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<DATE>2014-08-13</DATE>
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<NAME>TCP Staff (Michigan)</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140532.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<DIV1 TYPE="law">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<HEAD>A LAW OF MARYLAND Concerning RELIGION.</HEAD>
<P>_FOra&s;much as in a well-governed and Chri&s;tian Commonwealth, Matters concerning Religion and the Honour of God ought to be in the fir&s;t pla<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">e to be taken into &s;erious con&s;ideration, and endeavoured to be &s;ettled. Be it therefore Ordained and Enacted by the Right Honourable <HI>CAECILIUS</HI> Lord Baron of <HI>Baltemore,</HI> ab&s;olute Lord and Proprietary of this Province, with the Advice and Con&s;ent of the Upper and Lower Hou&s;e of this General A&s;&s;embly, That what&s;oever per&s;on or per&s;ons within this Province and the I&s;lands thereunto belonging, &s;hall from henceforth bla&s;pheme GOD, that is cur&s;e him; or &s;hall deny our Saviour JESUS CHRIST to be the Son of God; or &s;hall deny the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son, &amp; Holy Gho&s;t; or the Godhead of any of the &s;aid Three Per&s;ons of the Trinity, or the Unity of the Godhead, or &s;hall u&s;e or utter any reproachful &s;peeches, words, or language, concerning the Holy Trinity, or any of the &s;aid three Per&s;ons thereof, &s;hall be pu|ni&s;hed with death, and confi&s;cation or forfeiture of all his or her Lands and Goods to the Lord Proprietary and his Heirs.</P>
<P>And be it al&s;o enacted by the Authority, and with the advice and a&s;&s;ent afore&s;aid, That what&s;oever per&s;on or per&s;ons &s;hall from henceforth u&s;e or utter any reproachful words or &s;peeches concerning the ble&s;&s;ed Virgin <HI>MARY,</HI> the Mother of our Saviour, or the holy Apo&s;tles or Evangeli&s;ts, or any of them, &s;hall in &s;uch ca&s;e for the fir&s;t Offence forfeit to the &s;aid Lord Proprietary and his Heirs, Lords and Proprietaries of this Province, the &s;um of Five pounds Sterling, or the value thereof to be levied on the goods and chattels of every &s;uch per&s;on &s;o offending; but in ca&s;e &s;uch offender or offenders &s;hall not then have goods and chattels &s;ufficient for the &s;atisfying of &s;uch forfeiture, or that the &s;ame be not otherwi&s;e &s;peedily &s;atisfied, that then &s;uch offender or offend|ers &s;hall be publickly whipt, and be impri&s;oned during the plea&s;ure of the Lord Proprietary, or the Lieutenant or Chief Governor of this Province for the time being: And that every &s;uch offender and offenders for every &s;econd offence &s;hall forfeit Ten Pounds Sterling, or the value thereof to be levied as afore|&s;aid; or in ca&s;e &s;uch offender or offenders &s;hall not then have goods and chattels within this Province &s;ufficient for that purpo&s;e, then to be publickly and &s;everely whipt and impri&s;oned as before is expre&s;&s;ed: and that every per&s;on or per&s;ons before mentioned, offending herein the third time, &s;hall for &s;uch third offence, forfeit all his lands and goods, and be for ever bani&s;ht and expelled out of this Province.</P>
<P>And be it al&s;o further Enacted by the &s;ame Authority, advice, and a&s;&s;ent, That what &s;oever per&s;on or per&s;ons &s;hall from henceforth upon any occa&s;ion of offence, or otherwi&s;e in a reproachful manner or way, declare, call, or denominate, any per&s;on or per&s;ons what&s;oever, inhabiting, re&s;iding, trafficking, tra|ding, or commercing within this Province, or within any the Ports, Harboars, Creeks or Havens to the &s;ame belonging, an Heretick, Schi&s;matick, Idolater, Pu|ritan, Presbyterian, Independant, Popi&s;h Prie&s;t, Je&s;uit, Je&s;uited Papi&s;t, Lutheran, Calvini&s;t, Anabapti&s;t, Browni&s;t, Barrowi&s;t, Antinomian, Roundhead, Separati&s;t, or other name or term in a reproachfull manner relating to matter of Religion, &s;hall for every &s;uch offence forfeit and lo&s;e the &s;um of Ten &s;hillings Sterling, or the value thereof, to be levied of the goods and chattells of every &s;uch offender and offenders, the one half thereof to be forfeited and paid unto the per&s;on &amp; per&s;ons of whom &s;uch reproachful words are, or &s;hall be &s;poken or uttered, and the other half thereof to the Lord Proprietary and his Heirs, Lords and Pro|prietaries of this Province: But if &s;uch per&s;on or per&s;ons who &s;hall at any time uttter or &s;peak any &s;uch reproachful words or language, &s;hall not have goods or chattels &s;ufficient and overt within this Province to be taken to &s;atisfy the penalty afore&s;aid, or that the &s;ame be not otherwi&s;e &s;peedily &s;atisfied, that then the per&s;on and per&s;ons &s;o offending &s;hall be publickly whipt, and &s;hall &s;uffer impri&s;onment without Bail or Mainpri&s;e untill he, &s;he, or they, re&s;pectively, &s;hall &s;atisfie the party offended or grieved by &s;uch reproachfull Language, by asking him or her re&s;pectively forgivene&s;s publickly, for &s;uch his offence, before the Magi&s;trate or chief Officer or Officers of the Town or place where &s;uch offence &s;hall be given.</P>
