LAWS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF New-Castle, Kent and Sussex, Upon Delaware.
Published by Order of the ASSEMBLY.
PHILADELPHIA: Printed and Sold by B. FRANKLIN AND D. HALL, at the New Printing-Office, in Market-Street. M DCC LII.
The Duke of York's DEED of Feoffment of Newcastle, and Twelve Miles Circle, to William Penn, 1682, August 24.
THIS INLENTURE, made the Four and Twentieth Day of August, in the Four and Thirtieth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord Charles the Second, by the Grace of God of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, KING, Defender of the Faith, & c. Annoque Domini 1682, Between the most Illustrious Prince his Royal Highness James Duke of York and Albany, Earl of Ulster, &c. of the one Part, and William Penn, Esq Son and Heir of Sir William Penn, Knight, deceased, of the other Part, Witnesseth, That his said Royal Highness, out of a special Regard to the Memory and many faithful and eminent Services heretofore performed by the said Sir William Penn to his said Majesty and Royal Highness, and for the Goodwill which his said Royal Highness hath and beareth to the said William Penn; and for and in Consideration of the Sum of Ten Shillings to him in Hand paid by the said William Penn at and before the Ensealing and Delivery hereof, the Receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged; and for other good Causes and Considerations, Doth bargain, sell, enfeoff and confirm unto the said William Penn, his Heirs and Assigns, for ever, all that the Town of Newcastle, otherwise called Delaware, and all that Tract of Land lying within the Compass or Circle of Twelve Miles about the same, situate, lying, and being upon the River Delaware, in America; and all Islands in the said River Delaware, and the said River and Soil thereof, lying North of the southermost Part of the said Circle of Twelve Miles about the said Town, together with all Rents, Services, Royalties, Franchises, Duties, Jurisdictions, Liberties and Privileges thereunto belonging; and all the Estate, Right, Title, Interest, Powers, Property, Claim and Demand whatsoever of his said Royal Highness, of, in, or to, the same, or any Part or Parcel thereof: Saving always and reserving to his said Royal Highness, his Agents and Servants, free Use of all Ports, Ways and Passages into, through and out of the bargained Premises, and every Part and Parcel thereof; To have and to hold the said Town and Circle of Twelve Miles of Land about the same, Islands, and all other the before-mentioned [Page 4] or intended to be hereby bargained Premises, with their Appurtenances, unto the said William Penn, his Heirs and Assigns, to the only Use and Behoof of him the said William Penn, his Heirs and Assigns, for ever, yielding and paying therefore yearly and every Year unto his said Royal Highness, his Heirs and Assigns, the Sum of Five Shillings of lawful Money of England, at the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel only. And the said William Penn, for himself, his Heirs and Assigns, doth covenant and grant to and with his said Royal Highness, his Heirs and Assigns, by these Presents, That he the said William Penn, his Heirs and Assigns, shall and will well and truly pay, or cause to be paid to his said Royal Highness, his Heirs and Assigns, the said yearly Rent of Five Shillings at the Days whereon the same is reserved to be paid as aforesaid. And his said Royal Highness for himself, his Heirs and Assigns, doth covenant and grant to and with the said William Penn, his Heirs and Assigns, by these Presents, That his said Royal Highness, his Heirs and Assigns, will at any time or times hereafter, during the Space of Seven Years next ensuing the Date hereof, upon the Request, and at the Costs and Charges in the Law of the said William Penn, his Heirs and Assigns, do, make, and execute, or cause or procure to be made, done and executed, all and every such further Act and Acts, Conveyances and Assurances in the Law whatsoever, for the further conveying and assuring the said Town and Circle of Twelve Miles of Land about the same, and Islands, and all other the Premises, with the Appurtenances, unto the said William Penn, his Heirs and Assigns, for ever, as by the Counsel learned in the Law of the said William Penn, his Heirs or Assigns, shall be reasonably devised, advised, or required. And his said Royal Highness hath hereby made, constituted and appointed John Moll of Newcastle aforesaid, Esq and Ephraim Harman of Newcastle aforesaid, Gentleman, jointly, and either of them severally, his true and lawful Attornies; and by these Presents doth give and grant unto the said John Moll and Ephraim Harman, his said Attornies, or either of them, full Power and Authority for him, and in his Name and Stead, into all and singular the Premises herein before mentioned, or intended to be hereby aliened, enfeoffed and confirmed, and into every, or any Part or Parcel thereof, in the Name of the Whole, to enter, and quiet and peaceable Possession and Seisin thereof, or of any Part or Parcel thereof, in the Name of the Whole, to enter and receive. And after peaceable Possession thereof had and taken as aforesaid, to deliver quiet and peaceable Possession and Seisin thereof, [Page 5] or of any Part or Parcel thereof, in the Name of the Whole, to the said William Penn, his Heirs or Assigns, or to his or their lawful Attorney or Attornies, Sufficiently authorised to receive and take the same, and him or them, to leave in the quiet and peaceable Possession thereof, according to the true Intent and Meaning of these Presents. And his said Royal Highness doth hereby allow of, ratify and confirm whatsoever the said John Moll and Epbraim Harman, his said Attornies, shall lawfully do, or cause to be done in and about the Premises, by Virtue of these Presents, to be as good and effectual in the Law, to all Intents and Purposes whatsoever, as if his said Royal Highness had done the same in his own Person, or had been present at the Doing thereof. In Witness whereof his said Royal Highness hath to these Presents set his Hand and Seal, the Day and Year first above written.
The Duke of York's DEED of Feoffment of a Tract of Land Twelve Miles South from Newcastle to the Whorekills, to William Penn, 1682, Aug. 24.
THIS INDENTURE, made the Four and Twentieth Day of August, in the Four and Thirtieth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord Charles the Second, by the Grace of God of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, KING, Defender of the Faith, & c. Annoque Domini 1682, Between the most Illustrious Prince his Royal Highness James Duke of York and Albany, Earl of Ulster, &c. of the one Part, and William Penn, Esq Son and Heir of Sir William Penn, Knight, deceased, of the other Part, Witnesseth, That his said Royal Highness, out of a special Regard to the Memory and many faithful and eminent Services heretofore performed by the said Sir William Penn to his said Majesty and Royal Highness; and for the Goodwill which his said Royal Highness hath and beareth to the said William Penn; and for and in Consideration of the Sum of Ten Shillings to him in Hand paid by the said William Penn at and before the Ensealing and Delivery [Page 6] these Presents, the Receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged; and of the Rent and Convenants herein after reserved and contained, Doth bargain, fell, enfeoff and confirm unto the said William Penn, his Heirs and Assigns, for ever, all that Tract of Land upon Delaware River and Bay, beginning Twelve Miles South from the Town of Newcastle, otherwise called Delaware, and extending South to the Whorekills, otherwise called Cape Henlopen, together with free and undisturbed Use and Passage into and out of all Harbours, Bays, Waters, Rivers, Isles, and Inlets, belonging to, or leading to the same; together with the Soil, Fields, Woods, Underwoods, Mountains, Hills, Fens, Isles, Lakes, Rivers, Rivulets, Bays and Inlets, Situate in, or belonging unto, the Limits and Bounds aforesaid; together with all Sorts of Minerals; and all the Estate, Interest, Royalties, Franchises, Powers, Privileges and Immunities whatsoever of his said Royal Highness therein, or in, or unto any Part or Parcel thereof: Saving always and reserving to his said Royal Highness, his Agents and Servants, free Use of all Ports, Ways and Passages into, through and out of the said bargained Premises, and every Part and Parcel thereof; To have and to hold the said Tract of Land, and all and singular other the Premises, with the Appurtenances, unto the said William Penn, his Heirs and Assigns, to the only Use and Behoof of him the said William Penn, his Heirs and Assigns, for ever, to be holden of his said Royal Highness and his Heirs, as of their castle of New-York, in free and common Soccage, yielding and paying therefore yearly, and every Year, to his said Royal Highness, his Heirs and Assigns, One Rose, at the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel, yearly, if demanded. And the said William Penn, for himself, his Heirs and Assigns, doth covenant and agree to and with his said Royal Highness, his Heirs and Assigns, That he the said William Penn, his Heirs or Assigns, shall and will within the Space of One Year next ensuing the Date of these Presents, erect, or cause to be erected, and set up, one or more Publick Office or Offices of Registry in or upon the said bargained Premises, wherein he, or they, or some of them, shall and will, amongst other Things, truly and faithfully account, set down, and register, all and all manner of Rents, and other Profits, which he, or they, or any of them, shall by any ways or means make, raise, get, or procure of, in, or out of the said bargained Premises, or any Part or Parcel thereof: And shall and will at the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel yearly, and every Year, well and truly yield, pay, and deliver, unto his said Royal Highness, his Heirs and [Page 7] Assigns. One full Moiety of all and all Manner of Rents, Issues and Profits, as well extraordinary as ordinary, as shall be made or raised upon, or by reason of, the Premises, or any Part thereof. And if it shall happen the same shall be behind, and unpaid, in Part, or in all, by the Space of Twenty Days next after the same ought to be yielded, paid, or delivered, that then, and so often, it shall be lawful to and for his said Royal Highness, his Heirs and Assigns, to enter in and upon the said Premises, or any Part or Parcel thereof, and there to distrain, and the Distress and Distresses there taken, to take and detain, until the said Moiety and Arrears thereof shall be well and truly satisfied and paid, together with all Costs and Damages for the same. And his said Royal Highness for himself, his Heirs and Assigns, doth covenant and grant to and with the said William Penn, his Heirs and Assigns, by these Presents, That his said Royal Highness, his Heirs and Assigns, will, at any time or times hereafter, during the Space of Seven Years next ensuing the Date hereof, upon the Request, and at the Costs and Charges in the Law of the said William Penn, his Heirs and Assigns, do, make, and execute, or cause or procure to be made, done and executed, all and every such further Act and Acts, Conveyances and Assurances, in the Law whatsoever, for the further conveying and assuring the said Tract of Land, and all and singular other the Premises, with the Appurtenances, unto the said William Penn, his Heirs and Assigns, for ever, as by the Counsel learned in the Law of the said William Penn, his Heirs or Assigns, shall be reasonably devised, advised, or required. And his said Royal Highness hath hereby made, constituted and appointed, John Moll of Newcastle aforesaid, Esq and Epbraim Harman of Newcastle aforesaid, Gentleman, jointly, and either of them severally, his true and lawful Attornies; and by these Presents doth give and grant unto the said John Moll and Ephraim Harman, his said Attornies, or either of them, full Power and Authority for him, and in his Name and Stead, into all and singular the Premises herein before mentioned, or intended to be hereby aliened, enfeoffed and confirmed, and into every, or any Part or Parcel thereof, in the Name of the Whole, to enter, and quiet and peaceable Possession and Seisin thereof, or of any Part or Parcel thereof, in the Name of the Whole, to take and receive. And after peaceable Possession thereof had and taken as aforesaid, to deliver quiet and peaceable Possession and Seisin thereof, or of any Part or Parcel thereof, in the Name of the Whole, to the said William Penn, his Heirs or Assigns, or to his or their lawful Attorney or Attornies, [Page 8] sufficiently authorized to receive and take the same, and him or them to leave in the quiet and peaceable Possession thereof, according to the true Intent and Meaning of these Presents. And his said Royal Highness doth hereby allow of, ratify and confirm, whatsoever the said John Moll and Ephraim Harman, his said Attornies, shall lawfully do, or cause to be done, in and about the Premises, by Virtue of these Presents, to be as good and effectual in the Law, to all Intents and Purposes whatsoever, as if his said Royal Highness had done the same in his own Person, or had been present at the doing thereof. In Witness whereof his said Royal Highness hath to these Presents set his Hand and Seal, the Day and Year first above written.
The CHARTER of Privileges, granted by William Penn, Esq to the Inhabitants of Pennsylvania, and Territories.
WILLIAM PENN, Proprietary and Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania and Territories thereunto belonging, To all to whom these Presents shall come, Preamble. sendeth Greeting. WHEREAS King CHARLES the Second, by his Letters Patents, under the Great Seal of England, bearing Date the Fourth Day of March, in the Year One Thousand Six Hundred and Eighty, was graciously pleased to give and grant unto me, and my Heirs and Assigns for ever, this Province of Pennsylvania, with divers great Powers and Jurisdictions for the well Government thereof.
