| Act revived. |
2. AND BE IT ENACTED, That the act, entitled,
An act relating
to vagrants in the city of Baltimore, passed at November session
eighteen hundred and four(a), be and the same is hereby revived and
declared to be in full force and virtue in law, any thing in any statute
to the contrary notwithstanding.
(a) Ch. 96. As this act
had been altered and supplied by 1811, ch. 212, it was
not printed when the acts of 1804 were published, it is here inserted at
length, viz.
An Act relating to Vagrants in the City of Baltimore
Be it enacted, by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That it shall and may be
lawful for either of the justices of the criminal court of Baltimore county
to issue
a warrant, directed to any constable of Baltimore county, against any person
or
persons, on information founded upon the oath of any
competent witness, that
such person or persons in the said affidavit named is a vagrant, vagabond,
disorderly
person or common prostitute, commanding said constable
to bring the person
or persons in said warrant mentioned before any justice of said court,
and upon
the appearance of said person or persons, he, she or they, shall enter
into recognizance,
with such security as the said justice shall approve,
for his, her or
their good behaviour for twelve months; and in case the
said person or persons
cannot find security as aforesaid within three days after his, her or their
appearance
before the justice as aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful for the constable
who
served the said warrant to bring the party before any of the justices aforesaid,
and
upon his, her or their appearance, they shall enter into a recognizance
as aforesaid
for their appearance at their next criminal court of Baltimore county,
and in
case such person or persons cannot find security for their appearance as
aforesaid
within twenty four hours after his, her or their appearance last aforesaid
before
the justices aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful for the said constable
who served
the said warrant to bring the party or parties to the alms house of Baltimore
county
for any term not exceeding nine months; provided, that nothing herein contained
shall be construed so as to make the constable liable for accidents or
escapes.
2. AND, to ascertain what persons shall be deemed
vagrants, vagabonds and
disorderly persons, within the intention of this act, BE IT ENACTED, That
every
person who has no visible means of maintenance from property
or personal labour,
and lives idle, without employment, and every person who wanders about
and begs in the streets from door to door, and any person
who wanders about and
lodges in out-houses, market places, or in the open air, and cannot give
a good
account of the means by which he, she or they, procure a livelihood, and
every
woman who is generally reputed a common prostitute, and every juggler or
fortune-teller,
or common gambler, shall be adjudged a vagrant, vagabond, prostitute
or disorderly person, within the meaning of this act.
3. AND BE IT ENACTED, That in case any person
being convicted of being a
vagrant, vagabond, common prostitute or disorderly person, within the provisions
of this act, it shall and may be lawful for the court to sentence the person
so convicted
to hard labour in the alms-house for a space of time not less than one
week,
nor more than two months.
4. AND BE IT ENACTED, That this act shall commence
and be in force from and
after the first day of April next, and shall continue for two years, and
until the
end of the next session of assembly that shall happen thereafter. |