<P>And be further likewi&s;e enacted by the authority and con&s;ent afore&s;aid, that every per&s;on and per&s;ons within this Province, that &s;hall at any time hereaf|ter prophane the Sabbath, or Lords day, called Sunday, by frequent &s;wearing, drunkenne&s;s, or by any uncivil or di&s;orderly Recreation, or by working on that day when ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity doth not require, &s;hall for every &s;uch fir&s;t offence forfeit two &s;hillings &s;ix pence Sterling, or the value thereof; and for the &s;econd offence five &s;hillings Sterling, or the value thereof; and for the third offence, and for every time he &s;hall offend in like manner afterwards, Ten &s;hil|lings Sterling, or the value thereof; and in ca&s;e &s;uch offender or offenders &s;hall not have &s;ufficient goods or chattels within this Province to &s;atisfy any of the afore&s;aid penalties re&s;pectively hereby impo&s;ed for prophaning the Sabbath or Lords day called Sunday as afore&s;aid, then in every &s;uch ca&s;e the party &s;o offending &s;hall for the fir&s;t and &s;econd offence in that kind be impri&s;oned till he or &s;he &s;hall publickly in open Court before the chief Commander, Judge or Magi&s;trate of that County, Town, or Precinct wherein &s;uch offence &s;hall be committed, acknowledge the &s;candal and offence he hath in that re&s;pect given, again&s;t God, and the good and civil Government of this Province: and for the third offence and for every time after &s;hall al&s;o be publickly whipt.</P>
<P>And whereas the inforcing of the Con&s;cience in matter of Religion hath frequently fallen out to be of dangerous con&s;equence in tho&s;e Commonwealths where it hath been practi&s;ed, and for the more quiet and peaceable Government of this Province, and the better to pre&s;erve mutual love &amp; unity among&s;t the Inhabitants here, Be it therefore al&s;o by the Lord Proprietary with the advice and a&s;&s;ent of this A&s;&s;embly, ordained and enacted, except as in this pre&s;ent Act is before declared and &s;et forth, that no per&s;on or per&s;ons what&s;oever within this Province, or the I&s;lands, Ports, Harbors, Creeks, or Havens thereunto be|longing, profe&s;&s;ing to believe in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, &s;hall from henceforth be any ways troubled, mole&s;ted, or di&s;countenanced, for, or in re&s;pect of his or her Re|ligion nor in the free exerci&s;e thereof within this Province or the I&s;lands thereunto belonging, nor any way compell'd to the belief or exerci&s;e of any other Re|ligion, again&s;t his or her con&s;ent, &s;o as they be not unfaithfull to the Lord Proprietary, or mole&s;t or con&s;pire again&s;t the civil Government, e&s;tabli&s;hed or to be e&s;tabli&s;hed in this Province under him and his Heirs. And that all and every per&s;on and per&s;ons that &s;hall pre&s;ume contrary to this Act and the true intent &amp; meaning thereof, directly or indirectly, either in per&s;on or e&s;tate, wilfully to wrong, di&s;turb, or trouble, or mole&s;t any per&s;on or per&s;ons what&s;oever within this Province, profe&s;&s;ing to be believe in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, for or in re&s;pect of his or her Religion, or the free exerci&s;e thereof within this Province, otherwi&s;e then is pro|vided for in this Act, that &s;uch per&s;on or per&s;ons &s;o offending &s;hall be compelled to pay treble damages to the party &s;o wronged or mole&s;ted, and for every &s;uch offence &s;hall al&s;o forfeit Twenty &s;hillings Sterling in Money, or the value thereof, half thereof for the u&s;e of the Lord Proprietary and his Heirs, Lords and Pro|prietaries of this Province, and the other half thereof for the u&s;e of the Party &s;o wronged or mole&s;ted as afore&s;aid; or if the party &s;o offending as afore&s;aid, &s;hall refu&s;e or be unable to recompence the party &s;o wronged, or to &s;atisfy &s;uch fine or forfeiture, then &s;uch offender &s;hall be &s;everely puni&s;hed by publick whipping and impri&s;onment during the plea&s;ure of the Lord Proprietary or his Lieutenant or chief Governor of this Province for the time being, without Bail or Mainpri&s;e.</P>
<P>And be it further al&s;o enacted by the authority and con&s;ent afore&s;aid, that the Sheriff or other Officer or Officer from time to time to be appointed and au|thorized for that purpo&s;e of the County, Town, or Precinct where every particular offence in this pre&s;ent Act contained, &s;hall happen at any time to be com|mitted, and whereupon there is hereby a forfeiture, fine, or penalty impo&s;ed, &s;ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">l from time to time di&s;train, and &s;eize the goods and e&s;tate of every &s;uch per&s;on &s;o offending as afore&s;aid again&s;t this pre&s;ent Act or any part thereof, and &s;ell the &s;ame or any part thereof for the full &s;atisfaction of &s;uch forfeiture, fine, or penalty as afore&s;aid, re&s;toring to the party &s;o offending, the remainder or over plus of the &s;aid goods or e&s;tate, after &s;uch &s;atisfaction &s;o made as afore&s;aid.</P>
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