sweare by the greate fearfull name of the Everliving God, to be true and faithfull unto the same, and do submit both my person and Estate thereunto, according to all the wholsom Laws and Orders that there are or hereafter shall be there made by lawfull authority; and I will nether plott nor practice any evill against the same, nor consent to any that shall so doe, but will tymely discover the same to authority there established; and that I will, as I am in duty bound, mayntayn the honor of the same, and of the lawfull Magestrates thereof promoting the public good of y't whilst I shall so continue an inhabitant there; and whenever I shall give my vote touching any matter which concerns this commonwealth being called thereunto, will give it as in my conscience I shall Judge may conduce to the best good of the same without respects of Persons or favour of any man, so help me God in our Lord Jesus Christ,

CAPITALL LAWES OF CONNECTICUT, ESTABLISHED BY THE GENERALL COURT THE FIRST OF DECEMBER, 1642,

1. Yf any man after legall conviction, shall have or worship any other God but the Lord God, he shall be put to death. Deu. 13; 6, and 17. 2 Ex. 22; 20.

2. Yf any man or woman be a Witch, (that is) hath or consulteth with a familliar spirit, they shall be put to death. Ex. 22; 18. Lev. 20; 27. Deu. 18; 10, 11.

3. Yf any p'son shall blaspheme the name of God the ffather, Son or Holy Goste w'th direct, express pr'sumptuous or highanded blasphemy, or shall curse God in the like manner, he shall be put to death. Lev. 24; 15, 16.

4. Yf any p'son shall comitt any willfull murther, w'ch is manslaughter comitted vppon mallice, hatred or cruelty, not in a mans necessary and just defence, nor by mere casualty against his will, he shall be put to death. Ex. 21; 12, 13, 14. Num. 35; 30, 31.

5. Yf any person shall slay another through guile, ether

by poysonings or other such Diuilish (Devlish) practices, he shall be put to death. Ex. 21; 14.

6. Yf any man or woman shall ly w'th any Beast or brut creature by carnall copulation, they shall surely be put to death, and the Beast shall be slayne and buried. Lev. 20; 15, 16.

7. Yf any man lye w'th mankind as he lyeth w’th a woman, both of them have comitted abomination, they both shall surely be put to Death. Lev. 20; 13.

8. Yf any p'son comiteth Adultery w'th a married or espoused wife, the Adulterer and the Adulteres shall surely be put to Death. Lev. 20; 10 and 18, 20. Deu. 22; 23, 24.

9. Yf any man shall forcibly and w'thout consent rauishe any mayd or Woman that is lawfully married or contracted, he shall be put to Death. Deu. 22; 25.

10. Yf any man stealeth a man or mankind, he shall be put to Death. Ex. 21; 16.

11. Yf any man rise vp by false witness, wittingly and of purpose to take away any man's life, he shall be put to Death. Deu. 19; 16, 18, 19.

12. Yf any man shall conspire or attempte any Inuasion, Insurrection or Rebellion against the comon welth, he shall be put to Deth.

13. Yf any childe or children aboue sixteene yeers old, and of sufficient understanding, shall curse or smite their natural father or mother, hee or they shall bee put to Death h; unlesse it can bee sufficiently testified that the parents have beene very vnchristianly negligent in the education of such children, or so provoake them by extreme and cruel correction that they have beene forced thereunto to preserve themselues from Death or maiming. Ex. 21; 17. Lev. 20. Ex. 20; 15.

14. Yf any man have a stubborne and rebellious sonne, of sufficient yeares and vnderstanding, viz., sixteene yeares of age, which will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and that when they haue chastened

him, will not hearken vnto them; then may his father and mother, being his naturall parents, lay hold on him and bring him to the Magestrates assembled in courte, and testify vnto them, that theire sonne is stubborne and rebellious, and will not obey their voyce and chastisement, but lives in sundry notorious crimes, such a sonne shall bee put to Death. Deu. 21; 20, 21.

1642. It is Ordered that there shall be a guard of forty men to come compleat in their arms to the meeting every Sabbath, and Lecture Day, in every towne within these Lyberties upon the River.

