542 Assembly Proceedings, May — June 1676.

Liber
WH& L

An Act for secureing Creditors

Whereas there are now prisons built in every County And
forasmuch as they were intended for the safe keepeing of Pri-
soners that Creditors might be secured to haue their debts paid
after Judgment & Execucon served And that Criminalls might
be brought to Condigne Punishment Bee itt Enacted by the
Right Hon^ble the Lord Proprietary by and with the advice and
Consent of the upper and lower houses of this present Gen-
erall Assembly That every Sherriffe within this Province that shall
haue any Prisoner comitted to his Charg in any Criminall case
whatsoever shall safe keepe the said Prisoner or prisoners vntill
they be delivered by due Course of Law And if any sherriffe
shall suffer any such Prisoners to Escape voluntarily or negli-
gently shall forfeit twenty thousand pounds of Tobacco to the
Right Hon^ble the Lord Proprietary the one halfe thereof to be
Employed in strengthning the prison of the County the other
towards the maintenance of poore prisoners.
Bee itt further Enacted by the Authority & by and with the
aduice and Consent aforesaid That when any person or per-
sons are taken by the severall & Respective sherriffes of the
severall and Respective Counties in Execucon for debt or vpon
other meane processe, the said severall & Respective sherriffes
shall safely keepe and restraine the said prisoners by such
meanes & in such manner as prisoners in England by the Law
of England are and may be Restrained And if any sherriffe
shall voluntarily or negligently suffer any such prisoners to
Escape such sherriffe shall pay the debt or Damage to the
person who obtained Judgment & sued out Execucon or other
meane processe against the said Prisoner And if any person
imprisoned for ffelony or other Crime deserving death shall
attempt or endeavour to break the prison shall imediately there-
uppon be Secured by the Sherriffe or Iaoler in Irons And any
person soe imprisoned for felony or other Crime deserving
death as aforesaid that shall breake Prison shall be punished
with death This Act to endure for three yeares or to The End
of the next Generall Assembly which shall first happen.

p. 120

An Act for Repeale of certain lawes and alsoe for
ascertaining what Lawes are in force within this
Province.

The Burgesses & Delegates of this present Generall Assem-
bly takeing into their most Serious consideracon the many
great mischiefes Errors & inconveniencyes which haue and may
happen to many the good people of this Province by the many
Errors that are Comitted in the severall Courts & by the severall