{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/destruction-of-trees-act-1663/section-III",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/destruction-of-trees-act-1663/section-III.json",
  "legislation": "aep/Cha2/15/2",
  "legislation_title": "Destruction of Trees Act 1663",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/destruction-of-trees-act-1663",
  "path": "section/III",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "III",
  "heading": "Persons buying suspicious Wood",
  "text": "Justices, &c. may examine into the Matter upon Oath; and if they find the same was bought of a suspicious Person, may inflict a Penalty of Treble the Value; and may levy by Distress.; If no Distress, Imprisonment.\nProvided alwaies and it is further enacted by the Authoritie aforesaid That whosoever shall buy any Burthens of Wood or any Poles or Sticks of Wood or any other the Premisses perticularly mentioned in this Bill, which may be justly suspected to have beene stolne or unlawfully come by that it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Justices of the Peace Maiors Bailiffes and Head-Officers or any one of them within their respective Jurisdictions upon complaint to them thereof made to examine the said matter upon Oath which they and every of them respectively are hereby authorized to administer And if they shall finde that the same was bought of a person who might justly be suspected to have stolne or unlawfully come by the same, and that the same was stolne or unlawfully come by, that in such case the said Justices of Peace Maiors Bayliffes or other Head Officers or any one of them respectively shall and may award the partie who bought the same to pay treble the value of the same to the partie from whom the same was stolne or unlawfully taken, And in defaulte of present payment thereof to issue forth their respective Warrants to leavy the same by distresse and sale of the offenders Goods rendring the overplus to the partie, And in default of such distresse to committ the partie to the Goale at his owne charge there to remaine One moneth without Baile.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "X",
      "label": "X1",
      "text": "interlined on the Roll."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Cha2/15/2/section/III",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T20:31:42.545655+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}