That mistaken notions as to the nature of penalties to be inflicted in criminal cases, and as to the authority of the bench to impose unusual punishments, were not solely entertained in this distant colony, and among men not bred to the law, may be shown by many instances in the English law-books. One of the most notable is Sir Edw. Coke's reference to the case of Peter Burchet, a prisoner in the Tower,--who slew his keeper with a billet of wood, which drew blood,--as an authority for inflicting the additional punishment of cutting off the hand (under the stat. 33 Hen. VIII.) in the case of murder perpetrated in the king's palace, when attended with bloodshed. In Elderton's case, Chief Justice Holt, whose habits of thorough research were not less remarkable than his absolute fairness and honesty, said, "I have searched for the case cited [as Jones's case] about killing a man in the Tower. It is Burdelt and Muskett's case. Being dissatisfied with my Lord Coke's report of it, therefore I sent for the record, ... and there is judgment of death given, but no judgment that his right hand should be cut off. It is indeed so related in Stowe's Chronicle, and in fact his hand was cut off, but there was no judgment for it." Compare 3 Inst., ch. 65 (p. 140 [Symbol: dagger]) with 2 Ld. Raym., 978, 982.] Two other negroes who were suspected of complicity with Maria were ordered to be transported. The record is as follows:-- [Sidenote: "Chessaleer negros Sentence"] Chessaleer negro servant to Tho. Walker brickmaker now in Goale on suspition of Joyning wth Marja Negro in Burning of Dr Swans' & ---- Lambs houses in Roxbury in July last The Court on Consideration of the Case Judged it meet to order that he be kept in prison till his master send him out of the country & then dischardg ye charges of Imprisonment wch if he refuse to doe aboue one moneth the country Tresurer is to see it donne & when ye chardges be defrayd to returne the ouerplus to ye sd Walker [Sidenote: James Pembertons negro sentence] The like Judgment & sentenc was declard against James Pemberton's negro in all respects as agt Chessaleer negro &c.[22] [Footnote 22: Record of the Court of Assistants, _ubi supra_, pp. 138, 139.] Still another negro was convicted, at the same term of the court, of the crime of arson, and ordered to be hanged, and afterwards consumed to ashes in the same fire with Maria, as appears by the following record:-- [Sidenote: Jack negro Jndicted & sentenc]