Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-06-14
BLUE LAWS o.
COLONIAL DAYS
IOWA FAMILY STILL PRESERVES
olD.TtME CODE
Penalties Provided for Swearing and
Sunday Drinkino-Death for
" Horse Stealing.

r. Horse Stealing.
Council Bluffs, Iowa. Among the
/ archives Of the d. W. Keller family.
one of the pioneer families Of this
city. is the complete codiication Of
the laws OF New Jersey from the sur
render of the old colony to Queen
Anne on the 18th day of April, in the
year of our Lord 1902, TO the 14th day
OF January, 1776," according TO the
title page 1t embraces all of the
laws and royal ordinances for seventy
four years, and the book is not as
bulky as the compiled ordinances of
the City of Council Bluffs.
The compiler, Samuel Allison. re-
marks in his preface, "a feN good
laws. well understood and executed,
must be happiness to people, and
are much to be preferred to large
code, which by their very number be.
come intricate or soon forgotten, and,
OF consequence, are often violated.
Legislation Is the greatest act Of
superiority that can be exercised by
one being over another, and how few
can be supposed to he qualified for
such momentous task?"
The old volume, bearing the marks
Of its nearly $50 years, but sturdy as
a piece OF granite, contains about all
OF the old blue laws OF the Puritan
colonists. as well as all of the sta tutes
found nece AIRY to be enacted from
the cond ear Of me reign o. Queen
Anne on I'll Il the ldngships OF George
l.. George II. and George ILL.,, beg A.
ming when the capital of New Jersey
was located at Perth Amboy and
later at Burlington,
A law passed at the first ression OF
the General Assembly at Burlington,
Dec. l., 1104, begins with the declara-
ton that
"Whercas, profaneness and immor.
atty have too much abounded in this
province, to the shame of Christianity
and the great grief Of all good and
sober men, a prohibition law iG en-
acted prohibiting "cursing, swearing
Or breaking the Lords day."
The penalty of Sunday violation ia
fine Of six shilling or four hours
confinement in the stocks" half the
amount for "cursing' and a shade less
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 If ANY publc-house keeper
permits any person to tpple or drink
in his house on the Lords day, espe
cially in the time of divine worship
the hotel man was cinched for six
shilling fine.
The old boys fixed 1t all right for
the favored few by inserting the
clause, except for refreshment," max
ing 1t certain that it would not be
bone dry. But they wouldn't stand
for red light district, and both mel
and women who were caught were
given the option Of paying thirty
pounds or being whipped at three
several courts. and each time the,
shall receive thirty lashes on the
bare back ct each of the severa
courts"
They commenced to ret rid of the
harsh laws half century later, for or
December 6, 1863, the Assembly re
pealed the death penal. for petit,
thieving, but directed that it should
be lawful to pronounce the dealt
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 to repeating laws, for at tn,
end of the sixty-four years an indie,
OF three pages named all Of the laws
In force.
The old volume came down 10 IN,
Keller family thru Mrs. Keller, wht
was a Sellard, a name that appear.
several times in colonial documents
It has descended directly from on,
generation to another.
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