TITLE 7. Persons held in sla very not to into this SEC. 8. Penalty for selling any person as a slave. 9. Persons so sold discharged from service. 10. Persons imported since certain time, not to be transferred for any time. 12. Penalty for sending out of the state, slaves or servants. 13. Last section not to apply to slaves or servants pardoned by governor. $ 1. No person held as a slave shall be imported, introduced or brought into this state, on any pretence whatever, except be brought in the cases hereinafter specified. Every such person shall be free. Every person held as a slave who hath been introduced or brought into this state contrary to the laws in force at the time, shall be free. state. [657] Persons sold discharged from all service. Certain persons imported not to be transferred. Laws of 1817, 136, § 9; 20 N. Y., 601; 5 S. S. C., 681; 26 B., 272. $ 2. The preceding section shall not be deemed to discharge from service any person held in slavery in any state of the United States, under the laws thereof, who shall escape into this state. Sec. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, repealed by Laws of 1841, ch. 247. S8. No person shall under any colour or pretext whatever, sell any other person as a slave; and whoever shall offend against this provision shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction, shall be subject to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars, or to imprisonment in the county jail, not exceeding three years, or to imprisonment in a state prison not exceeding fourteen years. Laws of 1817, 137, § 10. $9. If the person so sold as a slave, be at the time held in slavery, or in any manner bound to service, to the individual selling him, or with whose consent or knowledge he shall be sold, he shall thereupon, by the fact of such sale, become emancipated and discharged from all obligations of service. $ 10. No person who hath been imported or brought into this state as a slave since the eighth day of April, in the year one thousand eight hundred and one, shall be transferred for any term of time; and every person transferred shall be free from all obligations of service to the individual transferring him, or with whose knowledge he shall be transferred. Certain con- $ 11. Every indenture, bond or contract, for personal service, made since the thirtieth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and ten, or which shall hereafter be made or entered into, by any person, who has been held or possessed as a slave without this state, shall be utterly void; and all such contracts made by any person who has been held as a slave within this state, shall also be void. tracts for service, void. Penalty for sending slaves or Laws of 1810, 33, § 2; 1817, 138, § 11. S 12. No person shall send, export or carry out of this state, any person who hath been held as a slave, or as a servant for TITLE 7. servants state. a term of years, in consequence of his having been born of a person held in slavery, except as herein provided; and who- out of the ever shall offend against this provision, or shall attempt to send, export or carry out of this state, any such slave or such servant, or be aiding and consenting to such exportation or attempt, except as aforesaid, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and every person so exported, or attempted to be exported, shall be free, and discharged from all obligations of service to the individual so exporting him, or with whose knowledge or privity he shall be so exported. tion quali S 13. The provisions in the preceding section, shall not be Last secapplicable to any slave or servant who shall be pardoned by ned. the executive on condition of leaving this state. Laws of 1819, 172, § 1. Certain in servants made on their re turn. S 14. Any inhabitant of this state, going a journey to any [659] other part of the United States, may carry with him any habitants person by him lawfully held to service as aforesaid. Such may take inhabitant, on his own return to this state, shall bring back with them. with him every person so carried away by him; and in default Proof to be thereof he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, unless it shall appear that within one month after such return, he filed with the clerk of the city or town in which he resides, a certificate signed by a judge of the county courts of the county, or by the mayor or recorder of the city, stating that it hath satisfactorily appeared to such officer, by the oath of such inhabitant or otherwise, that the person held to service and not brought back as aforesaid, could not be brought back as herein required, by reason of