15. And if any person shall endeavour to corrupt any officer yt keepeth such publique records or paps of concernmt, to procure him to deface, corrupt, alter, imbazle any of them, he shall be sevearly punished by fine, imprisonmt or corporall punishmt, as ye matter may be circumstanced.
Lying.
16. It is inacted by this Assembly, c., That wt pson soever, being 16 yeares of age, or upward, shall wittingly or willingly make or publish any lie wch may be tending to ye damage or hurt of any pticular pson, or wth intent to deceive and abuse the people with false news or reports, shall be fined for every such defalt 10s., and if ye ptie cannot or will not pay ye fine, then he shall sit in ye stocks as long as the court shall think meete; and if the offenders shall come to any one of councill aforesd to execute ye law upon him where he liveth, and spare his appearance at ye Court, but in case when ye lie is greatly prnitious to ye comon weale, it shall be more sevearly punished according to the nature of it.
Burning Fences.
17. It is inacted by this Assembly, c., That if any pson shall willfully, and of sett purpose, burn any man’s fence, he shall make good the damage to the ptie wronged, and be amerced 40s. and be bound to the good behavior, if the court so meets.
Breaking Down Fences.
18. It is further ordered, That if any pson shall wilfully and on purpose brake down an other man’s fence, gate or bridge, to ye anoyance either of a pticular person or a neighborhood, he shall make up such fence, gate or bridge, at his own charge, pay ye damage thereby sustained, and be amersed according to the nature of the offence, sauing the right of him yt pulls up a fence sett on his land without his approbation.
Defacing Landmarks.
19. And whosoever shall willfully pluck up, remove or deface any Landmark or bound betweene ptie and ptie, yt hath been or shall be orderly set up by psons therunto appointed, he or they shall be fined from 20s. to 5 pounds, as the offence may be circumstanced.
Unlawful Gaming in Publique Houses.
20. Be it inacted by this Assembly, c., That noe Innhoulder or publique house keeper shall suffer any unlawful games, nor any kind of gaming, in or about his house, for money or moneys worth liquors, wine, beer or the like, on forfeit of 40s., to be paid by the master or keep of such house, and 10s. by each gamester for every such default.
Lottery.
21. Be it further inacted, yt no pson in this Province shall play at cards, dice, or any such unlawful games wherein there is Lottery, at any private house or elsewhere in the Province, on penalty of 10s. fine, to be paid by evry one yt soe playeth, and 20s by the master or head of a family yt shall know of and suffer any such gameing where he hath to command.
Drunkenness.
22. For as much as it is observed yt ye sin of drunkenness doth greatly abound, to the dishonor of God, improverishing of such as fall into it, and grief of such as are sober minded, for ye prevention of ye growing and prevailing evill, It is inacted by this Assembly, and ye authority thereof, yt wtsoever pson shall be found drunk at any time in any Taverne, ordinary, alehouse, or elsewhere in this Province, and be legally convicted thereof, he or they shall for ye first defalt be fined 5s. to ye use of the Province—for the 2d defalt 10s.; and if he or they will not or can not pay ye fine, then to be sett in ye Stocks not exceeding 2 houres, and for the 3d transgression to be bound to ye good behavior; and if he shall transgress a 4th time, to pay 5 pounds or be publickly whipt, and so from time to time as often as they shall be found trancegressors in that kind. By drunkenness is to be understood one yt lisps or falters in his speach by reason of over much drink, or yt staggers in his going, or yt vomits by reason of excessive drinking, or that cannot by reason thereof follow his calling.
Fireing Woods.
23. Whereas many have sustained great damage by indiscreet and untimely fireing of the woods, It is ordered, that none shall fire ye woods at any time but between ye 1st of March and ye latter end of April; and if any shall unnessesarily fire the woods, or not observe this order, damnifie any, he shall make good the damage and be fined 10s., or sett in the Stocks.
Councill’s Power in Criminals.
24. It is hereby inacted, yt it shall be in ye power of any member of the councill to hear and determine all criminall cases where the fine doth not exceed 40s., or ye punishment 10 stripes or committing to stocks, always allowing liberty to the delinquent of appeale to ye next Court for tryalls of actions wthin ye Province; and further, in cases doubtful or difficult, it shall be in ye power of ye Judge before whom ye pson is convicted, to bind them over to the next Court in this Province, to comitt to prison as ye fact may deserve, allowing also for entering Judgmt and fileling evidences 2s. 6d.
Prison Keeper’s Charge.
25. It is ordered by this Assembly and ye authority thereof, yt no Prison keeper wthin this Province shall suffer any pson to goe wthout the presinks of the prison, yt is delivered unto them for debt, by virtue of any execution, and it is further ordered the houses and yards of the said keepers shall be allowed & accounted the presinks of the sd prison, and yt it shall be lawful for any officer wthin this Province, if he have occation to carry any prisoner to the neerest Prison in the Province, and yt if any Prison keeper shall suffer any such prisoner to goe wthout the presinks of ye sd prison, they shall be liable to satisfie the whole debt for wch ye sd Prisoner was imprisoned, and the sd keeper’s fees shall be 5s. for turning the key, to be paid by the person imprisoned, before he be set at liberty.
Marshalls.
26. It is ordered by this Assembly and the authority thereof, yt it shall be lawful for either of the marshalls in this Province to levy executions, attachmt and warrants in any pt of ye sd Province, and yt feese for serving attachmt wthin theire owne towns shall be 2s. for every attachmts, to be paid by them yt imploy them before they shall be compelled to serve it, and 2 for a warrt: for warrts served upon criminal offenders.
Judgmt and Execution to Stand Good Yt Were Before Ye Late Change.
27. It is ordered by this Generall Assembly and that authority thereof, yt all Judgmts and Executions granted on any civill or criminal cases by former Courts of Justice wthin this Province, or ye County Court of Norfolk to any of our Inhabitants within this Province, shall be held as good and vallued for and against any pson as when they were granted by the Court at the time of tryall.
GENERAL LAWES. TOWNSHIPS, &C, CONFIRMED.
1. To prevent contention that may arise amongst vs by reason of the late change of Governmnt, it is ordered by this Assembly and the authority thereof yt all land, Townships, Town grants, wth all other grants lying wthin the limitts of this Province, and all other rights and prop’ties, shall stand good, and are hereby confirmed to ye townes and psons concerned, in the same state and condition as they did before this late alteration. 33 Ed: 1.
Controversies of Land to Be Tried by a Jury.
2. And it is further ordered, yt if any difference or controversy shall hereafter arise amongst us about the titles of land wthin this Province, it shall not be finally determined but by a Jury of 12 able men, chosen by the freemen of each towne according to law and custome, and sworne at ye Quarter Court wch shall take cognisance of the case.
Contracts to Be Paid in Specia.
3. For preventing deceite in trade, yt all men may be on a certainty in matters of contracts and bargains, It is ordered by this Generall Assembly and the authority thereof, that all contracts, agreemts or covenants for any specia whatsoever shall be paid in the same specia bargained for, any law, vseage or custome to the contrary notwithstanding.
Horses.
4. It is ordered by this Assembly and ye authority thereof, that ye brand markets mentioned in the Law, title horses, to brand horses wth, shall be as followeth: for the towne of Portsmouth P, for ye towne of Hampton H. for ye towne of Dover D, and for the towne of Exeter E.
For the preventing of damage being done by horses wthin this Province, by reason of ye goeing upon our lands and pastures wthout some fettering, it is ordered