said Register-Book may, at all Seasonable [sic; should be:
Reasonable] and Convenient times, be Resorted to, and Inspected by any Book- seller, Printer, or other Person, for the Purposes before menti- oned,
Page 3
oned, without any Fee or Reward; and the Clerk of the said Company of Stationers, shall, when and as often as thereunto required, give a Certificate under his Hand of such Entry or En- tries, and for every such Certificate, may take a Fee not exceed- ing Six Pence.
Provided nevertheless, That if the Clerk of the said Com- pany of Stationers, for the time being shall Refuse or Neglect to Register, or make such Entry or Entries, or to give such Cer- tificate, being thereunto Required by the Author or Proprietor of such Copy or Copies, in the Presence of Two or more Credible Witnesses, That then such Person and Persons so refusing, No- tice being first duly given of such Refusal, by an Advertisement in the Gazette, shall have the like Benefit, as if such Entry or Entries, Certificate or Certificates had been duly made and gi- ven; and that the Clerks so refusing, shall, for any such Offence, Forfeit to the Proprietor of such Copy or Copies the Sum of Twenty Pounds, to be Recovered in any of Her Majesties [sic] Courts of Record at Westminster, by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Information, in which no Wager of Law, Essoign, Privilege or Protection, or more than one Imparlance shall be allowed.
Provided nevertheless, and it is hereby further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Bookseller or Booksellers, Printer or Printers, shall, after the said Five and twentieth Day of March, One thousand seven hundred and ten, set a Price upon, or Sell or Expose to Sale, any Book or Books at such a Price or Rate as shall be Conceived by any Person or Persons to be High and Unreasonable; It shall and may be Lawful for any Person or Persons to make Complaint thereof to the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury for the time being; the Lord Chancellor, or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of Great Britain for the time being; the Lord Bishop of London for the time being; the Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Queens [sic] Bench, the Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, the Lord Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer, for the time being; the Vice-Chancellors of the Two Universities for the time being, in that part of Great Britain called England; the Lord President of the Sessions for the time being; the Lord Justice General for the time being; the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer for the time being; the Rector of the College of Edinburgh for the time being, in that part of Great Britain called Scotland; who, or any one of them, shall and have hereby full Power and Authority from time to time, to Send for, Sum- mon, or Call before him or them such Bookseller or Book- sellers, Printer or Printers, and to Examine and Enquire of the reason of the Dearness and Inhauncement of the Price or Va- lue of such Book or Books by him or them so Sold or Exposed to Sale; and if upon such Enquiry and Examination it shall be found, that the Price of such Book or Books is Inhaunced, or any
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any wise too High or Unreasonable, Then and in such case, the said Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper, Bishop of London, two Chief Justices, Chief Baron, Vice- Chancellors of the Universities, in that part of Great Britain called England, and the said Lord President of the Sessions, Lord Justice General, Lord Chief Baron, and Rector of the College of Edinburgh, in that part of Great Britain called Scotland, or any one or more of them, so Enquiring and Examining, have hereby full Power and Authority to Reform and Redress the same, and to Limit and Settle the Price of every such Printed Book and Books, from time to time, according to the best of their Judgements, and as to them shall seem Just and Reasonable; and in case of Alteration of the Rate or Price from what was Set or Demanded by such Bookseller or Booksellers, Printer or Printers, to Award and Order such Bookseller and Booksellers, Printer and Printers, to Pay all the Costs and Charges that the Person or Persons so Complaining shall be put unto, by reason of such Complaint, and of the causing such Rate or Price to be so Limited and Settled; all which shall be done by the said Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Chancellor, or Lord Keeper, Bishop of London, two Chief Justices, Chief Baron, Vice Chancellors of the Two Universities, in that part of Great Britain called England, and the said Lord President of the Sessions, Lord Justice General, Lord Chief Baron, and Rector of the College of Edinburgh, in that part of Great Britain called Scotland, or any one of them, by Writing under their Hands and Seals, and thereof Publick Notice shall be forthwith given by the said Bookseller or Booksellers, Printer or Printers, by an Advertisement in the Gazette; and if any Bookseller or Book- sellers, Printer or Printers, shall, after such Settlement made of the said Rate and Price, Sell, or expose to Sale any Book or Books, at a higher or greater Price than what shall have been so Limited and Settled, as aforesaid, then and in every such case such Bookseller and Booksellers, Printer and Printers, shall Forfeit the Sum of Five Pounds for every such Book so by him, her, or them Sold or Exposed to Sale; One Moiety thereof to the Queens [sic] most Excellent Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, and the other Moiety to any Person or Persons that shall Sue for the same, to be Recovered, with Costs of Suit, in any of Her Majesties [sic] Courts of Record at Westminster, by Acti- on of Debt, Bill, Plaint or Information, in which no Wager of Law, Essoign, Privilege or Protection, or more than one Im- parlance, shall be allowed.
Provided always, and it is hereby Enacted, That Nine Copies of each Book or Books, upon the best Paper, that from and af- ter the said Tenth Day of April, One thousand seven hundred and ten, shall be Printed and Published, as aforesaid, or Re- printed and Published with Additions, shall, by the Printer and Printers thereof, be Delivered to the Warehouse-Keeper of the said