said recruiting officer shall not enlist a man out of any other division, until such division shall have procured a man for itself. The county lieutenant or other com- If quota not manding officer of the county or corporation shall as recruited, to be drafted semble, before the said fiftieth day after the receipt of for eighteen this act as aforesaid, his militia, at such place as he months. shall appoint; and if any division shall then fail to deliver a recruit as aforesaid, fit for present duty, between the ages of eighteen and fifty years, of able body and sound mind, who is neither a prisoner of war, a deserter from the enemy, nor engaged to serve for a longer term than eight months. The said commanding officer, together with the field officers and captains, or a majority of those present, shall immediately proceed to draft an able bodied man, by fair and impartial lot, out of such division, to serve in the continental army during the term of eighteen months, to be computed from the time of such draft, who may nevertheless be permitted to procure a substitute to serve for the said term of eighteen months, at any time within ten days after such draft. No man shall be drafted, unless it shall appear to the said commanding officer that he comes within the above discription of a recruit; neither shall any recruit or substitute be accepted of by him, unless he comes up to such discription. The said draft shall also be allowed the sum of four thousand dollars, to be paid him by the said commissioners, out of the funds hereby provided. The said commanding officer of the militia shall, within thirty days after such draft, make a return to the governour of the number of men raised within his county; and also the particuJar number of each division. And be it farther enacted, That the commanding Troops, hew officer of each county may, after the said day of draft, furloughed, reviewed, & furlough the soldiers obtained under this act for the rendezvousspace of ten days, after which they shall be marched ed. to such places, and under such regulations as the governour and council shall direct, at which place the said recruits shall be received by an officer to be appointed by the governour, with the advice of council, for that purpose, who shall give to the officer delivering the said recruits, a receipt in the name of the commanding officer of the county or corporation furnishing the men, specifying their number, and the time for which they are enlisted, and shall also transmit to the Mutiny, or this act, how governour, a duplicate of such receipt. And be it farther enacted, That if any person on the resistance to day appointed for the draft shall behave himself mutipunishable. nously or riotously, or endeavour to excite mutiny, riot, or resistance to the execution of this act, each person so misbehaving shall be, and he is hereby declared a soldier for the war, in this state's quota of continental troops. And for the purpose of enquiring into such offences, if any such there shall be, the commanding officer of any county where such misconduct shall take place, shall call a court-martial of field officers and captains of the county, or a majority of them, within six days after such draft, and upon due enquiry and proof produced of any such offender, the said court shall have power, and they are hereby directed to cause such offender or offenders to be arrested and conveyed, with the recruits obtained by this act, or sent to the army as speedily as the case can admit; Be it farther drafted, ex- enacted, That any quaker or menonist, who shall be empted from so drafted, shall be discharged from personal service; personal ser- and the commanding officer at the time of such draft substitute to shall, and he is hereby required to employ one or more be furnished discreet persons to procure, on the best possible terms, Quakers and menonists vice, but a at expense of society. a proper substitute or substitutes, to serve in his or their room for eighteen months; towards which the said sub Desertions, how guard. ed against. stitute shall be paid the same sum to which a draft is entitled; and the overplus of the charge, if any, shall be adjusted and divided among all the members of the society of quakers or menonists in the county, in proportion to their assessable property, and to authorize. the sheriff of the county, by warrant under his hand, to levy such charge by distress, in case any member refuses or neglects to make payment thereof within five days after the same is demanded, upon the goods er chattels of the person so refusing or neglecting. Where any desertion shall happen before the recruits are marched from the place of rendezvous within the county in which they were raised, the commanding officer of the militia, on notice thereof with a description of the deserter, shall take the necessary measures for his apprehension and delivery at the nearest place of general rendezvous within the state. Any soldier Sick soldiers falling sick at the place of rendezvous, or in his march provided for. may, at the request of his officer, be delivered to any justice of the peace within the county, who shall grant a certificate of such delivery, and make provision for his maintenance and recovery, the charges whereof being adjudged reasonable by the court of the county, shall be paid at the publick treasury. It shall be lawful for any justice of the peace, upon application from Waggons secured by imthe commanding officer of any detachment, to autho- pressment. rize such commanding officer to impress into the publick service as many waggons, teams, and drivers as the nature of the service may, in the opinion of the magistrate, require; the owner of which shall be allowed fifty pounds of