or him, out of the public treasury. And if a
female slave shall run away the fourth time, then she shall,
by order of her master, mistress or overseer, be severely
whipped, and be branded on the left cheek with the letter R,
and her left ear cut off. And if the owner, if in this
Province, or in case of his absence, if his agent, factor or
attorney, that hath the charge of the negro or slave, by
this Act required to be gelt, whipped, branded and the ear
cut off, for the fourth time of running away, shall neglect
to have the same done and executed, accordingly as the same
is ordered by this Act, for the space of twenty days after
such slave is in his or their custody, that then such owner
shall lose his property to the said slave, to him or them
that will sue for the same, by information, at any time
within six months, in the court of common pleas in this
Province. And every person who shall so recover a slave by
information, for the reasons aforesaid, shall, within twenty
days after such recovery, inflict such punishment upon such
slave as his former owner or head of a family ought to have
done, and for neglect of which he lost his property to the
said slave, or for neglect thereof shall forfeit fifty
pounds; and in case any negro slave so recovered by
information, and gelt, shall die, in such case, the slave so
dying shall not be paid for out of the public treasury. And
in case any negro or slave shall run away the fifth time,
and shall so continue by the space of thirty days at one
time, such slave shall be tried before two justices of the
peace and three freeholders, as before directed by this Act
in case of murder, and being by them declared guilty of the
offence, it shall be lawful for them to order the cord of
one of the slave's legs to be cut off above the heel, or
else to pronounce sentence of death upon the slave, at the
discretion of the said justices; and any judgment given
after the first offence, shall be sufficient conviction to
bring the offenders within the penalty for the second
offence; and after the second, within the penalty of the
third; and so for the inflicting the rest of the
punishments."[490]

If any slave attempted to run away from his or her master, and go out
of the Province, he or she could be tried before