some unavoidable accident. Laws of 1817, 140, § 15. color invᏅ brought ceedings. S15. Whenever any person of colour, owing service or Persons of labor in any other state of the United States, shall secrete luntarily himself on board of a vessel lying in any port or harbor of into this such state, and shall be brought into this state in such vessel, state may the captain or commander thereof, or his agent, may seize ed; prosuch person of colour, and take him before the mayor or recorder of the city of New-York. The officer before whom such person shall be brought, shall inquire into the circumstances, and if it appear, upon proper testimony, that such person of colour owes service or labor in any other state, and that he did secrete himself on board of such vessel, without the knowledge or consent of the captain or commander thereof, and that by so doing, he subjected such captain to any penalty, such officer shall furnish a certificate thereof, to such captain or commander, which shall be a sufficient warrant to him, to carry or send such person of colour, to the port or place from which he was so brought as aforesaid. Laws of 1817, 143, § 30. S 16. Every person born within this state, whether white or coloured, is FREE; every person who shall hereafter be born within this state, shall be FREE; and every person brought TITLE & into this state as a slave, except as authorised by this Title, shall be FREE. 20 N. Y., 601; 26 B., 272. TITLE VIII. [660] Penalty for performing OF THE PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT OF IMMORALITY AND ART. 1. — Of jugglers and the exhibition of shows, &c. ART. 2. Of disorderly practices on public occasions and holidays, and in taverns, vessels and canal boats. ART. 9.-General provisions to enforce the prohibitions of the three last Articles. ARTICLE FIRST. OF JUGGLERS, AND THE EXHIBITION OF SHOWS, &C. SEO. 1. Puppet-shows, &c. not to be performed or allowed; penalty. 2. Same penalty for exhibiting paintings, animals, &c. without license. $1. No person shall exhibit or perform for gain or profit, puppet any puppet-show, any wire or rope-dance, or any other idle shows, shows, acts or feats which common showmen, mountebanks them to be or jugglers usually practice or perform; and no owner or or allowing performed. Ib. for ex- 1 occupant of any house, out-house, yard, field, shed or other place, shall furnish or allow the same to be used for the accommodation of such exhibition or performance. Whoever shall offend against either of these provisions, shall forfeit twenty-five dollars for each offence, to be recovered by and in the name of the overseers of the poor of the town where the offence shall be committed. Laws of 1819, 240, § 1 & 2; 13 B., 628; 12 W., 384. S2. The penalties in the preceding section shall also apply to and be recovered of any person who shall exhibit for gain or profit any painting, any animal or other natural or artificial out license. curiosity, or any other thing not prohibited in the foregoing section, in any town, without having first obtained permission in writing for that purpose, signed by two justices of the peace of the town, in which license the nature of such exhibition shall be described, and for the granting of which no fee or reward shall be taken. OF DISORDERLY PRACTICES ON PUBLIC OCCASIONS AND HOLIDAYS, AND SEC. 3. Penalty for discharging fire-arms, &c. on certain days. 4. Gaming tables prohibited. 5. Public officers to destroy such tables. SEC. 6. Gaming, &c. in taverns, vessels and packets, prohibited. 7. Penalties, and how collected. ART. 2. of fire-arms, tain days, $ 3. No person shall fire or discharge any gun, pistol, rocket, Discharge squib, cracker, or other fire-work, within a quarter of a mile &c., on cerof any building, on the twenty-fifth day of December, on the prohibited. last day of December, on the first day of January, or on the twenty-second day of February, in any year; nor on the fourth day of July, or such other day as shall at the time be celebrated as the anniversary of American independence, without the order of some officer of the militia, while in the course of military exercises: every person offending against these provisions, shall forfeit the sum of five dollars to be recovered by any person who will prosecute in the name of the overseers of the poor, with their consent and under their direction, for the use of the poor. 1 R. L., 49. S 4. On the day of any militia parade or rendezvous, or of any town-meeting, or of any annual or special election, or on the day of the assembling of any inhabitants of this state to celebrate the anniversary of American independence, no person shall