Riots. Three or more perfons affembled together, to do an unlawful act; if they obstruct the proclamation in reading, or do not difperfe after proclamation made by a proper officer, shall be punished by fine not exceeding 101. for each perfon, and imprisonment not exceeding fix months, or by whipping not exceeding 40 ftripes if any rioter is killed or hurt by any perfon of the poffe, fuch person is indemnified. The profecution mufl be within twelve months. The fheriff, if need be, 'may raise the militia in his aid.

Manslaughter (without premeditated malice) but wilful; penalty, forfeiture of goods, burnt in the hand with letter M, whipped, and disabled from being evidence in law.

Lafcivious carriage may be punished at difcretion by

* About thirty years fince, there was a riot act made in NewHampshire.

In the province of Maffachusetts-Bay, the violent, hafty, and rafh manner of calling in all their publick credit bills in the space of one year by act of affembly, which had been gradually emitted in the courfe of fifty years, was found impracticable, and was like to have produced a general tumult: this occafioned the making of a riot act, February 14, 1750-1, to be in force for three years, viz. where any perfons to the number of twelve, armed with clubs, or other weapons, or any number of perfons confifting of men, armed or not armed, fhall be unlawfully riotously affembled; any juftice of peace, field officer, or captain of the militia, sheriff, under fheriff, or conftable, fhall make proclamation to difperfe; if they do not disperse within an hour, every fuch officer with affiftance, may carry them before a juftice, and if in refifting any perfon is hurt, or killed, the officers and affiftants are indemnified: perfons not difperfing in the fpace of one hour, fhall forfeit to the king all his lands and chattels, or fuch part thereof at the difcretion of the juftice for the use of the province, and be. whipped thirty-nine ftripes, one year's imprisonment, and receive the fame number of ftripes once every three months during his imprisonment. Demolishing houses the fame punishment or penalty. This act to be read every general feffions of the peace, and anniversary meeting of each town; no profecution after twelve months; the judges may abate the whole or any part of the whipping.

In the colony of Rhode-Ifland, there are no riot acts, because, as generally fuppofed, they are inconfiftent with their conftitution. the

the county court; by fine, house of correction, or corporal punishment.

Burglary or robbery; penalty is branding, ears cut off, and whipping: third offence is death.

Counterfeiting or altering publick bills of credit of this or of the neighbouring colonies; penalty, cutting off ears, branding, and work-houfe for life, eftates forfeited, and to be debarred of all trade. Any fociety prefuming to emit bills of credit to be used in trade, to be punished as in cafe of counterfeiting; the utterer to forfeit double the fame.

Criminal perfons making their escape from the authority of other provincial governments to this government, may be remanded back to the place of perpetra

tion.

The colony acts relating to the religious obfervation of the first day of the week, Sunday, fabbath-day or Lord's-day, perhaps are too puritanical; they feem to droop gradually, I fhall not revive them.

Any person of the age of difcretion (which is 14 æt.) publishing a lie to the prejudice of the common-wealth, or damage of private perfons, to be fined, stocks, or whipping.

Apprentices and fervants æt. 15 or upwards, abfconding from their master's fervice, fhall ferve three times of their abfence. Servants or apprentices flying from the cruelty of their mafters, may be protected by a magiftrate and discharged from their service.

A woman delivered of a child, afterwards found dead, if she cannot prove, at least by one witness, that fuch child was born dead, the mother fhall be accounted guilty of murder.

Any flave or Indian striking a white man, penalty whipping, not exceeding thirty ftripes.

Penalty for perfons who refift, or abuse any king's officer, fine not exceeding 10 1.

Curfing or fwearing; penalty 6s. or the ftocks. Every

houfholder

houfholder to have at least one bible, orthodox catechifm, and other books of practical godliness.

A houfe of correction to be established in each county, two thirds of their earnings towards their fupport, and one third for other charges.

Penalty for felling ftrong liquor to an Indian 10 s. per pint; drunkenness and idlenefs are the general vices of Indians. An Indian convicted of drunkenness, penalty 5 s. or 10 lafhes. All the Indians in a township shall be mustered once a year, and the requifite laws read to them. All English families taking Indian children into their families, fhall teach them to read English, and inftruct them in the principles of the chriftian religion; for every three months neglect, a difcretionary fine not exceeding 30s.

