_Punishment for bringing false Characters._
If any person shall falsely personate any master or mistress, or
his or her representative, and shall either verbally or in writing,
give a false, forged, or counterfeit character to any person,
offering him or herself to be hired as a servant; or, if any
person shall pretend or assert, in writing, that any servant had
been hired for any period of time, or in any station whatsoever,
other than the true one, or that he was discharged, or left his
service; or that such servant had not been hired in any previous
service contrary to the truth.-Or, if any person shall offer him
or herself as a servant, pretending that he hath served in any
service, in which he hath not served; or with a false, forged, or
counterfeit certificate of character; or shall in anywise add to,
or alter, efface, or erase any word, date, matter, or thing, in any
certificate given to him by his last or former actual master, or
person authorized by him; or, if any person, having before been in
service, shall, when offering himself to hire, falsely pretend not
to have been hired in any former service; such person convicted of
any, or either, of these offences, by the oath of one witness, (the
informer to be deemed a competent witness,) before two justices,
shall forfeit 20_l._ one half to go to the informer, and the other
half to the poor of the parish, together with 10_s._ the costs of
conviction; or on failure, be committed to hard labour in the House
of Correction, for not less than one month, nor more than three,
or, till the penalty and costs be paid.
And, if any servant so offending, shall give information against
any accomplice, so that he be convicted, such servant shall be
acquitted.
_No Action will lie against a Master for a bad Character
unless it be maliciously given._
No action can be maintained by a servant against his former
master for a bad character, given either verbally or in writing,
unless it can be proved that the character given was not only
_false_ but _malicious_.