=4. Maryland:--Runaway apprentices felons.=
=1642, March 26.= Act against Fugitives.--"It shall be felony in any apprentice Servant to depart away secretly from his or her Master or dame then being with intent to convey him or her Selfe away out of the Province. And on any other person that shall wittingly accompany such Servant in such unlawfull departure as aforesaid. And the offendors therein shall suffer paines of death, and after his due debts paid shall forfeit all his Lands, goods, & Chattels within the Province. Provided, that in Case his Lordship or his Leivt't-Generall shall at the request of the partie so condemned exchange such pains of death into Servitude, that then such exchange shall not exceed the term of Seaven years, and that the Master or dame of the parties so pardoned of death shall first be satisfied for the terme of such parties Service unexpired from the day of such unlawfull departure, and for double the time of his absence dureing his said departure."--¤_Archives of Maryland, Assembly Proceedings, 124._
=5. New Netherlands:--Against harboring fugitive servants. [§ 6].=
=1642, April 13.= "We have interdicted and forbidden, as we do hereby most, expressly interdict and forbid, all our good inhabitants here, from this time henceforward, lodging any strangers in their houses, or furnishing them more than one meal and harboring them more than one night without first notifying the Director," etc.--¤_Laws and Ordinances of New Netherlands, 32._
=6. Virginia:--Entertainment of fugitives. [§ 3].=
=1642-3, March.= Act XXI. "Whereas complaints are at every quarter court exhibited against divers persons who entertain and enter into covenants with runaway servants and freemen who have formerly hired themselves to others, to the great prejudice if not the utter undoeing of divers poor men, thereby also encouraging servants to runn from their masters and obscure themselves in some remote plantation. Upon consideration had for the future preventing of the like injurious and unjust dealings, _Be it enacted and confirmed_ that what person or persons soever shall entertain any person as hireling, or sharer, or upon any other conditions for one whole yeare, without certificate from the commander or any one commissioner of the place, that he or she is free from any ingagement of service. The person so hireing without such certificate as aforesaid, shall for every night that he or she entertaineth any servant, either as hireling or otherwise, fforfeit to the master or mistris of the said servant twenty pounds of tobacco. And for evrie freeman which he or she entertaineth (formerly hired by another) for a year as aforesaid, he or she shall forfeit to the party who had first hired him twenty pound of tobacco for every night deteyned. And for every freeman which he or she entertaineth (though he hath not formerly hired himselfe to another), without certificate as aforesaid, And in all these cases the party hired shall receive such censure and punishment as shall be thought fitt by the Governor and Counsell: Allways provided that if any such runnaway servants or hired freemen shall produce such a certificate, wherein it appears that they are freed from their former masters service, or from any such ingagement respectively, if afterwards it shall be proved that the said certificates are counterfeit then the retayner not to suffer according to the penalty of this act, But such punishment shall be inflicted upon the forger and procurer thereof as the Governor and Council shall think fitt."--¤_Statutes at Large. Hening, Laws of Virginia, I. 253._