Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1918-02-08
BLUE LAWS OF
COLONIAL DAYS
IOWA FAMILY STILL PREsERv 70
oLp-riME CODE

Penalties Provided for Swearing end
Sunday prInkIno-Dsath for
Horse stealing.
Council Bluffs, Iowa. Among the
archives of the ID. w. Keller fam ",
one OF the pioneer families OF lis
city. Is the complete codifcation of
the laws OF New Jersey from the fir-
render of the old colony 20 "Qu, On
Anne on the 18th day Of April, In 40
year of our Lord 1902. to the 14th ay
OF January. 1916" according to the
tito page. 1t embraces all of ihs
laws and royal ordinances for sever ty-
four years. and the book 10 not an
bulky as the compiled ordinances Of
the City Of Council Bluffs.
The compiler. Samuel Allison, re-
marks In his preface. a few g. cd
laws. well understood and execu, ID.
must be q happiness to people, , nd
are much to be preferred to . la &c
code, which by their very number De-.
come intricate or soon forgotten. Id.
OF consequence. are often violated.
Legislation Is the greatest act of
superiority that can be exercised by
one being over another, and how lew
can be supposed to be qualified .or
such momentous taskf
The old volume. bearing tho ma ks
Of it's nearly $50 yeas~, but sturdy a.
q piece Of granite. contains about all
of the old blue laws Of the Puritan
colonists. as well as all Of the statr tes
found necessary to be enacted II om
the second year of the reign OF Queen
Anne on thru the kingships OF George
l.. George II. and George Ill. begin
ming when the capital of New Jersey
was located at Perth Amboy and
later at Burlington.
A law passed at the first ressior Of
the General Assembly at Burlingto on.
Dec. IL. 1904. begins with the declara.
tion that:
Whereas. profaneness and imnior.
atty have too much abounded in this
province, to the shame Of Christian ity
and the great grief Of all good md
sober men," q prohibition law is en-
acted prohibiting "cursing, swearing
or breaking the Lords day"
The penalty of Sunday violation IL
. fine Of six shilling or four hours
confinement In the stocks" half the
amount for "cursing'' and shade loss
for plain swearing. For getting
drunk six hours In the stocks was the
penalty. A special section regulates
drinking, but only on Sundays. and
says that II ANY public-houss keeper
permits any person to tipple or drink
in his house on the Lords day. espe-
eially In the time OF divine worship"
the hotel man was cinched for q sir
milling cne.
The old boys fixed It all right for
the favored few by inserting the
clause. except for Recruitment" max
ing 1t certain that It would not be
bone dry. But they wouldn't stand
for red light district, and both men
and women who were caught were
given the option OF paying thirty
3oo4iob VI oeAh8 WAlpV0o ~ tufvo
several courts. and each time they
shall receive thirty lashes on the
bare back at each Of the several
courts"
They commenced to get rid OF the
harsh laws half century later, for on
December 8, 1859. the Assembly re-
pealed the death peualt.' for petty
thievins. but directed that It should
be lawful to pronounce the death
sentence upon any person convicted
Of the atrocious crime Of horse steal
ing"
The greater part OF the time Of the
legislatures seems to have been de-
voted 10 repeating laws. for 1t the
end Of the sixty.four years IN index
Of three pages named al Of the laws
IN force.
The old volume came down to the
Keller family thru Mrs. Keller. who
was q Sellard. q name that appears
several times In colonial documents.
Il has descended directly from one
generation to another.