Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-05-18

i This law remained in operation, SC
} far as it applied to smoking in the
public streets, until within living
memory in the city of Boston and
elsewhere, the fine for disObedience
having been raised from siXpence tC
la dollar.
Slander was punished by fine, whip.
ping, and imprisonment. Unchastily
in man or woman was punished by
whipping through eleven towns. AT
ter time, when it was found that the
penalty offended the conscience Of the
people as being too severe, it was re
duced to whipping through three
towns only. The Scottish vagrant of
a more recent time, who bad been
whipped through all the towns OF
Scotland at one period or other of his
life, was never whipped in more than
one town at time, and objected most
of all to the "lang toon o. Kirkealdy. y
Had he added slander to vagraney in
Connecticut, the ''lang tOon o. Kirk
caldyn might have seemed a desira-
! BILE place in comparison.
Burglary and highway robbery were
/ treated in a peculiar manner. Any
person who committed these crimes
was for the first offence to be branded
on the forehead with the letter B. For
the second offence he was to have a
second letter B imprinted indelibly on
his front, and to be severely whipped.
| If he fell into the offence a third time,
he was to be put to death as ineorrigi-
| bic. If the first offence were commit
ted on the Lords day, the offender,
in addition to the branding, was to
have one of his ears cut off. If the
second offence were in like manner
committed on the Sabbath" the
remaining ear was to be cut off.
Contempt of court is an offence in
all civilized countries, but it was left
to the Puritans to make contempt of
preacher, or of his sermon, a crime
to be severely dealt with. 1t was or
dered in the Blue Laws that if any
one within the Jurisdiction of Con-
necticut 'should beare himself con-
temptuOusly towards the word preach
ed, }" or towards "the messengers min
isters) that are called todispensate the
same" he should for the first offence
be publicly and severely reprimanded
by the magistrates, and bound over
for his good behaviour; and for the
second or any subsequent offence, he
should either pay a fine of e5 to the
public treasury, or in default ''stand
for two hours openly upon a block or
stool four foot high, with paper fixed
upon his breast, written with capital
letters, an open and obstinate cOntenl-
ner Of Gods holy ordinance in order
that others might feare and bee asham-
ed of breaking out into the like wick
edness." Under the same clause it
was ordered that any person who,
without just and necessary cause,
withdrew himself from attendance at
public worship, should be fined five
shillings for every such offence.
The denial of the authenticity or
authority of either of the books of
the Old or New Testament-all of
which were set forth and enumerated,
or the throwing of doubt upon them
as the true and infallible word of God,
was punishable with banishment for
offence. A Colenso in New England
would have suffered martyrdOm.
Profane swearing, or the use of i'm
precautions against ones self or any
other person, was punishable by a
L
cited as a remarkable instance of leni-
ty on the part of the Puritans, mas
much as in England the penalty was
more severe; and any irreverent allu-
sion to the Deity in play was pun
ished by fine of eI0. Possibly the
Puritans, had they permitted stage
plays, would have judged such irrev-
erent illusions to be as fully deserving
of death as filial disobedienceo or other
crimes and offences to which they adj
judged the same penalty.
The records Of many convictions
under these laws are still preserved in
Connecticut; and in Massachusetts,,
where a very similar, if not in all res
poets identical, code was adopted
The worthy Justice Ludlow, to whom
was intrusted the task of codification,
was shortly after its completion pub
licly called "Justass Ludlow" by one
Captain Stone, to whose taste the laws
were too "blue" to be agreeable. For
this offence the Captain was fined
e100, banished from the colony, and
prohibited to return without the Gov
ernor's permission, under pain Of
death.
r. Among other convictions, the fol-
lowing that took place before the ar
rival of Sir Edward Andres and the
establishment of milder code of gov
ernment, may serve as specimens OF
Blue justice = |
Nicholas Taner, servant to Mr.. Per-
ry, was publicly whipped for being
drunk and abusing his master.
Isaiah, Captain Turner's son, was
fined e5 for being drunk on the Lords
Day.
William BromfeId was set in the
stocks for profaning the Lords Day,
and stealing the wine Of Mr.. Malbon,
his master.
David Anderson was publicly whip
ped for being drunk; and Goodman
Leone was whipped and sent out o.
the plantation, being not only a dis |
orderly person himself, but an en-
cOurager of others to be drunk.
George Spenser being profane and |
in his whole conversation,
and an abettor of others to sin, was
whipped and sent out of the planta-
ton; John Proute, Henry Brazier, !
and William Bromfield, for joining |
in a conspiracy with the said Spencer |
''to carry away the Cock to Virginia."
were also sentenced to be whipped,
but not banished, BromfieId, being |
all old offender, was sentenced to
"weare irons during the magistrates |
pleasure"
Thomas Parsons, servant to Elias |
was whipped for his sinful /
dalliance and folly with Lydia
Browne.
John Lobell, the miller, for sinful 1
dalliance with a little wench of Good
man HALLS, was whipped.
Ruth Acie, covenant servant to
Mr.. Malbon, was whipped for stub
bornness, lying, stealing from her
mistress, and yielding to dalliance
with William Harding.
Martha Malbon daughter of Mr..
Malbon), for consenting to go in the
night to a venison-feast with William
and yielding to dalliance
with the said Harting, was whipped.
Goodman Hunt and his wife, for
keeping the counsels of the said VIM.
baking him a pastry and
plum-cake, and keeping company
with him on the Lords Day, and she
suffering Harding to kiss her, were
ordered to be sent out of the town with
in one ronth-''yea, in a shorter time
If any miscarriage (misbehaviour) be
found in them" 1t would be inter-
esting to learn what was the ultimate
fate of this Don Giovanni Harding,
but the records of the colony are ST.
-, ha Ct1hfaaf