Any pirate, accessory to piracy, commander or master or other person of any ship or vessel who trades with a pirate or furnishes him with ammunition or provisions of fits out a ship to trade with pirates shall suffer death and loss of lands, goods, and chattels. Seamen maimed in fighting pirates may be admitted into Greenwich Hospital. (This hospital received support from duties paid by vessels of the realm and of the colonies.) Masters or seamen not fighting shall forfeit their wages and spend 6 months in prison if the ship is taken. Masters shall not advance to any seamen above half his wages since deserting is the chief occasion of their turning into pirates.
In London penalties for crimes against property rose so that by 1740, a child could be hanged for stealing a handkerchief worth 1s. from a person's body.
No more than 600 pounds of gunpowder may be kept in any building in London or Westminster or suburbs thereof. Later, no more than 200 pounds of gunpowder were allowed to be kept therein for more than 24 hours. Buildings may be searched on "reasonable cause" shown to a Justice of the Peace. Later, no more than 400 pounds of gunpowder could be kept for more than 24 hours near any town, or more than 300 pounds for more than 24 hours in any place. Then no gunpowder could be conveyed by land over 25 barrels or by water over 200 barrels.
It was customary for officers to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy to any new monarch. When George I became king in 1714, all civil and military officers, clergy, schoolmasters, and lawyers, solicitors, clerks, etc. living within 30 miles of London had to take an oath of allegiance and a new oath that the person was not Papist and agreed that no foreigners had jurisdiction in the realm, such as to excommunicate someone and thus declaring he could be legitimately killed. Soon after, it was required that Papists had to register their names and real estates. Commissioners were appointed to make inquiries. If a person did not take the oaths or did not register, he was to forfeit 2/3 of his land to the king and 1/3 to a Protestant who sued for such. This was in order to deter future rebellions against the king and efforts to destroy the Protestant religion.
Papists enlisting in the army are liable to corporal punishment, but not death, as determined by a court martial.
Any mayor, bailiff, or other magistrate who is present at any meeting for public worship other than the Church of England will lose office and is barred from any public office or employment.
As late as 1722, there was a Papist conspiracy to take the Tower of London and the King, and make a Catholic king. This resulted in the imprisonment of the conspirators and a new statute: Persons not taking the oath of allegiance and above oath that they were not Papist shall register their lands and yearly rents and pay double the land tax and 100,000 pounds. After payment, they are discharged from forfeiting 2/3 of their lands' rents for one year.
Jews may not refuse suitable maintenance to their children who are
Christian to pressure them to convert back to Judaism.
In 1712 was the last execution for witchcraft. By statute of 1736, witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment, and conjuration were abolished as crimes.
Black slaves were common for a time in London. This was a result
of the voluminous triangle trade of manufactured goods from
England, slaves from West Africa, and sugar and tobacco from the
West Indies. Slavery was largely abolished by judicial decision of
Chief Justice Mansfield in 1772.