REPEAL SOUGHT
ENGLAND’S WITCHCRAFT ACT “POWERS NO LONGER NECESSARY ” * N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent Rec. 11 p.m. LONDON, Dec. 9. A group of Labour members of the House of Commons has put down an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill seeking a repeal of the Witchcraft Act of 1735. This Act repealed a Statute made in the reign of James I prescribing penalties against “ conjuration, witchcraft, and dealing with evil and wicked spirits.” The 1735 Act, however, boldly declared that witchcraft did not exist and declared penalties against any claiming such powers " whereby ignorant persons are frequently deluded and defrauded.” It is now suggested that in this more enlightened age these powers are no longer necessary. The last public execution for witchcraft in England was in 1716 when a woman and her nine-year-old daughter were hanged at Huntingdon.
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Otago Daily Times, Issue 26640, 10 December 1947, Page 5
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136REPEAL SOUGHT Otago Daily Times, Issue 26640, 10 December 1947, Page 5
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