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MAINTENANCE AND EMBRACERY ACT 1634
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CHAPTER XV.
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An Act against maintenance, embracery, &c. and against unlawful buying of titles.
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32 H. 8. 9. Eng.
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Mischiefs by maintenance, buying titles, &c.
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All statutes in force in England against maintenance, champerty, and embracery shall be put in execution in Ireland.
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THE King our Soveraign Lord, calling to his most blessed remembrance, That there is nothing within this realme that conserveth his loving subjects in more quietnesse, rest, peace and good concord, than the just and due administration of his lawes, and the true and indifferent trials of such titles and issues as be to be tryed according to the lawes of this realme, which his most royall Majestie perceiveth to be greatly hindred by maintenance, embracery, champerty, subornation of witnesses, sinister labour, buying of titles and pretended rights of persons not being in possession, whereupon great perjury hath ensued and much unquietnesse, oppression, vexation, trouble, wrongs, and disinheritance hath followed among his most loving subjects, to the great displeasure of Almighty God, the discontentation of his Majesty, and to the great hinderance and lette of justice within this his realme; for the avoyding of all which misdemeanors, and buying of titles and pretended rights, and to the intent that justice may be more fully and indifferently ministred, and the truth in causes of contention plainly tryed between his subjects of this realme; be it enacted by our said Soveraign Lord with the assent of the lords spirituall and temporall, and the commons in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That from henceforth all statutes heretofore made in England concerning maintenance, champerty and embracery, or any of them now standing and being in their full strength and force, shall be put in due execution in this realme of Ireland according to the tenures and effects of the same statutes.
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None shall buy or sell or get any pretensed right or title to lands, unless the seller or grantor, or his ancestors in possession, &c. one year before.
On pain of forfeiture of the value to the King and prosecutor.
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II. And over that, be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That no person or persons, of what estate, degree, or condition soever he or they be, shall from henceforth bargaine, buy or sell, or by any wayes or means obtaine, get, or have any pretensed rights or titles, or take, promise, grant or covenant to have any right or title of any person or persons in or to any mannors, lands, tenements or hereditaments; but if such person or persons which shall so bargaine, sell, give, grant, covenant or promise the same, their auncestors, or they by whom he or they claime the same, have been in possession of the same or of the reversion or remainder thereof, or taken the rents or profits thereof by the space of one whole yeare next before the said bargaine, covenant, grant or promise made, upon paine that he that shall make any such bargaine, sale, promise, covenant or grant, to forfeit the whole value of the lands, tenements, or hereditaments so bargained, sold, promised, covenanted, or granted contrary to the forme of this act; and the buyer or taker thereof, knowing the same, to forfeit also the value of the said lands, tenements or hereditaments so by him bought or taken, as is abovesaid; the one halfe of the said forfeitures to be to the King our Soveraign Lord, and the other halfe to the party that will sue for the same in any of the Kings courts of record, by action of debt, bill, plaint or information; in which action, bill, plaint or information, no essoyne, protection, wager of law nor injunction shall be allowed. [Rep., Stat. Law Rev. (I.) Act, 1878.]
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Unlawfully to maintain any suit in the Kings courts, embrace free-holders or jurors, suborn witnesses, &c.
Penalty 10l. to the King and prosecutor.
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III. And furthermore, That no manner of person or persons, of what esteate, degree or condition soever he or they be, doe hereafter unlawfully maintaine or cause or procure any unlawful maintenance in any action, demaund, suite or complaint in any of the Kings courts of the chancery, castle-chamber, or elsewhere within this his Highnesse realme of Ireland, where any person or persons have or hereafter shall have authority by vertue of the Kings commission, patent, or writ to hold plea of lands, or to examine, heare or determine any title of lands, or any matter of witnesses concerning the title, right, or interest of any lands, tenements or hereditaments; and also, that no person or persons of what estate, degree, or condition soever he or they be, doe hereafter unlawfully retaine for maintenance of any suit or plea any person or persons, or embrace any free-holders or jurors, or suborne any witnesses by letters, rewards, promises, or any other sinister labour or means for to maintaine any matter or cause, or to the disturbance or hinderance of justice, or to the procurement or occasion of any manner of perjury by false verdict or otherwise in any manner of courts aforesaid, upon paine to forfeit for every such offence ten pounds, the one moytie thereof unto the King our Soveraign Lord, and the other moytie to him that will sue for the same, by action of debt, bill, plaint, or information in any of the Kings courts; in which action, no essoyne, protection, wager of law nor injunction shall be allowed. [Rep., Stat. Law Rev. (I.) Act, 1878.]
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But persons in lawful possession may buy, &c. the pretensed title of others.
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IV. Provided alway, and be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That it shall be lawful to any person or persons being in lawfull possession by taking of the yearly farme, rents, or profits of or for any mannors, lands, tenements or hereditaments, to buy, obtaine, get, or have by any reasonable way or meanes the pretensed right or title of any other person or persons hereafter to be made to, of, or in such mannors, lands, tenements or hereditaments whereof he or they shall so be in lawfull possession; any thing in this act contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
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Offendors must be sued within a year.
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VI. Provided alway, and be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That this act shall not extend to charge any person or persons with any the penalties mentioned in the said act, for any offence by him or them committed contrary to the said act, except the same person or persons so offending be sued thereof by action of debt, bill, plaint, or information in any of the Kings courts, within one yeare next after the same offence by him or them committed, as is aforesaid.
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