AND WHEREAS the King's dearest Brother, JAMES Duke of YORK and ALBANT, &c. by his Deeds of Feoffment, under his Hand and Seal duly perfected, bearing Date the Twenty-Fourth Day of August, One Thousand Six Hundred Eighty and Two, did grant unto me, my Heirs and Assigns, all that Tract of Land, now called the Territories of Pennsylvania, together with Powers and Jurisdictions for the good Government thereof.
[Page 9]AND WHEREAS, for the Encouragement of all the Freemen and Planters, that might be concerned in the said Province and Territories, and for the good Government thereof, I the said WILLIAM PENN, in the Year One Thousand Six Hundred Eighty and Three, for me, my Heirs and Assigns, did grant and confirm unto all the Freemen, Planters and Adventurers therein, divers Liberties, Franchises and Properties, as by the said Grant, entituled, The FRAME of the Government of the Province of Pennsylvania, and Territories thereunto belonging, in America, may appear; which Charter or Frame being found, in some Parts of it, not so suitable to the present Circumstances of the Inhabitants, was in the Third Month, in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred, delivered up to me, by Six Parts of Seven of the Freemen of this Province and Territories, in General Assembly met, Provision being made in the said Charter, for that End and Purpose.
AND WHEREAS I was then pleased to promise, That I would restore the said Charter to them again, with necessary Alterations, or in lieu thereof, give them another, better adapted to answer the present Circumstances and Conditions of the said Inhabitants; which they have now, by their Representatives in General Assembly met at Philadelphia, requested me to grant.
KNOW YE THEREFORE, That for the further Well-being and good Government of the said Province, and Territories; and in Pursuance of the Rights and Powers before-mentioned, I the said William Penn do declare, grant and confirm, unto all the Freemen, Planters and Adventurers, and other Inhabitants in this Province and Territories, these following Liberties, Franchises and Privileges, so far as in me lieth, to be held, enjoyed and kept, by the Freemen, Planters and Adventurers, and other Inhabitants of and in the said Province and Territories thereunto annexed, for ever.
FIRST.
BECAUSE no People can be truly happy, though under No Person believing in One GOD, & c. shall be molested on account of his Religious Persuation: the greatest Enjoyment of Civil Liberties, if abridged of the Freedom of their Consciences, as to their Religious Profession and Worship: And Almighty God being the only Lord of Conscience, Father of Lights and Spirits; and the Author as well as Object of all divine Knowledge, Faith and Worship, who only doth enlighten the Minds, and persuade [Page 10] and convince the Understandings of People, I do hereby grant and declare, That no Person or Persons, inhabiting in this Province or Territories, who shall confess and acknowledge One almighty God, the Creator, Upholder and Ruler of the World; and profess him or themselves obliged to live quietly under the Civil Government, shall be in any Nor be compelled to frequent or maintain any Worship contrary to his Mind, & c.Case molested or prejudiced, in his or their Person or Estate, because of his or their consciencious Persuation or Practice, nor be compelled to frequent or maintain any religious Worship, Place or Ministry, contrary to his or their Mind, or to do or suffer any other Act or Thing, contrary to their religious Persuasion.
AND that all Persons who also prosess to believe in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World, shall be capable (notwithstanding their other Persuations and Practices in Point of Conscience and Religion) to serve this Government in any Capacity, both legislatively and executively, he or they solemnly promising, when lawfully required, Allegiance to the King as Sovereign, and Fide [...] to the Proprietary and Governor, and taking the Attests as now established by the Law made at Newcastle, in the Year One Thousand and Seven Hundred, entituled, An Act directing the Attests of several Officers and Ministers, as now amended and confirmed this present Assembly.
II.
FOR the well governing of this Province and Territories, there shall be an Assembly yearly chosen, by the Freemen thereof, to consist of Four Persons out of each County, of most Note for Virtue, Wisdom and Ability, (or of a greater Number at any Time, as the Governor and Assembly shall agree) upon the First Day of October for ever; and shall sit on the Fourteenth Day of the same Month, at Philadelphia, unless the Governor and Council for the Time being, shall see Cause to appoint another Place within Their Powers and Privileges.the said Province or Territories: Which Assembly shall have Power to chuse a Speaker and other their Officers; and shall be Judges of the Qualifications and Elections of their own Members; sit upon their own Adjournments: appoint Committees; prepare Bills in order to pass into Laws; impeach Criminals, and redress Grievances; and shall have all other Powers and Privileges of an Assembly, according to the Rights of the free-born Subjects of England, and as is usual in any of the King's Plantations in America.
[Page 11]AND if any County or Counties, shall refuse or neglect Two Thirds met shall have the Power of the Whole. to chuse their respective Representatives as aforesaid, or if chosen, do not meet to serve in Assembly, those who are so chosen and met, shall have the full Power of an Assembly, in as ample Manner as if all the Representatives had been chosen and met, provided they are not less than Two Thirds of the whole Number that ought to meet.
AND that the Qualifications of Electors and Elected, The Qualifications of Electors and Elected. and all other Matters and Things relating to Elections of Representatives to serve in Assemblies, though not herein particularly expressed, shall be and remain as by a Law of this Government, made at Newcastle, in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred, entituled, An Act to ascertain the Number of Members of Assembly, and to regulate the Elections.
III.
THAT the Freemen in each respective County, at the Power to chuse Sheriffs and Coroners. Time and Place of Meeting for electing their Representatives to serve in Assembly, may as often as there shall be Occasion, chuse a double Number of Persons to present to the Governor for Sheriffs and Coroners, to serve for Three Years, if so long they behave themselves well; out of which respective Elections and Presentments, the Governor shall nominate and commissionate one for each of the said Offices, the Third Day after such Presentment, or else the First named in such Presentment, for each Office as aforesaid, shall stand and serve in that Office for the Time before respectively limited; and in case of Death or Default, such Vacancies shall be supplied by the Governor, to serve to the End of the said Term.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That if the said Freemen shall at any Time neglect or decline to chuse a Person or Persons for either or both the aforesaid Offices, then, and in such Case, the Persons that are or shall be in the respective Offices of Sheriffs or Coroners, at the Time of Election, shall remain therein, until they shall be removed by another Election as aforesaid.
AND that the Justices of the respective Counties shall Clerk of the Peace to be nominated by the Justices, & c. or may nominate and present to the Governor Three Persons, to serve for Clerk of the Peace for the said County, when there is a Vacancy, one of which the Governor shall commissionate within Ten Days after such Presentment, or [Page 12] else the First nominated shall serve in the said Office during good Behaviour.
IV.
THAT the Laws of this Government shall be in this Stile, Stile of the Laws. viz. By the Governor, with the Consent and Approbation of the Freemen in General Assembly met; and shall be, after Confirmation by the Governor, forthwith recorded in the Rolls Office, and kept at Philadelphia, unless the Governor and Assembly shall agree to appoint another Place.
V.
THAT all Criminals shall have the same Privileges of Witnesses and Council as their Prosecutors.
VI.
THAT no Person or Persons shall or may, at any Time hereafter, be obliged to answer any Complaint, Matter or Thing whatsoever, relating to Property, before the Governor and Council, or in any other Place, but in ordinary Course of Justice, unless Appeals thereunto shall be hereafter by Law appointed.
VII.
THAT no Person within this Government, shall be Tavern-keepers, & c. to be recommended before licensed. licensed by the Governor to keep an Ordinary, Tavern, or House of publick Entertainment, but such who are first recommended to him, under the Hands of the Justices of the respective Counties, signed in open Court; which Justices are and shall be hereby impowered, to suppress and forbid any Person, keeping such Publick-House as aforesaid, upon their Misbehaviour, on such Penalties as the Law doth or shall direct; and to recommend others, from time to time, as they shall see Occasion.
VIII.
IF any Person, through Temptation or Melancholy, shall destroy himself, his Estate, real and personal, shall notwithstanding descend to his Wife and Children, or Relations, as if he had died a natural Death; and if any Person shall be destroyed or killed by Casualty or Accident, there shall be no Forfeiture to the Governor by Reason thereof.
AND no Act, No Law, & c. shall alter this Charter, without, & c. Law or Ordinance whatsoever, shall at any Time hereafter, be made or done, to alter, change or diminish the Form or Effect of this Charter, or of any Part [Page 13] or Clause therein, contrary to the true Intent and Meaning thereof, without the Consent of the Governor for the Time being, and Six Parts of Seven of the Assembly met.
BUT, because the Happiness of Mankind depends so The Article relating to Liberty of Conscience shall be inviolable for ever. much upon the Enjoying of Liberty of their Consciences, as aforesaid, I do hereby solemnly declare, promise and grant, for me, my Heirs and Assigns, That the First Article of this Charter relating to Liberty of Conscience, and every Part and Clause therein, according to the true Intent and Meaning thereof, shall be kept and remain, without any Alteration, inviolably for ever.
AND LASTLY, I the said William Penn, Proprietary and Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania, and Territories thereunto belonging, for myself, my Heirs and Assigns, have solemnly declared, granted and confirmed, and do hereby solemnly declare, grant and confirm, That neither The Proprietary solemnly confirms this Charter. I, my Heirs or Assigns, shall procure or do any Thing or Things whereby the Liberties in this Charter contained and expressed, nor any Part thereof, shall be infringed or broken: And if any thing shall be procured or done, by any Person or Persons, contrary to these Presents, it shall be held of no Force or Effect.
IN WITNESS whereof, I the said William Penn, at Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, have unto this present Charter of Liberties, set my Hand and broad Seal, this TwentyEighth Date. Day of October, in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and One, being the Thirteenth Year of the Reign of King WILLIAM the Third, over England, Scotland, France and Ireland, &c. and the Twenty-First Year of my Government.
AND NOTWITHSTANDING the Closure Proviso, that the Province and Territories may separate in Legislation; and Test of this present Charter as aforesaid, I think fit to add this following Proviso thereunto, as Part of the same, That is to say, That notwithstanding any Clause or Clauses in the above-mentioned Charter, obliging the Province and Territories to join together in Legislation, I am content, and do hereby declare, that if the Representatives of the Province and Territories shall not hereafter agree to join together in Legislation, and that the same shall be signified unto me, or my Deputy, in open Assembly, or otherwise, from under the Hands and Seals of the Representatives, for the Time being, of the Province and Territories, or the [Page 14] major Part of either of them, at any Time within Three Years from the Date hereof, that in such Case, the Inhabitants of each of the Three Counties of this Province, shall not have less than Eight Persons to represent them in Assembly, for the Province; and the Inhabitants of the Town of Philadelphia (when the said Town is incorporated) Two Persons to represent them in Assembly; and the Inhabitants of each County in the Territories, shall have as many Persons to represent them in a distinct Assembly for the Territories, as shall be by them requested as aforesaid.
And shall nevertheless enjoy separately the Privileges granted to them jointly.NOTWITHSTANDING which Separation of the Province and Territories, in Respect of Legislation, I do hereby promise, grant and declare, That the Inhabitants of both Province and Territories, shall separately enjoy all other Liberties, Privileges and Benefits, granted jointly to them in this Charter, any Law, Usage or Custom of this Government, heretofore made and practised, or any Law made and passed by this General Assembly, to the Contrary hereof, notwithstanding.
WILLIAM PENN.
Acceptation.THIS CHARTER of PRIVILEGES being distinctly read in Assembly; and the whole, and every Part thereof, being approved of, and agreed to, by us, we do thankfully receive the same from our Proprietary and Governor, at Philadelphia, this Twenty-Eighth Day of October, One Thousand Seven Hundred and One. Signed on Behalf, and by Order of the Assembly.
- Edward Shippen,
- Phineas Pemberton,
- Samuel Carpenter,
- Griffith Owen,
- Caleb Pusey,
- Thomas Story,
ANNO REGNI REGIS GULIELMI III. DUODECIMO.
At a GENERAL ASSEMBLY, begun at Newcastle, the Fourteenth Day of October, and continued by Adjournment until the Twenty-seventh Day of November, in the Twelfth Year of the Reign of King WILLIAM, and in the Year of our LORD 1700. On which Day the following ACTS were passed by WILLIAM PENN, Esq absolute Proprietary and Governor in Chief of the Province of Pennsylvania and Territories, &c. That is to say,
An ACT for the Sitting of the Orphans Court.
Supplied.
An ACT against buying Land of the Natives.
BE IT ENACTED by the Proprietary and Governor, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Freemen of this Province and Territories, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That if any Person shall presume to buy any Land of the Natives, within the Limits of this Province and Territories, without Leave from the Proprietary thereof, every such Bargain and Purchase shall be void and of none Effect.
