An Act for the Encouragement, Protection, and better Government of Slaves.

WHEREAS the different Acts of this Island for the Government and Protection of Slaves are expired; and whereas it is highly expedient that a System of Laws for the Encouragement, Protection, and better Government of Slaves, founded on Principles of Policy, Justice, and Humanity, should be Enacted; We, Your Majesty’s dutiful, loyal, and obedient Subjects, the Governor, Council, and Assembly of this Your Majesty’s Island of Dominica, do humbly pray Your Most Excellent Majesty, That it may be Enacted and Ordained.

[Clause I.] And be it, and it is hereby Enacted and Ordained by the Authority of the same, That every Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer of any Slave or Slaves, shall feed, or cause to be fed, all such Slave or Slaves as shall be under his, or her, or their Care, with a sufficient Quantity of good and wholesome Food, and shall give them good and sufficient Cloathing, and shall provide dry and comfortable Lodging for them, and in case of the Sickness of any of the said Slave or Slaves, the said Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer, shall provide for the said Slave or Slaves proper Medical Assistance and Advice; and the said Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer, shall provide, within the Boundary of his, her, or their Plantation or Lot of Land, comfortable Lodging, wholesome Food, and Medical Assistance, for all and every old, infirm, and distempered Slave or Slaves; and if any Owner, Renter, Manager, and Overseer of any Slave or Slaves shall neglect to feed and cloath his, her, or their Slave or Slaves, or shall neglect, in case of Sickness, to provide for the said Slaves [sic] or Slaves proper Medical Assistance and Advice, and comfortable Lodging, or shall neglect to provide comfortable Lodging, wholesome Food, and Medical Assistance, for all and every old, infirm, and distempered Slave or Slaves, within the Boundary of his, her, or their Plantation or Lot of Land, such Owner, Renter, Manger, or Overseer, shall be find in a Sum not exceeding One hundred Pounds, at the Discretion of Three or more Magistrates, for a Neglect of any of the Regulations laid down by this Clause; which Sum shall be levied by Warrant, under their Hands and Seals, on the Goods and Chattels of the Offender or Offenders, and directed to any Constable or Constables of this Island, and paid into the public Treasury of this Island, for the public Uses thereof.

[Clause II.] And whereas it is expedient that the Slaves in this Island should be encouraged as much as possible in the Cultivation of their Grounds, for the better Subsistence of themselves and Families; Be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That the Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer of such Slave or Slaves, shall have the Option of feeding his, her, or their Slaves, by allowing them a sufficient Quantity of good and wholesome Food, or by allotting to each and every of them a sufficient Portion of Land for that Purpose, and certain Times for cultivating it, over and above the Sundays and Holidays hereinafter prescribed: Provided always, That the said Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer, in case the said Slave or Slaves should not have received proper and sufficient Food and Nourishment, shall be fine in a Sum not exceeding One hundred Pounds, to be levied and appropriated in Manner and Form as directed by the First Clause of this Act.

[Clause III.] And whereas a Knowledge of the Doctrines, and a due Attention to the Exercise of the Duties of the Christian Religion, would tend to improve the Morals, and to advance the temporal and eternal Happiness of the Slaves; Be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That all Owners, Renters, Managers, or Overseer, or One of them, shall, on every Sunday, on their several Estates or Plantations, and at the most convenient Time of the Day, convene together the Slaves of the said Estate or Plantaion, for the Purpose of performing the Offices of Divine Worship; and the said Owners, Renters, Managers, or Overseers, shall not fail to exhort all Male and Female Slaves who may be unbaptized to receive the holy Sacrament of Baptism; and all the unbaptized Children of Slaves shall, after the Publication of this Act, receive the said Sacrament of Baptism; and, on Neglect of the Performance of these Duties, the said Owner or Renter, Manager or Overseer, shall be fined in any Sum not less than ten Pounds, nor more than Twenty-five Pounds, to be recovered and appropriated in Manner and Form as directed by the First Clause of this Act.

[Clause IV.] And be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That all Owners, Renters, Managers, or Overseers of all the Slaves who may be arrived at the Years of Maturity, and who may be desirous of entering into a Connubial State, shall encourage and exhort such Slave or Slaves to receive the Ceremony of Marriage as instituted under the Forms of the Christian Religion; and in Neglect of doing so the said Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer, shall be subject to a Fine of Five Pounds, to be recovered and appropriated in Manner and Form as prescribed by the first Clause of this Act.

