has been much and justly admired. They are as follows:

"Whereas the glory of God Almighty and the good of mankind is the reason and end of all government; and therefore government itself is a venerable ordinance of God; and forasmuch as it is principally desired and intended by the proprietary and governor, and freemen of the Province of Pennsylvania and the territories thereunto belonging, to make and establish such laws as shall best preserve true Christian and civil liberty, in opposition to all unchristian, licentious and unjust practices, whereby God may have his due, Cæsar his due, and the people their due, from tyranny and oppression on the one side, and insolence and licentiousness on the other; so that the best and firmest foundation may be laid for the present and future happiness of both the governor and the people of the province and territories aforesaid, and their posterity: Be it enacted by William Penn, proprietary and governor, by and with the advice and consent of the deputies and freemen of this province and the counties aforesaid, in General Assembly met, and by the authority of the same, that these following chapters and paragraphs be the laws of Pennsylvania and territories thereof:

66 Almighty God being only Lord of conscience, Father of lights and spirits, and the author as

1682.]

PREAMBLE TO LAWS.

83

well as object of all divine knowledge, faith, and worship; who only can enlighten the mind, and persuade the conscience of people, in due reverence to his sovereignty over the souls of mankind: It is enacted by the authority aforesaid, that no person now, or at any time hereafter living in this province, who shall confess and acknowledge one Almighty God to be the Creator, Upholder, and Ruler of the world, and that professeth him or herself obliged in conscience to live peaceably and justly under the civil government, shall in any wise be molested or prejudiced for his or her conscientious persuasion or practice; nor shall he or she at any time be compelled to frequent or maintain any religious worship, place or ministry whatever, contrary to his or her mind, but shall freely and fully enjoy his or her Christian liberty in that respect, without any interruption or reflection; and if any person shall abuse or deride any other for his or her different persuasion and practice in matters of religion, such shall be looked upon as a disturber of the peace and punished accordingly.

"But to the end that looseness, irreligion and atheism may not creep in under pretence of conscience in this province: Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that according to the good example of the primitive Christians, and for the ease of the creation, every first-day of

the week, called the Lord's day, people shall abstain from their ordinary toil and labour, that whether masters, children, or servants, they may the better dispose themselves to read the scriptures of truth at home, or to frequent such meetings of religious worship abroad as may best suit their respective persuasions."

Though thus guarding against persecution for opinion's sake, the code required, as a necessary qualification for office, the profession of the Christian faith. All persons who paid "scot and lot to government" could elect and be elected. Personal liberty was strictly guarded. No arrest was permitted in civil cases, unless the defendant was about to leave the province; and in criminal cases the accused were bailable, unless the offence were capital, and the presumption of guilt violent. The law of primogeniture was modified, the real estates of persons dying without will being divided among the children, the oldest son having a double share. Where there were no children, the real estate of a man deceased insolvent could be sold to pay his debts; but if he left issue, one-half only was liable to execution, and that only for debts contracted prior to the purchase of the estates. Marriage was declared a civil contract. Murder was the only crime punishable by death. Prisons were declared to be workhouses for felons, thieves and vagrants.

1682.] SATISFACTION OF THE PEOPLE.

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Such were the peculiar features of the "body of laws," which distinguished it from the old forms of succession, primogeniture, and sanguinary inflictions for crime. There were many laws against blasphemy and other evil practices. Stage plays, pledging of healths, masks, revels and the like were interdicted, the penalty being fine, imprisonment, and the stocks; but many offences were left to the discretion of the magistrate to punish. The spirit of these laws still controls the jurisprudence of Pennsylvania, but of the original laws all are repealed. The parts necessary to be retained are provided for by later enactments. The employment of convicts at labour, and the effort at the reclamation of the offender, have given their model character to the prisons of Pennsylvania. The inhabitants. of the province and the territories were very much pleased with the result of the first session of the legislature and the demeanour of their governor; and the Swedes deputed one of their number, Lacy Cock, to assure the proprietary that they would love, serve, and obey him with all they had," and they declared that the day of his coming among them was "the best they

ever saw."

After the adjournment of the legislature, William Penn proceeded to Maryland to endeavour to settle the boundary of the two provinces. Unsuccessful efforts had been already made by

cess.

Colonel Markham, and Penn had no better sucLord Baltimore received him with great personal courtesy ; but raised claims which Penn regarded as entirely inadmissible, shutting him off from the ports on the Delaware, which he regarded essential to the prosperity of his province. Baltimore's claim under his charter was "unto that part of Delaware Bay on the north which lies under the fortieth degree." Under this Baltimore claimed up to the end of the fortieth, or beginning of the forty-first. Penn's charter included the country from the beginning of the fortieth degree," and under this he claimed from the end of the thirty-ninth. There was also a restricting clause in the Maryland charter, restricting the grantee to lands not previously settled by European colonists, as the territories had been. Penn had clearly the best of the argugument, but the dispute was not settled during his lifetime. In 1732 a joint commission was agreed to by the respective proprietaries, to run the line which at present marks the boundary between Delaware and Virginia, and the southern boundary of Pennsylvania. But the terms of the convention were not complied with until the proprietaries of Pennsylvania procured a decree in chancery, in 1750. Even after this, the running of the line was delayed until 1762, when Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, two expert mathematicians, were employed, who surveyed