[1581/10/35]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
†Our sovereign lord and his three estates in this present parliament, having considered the many grievous oppressions and cruelties wherein his peaceable and good subjects are subject, finds nothing more intolerable than the deadly feuds borne by the clans of thieves, broken men and sorners upon true men for the slaughter, taking, hurting of the said thieves, broken men and sorners, taking and bringing them to justice, or in the defence and clearing of true men's goods stolen and reived from them, and how the said clans of thieves for the most part are companies of wicked men, coupled in fellowships by occasion of their surnames, or near dwellings together, or through keeping society in theft or reset of theft, not subjected to the ordinary course of justice, nor to any one landlord that will make them answerable to the laws, but commonly dwelling upon sundry men's lands against the good will of their landlords, through which true men oppressed by them can have no remedy at the hands of their masters, but for their defence are often times constrained to seek redress of their hurt of the whole clan or such of them as they happen to apprehend, likewise the whole clan commonly bears feud for the [hurt]† received by any member thereof, whether by execution of laws, by order of justice or otherwise; it is therefore declared, statute and ordained by our sovereign lord, with advice of his three estates and whole body of this present parliament, that it shall be lawful to all his obedient and good subjects that shall receive any harm or damage through theft or masterful reiving of their goods to be committed after the date hereof by any of the said notorious thieves, broken men or sorners of the said clans of thieves in time coming, to apprehend, slay and arrest the bodies and goods of the persons offending against them or any others being of the same clan, their servants, dependants or partakers wherever they shall find them in any parts of this realm until the principals, or others of their said clan, cause the said harms and hurts be redressed to the satisfaction of the sustainers thereof, or at the least find sufficient surety to that effect, to the contentment of the person that has sustained the hurt, in case it shall be found by order and trial, according to justice, that the offender and deed doer was in any way reset, supplied and maintained amongst the said clan after the offence committed.