[Clause V.] And whereas a Relaxation from Labour on certain Days in the Year, and an Indulgence in innocent Recreations and Amusements, would ten to improve the Health, and add to the Contentment of the Slaves; Be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That the Slaves in this Island (House Servants, Stock Keepers, and Watchmen excepted) shall not be required to labour for their Masters and Owners on any Sunday throughout the Year, on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Good Friday, and the Fifteenth Day of August; and in case any One of the said Holidays should fall out on a Sunday, then the Wednesday following is to be allowed such Slave or Slaves in lieu of such Sunday.

[Clause VI.] And be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That any Slave or Slaves on any Plantation, or in any House in the said Island, are hereby permitted, by and with the Consent and Approbation of the said Owners, Renters, Managers, or Overseers of the said Slaves, on each and every Estate and Plantation in the said Island, and by and with a written Permission of any Two Magistrates in any of the Towns of the said Island, to use any Instrument of Music for the Purpose of Dancing, or in the Indulgence of any innocent Amusement, provided the said Dancing and Amusements are not allowed to continue after the Setting of the Sun if in the Town of Roseau, or after Eight of the Clock in the Evening, if on Plantations; and in case of the Non-observance of any of the said Regulations, the said Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer of the said Slave or Slaves, or the Constable or Constables in the Towns of this Island, shall be fined; (that is to say) all Owners, Renters, Managers, and Overseers, for Neglect of any of the Regulations contained in this and the foregoing Clause, in a Sum not exceeding Twenty Pounds; and every Constable or Constables shall be fined in a Sum not under Twenty Shillings, nor above Five Pounds, for Neglect of the Regulations laid down by this Clause, and not preventing and putting a Stop to such Dancing, after having received Information thereof, the said Fine or Fines to be recovered upon Conviction before One or more Justices of the Peace, and appropriated in Manner and Form as  directed by the First Clause of this Act.

[Clause VII.] And, in order to secure as far as possible the good Treatment of the Slaves, and to ascertain the Cause of the Decrease of the Slaves, if any such there may be; Be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That every Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer of any Slave or Slaves on every Estate and Plantation in this Island, or some one of them, shall in the Month of January in every Year deliver in on Oath, before any Justice of the Peace for this island, a Certificate of the Increase or Decrease of the Slaves under his, her, or their Direction, how many have been born, or how many have died within Twelve Months previous thereto, and the Cause of the Death of such Slave or Slaves, to the best of his, her, or their Knowledge and Belief; which Certificate shall be lodged within Ten Days after the date thereof in the Secretary’s Office of this Island, for the filing of which the Secretary shall be allowed the Fee of Nine Pence Currency for each Certificate; and if any Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer shall fail to deliver in the said Certificate on Oath at the Time appointed by this Clause, he, she, or they shall be fined in the Sum of Fifty Pounds Current Money, to be recovered and appropriated in Manner prescribed by the First Clause of this Act.

[Clause VIII.] And whereas it is necessary to ascertain and fix a proper Distinction in the Gradations and local Consequences of Crimes committed by the Slaves in this Island, with Punishments annexed and corresponding thereto; Be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That all and every Slave or Slaves who shall be convicted of the wilful Murder, or who shall have been accessary thereto, of any White Person, Free Person of Colour, or Slave, or who shall be convicted of robbing any Person, of whatever Description or Colour, on the high and public Roads of this Island, or who shall have been accessary thereto, or who shall be convicted of deliberately breaking open any Dwelling House or Store, and robbing therefrom, or who shall have been accessary thereto, or who shall be convicted of having set Fire to any House, Outhouse, Store building, or cane Pieces, or who shall have been accessary thereto, shall suffer Death.

[Clause IX.] And be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That any Slave or Slaves who shall be convicted of having stuck a White Person, or who shall be convicted of having struck a Free Person of Colour, being his, her, or their Master or Mistress, or who shall be convicted of a Theft or Robbery to any Amount above Five Pounds, or who shall have been accessary thereto, or who shall be convicted of an Attempt to rob on the high or public Roads of this Colony, or who shall be convicted of an Attempt to set Fire to any House, Outhouse, Building, or Cane Piece, or who shall be convicted of breaking open any House, Outhouse, or Building, with an Intention of robbing therefrom, or who shall have been accessary thereto, shall suffer Death, or such other Punishment, by Banishment or public Whipping on the bare Breech, as shall be inflicted upon him, her, or them, at the Discretion of the Court instituted by this Act for the Trial of such Offenders, provided such public Whipping do not exceed the Number of Thirty-nine Lashes.