1642. It is Ordered, that there shall be 90 Coats provided within these plantations within ten days basted with cotton wool, and made defensive against Indian arrows,— (i. e.) Hartford 40-Windsor 30-Weathersfield 20.

1642. It is Ordered that no man within these Libertyes shall refuse merchantable Indian corne, at the rate of 2s 6d the bushel for any contract made for the labour of men or cattle or commodityes is sold after the publishing this order.

1643 It is Ordered that all the Souldiers in the severall Towns within this Jurisdiction, shall be trayned sixe days yearely as they shall be appoynted by the Captain or other Officers.

1643. Whereas many complaynts are brought into the Courte by reason of diverse abuses that fall out by severall persons that sell Wyne and Strong Water, as well in vessels on the River, as also in several houses, for the preventing whereof It is now Ordered that no person or Persons after the publishing this Order, shall neither sell Wyne nor Strong Water, in any place within these Liberties, without Licence from the particular Court or any two Magistrates. A. D. 1643. It is Ordered that every Town upon the* *Whipper on Conn't, River.

River shall provide one man in each town to doe execution, uppon De linquents by Whipping or other correction as they shall be thereunto cauled, by order from the Magistrates.

1643. It is Ordered that good Rix Dollars, shall pass between man and man, at five shillings a piece, in all payments-The debts being made after the publishing this order.

(In 1644, an Order was made, that all marriages and births should be recorded.)

1646. It is Ordered, that if any person within these Lybertys have Cine, or shall be ffyned or whippen for any scandalous offence, he shall not be admitted after such Tyme to have any Voate in Towne or common Wealth, nor to serve on the Jury, untill the Court shall manifest their satisfaction.

Dec. 1st, 1645.-It is Ordered that the Plantation cauled Tunxis, shall be cauled Farmington, and that the bounds thereof shall be as follows-The Eastern bound shall meet with the Western of these Plantations, which are to be five myles on this side the Great River, and the Northern bound shall be five myles from the Hill, in the Great Meadow, towards Massuo, and the Southern Bounds from the Hill, shall be five myles, and they shall have Lyberty to improve ten myles further than the said River, and to hinder others from the like untill the Court see fit otherwise to dispose of yt, and the said Plantation are to attend the General Orders, formerly made by this Court, settled by the Committee to whome the same was refered, and other occations, as the reste of the Plantations uppon the River do, and Mr. Steele for the present is intreated to bee Recorder, until the Towne have one fit among themselves. they are also to have the like Libertyes as the other Townes uppon the River, for making Orders among themselves, provided they alter not any fundamental agreements settled by the said Committee hitherto attended.

Generall Court, June 11th 1640.

The said Mr. Mitchell for undertaking the office of Town Clerk or Recorder, notwithstanding his uncapableness of that Office, by sentence of Court, he is fined to pay the Country 20 Nobles, and for that part of the Town of Weathersfield, who chose the said Mr. Mitchell to office, notwithstanding the censure of court, are fined to the country four pounds.

1640. Mr. Mitchell is returned Recorder for the Towne of Weathersfield-But he is found incapable of the place, lying under censure of the Court, and he and the Towne who chose him to that place, are to have notice to appear at the next adjourned court-They are to have liberty to bring in the records of their lands untill the General Court in Sept'r next.

A Generall Court, held at Hartford, May 20, 1647.

It is Ordered, that there shall be a Guard of 20 men, every Sabbath, and Lecture day, compleate in their Arms, in ech severall towne upon the River, and att Seabrooke and Ffarmington, 8 a peace; ech towne of the sea coast, ten, and as the number of men increase in the townes, the Guard is to encrease.

It is the mynde of the Court that ther shall be provision made for entertayneing the Magistrate, during the sitting of the Court, and the Deputyes of Hartford, are desired to find out a fitte man.

If Mr. Whiting with any others shall make tryall and prosecute a desyne for the taking of Whale within these libertyes, and if uppon tryall within the terme of two yeares, they shall like to goe on, noe others shall be sufferred to interrupt them for the tearme of seven yeares.

May 18, 1648. Whereas David Provost, and other Dutch,

* 6s 8d Sterling.