Correspondence with Enemies Act 1798
| Act of Parliament | |
| Long title | An Act to prevent, during the war, persons residing or being in Great Britain, from advancing money or effects for the purchase or on the credit of debts owing to the government of the United Provinces, or any bodies politick or corporate, or any persons within the said provinces, without licence for that purpose; and for extending the provisions of an act, made in the thirty-third year of the reign of his present Majesty,[g] more effectually to prevent, during the present war between Great Britain and France, all traiterous correspondence with, or aid or assistance being given to his Majesty's enemies, to the said United Provinces, and to the persons exercising the powers of government therein, and also to the persons, territories, and places, under their government. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 38 Geo. 3. c. 28 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 5 April 1798 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1871 |
Status: Repealed | |
The Correspondence with Enemies Act 1798 (38 Geo. 3. c. 28) or the Debts Due to the United Provinces, etc. Act 1798 was an act of the British Parliament.
France had declared war on Great Britain in 1793, near the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars. In response, the British Parliament had passed the Correspondence with Enemies Act 1793 to prohibit trade with France. In 1795 France invaded the Republic of the United Provinces (the Netherlands) and founded the Batavian Republic there. On 5 April 1798, Parliament passed this act to extend the provisions of the 1793 act to the French-occupied Netherlands (still described in the act as the "United Provinces").
Provisions of the acts
The 1793 act had made it high treason for any person resident in Great Britain to "knowingly and wilfully" supply materials to France during the war, without a licence from the king. Buying land in France, or lending somebody money with which to buy land in France, was also made treason. Merely travelling to France was punishable with imprisonment for up to 6 months. Any insurance policy relating to any ship or wares belonging to French subjects was made void.
The same rules also applied to the Netherlands from 1798.
The rules of procedure and evidence contained in the Treason Act 1695 and the Treason Act 1708 applied to treason under these Acts. The Acts did not apply to anyone in the army or navy (but such people were subject to military or naval law instead).
Commencement
The act contained an unusual feature (also found in the 1793 act), in that instead of coming into force on one particular date, it instead came into force on different dates in different parts of the world.
See also
References