[1600/11/25]¹

²Regarding bearers and shooters with hackbuts and pistols

Our sovereign lord, understanding that calling and pursuing of bearers, wearers and shooters with hackbuts and pistols and other firearms before his justice and his deputes breed such trouble to parties and assizers and such difficulty in the trial that often innocent persons are thereby vexed, and such as are guilty eschew their due punishment by declining of the assizers that best know the verity of the fact and other such subterfuges and delays of lawful trial; for remedy whereof his highness, with advice and consent of his estates of parliament, statutes and ordains that the bearers and wearers of hackbuts and pistols and other firearms who have neither committed slaughter nor mutilation or other odious violence therewith, but only borne and worn them upon their persons or in their companies contrary to his highness's laws and acts of parliament, may be either pursued criminally before the justice and his deputes according to the custom heretofore observed, or before his highness and the lords of secret council and lawful probation of witnesses or oath of party at the option of his highness's treasurer or advocate, providing always that such as shall be pursued before his highness and lords of his secret council and tried by probation of witnesses guilty of any of the said crimes shall not incur the corporal punishment prescribed by the former acts by amputation of the right hand, but only to be punished by warding of their persons, escheat of their goods moveable, or payment of such a pecuniary penalty and sum of money as his highness and lords of his secret council shall determine, without prejudice in any way of the execution of the former acts of parliament against such as shall be criminally pursued, convicted and found guilty by a condign assize before his highness's justice general or his deputes foresaid in case his majesty like rather that they be pursued criminally before the justice than before the secret council. And further, his highness and estates foresaid annul and discharge all licences given by his majesty for bearing and wearing hackbuts, pistols and other firearms and statute and ordain that no licences shall be granted in time coming to any persons for bearing and wearing of the same except that the same licences be granted by his highness and lords of secret council sitting in council; and when the same licences are so granted, ordain the same licences to pay composition to his highness's treasurer and to pass his register and to pass the signet and whole seals, and decree and declare all licences not granted in council and which shall not pay composition and pass the signet and whole seals as said is to be null and of no value; and notwithstanding thereof the said persons to be accused according to this present act and acts of parliament made of before.