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And if any servant shall be sick or lame, and so be- Servants comes useless or chargeable, his or her master or owner shall maintain such servant, until his or her of their own the property whole time of service shall be expired; and if any effects. master or owner shall put away a lame or sick ser- Sick or lame vant, under pretence of freedom, and such servant be- servants may comes chargeable to the parish, such master or own- charged. er shall forfeit and pay. ten pounds current money, to Penalty 102. the churchwardens of the parish wherein such offence & damages, shall be committed, to the use of their parish, recoverable with costs, by action of debt, in any county court of this colony, and moreover, shall be liable to the action of the said churchwardens at the common law for damages.

Freedom

VIII. And that every servant, male or female (except convicts) not having wages, shall, at the expiration of his, or her time of service, have and receive dues. three pounds ten shillings current money, for freedom dues, to be paid by his or her master or owner; and, in case of refusal, recoverable with costs, by petition to the county court, in manner herein before directed.

christian ser- .

IX. And be it further enacted, by the authority afore- Who may said, That no negroe, mulattoe, or Indian, altho' a not have a christian, or any Jew, Moor, Mahometan, or other in- vant. fidel, shall at any time purchase any christian servant, nor any other except of their own complexion; or such as by this act are declared slaves: And if any of the persons aforesaid shall, nevertheless, presume to purchase a christian white servant, such servant shall immediately become free, and be so held, deemed and taken: And if any person, having such christian servant, shall marry with a negroc, mulattoe, Indian, Jew, Moor, Mahometan, or other infidel, such servant shall thereupon become freed from all service then due to such master or mistress.

Penalty up

on dealing with a ser

And that no person whatsoever shall buy, sell, or receive of, to, or from any servant or slave, any coin or commodity whatsoever, without the leave or consent of vant, or the master or owner of such servant or slave: And if slave, withany person shall presume to deal with any servant or out leave. slave, without such leave or consent, he or she so offending, shall forfeit and pay to the master or owner of such servant or slave, four times the value of the thing so bought, sold, or received, to be recovered with costs, by action upon the case, in any county court of this dominion, and shall also forfeit and pay

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the further sum of five pounds, to any person who will sue for the same, to be recovered with costs. by summons and petition, in the 'same manner, as is directed for the recovery of debts, not exceeding five pounds, nor under twenty five shillings, current money, in and by one act of Assembly, intituled, An act for establishing county courts, and regulating the proceedings therein, or receive on his or her bare back, thirty nine lashes well laid on at the public whipping-post, but shall nevertheless be liable to pay the costs of such petition and summons.

XI. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That all servants shall faithfully and obediently, all the whole time of their service, do all their masters or owners just and lawful commands; and if any servant shall resist his or her master, mistress, or overseer, or offer violence to any of them, such servant shall, for every such offence, be adjudged to serve his or her master or owner, one whole year, after the time by act of Parliament, indenture, custom, or former or der of court shall be expired.

XII. And that in all cases of penal laws where fres persons are punishable by fine, servants shall be punished by whipping, after the rate of twenty lashes for every five hundred pounds of tobacco, or fifty shillings current money, so that no servant shall receive more than forty lashes at one time, unless such offender can procure some person to pay the fine.

XIII. That if any woman servant shall be delivered of a bastard child, within the time of her service aforevants having bastard chil- said, Be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That in recompence of the loss and trouble occasioned her master or mistress thereby, she shall, for every such offence, serve her said master or owner one whole year after her time, by indenture, custom, and former order of court shall be expired, or pay her said master or owner, one thousand pounds of tobacco, and the reputed father, if free, shall give security to the church wardens of the parish where that child shall be to maintain the child, and keep the parish indemnified, or be compelled thereto by order of the county court, upon the said church-wardens complaint: But if a ser vant, he shall make satisfaction to the parish for keeping the said child, after his time by indenture, custom, or order of court, to his then present master or owner

shall be expired, or be compelled thereto by the order of the county court, upon complaint of the church-wardens of the said parish for the time being: And if any woman servant shall be got with child by her master, neither the said master, nor his executors, administrators, nor assigns, shall have any claim of service against her, for, or by reason of such child, but she shall, when her time due to her said master, by indenture, custom, or order of court, shall be expired, be sold by the church wardens for the time being, of the parish wherein such child shall be born, for one year, or pay one thousand pounds of tobacco; and the said one thousand pounds of tobacco, or whatever she shall be sold for, shall be employed by the vestry, to the use of the said parish. And if any woman servant shall have a bastard child by a negroe or mulattoe, over and above the year's service due to her master or owner, she shall immediately upon the expiration of her time, to her then present master, or owner, pay down to the church-wardens of the parish wherein such child shall be born, for the use of the said parish, fifteen pounds current money of Virginia, or be by them sold for five years to the use aforesaid; and if a free christian white woman shall have such bastard child by a negroe, or mulattoe, for every such offence, she shall, within one month after her delivery of such bastard child, pay to the church-wardens for the time being, of the parish wherein such child shall be born, for the use of the said parish, fifteen pounds current money of Virginia, or be by them sold for five years to the use aforesaid; and in both the said cases, the church-wardens shall bind the said child to be a servant until it shall be of thirty one years of age.

