An Act for the Better Ordering of Slaves

An Act for the better Ordering of Slaves

Bee it enacted and ordained by the Governor Councill and Assembly and it is hereby enacted by ye authority of the same that no person whatsoever shall give leave to any Negroe slave under his or her care charge or ownership unless such as usually waite on their persons or goe in liveryes to goe out of their plantations without a ticket or white servant on which ticket is to be expressed their names & number and also from and to what place on penalty of fourty shillings & paying for taking up as runawaies and whosoever shall not endeavour to apprehend any negroe slaves comeing into their plantations or where they have care or charge (except as before excepted) and apprehending any shall not punish them by moderate whipping shall forfeit forty shillings. 

Any if any negroe slaves shall offer any violence by strikeing of ye like to any white persons hall for ye first offence be severely whipt by a constable by order of a Justice of the peace and for ye second offence by like order shall be severely whipt his or her nose slitt and face burnt in some place and for the third offence be left to two Justices and three freeholders to inflict Death or other punishment according to their discretion. Provided such strikeing or conflict be not by command of or in lawfull defense of their owners person or goods.

It is further enacted that all slaves shall have cloths yet is men drawers and caps and women peticoats once every year. 

It is further enacted that no slave shall be free by becoming a Christian but as to payment of debts shall be deemed & taken as all other goods and chattels and where other goods and chattels are not sufficient to satisfie the said debts then so many slaves only as are necessary as well proportionably out of the slaves assigned for dowry as those that belong to ye heir or executor shall be sold for payment of debts and all negroes or slaves shall be accounted as freehold in all other cases whatsoever and descend accordingly. 

It is further enacted by the authority aforesaid that no person whatsoever (except the Provost Marshall at ye goale of St. Jago de la Vega & Port Royall) shall keep any runaway slave or slaves above ten dayes nor shall ye Provost Marshall or any other whatsoever employ any of them or suffer him her or them xxxxxxx in their custody to want convenient food & water on Penalty of fourty pounds for every such offence

Any if any person shall suffer any slave to die in their Custody for want of food or water or dry and convenient lodging yet Provost Marshall or any other person in whose custody the negroe was shall pay the owners fifty pounds to be recovered by an action of debt in any Court of Record within this Island or be liable to an action of debt for the same. 

And bee it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that whosoever shall take up any runaway slave or slaves that such person or persons shall bring ye said runaways to his or their proper owners if they know them and receive for their pains twelve pence per mile for the first five miles and eight pence per mile for every mile more. Provided that it exceed not fourty shillings in the whole but if they doe not know ye owners then to ye next Marshall or goale upon paine of forfeiture for every day he or she shall keep such slave or slaves beyond the said ten days and thereof be convicted by confession or verdict ye same of twenty pounds to be levied by the Provost Marshall of his Lawfull deputy upon the goods and chattels of ye Person so neglecting to bring the said runwaies and no person shall receive payment for their taking up any slave or slaves till he gives an account of his owne name & place of aboard with ye time and place when and where taken up with an account of ye marke & sexe which account of all such slave or slaves comeing into his custody he shall cause to be fairly written and fixed upon a publick place in ye Goales of St. Jago de la Vega and Port Royall on ye penalty of one hundred pounds and ye said Marshall shall enter ye said account in a book and also take a receipt from ye person to whome he delivers any runaway with a description of ye Person to whome delivered and in case ye Marhsall shall refuse to make payment for ye takeing up runaway slave or slaves and thereof oath be made before any Justice of the Peace the said Justice is hereby authorized to direct his warrant to any Constable to cause the value thereof to be immediately levied upon ye goods of the said Marshall and ye said goods to be sold by Publick outcry & satisfaction to be made to ye party aggrieved returning ye overplus to ye said Marshall, and that it shall and may be lawfull for ye Marshall to detaine & keep in custody the bodies of all such runaways so brought unto him until ye owners of them or their assigns shall pay unto him ye full sum of what he so paid for them with two shillings & six pence per pound for laying out ye money & sc [?] proportionably for a greater or lesser sume and also six pence for every twenty four hours ye said slave hath been in his Custody & if ye said Marshall shall willfully or negligently suffer any slave or slaves to escape to be employed or by any ways or means to be out of their custody before he be duly delivered to ye owner or his assigns then ye said Marshall shall forfeit to ye owners fifty pounds for every slave so escaping employed or being out of their Custodies as aforesaid.

