An Act to Reprove Certain Discouragements & Hinderances of the Conversion of Infidels (Royal Society)

An Act to remove certain Discuragement & Hinderances of the Conversion of infidels.

Whereas in the Duty of all Christian to desire and endeavour the Propagation of the Christian Religion as they have oportunity, and especially of matters of Families to take care that their Families and Servants be well instructed therein; yet so little sence thereof have many of our Traders & Planters beyond Sea who have many Negros and other Infidel Servants, that they not only neglect the Instructhion of their Souls for the Service of God, whose ^bodily Labour they are for the Service of themselves, but willfully keep them in Ignorance least if they should be Baptized into the Christian Profession they should thereby, as they believe, without any just ground, become infranchised & free from their Sevice: Which in faith an Imiety, as is not only a great Reproach to the Church of England, but may justly be feared may provoke some severe Judgmentt of God if not spedily reformed. To the end therefore that neither these poor Creatures may be induced to the Profesion of the Christianity by so improper & [means & motives] as the freedoms of their Bodies from the Service of Men, nor any Master Mistres or other person be longer permitted apon any Such pretense or otherwise to hinder the Recovery of their Souls out of the Slavery of Satan Be it ^{declared &} enacted by the King & Queens MajestyMaty, the same Spirituall & Temporal, and the Common in this present Parliament assembled and by the Authority of the same, That no negro or other infidel who being in the State of Servitude shall be baptized into the Christian Profession ^{hath or} doth by such Baptisme acquire any State of Civil Freedome, or become hereby infranchised from the Service of such Master or Mistres to whom he or she was before judgement ^servant, a shall be jud adjudicated deemed or reputed, for such cause only, to be a free man or free woman, but shall remain not withstanding the same in such thate of Subjection ^Servitude to him or her respective master and mistress as if the same person had not hin baptized.

And to the end that so great simpicy may be the more effectually reformed, and the Reproach thereof removed, and the Judgeh of God averted, But in line with enacted ^{by the Authority aforest} That if any Planter Trader or other person having

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