The Digger Movement in the Days of the Commonwealth Part 29

20. The waiters in Storehouses shall deliver the goods in their charge without receiving any money, as they shall receive in their goods without paying any money.

21. If any waiter in a Storehouse neglect his Office, upon a just complaint, the Overseers shall acquaint the Judge's Court therewith; and from thence he shall receive his sentence, to be discharged that house and office, to be appointed some other work under the Task-master; and another shall have his place. For he who may live in Freedom and will not, is to taste of servitude.

LAWS FOR OVERSEERS.

22. The only work of every Overseer is to see the Laws executed. For the Law is the True Magistracy of the land.

23. If any Overseer favour any in their idleness and neglect the execution of the Laws, he shall be reproved, the first time by the Judge's Court; the second time cas.h.i.+ered his Office, and shall never bear Office more, but fall back into the ranks of young people and servants to be a worker.

24. New Overseers, at their first entrance into their office, shall look back upon the actions of the Old Overseers of the last year, to see if they have been faithful in their places, and consented to no breach of Law, whereby Kingly Bondage should in any way be brought in.

25. The Overseers for Trades shall see every Family to lend a.s.sistance to plant and reap the fruits of the Earth, to work in their Trades, and to furnish the Storehouses. And to see that the Waiters in Storehouses be diligent to receive in and deliver out any goods, without buying and selling, to any man whatsoever.

26. While any Overseer is in performance of his place, every one shall a.s.sist him, upon pain of open reproof (or cas.h.i.+ered if he be another Officer) or forfeiture of freedom, according to the nature of the business in hand, in which he refused his a.s.sistance.

LAWS AGAINST BUYING AND SELLING.

27. If any man entice another to buy and sell, and he who is enticed does not yield, but makes it known to the Overseer, the enticer shall lose his freedom for twelve months, and the Overseer shall give words of commendation of him that refused the enticement before all the Congregation, for his faithfulness to the Commonwealth's Peace.

THE UNPARDONABLE SIN!

28. If any do buy and sell the Earth, or the fruits thereof, unless it be to or with strangers of another Nation, according to the Law of Navigation, they shall be both put to death as Traitors to the Peace of the Commonwealth. Because it brings in Kingly Bondage again, and is the occasion of all quarrels and oppressions.

29. He, or she, who calls the Earth his, and not his brother's, shall be set upon a stool, with those words written in his forehead, before all the Congregation, and afterwards be made a Servant for twelve months under the Task-master. If he quarrel, or seek by secret persuasion or open rising in arms to set up such a Kingly Propriety, he shall be put to death.

30. The Storehouses shall be every man's subsistence, and not any ones.

31. No man shall either give hire or take hire for his work; for this brings in Kingly Bondage. If any Freeman want help, there are young people, or such as are common servants, to do it by the Overseer's appointment. He that gives and he that hires for work, shall both lose their freedom and become Servants for twelve months under the Task-master.

LAWS FOR NAVIGATION.

32. Because other Nations as yet own Monarchy, and will buy and sell, therefore it is convenient for the peace of our Commonwealth, that our s.h.i.+ps do transport our English goods and exchange for theirs, and conform to the customs of other Nations in buying and selling: Always provided that what goods our s.h.i.+ps carry out, they shall be the Commonwealth's goods; and all their trading with other Nations shall be upon the Common Stock, to enrich the Storehouses.

LAWS FOR SILVER AND GOLD.

33. As Silver and Gold is either found out in mines in our own Land, or brought by s.h.i.+pping from beyond Sea, it shall not be coined with a Conqueror's stamp upon it, to set up buying and selling under his name, or by his leave. For there shall be no other use for it in the Commonwealth than to make dishes and other necessaries for the ornament of houses, as now there is use made of bra.s.s, pewter and iron, or any other metal in their use. But in case other Nations whose commodities we want, will not exchange with us unless we give them money, then pieces of silver and gold may be stamped with the Commonwealth's Arms upon them, for the same use and no otherwise.

For where money bears all the sway, there is no regard of that Golden Rule, "_Do as you would be done by_." Justice is bought and sold; nay, Injustice is sometimes bought for money; and it is the cause of all wars and oppressions. Certainly the Righteous Spirit of the Whole Creation did never enact a Law that his weak and simple men should go from England to the East Indies and fetch silver and gold to bring in their hands to their bretheren, and give it them for their good-will to let them plant the Earth, and live and enjoy their livelihood therein.