And it is further enacted by ye authority aforesaid that every Master or Mistress or overseer of a family in this Island shall cause all their slaves houses to be diligently & effectually searched once every fourteen days for clubs wooden swords & mischievous weapons and finding all shall take them away & cause them to be burnt and also upon any request made to search ye same for stolen cloths goods or any other things or commodities particularly suspected flesh that is not given them by their owners or overseers & honestly come by And in whose custody they shall find any thing suspected or knowne to be stolen goods ye same shall seize & take into their custody and a full and ample description of ye particulars thereof in writing within six dayes after discovery thereof shall send to ye clerks or ye Parish or Clerke of ye court of the precincts for ye time being who are hereby required to receive ye same and enter upon it ye day of its receipt and give account to ye Church or Court of ye Precincts in writing that such lost goods are found to ye end ye owner grieving ye said Clerk proof by marke or otherwise that ye goods lost belong to him he may have ye same paying twelve pence to ye Clerke for his entry and declaration of ye same and ye parties by whome such lost goods are taken into Custody are hereby required to make restitution of what is in being to ye owner on ye Penalty of twenty pounds for each neglect by ye Master Mistress overseer or Clerk as aforesaid.

And be it further enacted by ye authority aforesaid that if any slaves shall take up any runaway he or shall shall have ye whole benefit thereof and if any shall deprive a slave of ye said benefit and not lay ye same out in cloths or otherwise at ye discretion of the owner shall forfeit treble ye value. 

Co__ __ Hickman

And it is further enacted by the authority aforesaid that no person whatsoever shall attempt or endeavour to steale or carry off this Island any slave on penalty of sixty pounds but whosoever shall actually doe ye same shall be guilty of felony and be excluded from the benefit of his Clergy.

It is further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that it shall and may be lawfull for any person to ruin and destroy any plantation deserted for ye space of two months least it become a receptacle for fugitives.

It is further enacted by ye authority aforesaid that upon complaint made to any Justice of any heinous or grievous crime committed by slave or slaves as burglary robbery burning of houses of canes killing or stealing of any meat or other cattle or other petty injuries as maiming one ye other stealing of fowles provisions or other such like trespasses or injuries ye said Justice shall issue his warrant for apprehending the offenders & for all person to come before him that can give evidence and if upon examination is probably appeareth that ye apprehended are guilty he shall commit them to prison or take security for their forthcoming as ye case shall require and also to certify to ye Justice next to him ye said Cause and to require him by virtue of this act to associate himself to him which such Justice is hereby required to doe and they so associated are to issue their summons to three sufficient freeholders acquainting them with ye matter & appointing them a day house & palce when & where ye same shall be heard & determined at which day house & place ye said Justices and freeholders shall cause ye offenders & evidences to come before them and if they on having ye matter (ye said freeholders being by the said Justices first sworne to judge uprightly & according to evidence) shall adjudge ye Criminall or Criminals guilty of ye said offence complained off they shall give sentence of Death of ye crime by law deserve ye same or such either punishment as ye Crime deserved and forthwith by their warrant cause immediate execution to be done by the common or any other executioner in such manner as they shall think fit and if ye crime committed shall not deserve death they shall condemn or adjudge ye criminall or criminalls to ye party or parties injured and to his her or their heirs for ever after they have received such corporall punishment as ye Justices & freeholders aforesaid shall appointe unless ye owners shall pay to ye persons injured such sum or sums of money at such time or times as ye Justices & freeholders shall appointe & if any Justice or freeholder shall neglect his duty above required shall forfeit twenty pounds. 

Provided nevertheless that when & as often as any of ye forementioned crimes be committed by more than one negroe yet shall deserve death than then & in all such cases, only one of ye said criminalls shall suffer death as exemplary ye rest to be returned to ye owners which owners of negroes so offending shall bear proportionately ye loss of ye said negroe so put to death & also pay proportionately ye damage done by ye said Criminalls to ye party or partyes injured as shall be alotted them by ye said Justices & freeholders. And if any person shall refuse to pay his part so alotted him that then & in all such cases ye said Justices & freeholders are hereby required to issue out their warrant of distress upon ye goods & chattels of ye person so refusing and shall cause ye same to be sold by publick outcry to satisfie ye said money so alotted him to pay & to returne the overplus if any be to ye owner. 

And it is further enacted by ye authority aforesaid that every commission officers within this Island shall be & is hereby empowered and required on notice to him given of ye haunt residence or hiding place of any runaway negroes to raise convenient party of men not exceeding twenty and with them to pursue apprehend and take ye said runawaies either alive or dead and whatsoever commission officer shall neglect his or their duty herein shall forfeit ye sum of twenty pounds.