An ACT about the recording of Deeds.
Repealed.
An ACT about binding to the Peace.
BE IT ENACTED, & c. That whosoever shall threaten the Person of another, to wound, kill or destroy him, or do him any Harm in Person or Estate, and the One Justice may bind to Peace. Person so threatened shall appear before a Justice of the Peace, and attest, That he believes that by such Threatning he is in Danger to be hurt in Body or Estate; such Person so threatning as aforesaid, shall be bound over, with one sufficient Surety, to appear at the next Sessions or County Court, to be holden for the County where such Offence was committed, to be proceeded against according to Law; and, in the mean time, to be of his good Behaviour, and keep Peace towards all the King's Subjects.
An ACT for Naturalization.
Preamble. FORASMUCH as the just Encouragement of the Inhabitants of this Province and Territories, is likely to be an effectual Way for the Improvement thereof; and since some of the People that live therein, and are likely to come thereinto, are Foreigners, and not Freemen, according to the Acceptation of the Laws of England, the Consequences of which may prove very detrimental to them in their Estates and Traffick, and injurious to the Prosperity of this Province and Territories: BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Proprietary and Governor, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Freemen of the said Province and Territories, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That it shall and may be lawful Governor may grant an Instrument of Naturalization. for the Proprietary and Governor, and his Heirs, or his or their Lieutenant and Governor for the Time being, by a publick Instrument under his or their broad Seal, to declare any Alien, Aliens or Foreigners, being already settled or inhabiting within this Government, or that shall hereafter come to settle, plant, or reside therein, having first made and given his or their solemn Engagement or Declaration to be true and faithful to the King as Sovereign, and to the Proprietary and Governor of this Province and Territories, according to the Laws and Usages thereof, before the Governor for the Time being, to be to all Intents and Purposes fully and compleatly naturalized, and the Persons so approved of and named in such Instrument or Instruments [...] aforesaid, shall, by Virtue of this Act, have and enjoy to [Page 17] them and their Heirs the same Rights and Immunities of and unto the Laws and Privileges of this Government, as fully and amply as any other of the King's natural born Subjects have or enjoy within the same, any former Law, Act, Ordinance, Custom or Usage to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
AND to the End such Letters or Instruments under the broad Seal of this Province, as aforesaid, may be obtained without any great Difficulty or Charge, BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Governor shall have Governor's Fee for Naturalization. and receive for the same, Twenty Shillings from every Person already settled and residing within this Government that shall take out such Instrument, and Thirty Shillings from every Alien or Foreigner that shall come to settle under this Government, and no more; and the Secretary shall have Six Shillings, and the Keeper of the great Seal Six Shillings, for each and every such publick Instrument, gran [...] as aforesaid.
PROVIDED that nothing in this Act contained shall be construed to enable or give Power or Privilege to any Foreigner to do or execute any Matter or Thing which by any Act of Parliament in England, concerning the King's Plantations, he is disabled to do or execute.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER Former foreign Inhabitants all naturalized. ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Swedes, Dutch, and other Foreigners, who were settled in this Province or Territories before the Date of the King's Letters Patents to the Proprietary and Governor, shall be deemed, and by this Act are declared, to be fully and compleatly naturalized, and shall by Virtue thereof have and enjoy to them and their Heirs the same Rights and Immunities of and unto the Laws and Privileges of this Government, as any other Foreigners may or can enjoy by Virtue of this Act, any thing herein to the contrary notwithstanding.
An ACT for ascertaining the Descent of Lands, and better Disposition of the Estate of Persons dying intestate.
Repealed.
An ACT confirming Devises of Lands, and Validity of nuncupative Wills.
TO the End that Lands and Hereditaments may be enjoyed by the Devisee and his Heirs as amply as Lands granted by Deed by the Grantee; BE IT ENACTED by the Proprietary and Governor, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Freemen of this Province and Territories, in General Assembly met, and by the Wills to be authentick in conveying Lands, & c. Authority of the same, That all Wills in writing, wherein or whereby any Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments within this Province or Territories, are or shall be devised, shall be as good and authentick in Law (according to the Tenor thereof) as any other Conveyance for granting of such Lands and Premises, whether the said Wills be made within or out of this Province or Territories, provided the same be legally proved within this Province or Territories within Six Months after the Death of the Testator, or within Eighteen Months, if the Devisee live out of this Government.
Nuncupative Wills how to be proved, & c. AND, for the preventing of all Disadvantages and Hardships that may accrue to any Person for Want of due Proof of nuncupative or verbal Wills, or by any pretending the same where no such Will really is; BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all nuncupative Wills made within this Province or Territories, shall be of full Force for all Goods and Chattels thereby devised or bequeathed. PROVIDED ALWAYS, that the said nuncupative Wills shall be reduced into writing within two Days after the Decease of the said Testator, and subscribed by two sufficient Witnesses who were present, and heard the Testator make the Will, to be attested by any Justice of the Peace of the Truth of the said nuncupative or verbal Will within Ten Days after the Death of the said Testator; which said Will being proved in the Register's Office in this Province and Territories, within Six Months next after the Testator's Death, shall be good and valid in Law, according to the Purport thereof, for all Goods and Chattels therein bequeathed, as if he same had been originally made in writing by the Testator, and duly executed as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Will or Testament, or [Page 19] nuncupative Will of any Person non Compos Mentis, or not in his or her right Mind and Understanding at the Time of the making thereof, shall be good and valid in Law.
An ACT impowering Widows and Administrators to sell so much of the Lands of Intestates as may be sufficient to clear their Debts.
Repealed.
An ACT for taking Lands in Execution for Payment of Debts.
An ACT for the effectual Establishment and Confirmation of the Freeholders of this Province and Territories, their Heirs and Assigns, in their Lands and Tenements.
An ACT about acknowledging and recording Deeds.
Repealed.
An ACT about Seven Years Possession.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable John Evans, Esq with her Majesty's royal Approbation Lieutenant Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That Seven Years quiet Possession of Lands within this her Majesty's Government, shall give an unquestionable Title to the Possessor thereof, except in Cases of Infants, married Women, Lunaticks, and Persons beyond the Seas. PROVIDED NEVERTHELESS, that this Act shall in no [...] [Page 20] to Persons who shall possess any Estate for Years, Life, or Entail.
An ACT about Attornies and Sollicitors.
FOR preventing Abuses and Irregularities in all and every the Courts within this her Majesty's Government, and that all Attornies and Sollicitors practising therein may be duly qualified to execute and perform the Trust in them reposed: BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable John Evans, Esq with her Majesty's royal Approbation Lieutenant Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That before any Attorney, Sollicitor, or other Person whatsoever, shall be admitted to plead for any Reward or Fee in any the Courts of this her Majesty's Government, such Attorney, Sollicitor, or other Person as aforesaid, shall take the Oaths, and repeat and subscribe the Declaration prescribed by Act of Parliament in England; and shall take the Oath hereafter Qualification of an Attorney or Sollicitor. mentioned, viz. You shall do no Falshood or Deceit, nor consent to any to be done, in this Court, to your Knowledge; and if you know of any to be done, you shall give Knowledge thereof to the Chief Justice, or any other the Justices of this Court, that it may be reformed: You shall delay no Man for Lucre or Malice, having reasonable Fees first allowed you for the same: You shall plead no foreign Plea, nor sue any foreign Suits, unlawfully, to the Hurt of any Man, but such as shall (according to your Judgment) stand with the Order of the Law and your own Conscience: You shall not wittingly or willingly sue, or procure to be sued, any false Suits, nor give Aid or Consent to the same, on Pain of being expulsed from this Court for ever. And further, You shall truly use and demean yourself in [Page 21] the Office of an Attorney within this Court, according to your Learning and Discretion.
SO HELP YOU GOD
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by Attorney General to be fined for Neglect of Duty. the Authority aforesaid, That in case the Attorney General shall not duly attend to do and perform his Duty at every Quarter Sessions, or other General Court or Courts, in all and every, or any of the respective Counties, within this Government, wherein her Majesty's Business is depending, or her interest therein concerned; and in which, by Law or Custom, he ought to attend, or shall neglect to appoint a sufficient Deputy in such his Absence to be allowed and approved of by the Court, he shall be fined at the Discretion of such Court wherein he shall so neglect his Duty as aforesaid, in any Sum not exceeding Five Pounds: And in case of his Neglect, Refusal, or Delay, as aforesaid, the Judges or Justices of such respective Court as aforesaid, shall have Power, and are hereby impowered, to appoint any other Person, or Persons, to prosecute and perform such business then depending, in the Absence of such Attorney General as aforesaid, and Law, Custom or Usage to the contrary thereof in any wife notwithstanding.
An ACT for regulating Weights and Measures.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable John Evans, Esq with her Majesty's royal Approbation Lieutenant Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That in each County of this her Majesty's Government, there shall be had and obtained within Two Years after the making of this Law, at the Charge of each County, to be paid out of the County Levies, [Page 22] Standard Weights and Measures to be provided. Standards of Brass for Weights and Measures, according to the Queen's Standards for the Exchequer; which Standards shall remain with such Officer in the Counties aforesaid, as shall be from time to time appointed by the County Court in each respective County of this Government: And every Weight, according to its Standard, and Weights and Measures to be marked. every Measure, as Bushel, Half Bushel, Pecks, Gallons, Pottles, Quarts and Pints, shall be made just Weights and Measures, and marked by him that shall keep the Standards; and that no Person within this Government shall presume to buy or fell by any Weights or Measures not sealed or marked in Form aforesaid, and made just according to the Standards aforesaid, by the Officer in whole Possession the Penalty. Standards remain, on Penalty of forfeiting Five Shillings to the Prosecutor, being convicted by One Justice of the Peace of the Unjustness of his Weights and Measures; and Weights, & c. to be tried once a Year. that once a Year at least, the said Officer, with the Grand Jury, or the major Part of them, and, for Want of a Grand Jury, with such as shall be appointed and allowed by the respective County Courts aforesaid for Assistants, shall try the Weights and Measures in the Counties aforesaid; and those Weights or Measures which are defective, shall be seized by the said Officer and Assistants; which said Officer Officer's Fees. for his Fees, for his making each Bushel, Half Bushel and Peck, just Measure, and marking the same that is large enough when brought to his Hands, shall have Ten Pence, and for every less Measure Three Pence, for every Yard Three Pence, for every Hundred and Half Hundred Weight being made just and marked, Three Pence, for every less Weight One Penny, and if the Weights and Measures be made just before they be brought to him, then to have but half the Fees aforesaid, for marking the same. And if the said Officer shall refuse to do any Thing that is enjoined by this Law, for the Fees appointed, and be duly convicted thereof, shall forfeit Five Pounds, to the Use of Standard Half Bushel to be procured from Philadelphia, the Governor for the Time being. That a true Measure or Standard be taken from the Brass Half Bushel in the Town of Philadelphia, and Bushel and a Peck proportionable; and all less Measures and Weights coming from England, being duly sealed in London, or other Measures agreeable therewith, shall be accounted and allowed to be good by the aforesaid Officers, until the said Standards shall be had and obtained.
Beer to be sold by Beer Measure. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person shall sell Beer [Page 23] or Ale by Retail but by Beer Measure, according to the Standard of England.
An ACT for ascertaining the Descent of Lands, and better Disposition of the Estate of Persons dying Intestate.
Repealed.
An ACT for preventing clandestine Marriages.
FOR the preventing of clandestine, loose, and unseemly Proceedings in Marriage within this her Majesty's Government; BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable John Evans, Esq with her Majesty's royal Approbation Lieutenant Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That all Marriages not forbidden by the Law of God, shall be encouraged, but the Parents or Guardians shall, if conveniently they can, be Parents Consent to be obtained. first consulted with, and the Parties Clearness of all Engagements signified by a Certificate from some credible Person where they have lived, or do live, produced to such Religious Societies to which they relate, or to some Justice of the Peace of the County in which they live, and by their affixing their Intentions of Marriage at the Dwellinghouse Intentions of Marriage to be published. of such Justice of the Peace as shall subscribe the same, and a true Copy thereof affixed at the Court-House Door of the County or Counties where the same shall be set up as aforesaid, and shall stand up in each respective County where the Parties do reside or dwell, Thirty Days before Solemnization thereof; the which said Publication, before it be so affixed as aforesaid, shall be brought before [Page 24] some one or more Justices of the Peace in the respective Counties to which they respectively belong, which Justice shall subscribe the said Publication, witnessing the Time of such Declaration, and the Date of the said Publication so Marriage before a Justice and twelve Witnesses, to be good. to be affixed as aforesaid; and that all Marriages solemnized by taking each other for Husband and Wife before twelve sufficient Witnesses, and the Certificates of their Marriage under the Hands of the Parties and their Witnesses, at least twelve, and one of them a Justice of the Peace, being brought to the Register of the County where such Persons are married, and registred in his Office, such Marriage shall be deemed and adjudged legal and authentick.
