A. E. Verrill — The Bermuda Islands. 563 



given their lives if they would become executioners.* Sometimes, for 

 minor offences, free negroes were condemned to become slaves to the 

 Company. This penalty was also applied, on at least one occasion, 

 to a white man by Gov. Tucker. By a law enacted in 1668, inter- 

 marriage of whites with coloi-ed persons or mulattoes was punishable 

 by banishment or penal servitude. 



A law was passed by the Assembly, in 1730, that an owner who 

 happened to kill one of his own slaves, when punishing him, should 

 not be called to account, in any way ; but if any one killed a 

 slave maliciously he should pay a fine of £10, and also the price of 

 the slave, if it belonged to another person. 



On several occasions there were apprehensions of insurrections or 

 mutinies among the free colored people and slaves against the whites. 

 In November, 1656, such a conspiracy to kill all the whites was dis- 

 covered, and nine negroes were tried and convicted. Two were 

 executed and others were banished to Elentheria. On this occasion, 

 under Governor Forster, the following and other severe laws were 

 enacted. 



"(1) It is ordered that from henceforth none of the negroes of 

 these Islands to whomsoever they do belong, or of what sort soever 

 they are, shall have liberty to straggle or wander from their master's 

 houses or lands after halfe an hour after the setting of the sunne, 

 without a passe or tickett under their handes to whom they do 

 belonge, w'ch is to be granted only upon some weighty occasion 

 moveing thereunto. But such negroes being found stragglinge 

 w'thout their leaves or their warrentall Tickett as afores'd, walking 

 in the night as afores'd, it shall be at the j:>ower of any English man 

 that meets such a negroe to kill him then & thiere without rnercye. 

 And if any such negroe shall refuse to be apprehended, and doth 

 resist the Englishman, and he doth not make speedy pursuit against 

 him, and shall not forthwith give information to the next magistral, 

 Then he or they for thier neglect therein shall forfeit one hundred 

 poundes of tobacco to be expended upon generall service 



* Cases when the same action was taken with white man are recorded in 1638 

 and 1631. In some cases, and perhaps generally, colored men were made execu- 

 tioners of colored criminals only. 



A negro named John, having been convicted of stealing a boat, Aug. 17, 

 1664, was sentenced to be hanged, but the Governor reprieved him on condition 

 that he should act as the executioner of negroes. Five days later ''Black 

 Mathew " having been convicted of house breaking and escaping from jail, was 

 banged at St. George's, and his severed bead, " by the Governor's order," was 

 impaled on a stake at Stocks Point. 



