A debtor in prison, swearing he has no estate, shall be led out and sold to make satisfaction. (Altered in 1656.)
Whoever brings cards or dice into this Dominion shall pay a fine of five pounds. (Barber.)
No one shall read common prayer, keep Christmas or Saints' days, make minced pies, dance, play cards, or play on any instrument of music except the drum, trumpet, and jew's-harp. (Barber.)
Whoever wears clothes trimmed with gold, silver, or bone lace, above two shillings by the yard, shall be presented by the grand jurors, and the selectmen shall tax the offender at three hundred pounds estate. (Several acts governing the attire of the subjects.)
There was an ancient law in Massachusetts that ladies' dresses should be made long enough to hide their shoe-buckles. In 1660 an act of the General Court prohibited short sleeves, and required garments to be lengthened so as to cover the arms to the wrists and gowns to the shoe-buckles; "immoderate great breeches, knots of ribbon, broad shoulder bands, and they be, silk roses, double ruffs and cuffs" were forbidden. In the same colony, in 1653, I. Fairbanks was tried for wearing great boots, but was acquitted.
Laws governing marriage and the marriage relation were rigorous.
When parents refuse their children convenient marriages, the magistrate shall determine the point. (Reenacted with alterations.)
The selectmen finding children ignorant may take them from their parents and place them in better hands at the expense of their parents. (Record.)
A wife shall be deemed good evidence against her husband.
Married persons must live together, or be imprisoned.