Penalty on Servants marrying without Leave. AND if any Servant or Servants shall procure themselves to be married without Content of his or her Master or Mistress, such Servant or Servants shall for such their Ofsence, each of them, serve their respective Masters or Mistresses one whole Year after the Time of their Servitude by Penalty on the Marriage of a free Person with a Servant. Indentures or Engagements is expired; and if any Person being free, shall marry with a Servant as aforesaid, he or she so marrying, shall pay to the Master or Mistress of the Servant, if a Man, Twelve Pounds, and if a Woman, Six Pounds, or one whole Year's Service; and the Servant so being married, shall abide with his or her Master or Mistress according to Indenture or Agreement, and one Year after, as aforesaid.
Penalties on marrying contrary to this Act, AND if any Person shall presume to marry, or be Witnesses to any Marriage, contrary to this Act, such Persons so married, shall forfeit Twenty Pounds to the Governor for the Time being, and the Witnesses being present at such Marriage, shall forfeit and pay each of them Five Pounds, to the Use of the Governor, as aforesaid, and to pay Damages to the Party aggrieved thereby, to be recovered in any Court of Record within this Government.
Excepting in Religious Societies. PROVIDED NEVERTHELESS, That this Law shall not extend to any who shall marry or be married in the Religious Society to which they belong, according to their own Way and Method, so as Notice shall be given by either of the Parties to the Parents, Masters, Mistresses, or Guardians, one full Month at least before any such Marriage be solemnized.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no License or Dispensation [Page 25] shall hinder or obstruct the Force or Operation of this Act, in respect of Notice to be given to Parents, Masters, or Guardians, as aforesaid.
An ACT for keeping a Registry in Religious Societies.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable John Evans, Esq by and with her Majesty's royal Approbation Lieutenant Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That the Registry now kept, or which shall hereafter be kept by any Religious Society in their respective Meeting Book, or Books, of any Marriage, Birth, or Burial, within this her Majesty's Government, shall be held good and authentick, and shall be allowed of upon all Occasions whatsoever.
An ACT confirming Devises of Lands, and the Validity of nuncupative Wills.
TO the End that Lands and Hereditaments may be enjoyed by the Devisee and his Heirs as amply as Lands granted by Deed by the Grantee; BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable John Evans, Esq with her Majesty's royal Approbation Lieutenant Governor of [Page 26] the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That all Wills in Writing, wherein or whereby any Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments, within this her Majesty's Government, are or shall be devised, shall be as good and authentick in Law (according to the Tenor thereof) as any other Conveyance for granting of such Lands and Premises, whether the said Wills be made within or out of this Government, provided the same be legally proved within this Government, or in the Chancery in England.
Wills to be Proved, Within certain Times. PROVIDED ALWAYS, That such Wills as are made within this Government, shall be proved within Forty Days after the Death of such Testator, and if in any other of her Majesty's Governments in America, within Six Months, and if made in England, then within Eighteen Months after such Testator's Death, as aforesaid.
AND, for the Prevention of all Disadvantages and Hardships that may accrue to any Person for Want of due Proof of nuncupative Wills, or verbal Wills, or by any pretending the same where no such Will really is; BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all nuncupative Wills made in this Government, shall be of full Force for all Goods and Chattels thereby devised or bequeathed: Nuncupative Wills to be reduced to writing, & c. PROVIDED ALWAYS, that the said nuncupative Wills shall be reduced into Writing within two Days after the Decease of the said Testator, and subscribed by two sufficient Witnesses who were present, and heard the Testator make the Will, to be attested or sworn by any Justice of the Peace of the Truth of the said nuncupative or verbal Will, within Forty Days after the Death of the said Testator; which said Will being proved in the Register's Office in this Government, within the said Time limited next after the Testator's Death, shall be good and valid in Law, according to the Purport thereof, for all Goods and Chattels therein bequeathed, as if the same had been originally made in Writing by the Testator, and duly executed as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Will or Testament, or nuncupative Will of any Person non Compos Mentis, at [Page 27] the Time of the making thereof, shall be good and valid in Law.
An ACT obliging the Officers of this Government to give Security.
NOTHING being more just not reasonable, than Preamble. that Those, who by Virtue of any Publick Office in this Government enjoy Profit and Trust, should for the respective Offices to the respective Counties give good and lawful Security: BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable Charles Gookin, Esq by and with her Majesty's royal Approbation Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Freemen in Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That all Person and Persons who, by Virtue of any Commission, posses and enjoy any Post or Office of Profit or Trust within this her Majesty's Government, shall at the next Quarter-Sessions Officers to give Security to the Justices, & c. within their respective Counties, after Publication hereof, give Security to the Justices of the Peace for the Time being, or to the Treasurer of the said County, for their respective Offices; and that all Person or Persons who shall hereafter hold or enjoy any Post of Profit or Trust, shall at the next Quarter-Sessions to be held for their respective Counties, after the Receipt of his or their Commission, give to the Justices of the Peace, or to the Treasurer of the said County, Security as abovesaid; and any Person or Persons in any Post or Commission, refusing to give Security On Penalty of forfeiting their Offices, & c. as above ordained, shall for such Contempt forfeit his said Post or Office, and is hereby debarred from enjoying and possessing the same, or any other Post, within this Government, for the Space of three Years.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, and it is hereby Enacted, That the Justices of the Peace, or Treasurer for the respective [Page 28] Counties, to whom the said Securities shall be given, shall not, nor are hereby impowered, to take more Security not to exceed 500 l, nor be less than 300 Pounds. than Five Hundred Pounds current Money, nor less than Three Hundred Pounds Money aforesaid, for any of the said Officers Security, which shall be by Recognizance with one good Surety.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That all Officers within this Government, who have already given Security, are not comprehended within this Act.
What Officers are to give Security. PROVIDED ALSO, That nothing in this Act mentioned, shall extend to any other Officers, except Register, Recorder, Clerk, Treasurer, and High Sheriff.
An ACT ascertaining the North and West Bounds of the County of Newcastle.
WHEREAS several Inhabitants of this County have, by the Pretence of a Circular Line run to adjust the Twelve Miles of the County of Newcastle, separated and withdrawn themselves from the Duties, Offices, and Taxes of this County; and have, by Virtue of running of the said Line, for which there was neither Warrant nor Law, associated to, and done the Duty of, the neighbouring County, to the great Damage of the County of Newcastle: For further Prevention of like Practice, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Charles Gookin, Esq by and with her Majesty's royal Approbation Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of this Government, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That no Person or Persons whatsoever, living or inhabiting within the Bounds which were accounted the Bounds of the County of Newcastle at and before any Division made by Virtue of said Line, or any Person, or Persons, whose Name or Names stand inrolled as Taxables of the County of Newcastle, and living within [Page 29] the Limits of the said County, shall, under Pretence of the said Division-Line, refuse, deny, or neglect, to act in every Part as a Member of the said County.
AND all Sheriffs, Constables, and other Officers, are hereby impowered to summons, seize, or apprehend, the Persons living as above-said, as well as any other Member of this County, for such Reasons as others may be seized or taken; and in case of any Refusal, Denial, or Neglect of the said Inhabitants, under any Pretence whatsoever (except what shall be allowed by the Justices of the County of Newcastle, in open Court sitting) then either to apprehend the Delinquents, or distrain on their Goods, as the Law for other Delinquents of this Government, directs.
An ACT for annual Elections of Coroner's and Sheriffs, within this Government.
WHEREAS by Virtue of a Charter of Privileges, Preamble, granted by the Honourable WILLIAM PENN, Esq Proprietary and Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, amongst other Privileges there granted, a triennial Election of Sheriffs for this Government, is one; And whereas, for the better Regulation of this Government, the Representatives, in Assembly met, have Power by the said Charter to alter any Clause thereof; BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable Charles Gookin, Esq by and with her Majesty's royal Approbation Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Consent and Advice of the Representatives of this Government, in Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That there shall be yearly, and every Year, on the First Day of Election of Sheriffs and Coroners appointed. October, after the Choice of the Representatives of each County, an Election for Coroners and Sheriffs; and that [Page 30] two Persons for each of the Offices, in each County, shall be chose, of whom the Governor in Six Days after such Choice, shall nominate one to officiate in each Office. AND in case the Governor does not nominate in the Time aforesaid, then the Person first chose by the Country, to act in the said Offices us fully, to all Intents and Purposes, as if nominated and commissioned.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person chose to be a Representative in Assembly, shall on the same Day be chose to act in any of the above-said Offices, it shall and may be lawful, and is hereby declared to be in the Power of the said Party which of the said Choices he will approve, any Law, Usage, or Custom, to the contrary notwithstanding PROVIDED ALWAYS, that such Nomination or Commission be in Nine Days entered in Writing in the Prothonotary's Office of each respective County of this Government.
An ACT for the Advancement of Justice, and more certain Administration thereof.
Preamble. WHEREAS the common Law is justly esteemed to be the Birth-Right of English Subjects, and ought to be regarded in this Government as the safest Rule of our Conduct; and whereas Acts of Parliament have been adjudged not to extend to these Plantations, except when they are particularly named in the Body of such Acts; And forasmuch as some Persons have been encouraged to transgress certain Statutes against Capital Crimes, and other Enormities, because those Statutes have not been hitherto fully extended to this Government; And also, that his Majesty's good Subjects, the Inhabitants thereof, have not yet been so happy as to obtain the royal Confirmation of any Law for the better Establishment of their Constitution and [Page 31] Government: For the preventing therefore any Failure for the future, in that Behalf, may it please the Governor that it may be Enacted,
AND BE IT ENACTED by William Keith, Esq by and with his Majesty's Approbation and Appointment, Lieutenant and Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That all Inquests and Trials of High Treason shall be according to due Order Trials of High Treason. and Course of Common Law, observing the Directions of the Statute-Laws of Great Britain, relating to the Trials, Proceedings, and Judgments in such Cases.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Enquiries and Trials of all Petty Treasons, Misprisions Trials of Petty Treason, & c. of Treasons, Murders, Manslaughters, Homicides, and all such other Crimes and Misprisions, as by this Act, or any other Act of Assembly of this Government, are or shall be made Capital, or Felony of Death, which have been or shall be done, committed, perpetrated, or happen within this Government, shall be as by this Act is directed.