[Clause X.] And be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That any Slave or Slaves who shall assemble at any Time for mutinous and other dangerous Purposes, and who shall refuse to disperse and go peaceably Home to their different Houses and Plantations, when ordered so to do by any White Person whatever, and who shall be convicted thereof, the Ringleader or principal Offender shall suffer Death, and the others, according to the Gradation of their Crimes, shall suffer Death or such other Punishment, by Banishment or public Flogging on the bare Breech, provided such Flogging do not exceed the Number of Thirty-nine Lashes; all which Punishments shall be at the Discretion of the Court instituted by this law for the Trial of such Offences.

[Clause XI.] And whereas it frequently happens that Slaves assume the Art of Witchcraft, or are what is commonly called Obeah or Doctor Men, and under Pretence of a Gift of supernatural Powers do influence the Minds of weak and credulous Slaves, and frequently stimulate them to Acts of Mutiny or Rebellion against their Masters, Renters, Managers, and Overseers, and administer certain Drugs or Potions of a secret and generally of a poisonous Nature, as well to Slaves as to Free People of every Description: Be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained, by the Authority aforesaid, That any Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer of any Slave or Slaves, or any White Person whatever, who shall discover any Slave or Slaves practising any of the above Arts, and pretending to any supernatural Powers, he the said Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer, shall cause the said Slave or Slaves to be committed to the public Gaol of this Island, and then and there to be dealt with agreeable to the Twelfth and Thirteenth Clauses of this Act, and upon the Conviction of the said Slave or Slaves of the aforesaid Crimes he, she, or they shall suffer Death, or such other Punishment, at the Discretion of the Court, by Banishment and Flogging on the bare Breech, as the said Court may seem meet, provided the said Flogging do not exceed the Number of Thirty-nine Lashes.

[Clause XII.] And whereas the Right of Trial by Jury in all Criminal Cases is consonant to the Spirit of the British Constitution; Be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That within Ten Days after any Slave or Slaves suspected of having committed any of the Crimes mentioned in the Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Clauses of this Act, shall have been committed to the public Gaol of this Island by the Warrant of any Magistrate, the Provost Marshal or his lawful Deputy shall give Notice to any Five of the Justices of the Peace then in the Town of Roseau, or in the Neighbourhood of the said Town, of the Trial of such Slave or Slaves being to come on at any Time not exceeding Three Days from the Time of such Notice, and shall also cause to be summoned any Twelve of the neighbouring Freeholders, Leaseholders, Merchants, and Traders, or respectable Housekeepers in the Town of Roseau, who are hereby required to attend, under the Penalty of Thirty-three Shillings for each Default, to be recovered by Warrant of the Justices forming the said Court, directed to the Provost Marshal or his lawful Deputy, who is hereby authorized and required to levy the same on the Goods and Chattels of the Defaulter, and in case of not finding such Goods and Chattels, to take the Body of such Defaulter, and to confine him in the public Gaol until he shall have paid his Fine and Costs; Provided always, that it shall be in the Power of the Court to excuse the Payment of such Fine or Fines on reasonable Cause shewn by such Defaulter, and the Provost Marshal shall be entitled to a Fee or Forty-nine Shillings and Six Pence for giving Notice to the Justices, summoning the Jury, and attending the Court with a proper Crier. 

[Clause XIII.] And be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That any Three or  more Justices being met shall constitute a Court of Record, and shall cause the Clerk of the Crown to attend, who shall make a Record of all the Proceedings against Slaves in all Cases mentioned in the Four foregoing Clauses, for attending which Court, and making such record, the Clerk of the Crown shall be entitled to a Fee of Four Dollars, and the said Court so being met may proceed to such Trial, and any Six of the above-mentioned Freeholders, Leaseholders, Merchants and Traders, or respectable Housekeepers, being first duly sworn, shall constitute a Jury, whose unanimous Verdict shall determine the Fact alledged against the Slave or Slaves so to be tried, after having first heard the Evidence produced for and against such Slave or Slaves, to all which they shall give such Credit as they in their Consciences think due; and that upon the Jury finding such Slave or Slaves guilty of the Crime of which, he, she, or they stand accused, then shall the said Court pronounce Sentence of Death for all such Crimes as are specified in the Eighth Clause of this Act, and Sentence of Death, or such other Punishments for Crimes, as are specified in the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Clauses of this Act, as to such Court shall seem meet: Provided always, that such Court passing Sentences for Capital Crimes, or smaller Offences, shall not in any Case presume to prescribe Modes of Execution, or to inflict Punishments unknown to the Laws of England for similar Crimes and Offences (except in such Cases as are by this Law prescribed) and in case of the Acquittal of the said Slave or Slaves the Fees shall be paid by the Colony.

