to spend their time there, wthout ye Leave of yr parents or Masters, unless it be in Case of necessity, on pain of 10s. forfeiture for every offence, ½ to ye informer and ye other to ye poore of ye towne.
A Person Being 3 Mos in Town Shall Be an Inhabitant, Except.
40. Likewise it is further orderrd, yt if any pson come into any town wthin this province, and be there reced & entertained 3 moths, if such person fall sick or Lame, he shall be relieved by yt towne where he was so long entertained, but if ye Constable of yt Towne, or any of ye selectmen, have given warning to such psons wthin ye space of 3 moths yt ye towne will not admit of him, if such pson shall stand in need of Reliefe ye towne shall supply his necessity, until ye Prest and Counll can dispose of him, as to ym shall seem most just and Equall.
Persons Sent From Other Towns, Ye Towns They Are Sent From to Pay the Charge.
41. It is also ordered, yt if any Children or elder pson shall be sent or come from one towne to another, to school, or to nurse, or otherwise to be educated, or to a phisition or Chirurgion, to be cured or healed, if such shall stand in need of Relief they shall be Relieved at the charge of ye towne from whence they came or doe belong, and not by ye towne to wch they are sent; and in case they be sent from any towne wthout ye Province, the taker, nurse, phisition or Chirurgion to whome they are sent, shall take good security to save ye town and Province chargless, or shall be Responcable themselves, for such as need Releife.
President or Deputy to Have Casting Vote.
42. It is further ordered, yt ye Presidt, or in his absence his Deputy, shall have a Casting vote, whensoever there shall be an Equivote, either in ye General Assembly, genl Courts, or Councll.
None to Bring in or Entertain Strangers Wthout Leave.
43. Be it also enacted yt no pson, mstr of any vessell, or other, do bring into any of our townes wthin this Province, any pson or psons, wthout ye approbation of ye Prest or 3 of any pson or psons, wthout ye approbation of ye Prest or 3 of ye Counll, or ye, selectmen of each Towne, nor yt any Inhabitant wthin this Province, doe entertaine in his family any pson yt is not soe allowed, for more than one weeke, wthout giving notice thereof to 1 of ye Counll or to ye Selectmen of ye towne to wch they belong, on penalty of forfeiting 5 l. to ye towne, and be lyable to be sued and give bond to free ye towne from Damage. Provided this ordr shall not hinder any man from taking of any apprentice or Cov’ent servant, for a year or yeares, yt is at present sound and well; and if such servant shall fall sick or Lame he shall be maintained by his Master during ye Date of his Indentures or Covenant, and afterwards by ye towne, in case of necessity.
Constables to Warn Freemen’s Meetings to Choose Deputies.
44. It is enacted by this assembly and the authority thereof, yt ye severall constables in each towne of ye province doe warne and call together the free men of theire Respective townes, on ye first Monday in february, annually, and from among themselves to make their election of Deputies for ye Genll Assembly, who are to meet at Portsmo on ye first Tuesday of March, by 10 of ye Clock in ye forenoone, and ye number of Deputies for each towne to be as followeth, vizt: 3 for ye towne of Portsmo, 3 for ye towne of Dover, 3 for ye towne of Hampton, and 2 for ye towne of Exeter, whose names, after their election and acceptance, ye severall Consas shall make Return of to ye Assembly, as above vnder their hands; and if any Constable neglect his Duty in calling the free men together, or making Returns of ye names of ye Deputies chosen as above, he shall pay ye sum of 5 l. to ye Treasurer, for ye use of ye Province, for every such neglect; and if any Deputy, after his Election and acceptance, shall neglect his attendance at ye time and place of meeting, or absent himself from ye said Assembly wthout Leave, he shall pay a fine of 20s. to the Province, for Every Dayes absence, and so proportionably for every pt. of a day, vnless some Enevatable provindence or such other occation Hinder, as shall be judged by ye Majr pt of sd Assembly a sufficient excuse for sd absence.
Pay for Entry of Actions.
45. And it is ordered, that for ye entry of all actions of appeale from ye qrtr Courts, shall be paid 20s. in money.
[Agreement Between the Settlers at New Plymouth] (The Mayflower Compact)
Also known as “The Plymouth Combination,” the Compact was usually referred to by Plymouth inhabitants as “The Combination” and not until 1793 was it termed the “Mayflower Compact,” when it was reprinted for the first time outside of Massachusetts by a historian in New York. The historical context surrounding its writing, as well as an analysis of its contents, can be found in Harry M. Ward, Statism in Plymouth Colony (Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, 1973); in Willmoore Kendall and George M. Carey, The Basic Symbols of the American Political Tradition (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1972); and in Donald S. Lutz, The Origins of American Constitutionalism (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1988). Unlike colonies further south such as Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas where the presence of some settlers of higher social rank produced a natural, legitimate governing class, New England was settled by men of “the middling sort.” In place of a government composed of men of “standing and reputation,” the Pilgrims and other New England settlers resorted to formal agreements, signed by all males, as the basis for legitimate government. For this reason, while southern colonies moved gradually in the same direction, New England settlements immediately formed under what we now recognize as constitutional government based on popular consent. The Mayflower Compact is the oldest surviving compact based on popular consent; but see also documents 5, 7, 11, 12, 19, 21, 23, and 32–38.
The complete text, with original spelling, is taken from the John Carter Brown Library copy of Nathaniel Morton’s New Englands Memoriall (Cambridge [Mass.], 1669); the library has the oldest surviving reprinting of the document. The original document disappeared sometime during the seventeenth century.
[The Plymouth Combination, or The Mayflower Compact]
IN the Name of God, Amen. We whose Names are under-written, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Soveraign Lord King James, by the grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defendor of the Faith &c. Having undertaken for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our K[i]ng and Countrey, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the Northern parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and one another, Covenant and Combine our selves together into a Civil Body Politick, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid: and by virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our Names at Cape Cod, the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Soveraign Lord King James, of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty fourth, Anno Dom. 1620.
| John Carver, | Samuel Fuller, | Edward Tilly, |
| William Bradford | Christopher Martin, | John Tilly, |
| Edward Winslow, | William Mullins, | Francis Cooke, |
| William Brewster, | William White, | Thomas Rogers, |
| Isaac Allerton, | Richard Warren, | Thomas Tinker, |
| Myles Standish, | John Howland, | John Ridgdale, |
| John Alden, | Steven
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