AND WHEREAS the several Crimes declared by this Act to be Felonies of Death, are by the Course of the Laws of that Part of Great Britain called England, to be enquired of, and tried by Justices, Juries, and Witnesses upon their Oaths; but forasmuch as many of the Inhabitants of this Government are such, who for Conscience sake cannot take an Oath in any Case, yet, without their Assistance, Justice cannot be well administred, and too great a Burthen will fall upon the other Inhabitants; BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all and all Manner of All Crimes to be tried upon Oath or Affirmation. Crimes and Offences, Matters and Causes whatsoever, to be enquired of, heard, tried and determined by Virtue of this or any other Law of this Government, or otherwise, shall and may be enquired of, heard, tried and determined by Judges, Justices, Inquests, and Witnesses, qualifying themselves according to their conscientious Persuasions respectively, either by taking a corporal Oath, or by taking the solemn Affirmation allowed by Act of Parliament to those called Quakers in Great Britain; which Affirmation [Page 32] Affirmation to have the Effect of an Oath. of such Persons as conscientiously refuse to take an Oath, shall be accounted and deemed in the Law to have the full Effect of an Oath, in any Case whatsoever in this Government. And that all such Persons as shall be convicted of False Affirmations to be punished as Perjury. falsly and corruptly affirming or declaring any Matter or Thing, which, if the same had been upon Oath, would by Law amount to wilful and corrupt Perjury, shall incur the same Penalties, Forfeitures and Disabilities, as Persons convicted of wilful Perjury do incur by the Laws of Great Britain. Challenges to be allowed to Prisoners, & c. And that upon all Trials of the said Capital Crimes, lawful Challenges shall be allowed, and learned Council assigned to the Prisoners, and shall have Process to compel Witnesses to appear for them upon any of the said Trials; but before such Witnesses shall be admitted to depose or give any Manner of Evidence, they shall first take an Oath or Affirmation to say the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth, in such Manner as the Witnesses for the King are by the Laws of this Government Witnesses convicted of Perjury shall be punished accordingly. obliged to do; and if convicted of any wilful Perjury in such Evidence, shall suffer all the Punishments, Penalties, Forfeitures and Disabilities, which by any of the Laws and Statutes of Great Britain are or may be inflicted upon such Persons convicted of wilful Perjury. But if any Persons standing mute, & c. suffer as Felons convict, & c. of the said Prisoners shall upon their Arraignment for any of the said Crimes, stand mute, or not answer directly, or shall peremptorily challenge above the Number of Twenty Persons returned to serve of the Jury, he or they so offending shall suffer as a Felon Convict, and shall lose the Benefit of the Clergy, and of this Act, in the same Manner as he or they should have done if they had been indicted, arraigned, and found guilty, if it appear to the Justices, before whom such Felons be arraigned, by Evidence given before them, or by Examination, that the same Felonies, whereon they are so arraigned, had been such Felonies, by reason whereof they should have lost the Benefit of their Clergy. And when any Person or Persons shall be so, as aforesaid, convicted or attainted of any of the said Crimes, they shall suffer as the Laws of Great Britain now do or hereafter shall direct and require in such Cases respectively. Justices to give Judgment accordingly. And it shall and may be lawful for the Justices of the Court, where any of the said Attainders or Convictions shall happen, to give and pronounce such Judgment or Sentence against the Persons so attainted or convicted, as their Crimes respectively require, according to the Manner, Form and Direction of the Laws of that Part of Great Britain called England, in the like Cases; and [Page 33] thereupon to award and order Execution to be done accordingly.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons Persons convict of Sodomy, & c. shall suffer as Felons. shall commit Sodomy, or Buggery, or Rape, or Robbery, which Robbery is done by assaulting another on or near the Highway, putting in Fear, and taking from his Person Money or other Goods, to any Value whatsoever; he or they so offending, or committing any of the said Crimes within this Government, their Counsellors, Aiders, Comforters and Abettors being convicted thereof, as abovesaid, shall suffer as Felons, according to the Tenor, Direction, Form and Effect of the several Statutes in such Cases respectively made and provided in Great Britain; any Act or Law of this Government to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Woman shall be Women concealing the Death of their Bastards to be deemed Murderers. delivered of any Issue of her Body, Male or Female, which being born alive, should by the Law be deemed a Bastard, and that the endeavours privately, either by Drowning, or secret Burying thereof, or any other Way, by herself, or the procuring of others, so to conceal the Death thereof as it may not come to Light, whether it were born alive or not, but be concealed; in every such Case the Mother so offending, being convicted thereof, according to the usual Course of Proceeding in Capital Crimes within this Government, shall suffer Death, as in Case of Murder, except such Mother can make Proof by one Witness at the least, that the Child, whose Death was by her so intended to be concealed, was born dead. And if any Person or Persons shall counsel, advise or direct such Accessaries to such Murders. Woman to kill the Child she goes with, and, after she is delivered of such Child, she kills it, every such Person so advising or directing, shall be deemed Accessary to such Murder, and shall have the same Punishment as the Principal shall have.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Statute against Stabbing, The Statute against Stabbing extended here. made in the First Year of the Reign of King JAMES the First, Chapter the Eighth, intituled, An Act to take away the Benefit of the Clergy for some Kind of Manslaughter; shall be duly observed and put in Execution [Page 34] in this Government, and be of like Force and Effect as if the same Act were here repeated and enacted: But that all such Persons as shall happen to be present and aiding to the stabbing another, which by the said Act is made Murder, shall not be deemed Principals, but Accessaries to such Stabbing.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons Persons convicted of cutting out or disabling the Tongue, & c. shall suffer as Felons. on Purpose and of Malice fore-thought, and by lying in Wait, shall unlawfully cut out, or disable the Tongue, put out an Eye, flit the Nose, cut off the Nose or Lip, or cut off or disable any Limbs or Members of any of the King's Subjects, with Intention in so doing to maim or disfigure in any of the Manners before-mentioned, such his Majesty's Subjects; that then and there in every such Case the Person or Persons so offending, their Counsellors, Aiders and Abetters, knowing of and privy to the Offence as aforesaid, shall suffer Death, as in Cases of Felony, without Benefit of the Clergy.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED The Statute against Conjuration, & c. extended. by the Authority aforesaid, That another Statute, made in the First Year of the Reign of King JAMES the First, Chapter the Twelfth, intituled, An Act against Conjuration, Witchcraft, and dealing with evil and wicked Spirits, shall be duly put in Execution in this Government, and of like Force and Effect, as if the same were here repeated and enacted.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Burglary how to be punished. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons shall be so, as aforesaid, convict of Burglary, which is a breaking and entering into the Dwelling-House of another in the Night-time, with an Intent to kill some reasonable Creature, or to commit some other Felony within the same House, whether the felonious Intent be executed or not, he or they so offending within this Government, being convicted thereof as aforesaid, shall suffer Death, without Benefit of Clergy; any Law of this Government to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND if any Person or Persons shall be so, as aforesaid, Burning of Houses. convicted of maliciously and voluntarily Burning the Dwelling-House, Barn, Stable, or Out-House of another, having Corn or Hay therein, he or they so offending within [Page 35] this Government, shall suffer Death; any Law of this Government to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any principal Offender in any Capital Crime, which by the Laws of this Government for the Time being is made Felony of Death, shall be convicted of any such Felony, or shall stand mute, or peremptorily challenge above the Number of Twenty Persons returned to serve of the Jury, it shall and may be Accessaries to Capital Crimes how to be proceeded against. lawful to proceed against any Accessary, either before or after the Fact, in the same Manner as if such principal Felon had been attainted thereof, notwithstanding any such principal Felon shall be admitted to the Benefit of his Clergy, pardoned, or otherwise delivered, before Attainder; and every such Accessary shall suffer the same Punishment, if he or she be convicted, or stand mute, or peremptorily challenge above the Number of Twenty Persons returned to serve of the Jury, as he or she should have suffered if the Principal had been attainted.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons Persons concealing Robbers, Burglars, & c. to be burnt in the Hand. shall receive, harbour or conceal any of the said Robbers or Burglars, Felons or Thieves, or shall receive or buy any Goods or Chattels that shall be feloniously taken or stolen by any such Robbers or Burglars, Felons or Thieves, knowing the same to be stolen, and being so, as aforesaid, convicted of either of the said Offences; if he or they pray to have the Benefit of this Act in lieu of Clergy, Judgment of Death shall not be given against them upon such Conviction, nor Execution awarded upon any Outlawry for such Offence, but they shall be burnt in their Hands, in Manner as herein after directed.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That if any such principal Accessaries to be punished by Fine, & c. if the Principal cannot be taken. Robber or Burglar, Felon or Thief, cannot be taken, so as to be prosecuted and convicted for any such Offence, nevertheless it shall be lawful to prosecute and punish every such Person and Persons, buying or receiving any Goods stolen by any such principal Felon, knowing the same to be stolen, as for a Misdemeanor, to be punished by Fine and Imprisonment, or other such corporal Punishment, as the Court shall think fit to inflict, although the principal Felon be not before convict of the said Felony; which Punishment shall exempt the Offender from being punished as [Page 36] Accessary, if such principal Felon shall be afterwards taken and convicted.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED If Persons indicted do not appear, Capia shall be [...]. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons who have been indicted or appealed, or hereafter shall be indicted or appealed for any of the said Crimes, did not, or will not appear to answer such Indictment or Appeal, the Justices before whom the same hath been, or shall be taken, shall award a Writ, called Capias, against every such Offender, directed to the Sheriff of the County where the Party indicted or appealed are by such Indictment or Appeal supposed to be conversant or inhabit, returnable before the Justices of that Court, where such Party is or shall be so indicted or appealed at the Supreme or Provincial Court next after the taking such Indictment or Appeal; by which Writ of Capias the same Sheriff shall be commanded to take the Body of him or them so indicted or appealed, if he or they can be found in his Bailiwick; and if he or The Sheriff to make Proclamation, they cannot be found, the Sheriff shall make Proclamation in every Court of Quarter-Sessions, which shall be held for the said County where the said Party indicted or appealed is supposed to inhabit or be conversant as aforesaid; That the Offender appear, & c. That he or they, being so indicted or appealed, shall appear before the said Justices at the said Supreme Court, on the Day of the Return of the said Writ of Capias, to answer our Lord the King, or to the Party, of the Treason, Felony or Trespass, whereof he or they are so indicted or appealed. Which Writ shall be delivered to the said Sheriff or Sheriffs Three Months before the Return thereof; after which Writ of Capias so served and returned, if he who is so indicted or appealed, comes not at the said Day of Return of the said Capias, and yield his Body to the Sheriff, he shall be by the Justices of the said Supreme Court pronounced outlawed and attainted of the Crime, whereof he is so indicted or appealed as aforesaid; Forfeitures. and from that Time shall forfeit and lose all his Lands and Tenements, Goods and Chattels. Which Forfeiture, and all other Forfeitures expressed or implied by the Judgments to be given upon the said Capital Offences mentioned in this Act, after such Criminals just Debts, and the reasonable Charges of their Maintenance in Prison, are deducted shall go one Half to the Governor for the Time being towards Support of this Government, and for defraying the Charges of Prosecution, Trial, and Execution of such Criminals; and the other Half, or Residue thereof, shall [Page 37] go to such Criminal's Wife and Children equally: But if he leaves no Wife or Children, then to the next of his Kindred, not descending lower than the second Degree, to be claimed within Three Years after the Death of such Criminals; otherwise the same shall go to the Governor, as aforesaid; any Law or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That where any Person Criminals to answer for their Debts. or Persons charged, committed to Prison, or convicted of any of the said Capital Crimes, being justly indebted to any other Person or Persons; he or they so indebted may be arrested, or their Goods and Chattels attached, to answer the Suits of their respective Creditors; who, making due Proof that the Debts or Sums demanded are really and without Fraud due, shall recover Judgment for the same, and Executions may be awarded against the Lands, Goods and Chattels of such Defendants, as is usual in other Cases.
PROVIDED ALSO, That he or they who shall Breakers of Prisons. happen to break Prison, shall not have Judgment of Life or Member for breaking of Prison only; except the Cause for which he or they were taken and imprisoned, did require such Judgment, had he been convict according to Law.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Such as by Law have Benefit of Clergy, to have the Benefit of this Act. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person be convicted of any such Felony as is hereby made Capital, for which he ought by the Laws of Great Britain to have the Benefit of his Clergy, and shall pray to have the Benefit of this Act; he shall not be required to read, but without And without Reading be as Clerks Convict, and burnt in the Hand, any Reading shall be allowed, taken and reputed to be, and punished as a Clerk Convict, and burnt, if for Murder, with an M upon the [...] of the Left Thumb, and if for any other Felony, with a T in the same Place of the Thumb; which Marks are to be made by the Goaler in open Court, as is usual in Great Britain; which shall be effectual to all Intents and Purposes, and be as advantageous to him, as if he had read as a Clerk; any Law or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND that the said Justices, before whom such Offender or Offenders shall be tried and convicted, shall also at [Page 38] Justices may commit them to some House of Correction, & c. their Discretion award and give Judgment, That such Offender and Offenders shall be committed to some House of Correction, or publick Work-House, within the County, Hundred or Place, where such Conviction shall be, there to remain, and be kept without Bail or Mainprize for such Time as such Justices shall then judge and award, not less than Six Months, and not exceeding two Years, to be accounted from the Time of such Conviction, and an Entry thereof shall be made of Record, pursuant to such Judgment and Award; and such Offender and Offenders so judged and awarded to remain and be kept in such House of Correction or publick Work-House, shall be there set at Work, and kept at hard Labour, for and during such Time as shall be so adjudged and awarded: And in case such Person or Persons shall refuse or neglect to work and labour, as they ought to do, the Master or Keeper of such House of Correction or publick Work-House respectively, is hereby required to give such Persons such due Correction as shall be fit and necessary in that Behalf.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED If they escape, and be retataken, to be kept longer. by the Authority aforesaid, That in case any such Offender or Offenders shall, after such Judgment given, escape out of Prison, or out of such publick Work-House or House of Correction, as he, she, or they, shall be committed unto, as aforesaid; such Person or Persons being afterwards retaken, shall be brought before one or more of the Provincial Judges, or before two or more of the Justices of the Peace, of such County, Hundred or Place, where such Offender or Offenders shall be so retaken, which Judge or Justices are hereby required to commit such Offender and Offenders to some House of Correction, or publick Work-House, within such County, Hundred or Place, where he, she, or they, shall be so retaken, there to remain without Bail or Mainprize, for any Time, not less than Twelve Months, and not exceeding Four Years, to be accounted from the Time of such Retaking, and there be set at Work, and kept at hard Labour, and receive such due Correction as aforesaid.