LAWS TO CHOOSE OFFICERS.

34. All Overseers and State Officers shall be chosen new every year, to prevent the rise of Ambition and Covetousness. For the Nations have smarted sufficiently by suffering Officers to continue long in an Office, or to remain in an Office by hereditary succession.

35. A man who is of a turbulent spirit, given to quarrelling and provoking words to his neighbor, shall not be chosen any Officer while he so continues.

36. All men of twenty years of age upwards shall have freedom of voice to choose Officers, unless they be such as lie under sentence of the Law.

37. Such shall be chosen Officers as are rational men of moderate conversation, and who have experience in the Laws of the Commonwealth.

38. All men from forty years of age upwards shall be capable to be chosen State Officers, and none younger, unless any one by his industry and moderate conversation doth move the people to choose him.

39. If any man make suit to move the people to choose him an Officer, that man shall not be chosen at all that time. If another man shall persuade the people to choose him that made suit for himself, they shall both loose their freedom at that time, viz., they shall neither have a voice to choose another, nor be chosen themselves.

LAWS AGAINST TREACHERY.

40. He who professes the service of a righteous G.o.d by preaching and prayer, and makes a trade to get the possessions of the Earth, shall be put to death for a Witch and a Cheater.

41. He who pretends one thing in words, and his actions declare his intent was another thing, shall never bear Office in the Commonwealth.

WHAT IS FREEDOM?

Every Freeman shall have a Freedom in the Earth, to plant or build, to fetch from the Storehouses anything he wants, and shall enjoy the fruits of his labor without restraint from any. He shall not pay Rent to any Landlord. He shall be capable of being chosen Officer, so he be above forty years of age, and he shall have a voice to choose Officers though he be under forty years of age. If he want any young men to be a.s.sistants to him in his trade or household employment, the Overseers shall appoint him young men or maids to be his servants in his family.

LAWS FOR SUCH AS HAVE LOST THEIR FREEDOM.

42. All those who have lost their freedom shall be clothed in white woollen cloth, that they may be distinguished from others.

43. They shall be under the government of a Task-master, who shall appoint them to be porters or laborers, to do any work that any Freeman wants to be done.

44. They shall do all kinds of labor without exception, but their constant work shall be carriers or carters, to carry corn or other provision from Storehouse to Storehouse, from Country to Cities, and thence to Countries.

45. If any of these refuse to do such work, the Task-master shall see them whipped, and shall feed them with coa.r.s.e diet. And what hards.h.i.+p is this? For Freemen work the easiest work, and these shall work the hardest work. And to what end is this but to kill their Pride and Unreasonableness, that they may become useful men in the Commonwealth?

46. The wife or children of such as have lost their Freedom shall not be as slaves till they have lost their Freedom as their parents and husbands have done.

47. He who breaks any laws shall be the first time reproved in words in private or in public, as is shown before; the next time whipped; the third time lose his Freedom, either for a short time or for ever, and not to be any Officer.

48. He who hath lost his Freedom shall be a common servant to any Freeman who comes to the Task-master and requires one to do any work for him. Always provided, that after one Freeman hath by the consent of the Task-master appointed him his work, another Freeman shall not call him thence till that work be done.

49. If any of these offenders revile the Laws by words, they shall be soundly whipped and fed with coa.r.s.e diet. If they raise weapons against the Laws, they shall die as Traitors.

LAWS TO RESTORE SLAVES TO FREEDOM.

50. When any Slaves [_i.e._ those who have lost their Freedom] give open testimony of their humility and diligence, and of their care to observe the Laws of the Commonwealth, they are then capable to be restored to their Freedom, when the time of servitude has expired, according to the Judge's sentence. But if they continue opposite to the Laws, they shall continue slaves for another term of time.

51. None shall be restored to Freedom till they have been a twelve month laboring servants to the Commonwealth; for they shall winter and summer in that condition.

52. When any is restored to Freedom, the Judge at the Senator's Court shall p.r.o.nounce his Freedom, and give liberty to him to be clothed in what other coloured garments he will.