Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1894-03-23
vIRGINIA'S BLUE LAWS.
The STRINGENT AND CRUEL CODE OF
COLONIAL Days.

My authority Tor this brief review
OF what may fairly be called the black
and blue laws of colonial Virginia, is
volume of five hundred pages Gu
Guiding tables of assemblies, statutes,
contents, &c.), bound in leather, and
painted at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1859
one hundred and thitty.five years
ago. Its title is Virginia Laws: All
Exact Abridgement OF NIL the A cts OF
Assembly i'll Force and i'll USE and
it was evidently prepared under Off
cinl supervision for use in the colony,
though it bears no official inprilnn
tur.
In considering these old laws it is
but sheer Justice to say that they
were attributable to the spirit of the
age, with which they we're in full. nc.
cord, and were i'll no wise the pecul-
lar enactments of an exceptionally
cruel and tyrannical people.
All through the colonial period in
Virginia there was very severe and
stringent code for the control Of
slaves aud servants, especially when
these Mere Indians or negroes, and
the white convicts transported from
England and sold for terms of years,
hud to undergo servitude that diff
fered from actual slavery OILY, or
chiefly, in it's limited period. In fact,
slavery existed in the colony before
the first importation of Africans, and
after that date the colonial Arcadia
would be aptly presented in picture
OF plantation where crop cared
white convict fed crop cared swine;
where a red Indian captive, with an
iron collar around his neck, wornod
tobacco, and where black, imported
African. mutilatcd and "dismember
ed" limped lamely with his hoe
among the Indian corn. In .Ivan
hoe" Sir Walter Scott gives us
glimpse of English slavery in the
reign of Richard L.. Gurth, the swine
herd, with brass collar soldered
about his neck bearing this inscrip.
lion: "Gurth, the son of Beawulph,
il the born thrall of Cedric of Roth
erwood," while with the swincherd
was the fool, or jester, Wanda, huv
ing similar collar, of silver, with
like description of its wearer. BY
Virginia statute Of 1853 any runaway
negro or Indian slave. on being taken
up. was to be delivered from cousin.
bic to constable until he reached his
owner, and to receive lashes on bis
bare back, not exceeding thirty nine,
ut every transfer; but where the own.
er WAS unknown the runaway was
transmitted in like manner TO the
public gaol at Williamsburg, and
there, after due advertisement in the
Virginia Gazette, if no owner came
for him he was to be hired out, first
having ali iron collar fastened around
his neck bearing the letters ZIP. G y
the initials of Public Gaol.
EAR-CRopPING
Ear.cropping was more impartially
administered to all colors, and to
bond and free alike, who were guilty
oil certain offences, rs hog stealing,
perjury and the like. and the pre-
scribed appurtenarces of every coun
ty gaol were pillory, whipping post
and stocks, together with u .lucl,ing
stool at some convenient place." il
the county court saw fit, for the cool
ing OF common scolds. In case of
hog stealing, for instance. the crini
nal was dashed on his bare back. then
stood in the pillory for two hours.
with his ears nailed thereto, at the
end of which time his ears were TO
De cut loose from the nails. The
third offence of hog stealing incur.
red the penalty of death without ben.
eilt OF clergy, and this extreme pen.
atty was inflicted for horse stealing.
housebreaiing and houseburuing.
Servants of all colors, rs well no
negro and Indian slaves, "paid with
their skins in oil cases where fines
were imposed on others, and these
others also received lashes, if they
tailed to pay their fines, and had no
property to satisfy the ilnpositions
Christian white servants could be
whipped By their masters or employ.
ers, but "not naked without an order
from the county court" and II ap.
pears that even tradesmen, workmen.
or mechanics or other hired work.
men refused tracts made in Enoland
and elsewhere, were regarded and
treated as servants, and in case of n
"strike"-where mechanics or other
hired workmen refused to work
cry striker was required to work
two days without wages for every
day he was absent from his work.
besides according such other salts
faction to his employer as the court
should determine. All tramps. or
wandering laborers and workmen.
were declared rogues aud vagabonds
: VINO were TO be arrested by all mag,
istrates and sent from constable to
constable, with lashes on every trans
Ter las IN case OF runaway slaves), till
they were returned to their proper
parishes, where they were required to
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