[Clause XIV.] And whereas a too frequent and troublesome Attendance to try the inferior Offences committed by the Slaves would be inconvenient to the Interest of the Planter, Merchant, and others; and it may be necessary and politic to punish the inferior Crimes and Misdemeanours of Slaves on a summary Conviction; Be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That every Slave or Slaves who shall be convicted, on Evidence delivered before Two or more of His Majesty’s Justices of the Peace for the said Island, of having committed Thefts or Robberies to any Amount under Five Pounds, or who shall be convicted as aforesaid of attempting to strike, or of menacing, or of grossly insulting a White Person or Persons, or of striking or of grossly insulting a Free Person, or Persons of Colour, or who shall be convicted of having, from Carelessness and Inattention, set Fire to any Building or Cane Piece, or who shall be convicted of quarrelling, fighting, breeding Riots, or other Offences and Misdemeanours against the Persons and Property of the Inhabitants of this Island, such Slave or Slaves shall be punished by public Flogging on the bare Breech, at the Discretion of such Justices of the Peace, provided such Flogging do not exceed the Number of Thirty-nine Lashes.

[Clause XV.] And be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That no Slave or Slaves within this Island shall carry any Fire Arms, or any unlawful Weapons, without written Permission from the Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer of such Slave or Slaves, nor shall any Slave or Slaves presume to fire any Gun, great or small, on any Pretence, whatever, without Leave of the Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer; and if it should so happen that any Slave or Slaves should be guilty of a Breach of this Clause, such Slave or Slaves, upon Conviction before Two or more Justices of the Peace, shall receive a Flogging on the bare Breech, not exceeding Thirty-nine Lashes in Number.

[Clause XVI.] And be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Slave or Slaves shall be detected in selling or disposing of any Sugar or Sugar Canes, Syrup or Sling, Coffee, Cotton, Cocoa, Rum, or Molasses, the same, together with the said Slave or Slaves, shall and may be seized by any Person or Persons whatever, Freeman or Slave, and carried before any Justice of the Peace, who shall commit the said Slave or Slaves to the Common Gaol of this Island, and shall give Notice thereof to the Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer of the said Slave or Slaves, and on Conviction of the said Slave or Slaves before Two or more Justices, the said Slave or Slaves shall be punished, at the Discretion of the Justices, with any Number of Lashes, not exceeding Thirty-nine; and it shall and may be lawful for any Magistrate or Constable to seize or cause to be seize any Canes exposed to Sale in the Markets, or Shops, or elsewhere in this Island, and if the Parties do not give a satisfactory Account how he, she, or they came by the said Canes, if a White or Free Person or persons, he, she, or they shall be subject to a Fine, not exceeding Thirty Shillings, at the Discretion of Two Magistrates, to be recovered by Warrant of Distress, and if a Slave or Slaves, to be publicly whipped, at the Discretion of Two Magistrates, such Whipping not to exceed Thirty-nine Lashes: Provided nevertheless, that nothing contained in this Clause shall be understood to prevent the Slave or Slaves of this island from disposing of the Productions of their Gardens and Stock under a written Permit signed by the Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer of the said Slave or Slaves.

[Clause XVII.] And, in order that the Intentions of Justice in the Discovery of Truth should not be frustrated by the Cunning or Obstinacy of Slaves, Be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That any Slave or Slaves who shall refuse or evade [5] to give Evidence when called upon by a Magistrate or Magistrates, either in or out of any Court of Record in this Island for that Purpose, such Slave or Slaves, for such Contempt, shall suffer a Punishment, at the Discretion of Two or more Magistrates, by public Flogging on the bare Breech, provided such Flogging does not exceed the Number of Thirty-nine Lashes.

