The Alexandria herald. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1811-1826, 1824-06-23
TO PARENTS AND MASTERS

1t any person shall be guilty of appearing
publicly in the streets drunk, or of utter
ING IN loud and audible voice, indecent
and obscene expressions, or words, in
the public streets, or DO guilty of indie
cent and obscene gestures, or actions, or
or OF writing, at any time, upon the door
or side OF any house, or upon any wall
or fence, or railing. or pailing, any indie
cent words or words, r.of drawing upon
any door, or side Of any house, or upon
any wall or fence, or railing or pailing
any indecent or obscene pictures, or OF
singing or repeating, in loud and audi.
ole voice, any indecent or obscene song
or songs, or Of profane swearing, or Of
stripping himself naked, in the Jay time
IN public street, lane or alley, or on, or
at, any Of the docks or wharves, or at or
IN any other public place, or shall, while
naked, swim or wash in, or near, any of
the said docks, or follow any ferry-boa,.
with Passengers in the same, except for
the purpose of self.pteservation, or of
preserving any person. and being Thereof
convicted before the mayor, or any jus>
ice OF the peace, every such person, if a
white person, shall forfeit and pay to the
use OF the corporation, tho sum of FIVE
dollars tor each offence and if a negro,
or mulatto, the sum of FIVE dollars . or if
slave, he, or she, shall be publicly
whipped on the bare back with ten
stripes, unless his, or her master, or mis-.
tress, will pay the said penalty of five
dollarsj and in case any of the offences
enumerated in this section shall be con-
milted by q minor, the parent, guardian,
or master OF such minor shall forfeit and
pay fine of two dollars for each and
every offence.
On Monday last, the foregoing section 1
OF the laws of the corporation Fpa. 81, |
rev. code was rigidy enforced against
US by the mayor, in compelling US, by a
strict Interpretation of the law, to pay a
ine OF four doifuYs. We publish the sec.
zion to day, thatit may be useful to some
parents and masters, at the present sea-
son when children are in the habit of
bathing in the river, which would re.
quire almost as many constables TO
proven t, as it would revenue officers to
have suppressed smuggling under MIR.
Clay's tariff system.
The circumstances of the case were
these: Two apprentice lads from our
printing Office, with neighbor's, wero
bathing in one of the docks almost at the
extreme end of the town on Sunday last
and on being told by person that it was
contrary TO law, they left the water with
all possible expedition. But, unluckily,
before they could hide their nudity, a
solitary female was shocked with glimpse
of them-lodged complaint-and had
us fined.
Now we have known much more pal |
pable and gross violations of the law, than
this evidently unintentionai and certainly
trivial infraction of it by these thoughtIess
boys, to pass wholly unnoticed, We do
not complain, however, of the law. 1t
fsay be good one-and he must be a
yjgilant officer who eDforces II on all oc-
casons He will accumulate a handsome
revenue TO the town by the end Of 8zOini,
ming time. But if masters,as we are told,
are sDswerable fer all the acts of their ap-
'prentices, they may as well avail! them.
selves of the full latitude of this license
and, while INDUCING in their nocturnal
reyels, exclaim, "lo the d. with the law |
we have nothing TO do with tit was !
made for our masters, and not for use"
We endeavor as much as possible 10 keep
cut of the way OF the law-but, somehow, |
the law seems sometimes to get confound- |
edly in our way. A short time since
we were near being pu, into Limbo, by
a certain (no doubt) worthy Judge, be
cause we did no; surrender the name of
correspondent as promptly as he thought
desirable, when hauled up before court
for that purpose But (worse than all)
we had TO down with the dust yesterday
for trifiing affair OF which we were as
ignorant as yourself, r.ader-and whicb,
wefeeI no hesitation in saying ,bas,as much
as any thing else, induced US to these re
marks
sl'Lo oJ;,nre ~ t,o Ao,;1sol