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Regulation as to Superscription.

Votes and Proceedings sent by Post may be examined.

CLAUSE (A.)
Chief Com-

missioner of Woods and

every such Printed Proceeding be sent without a Cover, or in a
Cover open at the sides, and be superscribed or directed in manner
hereinafter mentioned; and also that it shall and may be lawful to and
for each and every Member of both the said Two Houses of Parlia-
ment, and for each and every of the said respective Clerks and
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Officers, during the time aforesaid, to receive by the General Post from
Places within the said United Kingdom, any Printed Proceedings in
Parliament, free from the Duty of Postage, so as every such Printed
Proceeding be sent without a Cover, or in a Cover open at the sides,
and be directed to the Member, Clerk or Officer at his usual Place of 10
Residence in London, or at such one Place out of London (but within
the said United Kingdom), as he shall from time to time have pre-
viously notified in writing to the Secretary of the General Post Office
in London or Dublin, as the case may be.

Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That no Printed Pro- 15 ceeding in Parliament sent by any Member of either of the said Two Houses of Parliament, or any of the said respective Clerks or Officers thereof, being above the weight of Eight Ounces, shall be exempt from the payment of Postage, unless the whole Superscription upon any such Packet or the Cover thereof, shall be of the hand-writing of the 20 Member or Officer sending the same, and shall have "Parliamentary Proceedings" or "Par. Pro." indorsed thereon, together with the Name of such Member, Clerk or Officer in his own hand-writing.

And be it further Enacted, That it shall be lawful for His Majesty's Postmaster-General, or any of the Officers employed under him, to 25 examine and search any Vote or Proceeding in Parliament, sent without a Cover, or in a Cover open at the sides, in order to discover whether any other paper or thing whatsoever be inclosed or concealed in or with such Printed Vote or Proceeding; and in case any such other paper or thing whatsoever shall be found to be inclosed or concealed in or 30 with such Printed Vote or Proceeding as aforesaid, or in case there shall be any writing other than the Superscription upon such Printed Vote or Proceeding, or upon the Cover containing the same, the whole of such Packet shall be charged with Treble the Duty of Postage.

And be it further Enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests for the time being to authorize and Forests to au- direct One Person in his Office to send by the Post Letters and Packets

thorize Officer

in his Office

to frank Letters.

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which shall concern the Business of the Office of Woods and Forests
only, free from the Duty of Postage, so as such Person do make and
subscribe an Endorsement upon each Letter and Packet, signifying that 40
such Letter or Packet is upon His Majesty's Service, and do seal the
same with the Seal of Office; and that Person is hereby strictly for-
bidden so to endorse or scal any Letter or Packet whatsoever, unless

such

such only as shall concern the Business of the Office of Woods and Forests; and if such Person shall knowingly make or subscribe such Endorsement, or procure the same to be made upon any Letter or Packet which does not really concern the Business of the Office, he shall, 5 for the First offence, forfeit and pay the Sum of Five Pounds, to be recovered and applied in such manner as by the Act of the Ninth year of the Reign of Queen ANNE, for establishing a General Post Office, is directed, with respect to the Penalties inflicted by the said Act, and for the Second offence he shall be dismissed from his Office.

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And be it further Enacted, That if any Person whatsoever shall forge or counterfeit the Hand-writing of any Person whatsoever in the Superscription of any Letter or Packet to be sent by the Post under or by virtue of the authority of this Act, in order to avoid the payment of the Duty of Postage, or shall write and send by the Post any Letter or 15 Packet, the Superscription or Cover whereof shall be forged or counterfeited, in order to avoid the payment of the Duty of Postage, knowing the same to be forged or counterfeited, every Person so offending, and being thereof convicted in due form of Law, shall be deemed guilty of Felony, and shall be transported for Seven Years.

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altered.

And be it further Enacted, That this Act may be altered, varied or Act may be repealed, by any Act or Acts to be made in this present Session of Parliament.

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To amend the Provisions of the Statute of Frauds.

[Note.-The Words printed in Italics are proposed to be inserted
in the Committee.]