It is further enacted by ye authority aforesaid that if any slave or slaves shall committ any murder or make any insurrection or rise in rebellion against his Majesties authority or make any preparation of armes as powder bullett or offensive weapons or hold any conspiracies for raising mutinies or rebellion ye offenders shall be tryed by two Justices of the Peace & three freeholders associated together as before expressed who are hereby empowered & required to trie ye said slaves so offending and inflict death or any other punishment upon ye said offenders and forthwith by their warrant cause execution to be done by ye common or any other executioner in such manner as they shall thinke fit and if any person shall make away or conceale any negroe or negroes suspected to be guilty of ye formentioned crimes and not upon demand bring forth ye suspected offender or offenders such person shall forfeit one hundred pounds. 

And it is further enacted by ye authority aforesaid that ye Provost Marshall or his lawfull Deputy shall give an account in writing at every sessions within this Island as often as ye same shall be held of what negroes he hath in his prisons at St. Jago de la Vega and Port Royall with their marks & sexes and ye time they have been in his goales & as near as he can learn how long each hath been from their respective owners on penalty of one hundred pounds for every default.

And bee it further enacted by ye authority aforesaid that all Masters & owners of plantations shall and are hereby required to have at all times within six months from & after ye publication of this act one acre of ground well planted in provision for five negroes and so proportionably for a greater or lesser number under ye penalty of fourty shillings for every acre wanting.

And it is further enacted by ye authority aforesaid that no master or owner of slave or slaves shall let out for hire any slave or slaves to worke upon Port Royall as common porters upon paine of twenty pounds for every such offense.

And it is further enacted by ye authority aforesaid that if any slave by punishment for ye owner for running away or other offence shall suffer in life or limbe no person shall be liable to any law for ye same but if any out of willfullness wantonness or bloody mindedness shall kill a slave he or shee upon due conviction thereof shall suffer three months imprisonment without baile or mainprize & also pay the sum of forty pounds to ye owner of such slave but if ye person so offending be a servant Hee or she shall receive on his or her bare back nine & thirty lashes by order of any two Justices of ye peace before whome ye matter shall be proved and after ye expiration of his or her time with his or her Master or Mistress Hee or she shall be further liable to serve the owner or owners of such slave ye full terme of four years by order of ye said Justices of ye peace. And if any person shall kill a slave stealing or running away or that shall by night be found out of ye owners ground road or common path and refuseth to submit such person shall not be liable to any damage or action for ye same any law custome or usage to ye contrary notwithstanding.

And it is further enacted by the authority aforesaid that if any negroes are taken stealing wood or timber in boats or canous [canoes] and[?] be thereof convicted before any two of his Majesties Justices of ye Peace ye said Justices are hereby required & empowered to condemne ye slave or slaves to taken to serve ye owners or proprietors of ye land where ye offence was committed six months without any satisfaction given to ye Person or persons to whome the same slave or slaves due belong.

And it is further enacted by ye authority aforesaid that all Masters or owners of boates wherryes and canous plying within ye harbour of Port Royall shall give their owne bonds of fifty pounds sterling not to carry any negroes without a ticket from their owners and overseers (except as before excepted) all which said bonds are to be taken in ye Kings name & recorded in ye Secretary’s office & thereupon due recovery to be made by all persons reserving damage in ye same manner as is already appointed in ye act requiring all masters of ships & vessels to give ___ in the Secretary’s office and ye said Secretary is hereby empowered to take one __ from & after ye Publication of this act give in their bonds to ye Secretary as aforesaid they shall forfeit forty shillings for every person who shall informe or complaine of ye same.

And it is further enacted by the authority aforesaid that this act be read and published in all respective churches within this island ye first Sunday after Christmas and the first after midsomer by ye Clerk every year and where there are no churches to be published by ye Clerk of ye peace every other sessions of ye Peace in each Precinct or ye penalty of five pounds sterling for each default.

It is further enacted by ye authority aforesaid That all Penalties mentioned in this act and not declared where they shall be recovered or how disposed of not exceeding forty shillings shall be recovered by warrant from any Justice of ye Peace and all Penalties exceeding forty shillings shall be recovered by action of debt in any Court of Record within this Island one moiety or half part shall be to ye informer or they yet shall sue for ye same. 

[margin:] I consent Thomas Lynch pres & Councill 

___ Hickman & Councill

The Assembly consent to this act: Sam Bernard speaker.