Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 2.djvu/38

 he was received by the collector of the district in which the ship came to anchor, and a certificate was given to the master of the vessel, containing a statement of the expenses which he had incurred in the transportation of the runaway, and this amount was discharged by the General Assembly upon the presentation of the document to that body. In the meanwhile, the collector had notified the master of the arrival of his servant. If he was willing to take the servant into his employment again, he was required first to pay all the charges that had fallen upon the public, but if unwilling, then the servant was either sold or hired out until the public had been reimbursed for the outlay entailed; and if any part of his term remained unexpired, after this was accomplished, he was returned to his master. If, instead of attempting to escape in a ship that was about to set sail for the Northern Colonies, the runaway fled to the nearest Indian village, its chief was commanded to produce him before a justice of the peace. The latter, on receiving him, was required to pay to the Indians who had apprehended him, twenty arms&#8217; length of roanoke, or its value in such goods as the captors might prefer. The justice then forwarded the servant to his master. This law was passed to continue in force only for a very short time.

Experience showed that the neglect of constables in making search as directed by their warrants, which empowered them to enter dwelling-houses, was the most frequent cause of a permanent evasion of capture on the part of absconding servants. To counteract the secret influence brought to bear upon these officers, a master, in case his runaway was apprehended, was ordered to pay the constable who was the agent in the capture, two