The Master of such House neglecting his Duty shall be removed. AND in case any Master or Keeper of any House of Correction, or publick Work-House, shall neglect to do his Duty, as above directed; any Judge or Justice of Goal-Delivery, upon Complaint, and due Proof thereof, upon the Oath or Affirmation of one or more Witnesses to him [Page 39] made, shall be, and is hereby impowered to remove such Person from his said Office.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That where a Man being convicted Women convicted of Felony, & c. of any Felony for which he may demand the Benefit of his Clergy; if a Woman be convicted for the same, or like Offence, upon her Prayer to have the Benefit of this Act, Judgment of Death shall not be given against her upon such Conviction, or Execution, awarded upon any Outlawry for such Offence, but shall suffer the same Punishment as a Man should suffer, that has the Benefit of his Clergy allowed him in the like Case, That is to say, Shall be burnt in the Hand, in Manner aforesaid, and further to be kept in Prison for such Time as the Justices in their Discretion shall think fit, so as the same do not exceed One Year.
BUT if any Man or Woman, who have once had the Benefit of this Act, as aforesaid, and shall be again convicted of any other Felony, hereby made Capital or Felony of Death, for which a Man might have the Benefit of his Clergy; every such Man and Woman shall be, and are hereby No Person to have the Benefit of this Act more than once. totally excluded from having any Benefit or Advantage of this Act, but shall suffer Pains of Death, as in Cases where the Benefit of Clergy is by Law taken away.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That where any Murder or Felonies committed in one County, and Accessaries in another, & c. Felony hath been or hereafter shall be, committed in one County of this Government, and one or more Persons shall be Accessary or Accessaries to any such Murder or Felony in another County; that then an Indictment found or taken against any such Accessary or Accessaries, upon the Circumstance of such Matters before Justices of the Peace, or other Justices or Commissioners to enquire of Felonies in the County where such Offences of Accessary or Accessaries in any Manner have been, or shall be committed or done, shall be as good and effectual in Law, as if the said principal Offence had been committed or done within the same County where the Indictment against such Accessary hath been, or shall be found.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Justices of the said Supreme Court, or Two of them, upon Suit to them made, shall write to the Keepers [Page 40] Justices to certify, whether such Principal be convicted, & c. of the Records, where such Principal is or shall be hereafter attainted or convict, to certify them, whether such Principal be attainted, convicted, or otherwise discharged of such principal Felony; who upon such Writing to them, or any of them directed, shall make sufficient Certificate in Writing, under their Seal or Seals, to the said Justices, whether such Principal be attainted, convicted, or otherwise discharged or not: And after they, who have the Custody of such Records, do certify that such Principal is attainted, convicted, or otherwise discharged of such Offence by the Law; then the Justices of Goal Delivery, or Oyer and Terminer, shall proceed upon every such Accessary in the County where he or they became Accessary, in such Manner and Form as if both the said principal Offence and Accessary had been committed and done in the same County where the Offence of Accessary was or shall be Accessaries how to be Judged. committed or done. AND that every such Accessary, and other Offenders above expressed, shall answer upon their Arraignments, and receive such Trial, Judgment, Order and Execution, and suffer such Forfeitures, Pains and Penalties, as is usual in other Cases of Felony; and as the Statute, made in the Second and Third Year of King EDWARD the Sixth, Chapter the Twenty-fourth, entituled, An Act for the Trial of Murders and Felonies committed in several Counties, doth direct in such Cases; which Statute shall be observed in this Government, any Law or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Subornation of Perjury. by the Authority aforesaid, That every Person who shall unlawfully and corruptly procure any Witness to commit wilful and corrupt Perjury in any Matter or Cause depending in Suit and Variance in any of the Courts of Judicature within this Government, or shall unlawfully and corruptly procure and suborn any Witness to testify upon Oath or Affirmation, in any Matter, Cause or Thing whatsoever; Penalty, such Offender shall forfeit the Sum of Forty Pounds, one Half thereof to the Governor, for the Support of this Government, and the other Half to the Purty grieved: But for Want of Lands, Goods or Chattels, to satisfy the said Forty Pounds, every such Offender being convicted or attainted of Perjury or Subornation aforesaid, shall for his Imprisonment, Pillory. said Offence suffer Imprisonment by the Space of Six Months, without Bail, and stand on the Pillory the Space of One whole Hour, in some Market or publick Place, where the Offence was committed; and shall suffer all the [Page 41] other Punishments, Penalties, Forfeitures and Disabilities, which are inflicted upon such Offenders by any Law or Statute of Great Britain. AND that the Statute, made in the Fifth Year of Queen ELIZABETH, Chapter the Ninth, entituled, An Act for Punishment of such Persons as shall procure or commit any wilful Perjury, shall be observed in this Government, and be duly put in Execution, as well against those that shall falsify their Affirmations, as those who shall falsify their Oaths, or be convicted of Subornation of Perjury.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That in all Cases where any Justices of Goal-Delivery may give Judgment of Death against Persons reprieved. Person or Persons have been, or shall be found guilty of any of the said Crimes for which Judgment of Death should or may ensue, and shall be reprieved to Prison, without Judgment at that time given him, her or them, so found guilty; that those who now are, or hereafter shall be, assigned Justices, or deliver the Goal, where any such guilty Persons shall remain, are hereby impowered and authorized to give Judgment of Death, and award Execution against such Persons so found guilty and reprieved, as the said Justices before whom such Person or Persons was or were found guilty, might have done before such Reprieve. AND that no manner of Process or Suit made, sued or No Process to be discontinued by reason of any new Commissions or Alterations of Magistrates, & c. had before any of the King's Justices of the Supreme or Provincial Court, Goal-Delivery, Oyer and Terminer, Justices of the Peace, or other of the King's Commissioners in this Government, shall in any wise be discontinued by making and publishing of any new Commission or Association, or by altering the Names of the Justices of the said Supreme Court, Goal-Delivery, Oyer and Terminer, Justices of the Peace, or other the King's Commissioners; but that the new Justices of the Supreme Court, Goal-Delivery, and of the Peace, and other Commissioners, may proceed in every Respect, as if the old Commissions and Justices and Commissioners had still remained and continued unaltered. AND that no Process, Nor by the Death or Removal of the Governor, & c. Pleas, Suits, Actions or Proceedings whatsoever, which now are, or at any time hereafter shall be commenced, sued, brought or depending before any of the said Justices of the Supreme Court, Justices of the Courts of Common Pleas, or other the King's Justices, Commissioners or Magistrates in this Government, shall be discontinued or put without Day, by reason of the Death or Removal of the Lieutenant-Governor, of this Government, or by the Death, [Page 42] new Commission, or not Coming of the said Justices or Commissioners, or any of them; but shall stand good and effectual in Law, to all Intents and Purposes, notwithstanding the Death or Removal of the said Governor, or of the Death, new Commission, Association, or not Coming of the said Justices, or any of them.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Oath administred at the Request of a Quaker Officer, & c. by the Authority aforesaid, That in case of any Officer being a Quaker, that notwithstanding he be such, yet any Oath at the Request of the said Officer, taken before any Magistrate, shall be deemed equal and full to the Purpose, as if administred by the said Officer, any Law or Usage to the Contrary notwithstanding.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, No Judgment, & c. now depending, shall be discontinued. That no Indictment, Presentment or Inquisition, or any Process whatsoever now depending in any Court within this Government, for any of the Crimes or Offences mentioned in this Act, shall be discontinued, abated or quashed for or by reason of this Act, or any thing therein contained; but that the Judges and Justices of the respective Courts within this Government shall proceed to hear, try and determine the said Offences in such Indictments, Presentments and Inquisitions, mentioned to be committed against any Act or Acts of Assembly of this Government, as were in Force at the Time of finding, making or taking the said Indictments, Presentments and Inquisitions, and thereupon to give Judgment, and award Executions, according to the Directions of the said respective Acts of Assembly, upon which the said Indictments, Presentments or Inquisitions are founded, as if the same Act or Acts of Assembly were by a special Clause in this Act continued for that Purpose; any Thing herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
An ACT for obliging the Sheriff, Clerk, and Register of Wills and Testaments for the County of Sussex, to reside in the Town of Lewes in the said County.
FOR the Ease and Conveniency of the Inhabitants of Sussex, who may have Occasion from time to time to resort to the several Offices of the Clerk, Sheriff, and Register of Wills and Testaments of the said County; BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Sir William Keith, Baronet, by and with his Majesty's Approbation and Appointment Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania, and Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That the Clerk, Sheriff, and Register of Wills and Testaments of Sussex County, shall reside themselves, or keep their lawful Deputies and Officers in the Town of Lewes, which is the most publick Place within the said County; And that, if the said Officers, or either of them, shall refuse or neglect, by the Space of One Month, after the Tenth Day of December next ensuing, to reside, or keep their lawful Deputies and Officers in the said Town of Lewes, they shall forfeit for every Offence the Sum of Fifty Pounds, one Half to the Governor, the other Half to the Person or Persons that shall sue for the same, to be recovered by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Information, wherein no Effoin, Protection, or Wager of Law, nor any Imparlance, to be allowed.
An ACT to encourage the building of good Mills in this Government.
WHEREAS it is greatly for the Ease of the Preamble.People to be commodiously served with good Mills for grinding their Corn; and the Advantage thereof being [Page 44] obvious in the neighbouring Governments, where good Laws have been enacted for that Purpose: We therefore pray, that it may be Enacted,
AND BE IT ENACTED by William Keith, Esq by his Majesty's royal Approbation and Appointment Lieutenant-Governor in and over the Counties of New-castle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, by and with the Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen in the said Counties, in Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That on whatsoever Creeks, Rivers, or Runs, within this Government, any Water-Mill is built, or intended to be built, if on either Side of the said Creeks, Rivers or Runs, if the Owner or Projector of the said Mill or Mills have a real Property in a Part of the Land fit to be used for that Purpose, or upon which he has already built a Mill or Mills, yet nevertheless cannot perfect or secure the Method of obtaining adjacent Land for the Convenience of a Mill. same without purchasing and obtaining some other small Share of adjacent Land, which at the Time may happen to be another Man's Property; in order to convey the Water conveniently to and from the said Mill or Mills, then and in that Case the Owner and Proprietor of such Mill or Mills may apply himself to any two Justices of the Peace of that County, and thereupon the said Magistrates are hereby required and directed, by their Precept to the Sheriff, to cause Six Freeholders to be summoned before them, who shall upon their Oaths or Affirmations determine the true and intrinsick Value of the said adjacent Land, not exceeding the Quantity of Six Acres in the County of Newcastle, and Two Acres in each of the other Counties, on either Side of the said Creeks, Rivers, or Runs, where such Mill or Mills are built or intended to be built; and also the Damage and Loss which they judge may be to the Owner of such adjacent Land, or any other Person or Persons whatsoever; and after a Verdict given by the said Freeholders, the said Justices are likewise hereby commanded, by a certain Instrument, under their Hands and Seals, to certify and return the Verdict and Determination of the said Freeholders unto the next County Court, where it shall remain upon Record, and shall for ever transfer a good Title in Fee of the said adjacent Land, not exceeding the Quantities aforesaid, respectively so valued to the Owner or Projector of such Mill or Mills; and also shall create a Debt upon the said Owner or Projector's Estate for the said determined Value unto him and his [Page 45] Heirs, from whom the said adjacent Lands were so adjudged and taken.
An ACT appointing Persons to lay out Two Hundred Acres of Land in Lots adjoining to the Court-House of the County of Kent, and to dispose of the same to the Use of the Publick.
