The Treason Felony Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 12) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Parts of the Act are still in force. It is a law which protects the King and the Crown. The offences in the Act were originally high treason under the Sedition Act 1661 (later the Treason Act 1795), and consequently the penalty was death. However it was found that juries were often reluctant to convict people of capital crimes, and it was thought that the conviction rate might increase if the sentence was reduced to exile to the penal colonies in Australia (the penalty is now life imprisonment). Consequently, in 1848 three categories of treason (all derived from the 1795 Act) were reduced to felonies. (This occurred during a period when the death penalty in the United Kingdom was being abolished for a great many offences.) The Act does not prevent prosecutors from charging somebody with treason instead of treason felony if the same conduct amounts to both offences. It is treason felony to "compass, imagine, invent, devise, or intend": to deprive the Sovereign of his crown, to levy war against the Sovereign, or to "move or stir" any foreigner to invade the United Kingdom or any other country belonging to the Sovereign. Punishment and procedure Treason felony is an indictable-only offence. It is punishable with imprisonment for life or any shorter term. Despite the name, it is no longer a felony, as the distinction between felony and misdemeanour was abolished by the Criminal Law Act 1967. In Northern Ireland, a person charged with treason felony may not be admitted to bail except by order of the High Court or of the Secretary of State. Scottish Parliament Treason felony is a reserved matter on which the Scottish Parliament cannot legislate. Text The full text of the Act is available online. The wording of section 3 of the Act is: The ellipses represent words that have subsequently been repealed. Section 10 of the Interpretation Act 1978 says that references to the Sovereign reigning at the time of the passing of the Treason Felony Act are to be construed as references to the Sovereign for the time being. Repealed provisions Penal transportation was abolished in 1868, leaving life imprisonment as the maximum sentence. Section 4 of the Act contained strict rules about treason felony when committed