The enterprise-recorder. (Madison, Fla.) 1908-1933, 1910-08-18


respect of the moderns, depending
upon which way they look at it. the
debaters con fine themselves mostly to
New England Puritan forms or those
of New York, Pennsylvania or New
Jersey.
In the day the Puritans formulated
the blue laws Virginia was looked
upon as the home of high living and
frivolity. Even to this day few would
look for such measures in that old
aristocratic colony.
As a matter of fact, the Virginians
of the seventeenth century had a hab-
It of enacting indigo-tinted laws, and
likewise enforcing them. which might
have made the Puritans sit up late
at night to beat them.
fside from the stern and vindic-
tive intolerance which finds utter
ance in the acts of the Virginia AS
, sembly between the years of 1862
and 1880, the most striking element
in them is the tremendous premium
placed upon spying and informing.
In almost every case in which such
Reward is possible the law encouraged
the man to spy upon his neighbor
If the Virginia husbands agreed
with Kipling that "a woman is only
woman, but a good cigar is a
smoke" the following act must have
been the occasion of much domestic
infelicity:
~ ssTf a raorrfad uoy,an ebon eIondcr
aperson the woman shall be punished
by ducking. and If the damages shall
be adjudged more than 500 pounds of
tobacco her husband shall pay or the
woman receive a ducking for every
500 pounds so adiudged against her
1 husband If he refused to pay the to-
Ybacco"
Unless a man was wei stocked with
the divine weed it was worth while
to attend church with promptness
and, regularity.
ENACTED that the Lords Day be
kept holy and no journeys or woSk
done thereon, and all persons inhabit-
ing in this county shall resort every
Sunday to church and abide there
quietly and orderly during the COM
mon prayers and preaching, upon the
penalty of being fined fifty pounds
of tobacco"
Devices for public instruction and
amusement were not to be neglected
with Immunity, even by the courts Of
the colony, as witness the following;
1.-THE Court in every county shall
ket up near the court house, In a pub
lie and convenient place, a pillory. a
pair Of stocks, a whipping post and
a ducking pool. Otherwise the Court
shall be fined 5000 pounds Of tobac-
CO."
There is no record OF the Court
ever having been mulcted OF tobacco
for depriving the people Of the OPP
portunity to watch the sufferings OF
their friends and neighbors.
Severe laws were directed against
Quakers. Prior legislation had at
tempted to put a damper on being
any kind OF a "separatist," which
meant any fellow who didn't agree
with the Established Church. Evil
identity a little further law on the
1subject was thought necessary, for In
I 1868, the Virginia Assembly passed
the following act:
"Any person inhabiting this coun-
try, and entertaining a Quaker in or
near his house, shall, for every time
of such entertainment, be fined 5000
pounds Of tobacco, half to the coun-
ty, half to the informer."
Even Virginia hospitality might
we'll have paused in the face of such
a flying start toward bankruptcy.
That a stowaway might prove cost
iy is demonstrated by the following;
Every master of vessel that
shall bring any Quakeus to reside
here after July i of this year shall be
fined 5000 pounds of tobacco, to be
rlevied by distress sale of his goods,
>snd he then shall be made to carry
him, her or them out Of the country
again"
Evidently a little thing like a
couple of years in servltude did not
deter the lovers of pork chops from
appropriating their neighbors' swine,
for in 1879 the Assembly delivered
themselves of the following act:
THE first offence of hog stealing
shall be punished according to the
former law;tupon a second offence the
offender shall stand for two kours
in the pillory and shall lose his ears,
and for the third offence shall be
frf.a - Iauvo ~ Efaoian1 in