Whereas by an Act passed in the Twenty-ninth year Preamble:

7 William III.

of Majesty King CHARLES the Second, intituled, An 29 Charles II. "Act for the prevention of Frauds and Perjuries," it is enacted, that no Action shall be brought whereby to charge any Person, upon any 5 Contract or Sale of Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments, or any Interest in or concerning them, unless the Agreement upon which such Action shall be brought, or some Memorandum or Note thereof, shall be in writing, and signed by the Party to be charged therewith, or some other person by him lawfully authorized: And whereas a similar 10 Enactment is contained in an Act passed in Ireland, in the Seventh year of the reign of King WILLIAM the Third: And whereas it has been held that an Agreement signed by one Party or his Agent, is binding upon him, and that it is not necessary for a Party or his Agent to subscribe his Name to the Agreement for the purpose of 15 authenticating it, where the Name is introduced in the Agreement itself; and in some cases concluded Contracts have been allowed to be collected and made out from Receipts for Purchase-money, Letters, Correspondence or Proposals, or the like, not assuming the ordinary shape of an Agreement or Memorandum or Note thereof: And 20 whereas Courts of Equity have, on the ground of part performance, held certain cases of Parol Agreements not to fall within the mischief of the Enactments aforesaid: And whereas it is expedient to alter and amend the Law as it is at present administered under the said Statutes,

be maintained unless the Agreement on which it is brought be in writing, and signed at the foot thereof.

in the respects aforesaid; Be it therefore Enacted, by The KING's most Excellent MAJESTY, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present ParNo Action to liament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, THAT no Action or Suit shall be brought or maintained, whereby to charge any person upon any Contract or Sale of Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments, or any Interest in or concerning them, unless the Agreement upon which the same is brought, or some Memorandum or Note thereof, shall be in writing and signed by the Parties to be charged therewith, or some other persons by them lawfully authorized, at the foot thereof, in the usual manner of subscribing regular Agreements.

No Letters, &c. passing between Parties or their Agents

to amount to

a binding Agreement.

No act what

soever to enable a Court of Equity to

decree a spe

cific perform

ance of an Agreement, unless signed in manner aforesaid.

Where either

of the Parties to an Agreement not duly signed, shall refuse to per

form the same on his part, the other of the said Par

ties may main

tain an Action against the Party so refusing, for Damages sustained by him by Payments for Repairs, &c.

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And be it further Enacted, That Letters or Correspondence passing between the Parties or their authorized Agents, or an Offer in writing by the one Party and Acceptance in writing by the other, shall not be 15 deemed in any case to amount to an Agreement upon which an Action or Suit may be brought or maintained under the Provisions of the said recited Acts or of this Act.

And be it further Enacted, That neither Delivery of Possession of the Estate which is the subject of the Contract, nor Payment of the 20 Purchase-money or Rent agreed to be paid for the Estate, or expenditure of Money by any of the Parties on the Estate, or any other act whatsoever, shall be deemed to amount to a part performance of any Agreement made upon any Contract or Sale of Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments, or any interest in or concerning them, so as to 25 enable a Court of Equity to decree a specific performance of any such Agreement, where the same is not signed in the manner required by this Act.

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Provided always, and be it Enacted, That where any Agreement shall be bona fide made upon any Contract or Sale of Lands, Tene- 30 ments or Hereditaments, or any interest in or concerning the same, and the same shall not be signed in the manner by this Act required to enable an Action or Suit to be brought or maintained thereupon, but where it is upon a Sale, and the Seller, upon the faith and footing of such Contract, shall have let the Purchaser into possession of the Property sold, or the Purchaser, upon the faith and footing of such Contract, shall have paid to the Seller the Purchase-money or any part thereof, or having been let in possession of the Property, shall with the acquiescence of the Seller have made any substantial Repairs or lasting Improvements upon such Property, and where in any such case 40 either of the Parties to such Contract shall refuse to perform the same on his part,' the other of the said Parties shall or may maintain an Action against the Party so refusing, for the recovery of the Damage

sustained

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