The laws relating to the obfervation of fabbath day and regulation of publick worship are fevere; and too many to be inferted here; thefe are under the infpection of the grand jury, tything men, and constables.

Private lotteries, and wagers to vend goods, forfeiture is the value of the goods.

Parish churches of the established religions (prefbyte rians, congregationalifts, and confociated minifters) are under the direction of the county courts; tolerated diffenters from those profeffions are left at large.

Any Indian, molatto, or negroe travelling without a pass, may be feized as a runaway.

Schools are well regulated, and have a colony allow. ance. Every ecclefiaftical fociety of 70 families or upwards, fhall have a school for the inftruction of children to read and write. A grammar fchool to every head or County town. One college or fchola illuftris in the

colony.

There are fevere penalties for cutting down of trees, or firing of woods and lands; the accufed, where there is no proof, must exculpate himself by oath.

A DIGRESSION,

Concerning North-America grain and grazing, with a few occafianal remarks relating to natural hiftory, especially as to the seasons, winds, and weather, in a loofe mifcellany common place manner.

Connecticut is a good country as to climate and foil; and is valuable for grain and pafture. Any country is happy, where the meaner inhabitants are plentifully and wholfomely fed; warmly and decently cloathed: thus it is in Connecticut.

Upon the first arrival of Europeans in America, the Indians bread kind were only the mays or Indian corn of the cerealia or grain, and the phaseolus or kidney beans called Indian or French beans of the legumina or pulfe kind. Befides they eat earth-nuts of feveral kinds, berries of many kinds, and variety of maft, † too numerous to be enumerated and described in a fummary. As also their hunting of fundry kinds of quadrupeds or beasts, moofe, deer, &c. their fowling, efpecially of birds, webfooted; their catching of river, pond, and fea fish, especially of the teftaceous.

As the frumentum Indicum, or Indian corn, was their principal fubfiftence, though not fpontaneous, but cultivated, I cannot avoid giving fome particular defscription and account of it; hitherto it has not been minutely defcrib'd. It has with much impropriety been called frumentum Saracenicum; properly, frumentum Saracenicum (from the Saracens country in Barbary) is buck-wheat, and at present is cultivated by the Dutch in the govern

* The Indians upon the fhore, used the pifum maritimum fpontaneum perenne humile repens; beach peafe; flowers end of May; it refembles that of marifon. H. Ox. 2. 43.

+ Mafts, from mafticare, are feveral forts of foreft-nuts, chesnut, walnut, hazle-nut, and the like.

ment

ment of New-York for hafty pudding, and as provender for horses.

Its most profitable culture is in light fandy land, with a fmall intermixture of loom, it requires fand heat, fuch as is that of pitch pine or huckle-berry lands. Though a hungry grain, it requires much and repeated labour. It is firft plowed, then crofs plowed, next harrowed all fmooth, then furrowed and cross furrowed; at proper diftances of about four feet at the interfections in hollows are dropt five or fix feed grains (a peck fows or plants one acre) and by the hoe covered with earth the end of April and beginning of May; foon after its first appearance, it is plowed two furrows lengthways between each row of grain, and by the hoe the weeds are brought towards the grain; this is called the first weeding; after fome time it is crofs plowed two furrows between each planted row, and by the hoe the earth and weeds are brought to the corn, this is called half-hilling; next it is plowed lengthways, as before, two furrows, and by the hoe the earth is brought to the roots, and forms a hill to prevent the winds eradicating of it; fometimes it is hoed a fourth time: in midddle of Auguft the grain becomes mellow fit for roafting, a fort of delicacy in the fugar-iflands, called mutton: it emits its coma, plume, or blooms, end of June; then they eut off the top of the ftalks, that the grain may receive the more nourifhment. A wet fummer makes it run too much into ftalks and leaves, which starves the ears. End of September and beginning of October the ears are hand gathered, the tops are very agreeable to cattle for fodder.

Here the farina fecundans of vegetables seems to be evinced : this plume or flower, if cut off before its maturity, the mays bears no ear or grain. In New-England where the grain is of various colours (white, yellow, reds of feveral fhades, blues of feveral fhades, marbled, and mixtures of thefe in the fame ears) the grains planted of various colours, and in the neighbourhood receive alterations in their colours or fhades by the various impregnations: this is obfervable also in other vegetables, beets, carrots, &c.

The