Melbourne recommended invoking the Unlawful Oaths Act 1797 which prohibited the swearing of secret oaths .
The Unlawful Oaths Act 1797 is an obscure law promulgated in response to the Spithead and Nore mutinies .
Melbourne recommended invoking the Unlawful Oaths Act 1797 , an obscure law promulgated in response to the Spithead and Nore mutinies , which prohibited the swearing of secret oaths .