tobacco per day, and be found as usual, for each waggon, team, and driver; provided that no such impress shall extend to a longer period than six days, besides a reasonable time for returning : home. consideration for the And whereas it has been a practice of many trades- Penalty on men to entice their apprentices to enlist as soldiers, masters reand to sell them as substitutes for large sums of mo- ceiving any ney; Be it enacted, That if any tradesman or other person to whom any infant is, or shall be bound as an enlistment apprentice, shall directly or indirectly take or receive, of their apor agree to take or receive any money or other ity in consideration of such apprentice, his enlisting as a soldier or sailor in any corps whatsoever, every such tradesman or person so offending, not being an able gratu prentices. Penalty for selling recruits concealing deserters. bodied man under the age of fifty years, shall forfeit and pay double the sum of money or worth of such other gratuity so taken, received, or agreed for, to be recovered by action of debt or information, in any court of record within this state, one moiety thereof to the use of the informer, and the other moiety to the use of the commonwealth, to be applied as a bounty to enlist a soldier in the continental army during the war; and every such offender, being an able bodied man. under the age of fifty years, and being thereof convicted before a court-martial, shall be deemed a soldier to serve in this state's quota of continental troops during the war, and shall be by the commanding officer of the militia of his county, delivered to some continental officer belonging to this state. Ana whereas, a practice has prevailed of enlisting men for small bounties and afterwards selling them to districts or divisions for higher bounties than was given such soldier, which has greatly injured the recruiting service; Be it enacted, That every person guilty of such offence, shall be subject to the same penalties as tradesmen and others enlisting or selling their apprentices are subject to. And whereas the penalties Additional imposed by the laws now in force, have been found not penalties for sufficient to prevent evil disposed persons harbouring or concealing deserters, to the great injury of the army; Be it enacted, That if any person or persons whatsoever, other than a son harbouring or concealing his father, a wife her husband, or a mother her son, knowing the person so harboured or concealed to be a deserter from the continental army of this or any other of the United States or from the troops of this commonwealth, every person so offending, over and above the penalties heretiore inflicted by law, if a woman, or not being an able bodied man, under the age of fifty years, for every such offence shall suffer six months imprisonment or forfeit and pay five thousand pounds of tobacco, to be recovered by action of debt or on information in any court of record within this state, one moiety thereof to the use of the informer, and the other moiety to the use of the commonwealth, to be applied as a bounty to enlist a soldier in this state's quota of the continental troops during the war; and every such offender, being an able bodied man under the age fifty years, being convicted thereof before a court-mar of 1 Person en tial of his county, shall be deemed a soldier to serve in this state's quota of continental troops during the war, and shall be by order of the commanding officer of his county, delivered to some continental officer belonging to this state. And that the penalties inflicted by this act, which are cognizable before a court-martial, may be inflicted, without delay, on all offenders, the county lieutenant or commanding officer of the county where the offence is committed, on information being made him, shall cause a court-martial to be held, to hear and determine thereon, to consist of five members, not under the rank of a captain, one of whom shall be a field officer; and every officer failing to attend such court-martial, being summoned thereto, without a reasonable excuse, if a field officer, shall forfeit and pay two thousand pounds of tobacco; if a captain, one thousand five hundred pounds of tobacco, to be recovered before any court-martial; one moiety of the same to be to the informer, and the other moiety to the use of the commonwealth, to be applied as a bounty to enlist a soldier in the continental army during the war. And be it farther enacted, That from and after the first day of April next ensuing, any person listing a solenlisting a soldier between eighteen and fifty years of dier for the age, of able body, sound mind, at least five feet four war, exemp inches high, and not being a deserter from the enemy, further or from any corps of regular troops in the service of drafts or mi. this or the United States, to serve during the war in litia duty. the troops of this state in continental service, or a soldier in any of the aforesaid troops, and delivering such soldier to a person to be authorized by the governour to receive such recruits in each county, shall be exempted from all future drafts and all musters of the militia, except in case of an insurrection or actual invasion of this state, and then shall be subject to serve within the state only. The better to authenticate the delivery of such soldier as aforesaid, the receiving officer shall grant to the party producing him, two receipts, one of which shall be transmitted to the governour, and the other kept by himself for his voucher; which last, with the governour's indorsation, certify. ing that a duplicate thereof hath been lodged with him, shall entitle the party enlisting such soldier to the exemption intended by this act. S 2 ted from all |