(1)  A person shall not be arrested upon mesne process in any action.

(2)  Where the plaintiff in any action in the Supreme Court in which, if brought before the commencement of this Act, the defendant would have been liable to arrest, proves at any time before final judgment by evidence on oath, to the satisfaction of a judge, that the plaintiff has good cause of action against the defendant, to the amount of $50 or upwards, and that there is probable cause for believing that the defendant is about to quit Tasmania unless he be apprehended, and that the absence of the defendant from Tasmania will materially prejudice the plaintiff in the prosecution of his action, a judge may in the prescribed manner order such defendant to be arrested and imprisoned for 6 months, unless and until he has sooner given the prescribed security, not exceeding the amount claimed in the action, that he will not go out of Tasmania without the leave of the court or a judge.

(3)  Where the action is for a penalty or sum in the nature of a penalty other than a penalty in respect of any contract, it shall not be necessary to prove that the absence of the defendant from Tasmania will materially prejudice the plaintiff in the prosecution of his action, and the security given (instead of being that the defendant will not go out of Tasmania) shall be to the effect that any sum recovered against the defendant in the action shall be paid, or that the defendant shall be rendered to prison.