court of justice, or before any legal tribunal, or either house of parliament, or any committee of either house, or in any judicial proceeding, the same shall respectively be admitted in evidence, provided they respectively purport to be sealed or impressed with a stamp, or sealed and signed, or signed alone, as required, or impressed with a stamp and signed, as directed by the respective acts made or to be hereafter made, without any proof of the seal or stamp, where a seal or stamp is necessary, or of the signature, or of the official character of the person appearing to have signed the same, and without any further proof thereof in every case in which the original record could have been received in evidence. II. And be it enacted, that all courts, judges, justices, masters in Chancery, masters of courts, commissioners judicially acting, and other judicial officers, shall henceforth take judicial notice of the signature of any of the equity or common law judges of the superior courts at Westminster, provided such signature be attached or appended to any decree, order, certificate, or other judicial or official document. III. And be it enacted, that all copies of private and local and personal acts of parliament not public acts, if purported to be printed by the Queen's printers, and all copies of the journals of either house of parliament, and of royal proclamations, purporting to be printed by the printers to the Crown or by the printers to either house of parliament, or by any or either of them, shall be admitted as evidence thereof by all courts, judges, justices, and others without any proof being given that such copies were so printed. IV. Provided always, and be it enacted, that if any person shall forge the seal, stamp, or signature of any such certificate, official or public document, or document or proceeding of any corporation or joint-stock or other company, or of any certified copy of any document, bye-law, entry in any register or other book, or other proceeding as aforesaid, or shall tender in evidence any such certificate, official or public document, or document or proceeding of any corporation or jointstock or other company, or any certified copy of any document, bye-law, entry in any register or other book, or of any other proceeding, with a false or counterfeit seal, stamp or signature thereto, knowing the same to be false or counterfeit, whether such seal, stamp, or signature be those of or relating to any corporation or company already established, or to any corporation or company to be hereafter established, or if any person shall forge the signature of any such judge as aforesaid to any order, decree, certificate, or other judicial or official document, or shall tender in evidence any order, decree, certificate, or other judicial or official document with a false or counterfeit signature of any such judge as aforesaid thereto, knowing the same to be false or counterfeit, or if any person shall print any copy of any private act or of the journals of either house of parliament, which copy shall falsely purport to have been printed by the printers to the Crown, or by the printers to either house of parliament, or by any or either of them, or if any person shall tender in evidence any such copy, knowing that the same was not printed by the person or persons by whom it so purports to have been printed, every such person shall be guilty of felony, and shall upon conviction be liable to transportation for seven years, or to imprisonment for any term not more than three nor less than one year, with hard labour: provided also, that whenever any such document as before mentioned shall have been received in evidence by virtue of this act, the court, judge, commissioner, or other person officiating judicially, who shall have admitted the same, shall, on the request of any party against whom the same is so received, be authorized, at its or at his own discretion, to direct that the same shall be impounded, and be kept in the custody of some officer of the court or other proper person, until further order touching the same shall be given, either by such court, or the court to which such master or other officer belonged, or by the persons or person who constituted such court, or by some one of the equity or common law judges of the superior courts at Westminster on application being made for that purpose. THE DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE ACT, 1868. 31 & 32 VICT. c. 37, ss. 2, 3 AND 6. 2. Prima facie evidence of any proclamation, order or regulation issued before or after the passing of this act by her Majesty or by the Privy Council, also of any proclamation, order or regulation issued before or after the passing of this act by or under the authority of any such department of the Government or officer as is mentioned in the first column of the schedule hereto, may be given in all courts of justice and in all legal proceedings whatsoever in all or any of the modes hereinafter mentioned, that is to say: (1.) By the production of a copy of the Gazette purporting to contain such proclamation, order, or regulation. (2.) By the production of a copy of such proclamation, order or regulation purporting to be printed by the Government printer, or, where the question arises in a court in any British colony or possession, of a copy purporting to be printed under the authority of the legislature of such British colony or possession. (3.) By the production, in the case of any proclamation, order or regulation issued by her Majesty or the Privy Council, of a copy or extract purporting to be certified to be true by the clerk of the Privy Council, or by any one of the lords or others of the Privy Council; and, in the case of any proclamation, order or regulation issued by or under the authority of any of the said departments or officers, by the production of a copy or extract purporting to be certified to be true by the person or persons specified in the second column of the said schedule in connection with such department or officer. Any copy or extract made in pursuance of this act may be in print or in writing, or partly in print and partly in writing. No proof shall be required of the handwriting or official position of any person certifying, in pursuance of this act, to the truth of any copy of or extract from any proclamation, order or regulation. 3. Subject to any law that may be from time to time made by the legislature of any British colony or possession this act shall be in force in every such colony and possession. 6. The provisions of this act shall be deemed to be in addition to, and not in derogation of, any powers of proving documents given by any existing statute or existing at common law. SCHEDULE. COLUMN 1. Name of Department or Officer. COLUMN 2. Names of Certifying Officers. The Commissioners of the Treasury. Any Commissioner, Secretary or Assistant The Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral. Secretaries of State. Secretary of the Treasury. Any of the Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral, or either of the Secretaries to the said Commissioners. Any Secretary or Under Secretary of State. Committee of Privy Council for Any Member of the Committee of Privy Trade. Council for Trade, or any Secretary or Assistant Secretary of the said Committee. The Poor Law Board. Any Commissioner of the Poor Law DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE ACT, 1882. 45 & 46 VICT. c. 9. An Act to amend the Documentary Evidence Act, 1868, and other Enactments relating to the Evidence of Documents by means of Copies printed by the Government Printers. [19th June, 1882.] WHEREAS by the Documentary Evidence Act, 1868, and enactments applying that act, divers proclamations, orders, regulations, rules, and other documents may be proved by the production of copies thereof purporting to be printed by the government printer, and the government printer is thereby defined to mean and include the printer to her Majesty: And whereas divers other enactments provide that copies of acts of parliament, regulations, warrants, circulars, gazettes, and other documents shall be admissible in evidence if purporting to be printed by the government printer, or the Queen's printer, or a printer authorised by her Majesty, or otherwise under the authority of her Majesty: And whereas it is expedient to make further provision respecting the printing of the copies aforesaid: Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1. This act may be cited as the Documentary Evidence Act, 1882. 2. Where any enactment, whether passed before or after the passing of this act, provides that a copy of any act of parliament, proclamation, order, regulation, rule, warrant, circular, list, gazette, or document shall be conclusive evidence, or be evidence, or have any other effect, when purporting to be printed by the government printer, or the Queen's printer, or a printer |