01802cam a2200229 4500 125998420 TxAuBib 20120127120000.0 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||und|u 401 LibriVox TxAuBib British Parliament. Riot Act, The [LibriVox] / British Parliament. 1 sound files : digital, MP3 or Ogg files. This is an online free audiobook and is compatible in most MP3 and iPod players. The text for this LibriVox audiobook came from public-domain text. The Riot Act was passed by the British Parliament in 1714, the first year of the reign of George I, and came into effect in August 1715. This was a time of widespread social disturbance, as the preamble describes; the Act sought to put an end to this. A group of twelve or more people, “being unlawfully, riotously and tumultuously assembled”, would be read a proclamation; they must disperse within an hour, on pain of death. The same fate would befall anyone preventing the reading of the proclamation, or damaging buildings while on a riot. If the law enforcement officers happened to injure or kill a rioter, they were immune from prosecution. The reading of the proclamation, the wording of which is detailed in the Act, was the necessary first step before action could be taken against the rioters. This gave us the phrase “to read the riot act”, to give a stern warning or rebuke. The Act was repealed in Britain in 1973, but had long since fallen into disuse there. A version is still in force in Canada. In MP3 and Ogg vorbis format. Electronic audiobooks. LibriVox.org. http://librivox.org/bookfeeds-v2/the-riot-act-by-british-parliament.xml TXMLR