expose to the public, or have in his possession within half a mile of the place of such parade, rendezvous, town-meeting, election or celebration, any eo-table, wheel of fortune, or other gaming table, or gaming machine or box; every person offending against this provision, shall forfeit twenty-five dollars, to be recovered by and in the name of the overseers of the poor of the town where the offence was committed, for the use of the poor. Laws of 1815, 70. [661] Gaming tarades, elecprohibited. bles at pa tions, &c., $ 5. It shall be the duty of all sheriffs and of all other To be deexecutive, judicial or ministerial officers concerned in the stroyed. administration of justice, to break, burn or otherwise destroy, every such table, box and machine, so exposed or possessed contrary to the provisions of the last foregoing section. &c., in tav vessels, $ 6. There shall not be allowed or suffered any cock-fight- Gaming, ing, playing with cards or dice, or any kind of gaming by lot erns and or chance, within any house kept as a public inn or tavern, or prohibited. in any grocery, or other place where spirituous liquors shall be licensed to be sold, nor shall there be any playing with cards or dice for gain or money, or any kind of gaming by lot or chance, on board any vessel used for the transportation of passengers, or on board any packet or other boat employed in the conveyance of passengers on any canal; nor shall any billiard table or other gaming table, be kept on board such vessel or boat, or within such house or place, or in any outhouse, yard or garden belonging to such house or place. 1 R. L., 178, § 8; Laws of 1816, 243, § 2; 13 J. R., 84. $ 7. The master of any vessel or boat, and the keeper of Penalties. any inn, tavern, grocery or other place where spirituous liquors are licensed to be sold, who shall offend against either of the provisions of the last section, shall forfeit ten dollars for each offence, to be recovered by and in the name of the overseers of the poor of the town where any such offence shall be committed by the keeper of an inn, tavern, grocery or other place before mentioned, and by and in the name of the overseers of the poor of any town where the offence shall be committed by any master of a vessel or boat. ARTICLE THIRD. OF BETTING AND GAMING. SEC. 8. All wagers unlawful; all contracts on account of wagers, void. 9. Money and property wagered, may be recovered. 10. Two last sections not to extend to certain insurances. 11. Cheating at games, a misdemeanor. 12. Winners at any game, to forfeit five times the value won. 13. Winning or losing $25 within twenty-four hours, a misdemeanor. 14. Persons losing at any sitting $25, may recover it back. 15. May be recovered by overseers of the poor. 16. Securities for money lost at gaming, void. 17. If such securities affect real estate, to enure to heir of grantor, &c. 18. Persons betting, playing, &c., competent witnesses. 19. Persons liable to suit, may be compelled to answer bills of discovery. 20. Answer not to be testimony against such persons. 21. Witnesses may be discharged from penalties of this Title. S 8. All wagers, bets or stakes, made to depend upon any race, or upon any gaming by lot or chance, or upon any lot, chance, casualty, or unknown or contingent event whatever, shall be unlawful. All contracts for or on account of any money or property, or thing in action so wagered, bet or staked, shall be void. 1 R. L., 223, § 5; 19 N. Y., 27; N. Y., 395; 22 B., 38; 6 B., 660; 4 B., 529; 5 D., 365; 3 D., 105, 342; 1 D., 172; 8 Cow., 141; 5 W., 250; 2 S. S. C., 439; 1 How. P. R., 85; 2 E. D. S., 291. $9. Any person who shall pay, deliver or deposit any money, property or thing in action, upon the event of any wager or bet herein prohibited, may sue for and recover the same of the winner or person to whom the same shall be paid or delivered, and of the stakeholder or other person in whose hands shall be deposited any such wager, bet or stake, or any part thereof, whether the same shall have been paid over by such stakeholder or not, and whether any such wager be lost or not. 20 N. Y., 12; 15 N. Y., 527; 22 B., 82; 13 B., 556; 9 B., 315; 4 B., 529; 3 D., 103, 107; 1 D., 558; 7 Cow., 496; 10 J. R., 468. S 10. The two last sections shall not be extended so as to prohibit or in any way affect any insurances made in good faith for the security or indemnity of the party insured, and which are not otherwise prohibited by law; nor to any contract on bottomry or respondentia. 22 B., 38; 23 B., 151; 3 D., 105. $11. Any person who shall, by any fraud or unlawful device or ill practice whatsoever, while playing at any game, or while |