Any manufacturer of or dealer in articles constructed in part of gold or silver or any alloy or imitation thereof, upon payment of a fee of ten dollars, may file in the office of the Secretary of the State a bond executed by himself as principal, with sufficient surety, which bond shall be approved by the secretary, in the sum of five thousand dollars, conditioned that such manufacturer or dealer shall not violate any of the provisions of sections 53-324 to 53-327, inclusive. If it appears to the court before whom any person is prosecuted for the violation of any of the provisions of said sections that the article of merchandise concerning which the charge is brought was not made or altered in any way by the defendant and that it was acquired by him in good faith as an article of the standard of purity prescribed in said sections and without knowledge or information on his part to the contrary, such prosecution shall be dismissed and the defendant discharged, provided the person from whom the defendant acquired the article is within the jurisdiction of the court or has filed the bond provided for in this section and such bond was in full force and effect at the time of the sale by such defendant and at the time of the dismissal of such prosecution and provided such defendant shall furnish to such court an affidavit stating the name, residence and place of business of the person from whom such article was acquired by the defendant and the date and circumstances of its acquisition. Upon satisfactory proof by affidavit to the Attorney General of a violation, by any person giving bond as provided in this section, of the terms of such bond, the Attorney General shall declare the bond forfeited and forthwith proceed on behalf of the state to collect as damages the whole of the sum specified therein from the parties thereto. If, however, the violation of said sections by the principal in such bond occurred within the limits of this state, and such principal, at any time before the recovery of judgment upon such forfeiture, appears before any court having jurisdiction so that a criminal prosecution for the violation of any of the provisions of said sections may be commenced against him, such proceedings for the forfeiture and collection of such bond shall be discontinued. The court before which such action for the forfeiture and collection of such bond is pending shall have power in its discretion to chancer such bond.

(1949 Rev., S. 8627; 1959, P.A. 28, S. 192.)

History: 1959 act deleted reference to jurisdiction of magistrates.