174 HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. [1689. 



sentenced, " to stand at the public place of correction at the 

 town of Chester, two several Court days, 3 hours each day, with 

 a paper of his crimes, written in capital letters affixed upon his 

 breast." This punishment became what was known as " Stand- 

 ing in the Pillory." This is the first instance of its infliction, and 

 that name is not applied to it in early times. 



It was at the August Court of this year that the appointment 

 of a jury of women was made. It is the only instance found in 

 the Record. The infliction of corporal punishment had become 

 very general in cases of crim. con. When pregnancy had ensued 

 the punishment was delayed ; and it was to decide a question of 

 doubt in a particular case that the female jury was empanneled. 

 " They make their return that they cannot find she is, neither 

 be they sure she is not." The result showed that the punish- 

 ment was properly delayed. 



The freedom of speech was very much restricted in these 

 early times. Prosecutions for slandering the officers of the Pro- 

 vincial Government, or the Justices of the Court, were of frequent 

 occurrence. In. most instances the criminal expressions were 

 nothing more than the wild ravings of drunkenness, or the 

 boastful expressions of weak men who sought notoriety. For 

 "speaking or uttering slanderous and dishonorable words against 

 the life, person, and government of the chief Proprietary, Wil- 

 liam Penn, as also against the life and person of this present Go- 

 vernor, John Blackwell, Esq.," the defendant upon his own con- 

 fession was fined £b. " For defaming John Simcock one of the 

 people's representatives in the Council, in the words that he Avas 

 drunk at the last Court at Chester, the party was bound to his 

 good behaviour, & was to set up a paper of what his crime was." 



At the June Court of this year, the Grand Jury laid out a 

 landing place and open street for the service of the County as 

 follows: "beginning at the Northwesterly corner of the court 

 house to low Avater mark, by Chester Creek and so of the same 

 breadth by the said creek down to the Delaware River to low 

 water mark, thence and also from the first mentioned corner of the 

 Court house a public street SO^oot wide through Chester town." 



Appraisements of the eS"ects of decedents were made to the 

 Orphans' Court. The names of some articles included in the 

 inventories, sound strangely to us of this day, and the value put 

 on others is equally remarkable. Thus, 1 doz. trenches is valued 

 at 1« ; 4 quaifs at 2s ; 7 petticoats at X3 ; one pair of stays & 

 two green aprons, at £2 10s, and a cow and calf at £1 10, &c. 



Previous to 1689 the Records of the Chester Court furnish no 

 instance of imprisonment as a punishment for crime, for a period 

 longer than a few weeks. This year there was a sentence for a 

 year's imprisonment, in addition to corporal punishment. 