NOTHING being of more Consequence to a Preamble. Country than the Improvement thereof by the Addition of Tradesmen, and others, in such Measure as may not be of great Expence to the new Settlers; BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable William Keith, Esq by his Majesty's royal Approbation Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That it shall and may be lawful, Benjamin Shurmer, &c. impowered to lay out into Lots a Tract of Land in the Town of D [...]ver, and it is hereby made lawful for Benjamin Shurmer, William Brinkloe, and Richard Richardson, or any two of [...], to survey and lay out into Lots a certain Tract of [...] in the County of Kent, adjoining to the Court-House of said County, and purchased by the People thereof, and commonly called the Town of D [...]ver, in such Measures and Proportions as to them shall seem meet and convenient, and the said Lots so surveyed and laid out, as aforesaid, to dispose of and fell to such Persons as are willing to purchase and buy; and further, that it shall and may be lawful, and is hereby made lawful for the Persons above-mentioned, to grant, execute and perform Deed or Deeds, Conveyance or Conveyances, Bargains or Sales, for the said Lot or Lots, to any such Person or Persons as shall purchase the same; which said Deeds, Conveyances, Bargains or Sales, shall be good and valid in Law to the Parties purchasing, to them, their Heirs and Assigns for ever.
[Page 46]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED And to recover the Money for said Lots, by the Authority aforesaid, That the above-mentioned Benjamin Shurmer, William Brinkloe, and Richard Richardson, or any two of them, may and are hereby impowered to sue for, ask, levy and recover every such Sum or Sums of Money, as shall arise due from the Sale of the said Lot or Lots.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, And render an Account of the Money received, & c. That the said Benjamin Shurmer, William Brinkloe, and Richard Richardson, shall and are hereby made liable, upon all Demands hereafter, to render an Account of Money or Monies received on Account of the abovesaid Lots, to any Person or Persons whom the Justices of the Peace for the Time being, and Grand Jury of said County, shall appoint; whose Receipt shall discharge the said above-mentioned Persons from any farther Demand: And the said Benjamin Shurmer, William Brinkloe, and Richard Richardson, are hereby allowed, and it may be lawful for them to reserve for themselves out of the Monies so as aforesaid to be received, every such Part or Proportion of the same, as by them, and any other three Persons, whom the Court and Grand Jury shall nominate for the said Purpose, shall agree upon and think fit.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, and it is hereby meant and intended, That the said Survey and Allotment, and Laying-out, shall be finished and compleated at or before the Tenth Day of March next.
An ACT obliging all Non-Residenters within this Government, to give Security to the Prothonotaries of these Counties, before any Writ can issue from the said Offices, for the Payment of the Costs.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable William Keith, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approtion Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, [Page 47] Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That no Prothonotary No Prothonotary, & c to grant a Writ to a Non-Residenter without Security, & c. or Clerk of any County of this Government, shall grant or issue any Writ to any Person whatsoever, who is not an Inhabitant within this his Majesty's Government, without causing and obliging every such Person first to give Security for the Costs and Charges that may accrue by such Writ or Action; which said Security shall be by a substantial Inhabitant of that County where such Action is commenced.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Attornies suing out Process for a Non-Residenter without Security, shall be answerable for Costs, & c. by the Authority aforesaid, That every Attorney who sues out any Process for any Person not an Inhabitant, and who has not given Security as aforesaid, shall be liable and made answerable for the Costs and Charges of the said Action to such Prothonotary where the said Office is kept.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED And the Prothonotary, & c. issuing Writs without Security, shall be liable for Costs, & c. by the Authority aforesaid, That every Prothonotary, or Clerk, who issues out any Writ without such Security as above mentioned, shall be liable for the Charges and Costs himself; any Law, Custom or Usage to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
An ACT directing the Priority of Payment of the Debts of Persons dying within this Government.
WHEREAS it often happens, that many Persons Preamble. residing within this his Majesty's Government, having visible Estates within the same, do not only require and gain considerable Credits from the Inhabitants thereof, but also, upon the Death of such Persons, they are found oftentimes to be indebted to Persons that live and reside in other of his Majesty's Plantations in America, by Bills, [Page 48] Bonds, Judgments, or otherwise, made by the Parties deceased, whereby it often falls out, that the aforesaid Inhabitants that formerly trusted such Persons, are defrauded and deprived of their just Debts contracted as aforesaid: For the Prevention of which for the future, BE IT ENACTED by his Excellency Sir William Keith, Baronet, & c. and by and with the Advice and Consent of Debts to Inhabitants of this Government to have Preference, & c. the Freemen, & c. That where Debts are due by any Persons whatsoever to any the Inhabitants of this Government, in all Courts within the same, Priority of Judgment, and Execution for Debts due from any Person whatsoever shall be allowed to the Inhabitants of this Government; and that no foreign Debt shall be paid by any Executor or Administrator, till the Debts due to the Inhabitants of this Government be first secured and paid, on Penalty to pay the Creditors of this Government as far as the Assets in such Executor's or Administrator's Hands would reach before such foreign Debts were paid: PROVIDED that the Demand be made within Six Months after the Death of such Debtor; any Law, Act, Custom or Usage to the contrary hereof in any wise notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That when any Person shall die having Bona Notabilia in several Counties of this Government, and in the Province of Pennsylvania, or elsewhere; and when any Person not residing in this Government, who shall for that Purpose obtain Letters of Administration of the Governor, or any other Person out of this Government, and the Deceased being indebted to any of the Inhabitants of this Government for a Debt contracted within the same, to the Value of Letters of Administration not granted in this Government, to be filed, & c. Twenty Pounds; BE IT ENACTED, that such Administrator, before he be capable of obtaining any Judgment against any Inhabitants of this Government, by Virtue of such Letters of Administration, in any Court of Record within this Government, he shall be obliged to file such Letters of Administration by whomsoever the same be granted out of this Government, with some of the Registers, or proper Officers in this Government, and shall enter into Bond with sufficient Sureties, who have visible Estates in the Government, with Condition to pay and satisfy all such Debts as were owing by the said Intestate at the Time of his or her Death to any Person residing in this Government, as far forth as the Effects or Estate of the Intestate within this Government will extend, to the [Page 49] End that Executors and Administrators may know how to demean and govern themselves in the just Discharge of the Debts of the Deceased in due Order of Law; BE IT ENACTED, That the same shall be paid Order of Payment of the Debts of Persons deceased. and satisfied in Manner following, That is to say, First funeral Expences, which are to be regulated according to the Circumstances of the Deceased's Estate. Secondly, Debts due to the Crown, and to the Proprietary. Thirdly, Debts due by Judgment, obtained in the Life-time of the Party deceased. Fourthly, Debts due by Recognizances, and for Rent. Fifthly, Debts due by Obligation, Sixthly, Debts due by Bill. Seventhly, Servants and Workmens Wages. Eightly, Accounts of Merchants and others. And every Executor or Administrator that shall pay any Debts in other Order than herein is directed, he having sufficient Notice of a Debt of greater Dignity due from his Testator, or Intestate, so as he may be able to plead the same in Bar of a Debt of a lesser Dignity, that then in such Case he shall answer such Debt to which the Priority is given by the Law, out of his own Estate, if he have no Effects of the Party deceased; and that all other Laws of this Government, relating to the Priority of Payment of the Debts of Persons deceased, and of Persons being indebted to the Inhabitants of this Government, are hereby rendered null and of no Force or Effect.
An ACT for the better Confirmation of the Owners of Lands and Inhabitants of this Government in their just Rights and Possessions.
WHEREAS divers Laws have been enacted in Preamble. this Government, that made all Lands and Tenements (without any Regard to the Fee-simple, or other Tenures by which they are held) as liable to pay Debts as Chattels, and be taken and sold upon Executions, or [Page 50] by Decrees in Courts of Equity, or to be sold by such Executors as had no Power by their Testators Wills for so doing, and in certain Cases to be sold by Administrators, as also to be divided, allotted and distributed amongst the Children of Intestates; in Pursuance of which Laws, divers Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments in this Government have been sold, delivered, assessed, allotted or distributed accordingly: Now to the End that these Sales, Deliveries, Assignments and Allotments, or Distributions, may have Effect according to the Tenor and true Meaning of the said Laws, and that the Possessors and Owners of the said Lands and Hereditaments so sold, delivered, assigned and distributed, and their Heirs and Successors, may quietly have, hold and enjoy the same; BE IT ENACTED, What Sales, & c. are declared good and available in Law. & c. That all and singular the Bargains and Sales, being made bona fide, and for valuable Consideration, as also all Assignments, Grants and Allotments, or Distributions, made to any Person or Persons whatsoever, of any Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments, made in this Government, according to the Tenor and Direction, or the true Intent and Meaning of the said Laws in those Cases made and provided, before the first Day of December, in the Year 1721; are hereby declared to be good and effectual, and shall stand, and be taken, deemed and adjudged good, sure and available in Law, against all Persons whatsoever, according to the Tenor and Effect of the same Bargains, Sales, Assignments, Grants, Allotments or Distributions; and that every Person or Persons, Bodies politick and corporate, their Heirs and Successors, and all claiming by, from, or under them, or any of them, for and according to their and every of their several Estates and Interests, of, in and to the said Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments, with their Appurtenances, so as aforesaid sold, delivered, assigned or allotted, shall and may quietly or peaceably have, hold and enjoy the same Lands, Tenements, Hereditaments and Premises, and every Part thereof, against all and every Person and Persons, their Heirs and Assigns, having, claiming, or pretending to have, any Estate, Right, Title, Interest, Claim or Demand whatsoever, of, in or to the same: SAVING NEVERTHELESS to all and every Person and Persons, Bodies politick and corporate (others than to the Person or Persons for Payment of whose Debts, and Maintenance of whose Widows and Children, any of the said Lands, Tenements, Hereditaments, have been sold, delivered, or conveyed as aforesaid, and his and their Heirs, and others than to the Heirs at Law [Page 51] of the said Intestates, or any claiming under them, who attempt to avoid or annul the said Divisions, Allotments or Distributions, which have been made of the said Intestates Lands and Hereditaments amongst their Children, by Virtue or in Pursuance of the said Laws) all such Actions, Estates, Possessions, Rights, Titles, Interests, Rents, Profits and Demands, as they, or any of them, have, shall, may or ought to have of, in, or to all or any of the said Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments, or any Part thereof, in such Manner and Form as if this Act had never been made; so that they do pursue their said Rights, Titles, Claims, and Interest, by way of Action, or lawful Entry, before the first Day of October, which will be in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Twenty-Two. PROVIDED ALWAYS, That all and Lands divided amongst Children of Intestates, and those sold upon Executions, to be held in Common Tenancy. every the Children of Intestates, to or amongst whom any Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments have been allotted or distributed by Virtue of the said Laws, and all and every Person and Persons to whom any Parts or Purports of Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments have, as aforesaid, been, or hereafter shall be sold or delivered upon Executions, shall hold and enjoy their said respective Parts, Purports or Allotments in Severalty, or as Tenants in Common, and not as Joint-Tenants.
WHEREAS divers Persons, living out of this Government, are and have been Owners of Lands within the same, such Persons have usually appointed Attornies to sell and dispose thereof: To the End therefore that those who have so purchased, and their Heirs or Assigns for ever hereafter to be secured in their Titles and Estates, BE IT ENACTED, & c. That all Sales of Lands, Tenements Sales, & c. which have been made by Attornies, are adjudged good. and Hereditaments, formerly made by any Attornies or Agents who have been appointed by any Person or Persons who had Right so to do, and especially giving them Power or Directions therein to sell or convey Land, are and shall be deemed and adjudged good and effectual in Law, to all Intents, Constructions and Purposes whatsoever, as fully as if the said Owners of such Lands had by their own Deeds, Bargains and Sales, actually and really sold and conveyed the same; and all and singular the Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments sold and conveyed as aforesaid, shall be and remain to such Purchasers respectively, their Heirs and Assigns, for ever, as they were or ought to have been to the Owner or Owners of such Lands or Premises so employing his or their Attornies and Agents as aforesaid.
