some; each town to teach some children fit for the college intended to be built.

To make a catalogue of the people in every plantation, and their conditions; and of deaths, marriages and christenings.

To take care of dead persons' estates for the right owners; and keep a list of all cattle, and cause the secretary to return copies of the premises once a year.

To take care of every plantation upon the death of their chief; not to plant above one hundred pounds of tobacco per head; to sow great quantities of corn for their own use, and to support the multitudes to be sent yearly; to inclose land; to keep cows, swine, poultry, etc., and particularly kine, which are not to be killed yet.

Next to corn, plant mulberry trees, and make silk, and take care of the Frenchmen and others sent about that work; to try silk grass; to plant abundance of vines, and take care of the vign

erors sent.

To put prentices to trades, and not let them forsake their trades for planting tobacco or any such useless commodity.

To take care of the Dutch sent to build saw-mills, and seat them at the Falls, that they may bring their timber by the current of the water.

To build water-mills and block-houses in every plantation.

To make salt, pitch, tar, soap, ashes, etc., so often recommended, and for which materials had been sent; to make oil of walnuts, and employ apothecaries in distilling lees of beer, and searching after minerals, dyes, gums, and drugs, etc., and send small quantities home.

To make small quantity of tobacco, and that very good; that the houses appointed for the reception of new comers and public storehouses be built, kept clean, etc.

To take care of Captain William Norton, and certain Italians sent to set up a glass-house.

That care be taken that there be no engrossing commodity, or forestalling the market.

All servants to fare alike in the colony, and their punishment for any offenses is to serve the colony in public works.

SECTION 3.

VIRGINIA, 1623.-Laws and Orders passed by the General Assembly of Vir 1623-4. [See Hening's Statutes, vol. i., pp. 122-128.]

That there shall be in every plantation, where the people to meet for the worship of God, a house or room sequestered that purpose, and not to be for any temporal use whatsoever, a place empaled in, sequestered only to the burial of the dead

That whosoever shall absent himself from divine service Sunday without an allowable excuse shall forfeit a pound of bacco, and he that absenteth himself a month shall forfeit pounds of tobacco.

That there be an uniformity in our church as near as ma to the canons in England, both in substance and circumstance that all persons yield ready obedience unto them under pai

censure.

That no minister be absent from his church above two m in all the year upon penalty of forfeiting half his means, and soever shall absent above four months in the year shall forfe whole means and cure.

That whosoever shall disparage a minister without bri sufficient proof to justify his reports, whereby the minds o parishioners may be alienated from him, and his ministry prov less effectual by their prejudication, shall not only pay five hu pounds weight of tobacco but also ask the minister so wronged giveness publicly in the congregation.

That no man dispose of any of his tobacco before the mi be satisfied, upon pain of forfeiture double his part of the mini means, and one man of every plantation to collect his mean of the first and best tobacco and corn.

That all the old planters that were here before or came the last coming of Sir Thomas Gates, they and their posterity be exempted from their personal service to the wars and any lic charge (church duties excepted) that belong particularly to persons (not exempting their families), except such as shall b ployed to command in chief.

For the encouragement of men to plant store of corn the

shall not be stinted, but it shall be free for every man to sell it as dear as he can.

That there shall be in every parish a public granary, unto which there shall be contributed for every planter exceeding the age of eighteen years, alive at the crop after he hath been here a year, a bushel of corn, the which shall be disposed for the public uses of every parish by the major part of the freemen, the remainder yearly to be taken out by the owners at St. Thomas's day and the new bushel to be put in the room.

That three sufficient men of every parish shall be sworn to see that every man shall plant and tend sufficient of corn for his family. Those men that have neglected so to do are to be by the said three men presented to be censured by the governor and council. That all trade for corn with the savages, as well public as private, after June next, shall be prohibited.

That every freeman shall fence in a quarter of an acre of ground before Whitsuntide next, to make a garden for planting of vines, herbs, roots, etc., subpœna ten pounds of tobacco a man, but that no man for his own family shall be tied to fence above an acre of land, and that whosoever hath fenced a garden and of the land shall be paid for it by the owner of the soil; they shall also plant mulberry trees.

The proclamation for swearing and drunkenness set out by the governor and council are confirmed by this Assembly; and it is further ordered that the church-wardens shall be sworn to present them to the commanders of every plantation, and that the forfeitures shall be collected by them to be for public uses.

That every dwelling-house shall be palisaded in for defense against the Indians.

That no man go or send abroad without a sufficient party well armed.

That men go not to work in the ground without their arms (and a sentinel upon them).

That the commander of every plantation take care that there be sufficient of powder and ammunition within the plantation under his command and their pieces fixed and their arms complete.

That there be due watch kept by night.

That no commander of any plantation do either himself or suf

fer others to spend powder unnecessarily in drinking or entert ments, etc.

That such persons of quality as shall be found delinquent their duties, being not fit to undergo corporal punishment, m notwithstanding, be imprisoned at the discretion of the command and for greater offenses to be subject to a fine inflicted by monthly court.

That at the beginning of July next the inhabitants of ev corporation shall fall upon their adjoining savages as we did last year, those that shall be hurt upon service to be cured at public charge; in case any be lamed to be maintained by the co try according to his person and quality.

SECTION 4.

VIRGINIA, 1632.-Duties of Ministers.

In 1632 the Assembly of Virginia declared that "when a person is dangerously sick, in any parish, the minister, havi knowledge thereof, shall resort to him or her to instruct and co fort them in their distress." An act passed at the same session the Assembly, 1632, declares that "ministers shall not give the selves to excess in drinking or riot, spending their time idly day or by night, playing at dice, cards, or any other unlaw game; but at all times convenient they shall hear or read som what of the Holy Scriptures, or shall occupy themselves with son other honest studies or exercise; always doing the things whi shall appertain to honesty, and endeavor to profit the church God, having always in mind that they ought to excel all others purity of life, and should be examples to the people to live we and Christianly." [Hening's Statutes, i., 183.]

SECTION 5.

Punishment of Babbling Women in Virginia-1662.

A law of Virginia entitled, "A Law to Punish Babbling Wo

men," was enacted by the General Assembly in 1662, in the words following:

"Whereas, Many babbling women slander and scandalize their neighbors, for which their poor husbands are often involved in chargeable and vexatious suits, and cost in great damages. Be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, that in actions of slander, occasioned by the wife, after judgment passed for the damages, the woman shall be punished by ducking; and if the slander be so enormous as to be judged at greater damages than five hundred pounds of tobacco, then the woman to suffer ducking for each five hundred pounds of tobacco adjudged against the husband, if he refuses to pay the tobacco." [Hening's Statutes, ii., 166.]

SECTION 6.

Punishment of Scolds in Massachusetts-1672.

In 1672 the legislative authorities in Massachusetts passed a law for punishing scolds, in the words following:

"Whereas, There is no express punishment (by any law hitherto established) affixed to the evil practice of sundry persons by exorbitancy of tongue in railing and scolding; it is therefore ordered, that all such persons, convicted before any court or magistrate that hath proper cognizance of the case, shall be gagged or set in a ducking-stool, and dipped over head and ears three times in some convenient place of fresh or salt water, as the court or magistrate shall judge meet." [Laws of Massachusetts, passed at May session at Boston, 1672.]

A ducking-stool was "an ancient engine for the punishment of scolds and delinquent brewers and bakers.”

SECTION 7.

A Law of Massachusetts Relating to Apparel-1651.

Although several declarations and orders have been made by this court against excess in apparel, both of men and women, which