[XVIII.] And whereas the Welfare and Safety of the Inhabitants of this Colony depends upon the Honesty, Obedience, and Industry of the Slaves: And whereas the inferior Crimes of Slaves, incompatible with the Interest of the Planter, and the internal Management and Discipline of a Plantation, cannot always be conveniently brought before the Cognizance of the Magistrates: Be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That every Slave or Slaves who shall disobey the Order of his, her, or their Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer, or who shall rob or plunder the Property of another, or who shall be guilty of Drunkenness, Quarrelling, Fighting, Neglect of Duty, Absence from Labour, or Absence from his, her, or their Plantation at any Time, without a written Pass signed by the Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer of the said Slave or Slaves, specifying the Day and Days which is or are intended to be given the said Slave or Slaves, or any other Misdemeanor whatever, such Slave or Slaves shall be punished at the Discretion of his, her, or their Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer, by Confinement or Flogging on the bare Breech, provided the Number of Lashes does not exceed Thirty-nine; and the Owner, Renter, Manager, or Overseer, who shall inflict any Punishment not prescribed by this Act, shall be subject to a Penalty not exceeding Twenty Pounds Current Money of this Island, to be recovered by Bill, Plaint, or Information, in any of His Majesty’s Courts of record in this Island; and in case any Petty Offences, Quarrels, and Differences should arise between the Slave or Slaves of different Plantations, if the Owners, Renters, Managers, or Overseers be not able to settle the same in an amicable Manner, then and in such Cases the Slave or Slaves shall be carried before the nearest Magistrate, who shall settle and adjust the same as to the said Magistrate may appear most agreeable to Justice, and in case the same cannot be decided by the Authority of the said Magistrate, then the offending Slave or Slaves shall be committed by a Magistrate to the Common Goal [sic], to be tried agreeably to the Twelfth and Thirteenth or Fourteenth Clauses of this Act.

[Clause XIX.] And whereas it is just and proper, that the Slaves should be protected in their persons from the Violence and Inhumanity of such White Persons and Free Persons of Colour who may have no lawful Authority over them, or who may exert such Authority in an unjustifiable and cruel Manner; Be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That if any White Person or persons, Free Persons, or Persons of Colour whatever, shall be convicted of the wilful Murder of any Slave or Slaves, or shall be accessary thereto, such White Person or Persons, or Free Persons, or Persons of Colour, shall suffer Death.

[Clause XX.] And be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That any White Person or Persons, Free Persons, or Persons of Colour, who shall be convicted of maiming, defacing, or mutilating, or cruelly torturing, or causing to maim, deface, mutilate, or cruelly torture, any Slave, shall be imprisoned for a Term not exceeding Three Months, or fined in any Sum not exceeding One hundred Pounds Current Money of this Island, and to continue in Confinement until the said Fine shall be paid, which Fine shall be appropriated in Manner directed by the First Clause of this Act.

[Clause XXI.] And be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That any White Person or Persons, Free person, or Persons of Colour, who shall be guilty of striking, or severely beating, any Slave or Slaves, the Property of another, or of depriving any such Slave or Slaves of any Property in his, her, or their Possession, he, she, or they, on being convicted of such Offence or Offences before any Three or more Justices of the Peace, shall be fined in any Sum not exceeding Thirty Pounds, besides making full restitution of any Property, which Fine shall be recovered by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of the said Three or more Justices of the Peace, directed to the Provost Marshal or his lawful Deputy, who is hereby authorized and required to levy the same on the Goods and Chattels of such Offender or Offenders, and in case of not finding any such Goods or Chattels, then to take such Offender or Offenders into Custody, and confine him or them in the Common Gaol until he, she, or they shall have paid his Fine and Fees: Provided always, that this Clause shall not be understood to extend to any Person or Persons taking Goods from a Negro, on Suspicion or Knowledge of such Goods being stolen, or the depriving the said Slave or Slaves of any dangerous Fire Arms, or Torch, or improper Weapon.

[Clause XXII.] And, in order to protect the Domestic and Connubial Happiness of Slaves, Be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That any White Person, or Free Person of Colour whatever, who shall take away and cohabit with the Wife or Wives of any Slave or Slaves in this island, shall, on Conviction thereof before any Three or more Magistrates, be subject to a Fine not exceeding the Sum of Fifty Pounds, to be recovered and appropriated in Manner and Form as is directed by the First Clause of this Act.

[Clause XXIII.] And be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Slave or Slaves shall be convicted and executed by virtue of this Act, the Owner of such Slave or Slaves shall be paid out of the Public Treasury of this Island the Value of such Slave or Slaves, which Value shall be settled by the Oaths of Two credible White Persons, being Freeholders or Leaseholders, that knew the Slave or Slaves so executed, which Oath shall be sworn before some Justice of the Peace of this Island, and such Oath and Value to be certified by the said Justice of the Peace, under his Hand and Seal, provided the Value to be paid does not exceed Sixty Pounds Current Money of this Island.

