The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1912-09-26
BLUE LAWS OF OLD
Codes That Terrorized New Eng
land In Colonial Days.
ENACTED By THE PURITANS.

ENACTED By THE PURITANS.
Witehcraft Was an Offense Punishable
With Death, and It Was Crime For
Husband and Wife or Mother and
Child to Kiss on the Sabbath Day.
Blue laws were no joke. though often
an object Of irony and derision They
were drawn up by Puritan pioneers.
q race of stern and inflexible men who
in the excess of their religious zealand
enthusiasm adopted such sanctimonious
names as Stand Fast-on- High Stringer.
Kill-Sin Smith, More Fruit Fowler.
Fight-the- Fight Fowler.
1t may be we'll to say here that each
of these names cited was actually CIV,
en- to and borne by man. and names
of the same sort are to be found in the
records of New England, Says Him
mans in his blue Laws Of Connect
/ lieut."
These men went straight to the old
Mosaic law of Holy Writ for their
code. In fact, each section of the capital
laws has its Bible text appended-a
grewsome combination of sermon and
death warrant
The original blue laws were those
written of New Haven. Connecticut
colony. at the first more or less I'm
written. or ut least imprinted. but sys
tematized and printed by Governor
Eaton in 1856. They were enveloped
in blue colored paper. whence the popu-
lar and subsequently unpopular name.
The Plymouth and Massachusetts
colonies also had their blue laws. cal
culated to send chill through every
human VEIN Even New York. Mary
land. Virginia and South Carolina-in
fact. all the English colonial settle
ments in seventeenth century America
had laws. orders and resolutions of
more or less pronounced indigo tint.
But the true blue laws or code was
that which terrorized early Connect
cut. These. known as capital laws ard
purpOrting to punish. according to the
ment. those offenses forbidden therein.
were enacted In April. 1912 The texts
of Scripture on which they are based
were added to each law. as dicta pro
bantia. showing the divine authority
by which they were defending. and are
singular specimens of Jurisprudence
For instance. witchcraft is one Of the
first offenses taken up. 1t is enacted
that IF man or woman be il witch
or hath consulted with familiar spirit
they shall be put to DEATH And IF
any man steal man or mankind or
selleth him or he be found in his hand
he shall be put to death
Yet the good colonists made slaves
Of the Pequot Indians as the regulation
punishment for breaking these same
blue laws.
The Puritan legislators, having dis
posed of the ordinary everyday crimes
went on in due course to enact the
more minute laws. covering every con
ceivable misdemeanor, from sneeZin-
in church to crossing stream other
wise than by the licensed ferry
1t reminds one of De Quincey's ironi
cal observations to the effect that tile
habit of murder if persisted in may
lead insensibly to procrastination and
Sabbath breaking
The following examples. Transcribed
I literally from the best authorities OF
American colonial history. relate most
= " to the heinous crime OF Sabbath
} breaking:
mo one shall run on the Sabbath da!
} or walk in his garden or elsewhere eX
= cept reverently to and from meeting
, mo one shall travel. cook victuals
make beds. sweep house. cut hair Oh
| shave on the Sabbath day.
mo woman shall kiss her child OF
the Sabbath or fasting day.
1.-THE Sabbath shall begin at sunse
on Saturday.
IF any man shall kiss his wife o.
wife kiss her husband on the Lord!
day the party in fault shall be pun
ished at the discretion of the court o
magistrates"
(Tradition says gentleman of New
Z AA0fCu AiSSA al hDSSiiSC va sum-
months reached home on the Sabbath
and. meeting his wife at his door
kissed her with an appetite and for hi
= temerity in violating this law the mex
Q day was arraigned before the rour
= and fined for so palpable breach o
. the law on the Lords day,
4 mo one shall read common prayer
Q keep Christmas or saints days. max
Z minced pies. dance. play cards or pia
. on any instrument of music except tn
Z drum, trumpet and jewsharp
1t Is said by Peters in his "Hi>,or
of Connecticut" that these laws wer
er the laws made by the people of Ne,
Haven previous to their incorporate
with SaybroOk and Hartfo cuionit
and. as he says. were very proprr
termed blue laws- e. bloody law.
''for." says he. they were all sane,
fled with accommodation. runiiS,.;
q ton. fines. Punishment. whipping gu
y ting off the ears. burning the tong,i
and death"-New York Sun
= In For Life
A certain English peer drove IN
at taxicab to Westminster and when h