Preventive and punitive regulation in seventeenth-century social policy: conflicts of interest and the failure to make 'stealing and transporting Children, and other Persons' a felony,1645–73.

The expansion of settlement in the English colonies in America after 1607 led to a demand for labour which was met by white indentured servitude before the growth of black chattel slavery. However, from its inception the trade in indentured servants was characterized by the abuse of servants by unscrupulous recruiters and of merchants by criminals who made false accusations against them. Two different policy solutions were introduced to address this abuse and both punitive and preventive measures were seen as appropriate methods of regulation. However, making a successful social policy was difficult despite good intention. There was no consensus about an economic activity which raised complicated economic, social and political issues and conflicts of interest; the measures were not introduced as a co-ordinated policy and were in the hands of different agencies; punitive proposals to increase the penalties for child stealing put falsely accused merchants at risk; and the extension of preventive servant registration in private hands for profit became politically unacceptable if it was to be compulsory. As a consequence, the 1671 bill 'to prevent stealing and transporting children, and other persons', despite being passed by both Houses of Parliament, was never enacted and policy to make the offence of stealing a person as serious an offence as stealing a horse was not fulfilled for a further 143 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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