[Clause XXIV.] And be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That in case any Slave or Slaves shall wilfully kill another Slave or Slaves, and be thereof convicted, the Value of the Slave or Slaves so convicted shall be paid out of the Public Treasury of this Island, One Moiety to the Owner or Owners, Renter or Renters, of the Slave or Slaves convicted, and the other Moiety to the Owner or Owners, Renter or Renters, of the Slave or Slaves killed, so as the Value of any One Slave does not exceed Sixty Pounds current Money, the Value to be ascertained by the Two Magistrates who shall try such offending Slave or Slaves.

[Clause XXV.] And be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That if any White Person, or Free Person of Colour, shall be convicted of the Murder of any Slave or Slaves, the Master or Owner of the Slave so murdered shall receive the full Value thereof from the Effects of the said White Person, or Free Person of Colour, which Value shall be immediately ascertained on the Oath of competent Persons who may have known the Slave or Slaves so murdered, before the said Court, whereupon a Judgment shall be entered against the Offender on such Conviction, for the appraised Value of the said Slave or Slaves, and the said Court are to award Execution on such Judgment to be levied by the Provost Marshal or his Deputy, in the same Manner as Executions issued out of the Court of Common Pleas are levied; and in case the Goods and Chattels, Lands and Tenements, of the said White Person, or Free Person of Colour, are not equal to the Amount of Sixty Pounds Current Money for each Slave so murdered, then and in such Case the said Owner or Owners of the said Slave or Slaves so murdered shall be entitled to receive from the public Treasury as much as is necessary to make up any Deficiency in the said Sum of Sixty Pounds; or if the said White Person, or Free Person of Colour, has no Effects of any Kind whatever, then the Owner or Owners of the said Slave or Slaves shall be entitled to receive from the public Treasury, for each Slave so murdered, a Sum not exceeding Sixty Pounds Current Money of this Island.

[Clause XXVI.] And be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Slave or Slaves shall be sentenced to Banishment by virtue of this Act, the Owner or Owners of the said Slave or Slaves shall be entitled to receive, as a Recompense for the said Slave or Slaves, from the public Treasury of this Island, any Sum, not exceeding Sixty Pounds Current Money for each of the said Slave or Slaves so banished, which Sum shall be ascertained by Two competent Judges; and the Sum which may arise from the public Sale of the said Slave or Slaves sold by the Provost Marshal or his lawful Deputy, under Sentence of Banishment, after deducting his Fees, shall be paid into the public Treasury of this Island; and in case the Amount of the Sale of the Slave or Slaves may be above Sixty Pounds Current Money, then the Provost Marshal shall return the Overplus, after deducting all legal Fees, to the Owner or Renter of the said Slave or Slaves.

[Clause XXVII.] And whereas the Slaves in this Island, on the different Days allotted them for Holidays by virtue of this Act, may become riotous and disorderly, from the Absence of the Managers or Overseers of the Plantations and Estates in this Island; And to prevent the Mischiefs arising therefrom, Be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Overseer in this Island shall absent himself from the Estate under his Care and Management, on any of the particular Holidays hereinbefore mentioned, or on any Sunday (except during the Time of Divine Service, or his being on Military Duty) without Leave of his Employer, every such Overseer so offending shall, for every Offence, forfeit the Sum of Five Pounds, to be recovered by Information upon Oath before any Justice of the Peace, in a summary Way, in the Parish where such Offence shall happen, to be recovered and appropriated in Manner and Form prescribed by the First Clause of this Act; any Law, Custom, or Usage to the contrary in anywise notwithstanding. [7]

[Clause XXVIII.] And be it, and it is hereby further Enacted and Ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That this Act shall continue and be in Force for Three Years from the Publication hereof, and from thence till Thirty Days after the then next Meeting of the Council and Assembly of this Island.

Passed the House of Assembly this Third Day of December, in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven hundred and Eighty-eight.

THOS BEECH, Junr  Clerk of the Assembly. J. GILLON, Speaker pro Tempore.

Passed the Council in the Council Chamber this Seventeenth Day of December, in the Year of our Lord One thousand Seven hundred and Eighty-eight.

GRIFFIN CURTIS, Clerk of the Council.

Assented to this Twenty-third Day of December One thousand Seven hundred and Eighty-eight, and in the Twenty-ninth Year of His Majesty’s Reign.

Dominica Duly published in the Town of Roseau, this Twenty-third Day of December One thousand Seven hundred and Eighty-eight.

WM PAGAN D. P. M.