Quakers Act 1695
The Quakers Act 1695 was an Act of the Parliament of England which allowed Quakers to substitute an affirmation where the law previously required an oath. The Act did not apply to the oaths required when giving evidence in a criminal case or to serve on a jury or to hold any office of profit from the Crown. It allowed legal proceedings to be taken against Quakers before a justice of the peace for refusing to pay tithes if the amount claimed did not exceed £10.
| Act of Parliament | |
.svg.png.webp) | |
| Long title | An Act that the Solemne Affirmation & Declaration of the People called Quakers shall be accepted instead of an Oath in the usual Forme. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 7 & 8 Will. 3. c. 34 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 27 April 1696 |
| Commencement | 4 May 1696 |
| Expired | 5 April 1702 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | Affirmation by Quakers Act 1701 |
| Repealed by | Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1969 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Affirmation by Quakers Act 1701 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act for continuing an act, intituled, An Act that the Solemne Affirmation & Declaration of the People called Quakers shall be accepted instead of an Oath in the usual form. |
| Citation | 13 & 14 Will. 3. c. 4 (Ruffhead: 13 Will. c. 4) |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 2 March 1702 |
| Expired | 8 August 1713 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amends | Quakers Act 1695 |
Status: Expired | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Tithes and Church Rates Recovery Act 1714 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
.svg.png.webp) | |
| Long title | An Act for making perpetual an act of the seventh and eighth years of the reign of his late majesty King William the Third, intituled, An act that the solemn affirmation and declaration of the people called Quakers, shall be accepted instead of an oath in the usual form; and for explaining and enforcing the said act in relation to the payment of tithes and church rates; and for appointing the form of an affirmation to be taken by the said people called Quakers, instead of the oath of abjuration. |
| Citation | 1 Geo. 1. St. 2. c. 6 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amends | Quakers Act 1695 |
| Repealed by | Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1969 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Act would have expired in seven years but, in 1702, Parliament extended it for another eleven years by the Affirmation by Quakers Act 1701. In 1715, it was made permanent and applied also to Scotland.[1]
Repeal
The Act, except sections 3 and 4, was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1867.[2] The remaining sections were repealed by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1969.[3]
Notes
- Thomson, Mark A. (1938). A Constitutional History of England. 1642 to 1801. London: Methuen. p. 277.
- "Statute Law Revision Act 1867". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
- "Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1969". UK Statute Law Database. Retrieved 27 November 2013.