with a black,

XIV. And for a further prevention of that abomina- No white to ble mixture, and spurious issue, which may hereafter intermarry increase in this his majesty's colony and dominion, &c. as well by English, and other white men and women, intermarrying with negroes or mulattoes, as by their unlawful coition with them, Be it enacted, by the authority aforesaid, and it is hereby enacted, That whatsoever English, or other white man or woman, being free, shall intermarry with a negroe, or mulattoe man or woman, bond or free, shall, by judgment of the county court, be committed to prison, and there remain during the space of six months, without bail or mainprize, and V v Vol. 6.

Penalty on minister marrying a white and black.

Servants when free, shall have a

certificate.

shall forfeit and pay ten pounds current money of Virginia, to the use of the parish as aforesaid.

XV. And be it further enacted, That no minister of the church of England, or other minister or person whatsoever, within this colony and dominion, shall hereafter wittingly presume to marry a white man with a negroe, or mulattoe woman, or to marry a white woman with a negro or mulattoe man, upon pain of forfeiting and paying for every such marriage, the sum of ten thousand pounds of tobacco; one half to our sovereign lord the king, his heirs and successors, for and towards the support of the government, and the contingent charges thereof, and the other half to the informer, to be recovered with costs, by action of debt, bill, plaint, or information, in any court of record within his majesty's coleny and dominion, wherein no essoign, protection, or wager of law, shall be allowed.

XVI. And to the end poor people may not be destitute of employment, under suspicion of their being servants, as well as to prevent servants running away, It is hereby further enacted, That every servant, upon expiration of his or her time, and proof thereof made before the court of the county where he or she last served, shall have his or her freedom recorded, and a certificate thereof under the hand of the clerk, which shall be sufficient to indemnify any person for entertaining or hiring such servant; and if such certificate shall happen to be torn or lost, the clerk, upon request, shall issue another, reciting therein the loss of the Penalty on former: And if any person shall harbour or entertain harbouring a servant, not having and producing such certificate, servants he or she shall pay to the master or owner of such servant, thirty pounds of tobacco for every natural day, he or she shall so harbour or entertain such runaway, recoverable with costs, by action of debt in any counPunishment ty court of this dominion: And if any runaway shall of servants make use of a forged certificate, or after delivery of a using a forged or stolen true certificate to the person hiring him or her, shall steal the same, and thereby procure other entertainment, the person entertaining or hiring, shall not be liable to the said penalty, but such runaway besides making reparation for lose of time, and charges of recovery, in the manner herein after directed, shall stand two hours in the pillory, on a court-day, for making sons forging, use of such forged or stolen certificate; and the per

without certificate.

certificate.

And on per

son forging the same, shall forfeit and pay ten pounds current money, one moiety to the king, his heirs and successors, for the better support of this government, and the contingent charges thereof, the other moiety to the owner of such runaway, or the informer, recov erable with costs, in any county court of this dominion; and on failure of present payment, or security for the same within six months, such offender shall receive thirty nine lashes, on his or her bare back, well laid on, at the common whipping-post: And where a runaway shall happen to be hired upon a forged certilicate, and afterwards denies the delivery thereof, the Onus Probandi, shall lie upon the party hiring such runaway.

them.

XVII. And to encourage all persons to take up run- Rewards for aways, Be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, taking up That for every runaway servant or slave taken up ten runaways. miles, or more, from his or her usual place of abode, the taker up, shall be entitled to a reward of two hundred pounds pounds of tobacco; but if under ten and above five miles, one hundred pounds of tobacco; which The method shall be paid by the public, in the county where such of proceedtaker up resides, and be levied by the public upon the ing with master or owner of the runaway: But the taker up shall forthwith bring such runaway before a justice of peace, of the county where he or she shall be taken, to be examined; and if thereupon such servant or slave, appears to be run away, the justice shall grant the taker up a certificate reciting his or her proper name and surname, the county of his or her residence, the name of the runaway, the proper name and surname of his or her owner, and the county wherein he or she resides, the time and place when and where the runaway was taken, and the distance of miles in the judgment of the justice, from the house or quarter where the runaway was usually kept; and such justice shall also issue his warrant to the next constable, requiring Constabler him to receive such runaway, and give him or her such duty. a number of lashes, as the said justice shall think fit to direct, not exceeding thirty nine, and then him or her to convey and deliver to the next constable, and so from constable to constable, until the runaway be delivered to his or her owner or overseer: And evo.ry constable to whom such runaway and warrant shall be produced, shall execute the same, and give a receipt upon the delivery of the runaway to him, under

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