[Page 52]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, & c. Bonds, & c. proved before any Magistrate, are good in Law. That all and every Bonds, Specialties, Letters of Attorney, and other Powers in Writing, which shall be produced in any Court, or before any Magistrate in this Government, the Execution whereof being proved by two or more of the Witnesses thereunto before any Mayor or chief Magistrate or Officer of the Towns or Places where such Bonds, Letters of Attorney, or other Writings, are or shall be made or executed, and accordingly certified under the Common or Publick Seal of the Towns or Places where the said Bonds, Letters of Attorney, or other Writings, are so proved respectively; shall be taken and adjudged as sufficient in Law, as if the Witnesses therein named had been present, and such Certification shall be sufficient Evidence to the Court and Jury for the Proof thereof.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, & c. Sales of Lands, & c. made by Letters of Attorney expresly giving Power, & c. shall be good, & c. That all Sales or Conveyances of Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments, which shall hereafter be made by Virtue of any Letters or Powers of Attorney or Agency, duly executed, which do or shall expresly give Power to sell Bonds or other Estates, and be certified to have been proved as aforesaid, or shall be proved in this Government before any Court of Common Pleas within this Government, by one or more of the Witnesses thereto; shall be good and effectual in Law, to all Intents, Constructions and Purposes whatsoever, as if the said Constituent or Constituents had by their own Deeds Bargains and Sales, actually and really sold and conveyed the same.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That no Sale of Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments, made by Virtue of such Power or Powers of Attorney or Agency as aforesaid, shall be good and effectual, unless such Sale be made and executed while such Power is in Force; and all such Powers shall be accounted, deemed and taken to be in Force, until the Attorney or Agent shall have due Notice of a Countermand, Revocation, or Death of the Constituent.
An ACT for keeping in good Repair the Dykes and Sluices belonging to the Marsh on the North End of the Town of Newcastle, lately in the Tenure and Occupation of John Donaldson, Robert French, and Richard Halliwell, Esquires, deceased.
WHEREAS the Draining of the Marsh at the Preamble. North End of the Town of Newcastle has contributed very much towards the Health of the Inhabitants, and is thereby become a publick Benefit to the Place; To the End therefore that the Proprietors and Owners thereof may be duly encouraged and enabled to keep the Dykes and Sluices belonging to the said Marsh in continual good Order and Repair; BE IT ENACTED by the Expence of Dykes to be proportionably paid by all the Owners. Honourable Sir William Keith, Baronet, with the royal Approbation Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania, and Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, with the Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met; and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the Publication of this Act, every Possessor and Owner of any Part of the said Marsh, whether improved or not improved, shall bear his proportionable Share of the Charge about, and Expence which shall be found necessary from time to time to support and keep in good Repair the Dykes and Sluices belonging to the said Marsh.
AND to the End that the said Proportion of Labour and Expence may be ascertained, and equitably assessed and charged upon the several Owners and Proprietors aforesaid; BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if at any Time it shall happen that Owners not agreeing, the Sheriff to cause a View and Estimates to be made, & c. all the several Owners and Proprietors of the said Marsh, or their lawful Attornies, cannot be easily and voluntarily convened together, so as to agree amongst themselves upon their respective Proportions of Labour and Charge to be applied for the Use aforesaid, then, and in that Case, at the Request of any two or more of the said Proprietors, the High-Sheriff of the County for the Time being is hereby directed and commanded to summon two Magistrates and four Freeholders of the said County, who, after being attested by the said Sheriff upon their Oaths, or Affirmations, faithfully to discharge the Service unto which they [Page 54] are called, shall then proceed to view and examine the Condition of the said Dykes and Sluices: And when they have made an Estimate according to the best of their Skill of the Cost and Charge which a necessary and sufficient Repairing of the same will require, they are hereby directed to allot and proportion every One's Share of the whole Cost according to the Value and Quantity of Marsh which it shall appear to them he possesseth at the Time. And the Judgment or Decision of the said two Magistrates and four Freeholders, or the Majority of them, in the Premises, shall determine the Matter, without Delay or Appeal to any other Court whatsoever.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, Owners paying, may have Action of Debt against such as refuse, & c. That after such Judgment given as aforesaid, if any of the said Proprietors, or their lawful Attornies, shall refuse or neglect to contribute and pay the Proportion of Labour or Expence respectively charged upon them as aforesaid, then it shall and may be lawful for any two or more of the said Proprietors that are willing to contribute their Proportions of the said Charge, to bring an Action of Debt against the Persons, or real Estates, of those refusing or neglecting to contribute as aforesaid, in any Court of Record within this Government, where no Protection or Wager of Law shall be allowed, nor any more than one Imparlance. AND if a Verdict shall pass for the Plaintiff, be shall recover double Costs of Suit, or, if the Sum be under Forty Shillings, to recover the same as the Law in other Cases directs. PROVIDED ALWAYS, In case of absent Owners, 12 Months Notice to be given. That no Proprietor, or Owner of the said Marsh, who is absent out of the Government, and has not any lawful Attorney here to answer for him, shall be liable to have any Action or Suit brought against his Lands and real Estate by Virtue of this Act, until publick Notice thereof shall first be given, by affixing the same upon the Court-House and other publick Places within the County, at least Twelve Months immediately preceding such Suit or Action; any 0thing herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
An ACT for establishing Orphans Courts.
WHEREAS several Matters of great Importance Preamble. are directed to be done by the Orphans Courts of this Government; but upon Perusal of the Law directing the Doing thereof, the same appears to be very deficient, and divers Orphans and Persons concerned for them, or entrusted with their Estates, labour under great Inconveniences: BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable Sir William Keith, Baronet, with his Majesty's royal Approbation Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania, and Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That the Justices of the Court of General Quarter-Sessions of the Justices of Quarter Sessions to hold the Orphans Court. Peace in each County of this Government, or so many of them as are or shall be from time to time enabled to hold those Courts, shall have full Power, and are hereby impowered, in the same Week that they are or shall be by Law directed to hold the same Courts, or at such other Times as they shall see Occasion, to hold and keep a Court of Record in each of the said Counties, which shall be stiled, The Orphans Court; and to award Process, and And may award Process, & c. cause to come before them all and every such Person and Persons, who as Guardians, Trustees, Tutors, Executors, Administrators, or otherwise, are or shall be entrusted with, or any wise accountable for, any Lands, Tenements, Goods, Chattels, or Estate belonging, or which shall belong to any Orphans, or any Persons under Age, and cause them to make and exhibit, within a reasonable Time, true and perfect Inventories and Accounts of the said Estates, and to cause and oblige the Register, or such Person or Persons as for the Time being shall have the Power of Probate of Wills, and granting Letters of Administration in this Government, or their Deputies, upon Application made in that Behalf, to bring or transmit into the Orphans Court true Copies or Duplicates of all such Bonds, Inventories, Accounts, Actings and Proceedings whatsoever, now or hereafter remaining or being in the respective Offices or elsewhere within the Limits of their Authority, as do or shall concern or relate to the said Estates, or any of them, and to order the Payment of such reasonable Fees for the said Copies, and for all other Charges, Trouble and Attendance, which any Officer or other Person shall necessarily [Page 56] be put upon in the Execution of this Act, as they shall think equitable and just; and if upon Hearing or Examination thereof it appears to the Justices of the said Court, that any of the said Officers have misbehaved themselves to the Prejudice of any Minor, or any concerned for them as aforesaid, the said Justices are hereby required to certify the same accordingly, which shall be good Evidence for the Party grieved to recover his Damages at Common Letters of Administration without giving Bond, are void. Law. And where any Letter of Administration shall be granted, and no Bond with Sureties given, as the Law in that Case requires, such Letters of Administration shall be and are hereby declared to be void, and of none Effect; and that the Officer or Person that grants the same, and his Sureties, shall be, ipso facto, liable to pay all such Damages as shall accrue to any such Person or Persons, by Occasion of granting such Administration; and the Party to whom the same shall be so granted, may be sued as Executor in his own Wrong, and shall be so taken and deemed in any Suit to be brought against him for or by reason of his said Administration. Or if, upon each Examination, it appears that any of the said Officers have not taken sufficient Sureties where the Administrators may not be of Ability to answer or make good the Value of what the Decedent's Estate doth or shall amount to; then the If Security given by Administrators be not sufficient, they shall give better. said Justices of the Orphans Court are hereby impowered and required to call all such Administrators to give better Security to the Register by Bonds, in Manner and Form as the Law prescribes, and under such Pena [...] and with such Sureties as the said Justices, after they have heard the Objections of Creditors or Persons concerned (if any such be made to the Court) shall approve of. And if it appears In case of Imbezzlement or Refusal of sufficient Surety, & c. Letters of Administration may be revoked, and granted to others, & c. that any of the said Administrators have imbezzled, wasted or misapplied, or suffered so to be, any Part of the Decedent's Estates, or shall neglect or refuse to give Bonds with Sureties as aforesaid, then, and in every such Case, the said Justices shall forthwith, by their Sentence, revoke or repeal the Letters of Administration granted them, and thereupon the said Register, or other Person then impowered to grant Administration as aforesaid, where such Occasion happens, are hereby required to grant Letters of Administration to such Person or Persons (having Right thereto) as will give Bonds in Manner and Form aforesaid, who may have their Actions of Trover or Detinue for such Goods or Chattels as came to the Possession of the former Administrators, and shall be detained, wasted, imbezzled [Page 57] or misapplled by any of them, and no Satisfaction made for the same.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That when any Complaint is made to any of the said In case Minors Estates be in Danger by Executors, & c. the Orphans Court shall cause such to give Security. Justices, that an Executrix having Minors of her own, or being concerned for others, is married, or like to be espoused to another Husband, without securing the Minors Portions or Estates; or that an Executor or other Person having the Care and Trust of Minors Estates, is like to prove Insolvent, or shall refuse or neglect to exhibit true and perfect Inventories, or give full and just Accounts of the said Estates, came to their Hands or Knowledge; then, and in every such Case, the same Justices are hereby required forthwith to call an Orphans Court, who shall cause all and every such Executors and Trustees, as also such Guardians or Tutors of Orphans or Minors, as have been formerly appointed, or shall at any Time hereafter be appointed by the said Court, to give Security to the Orphans or Minors, by Mortgage or Bonds, in such Sums, and with such Sureties, as the said Court shall think reasonable, conditioned for the Performance of their respective Trusts, and for the true Payment or Delivery to and for the Use and Behoof of such Orphans as they are concerned for (or such as shall legally represent them) the Legacies, Portions, Shares and Dividends of Estates, real and personal, belonging to such Orphans or Minors, so far as they have Assets, as also for their Maintenance and Education, as the said Court shall think fit to order for the Benefit and Advantage of such Orphans, as is usual in such Cases.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That any of the said Executors, Administrators, Guardians Minors Money may be put out to Interest. or Trustees, may, by the Leave and Direction of the Orphans Court, put out their Minors Money to Interest, upon such Security as the said Court shall allow of; and if such Security so taken bona fide, and without Fraud, shall happen to prove insufficient, it shall be the Minors Loss: But if no Person, who may be willing to take the said Money at Interest (with such Security) can be found by the Persons so as aforesaid concerned for the Minors, nor by any others, then the said Executors, Guardians, Administrators or Trustees, shall in such Cases be responsible for the principal Money only, until it can be put out at Interest as aforesaid.
[Page 58]PROVIDED ALWAYS, That the Day of Not exceeding twelve Months at one time. Payment of the Money so to be put out to Interest, at any one time, shall not exceed Twelve Months from the Date of the Obligation or other Security given for the same, and so toties quoties, when and so often as the said Money shall be paid or come to the Hands of the said Executors, Guardians or Trustees.
PROVIDED ALSO, That no Executors, Administrators or Guardians, shall be liable to pay Interest, but for the Surplusage of the Decedent's Estate, remaining in their Hands or Powers, and belonging to the Minors, when the Accounts of their Administration are or ought to be settled and adjusted before the Orphans Court or Register respectively.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, Farther Authority of the Orphans Court. That the Justices of the said Orphans Court, in the said respective Counties, shall by Virtue of this Act have full Power and Authority to exercise all the Powers, Authorities and Jurisdictions granted or mentioned, or intended to be granted to the Orphans Court, in and by a Law of this Government, entituled, An Act for the better settling Intestates Estates; and to do, execute and perform all such Matters and Things as the Orphans Court in the said Act mentioned, might or ought to have done or performed, according to the true Intent and Meaning thereof; with Power also to admit Orphans or Minors, when and as often as there may be Occasion to make Choice of Guardians or Tutors, and to appoint Guardians next Friends, or Tutors over such as the Court shall judge too young, or incapable, according to the Rules of the Common Law, to make Choice themselves; and at the Instance and Request of the said Executors, Administrators, Guardians or Tutors, to order and direct the binding or putting out of Minors Apprentices to Trades, Husbandry, or other Employments, as shall be thought fit; and that all Guardians and Prochein Amies, which shall be appointed by any of the said Orphans Courts, shall be allowed and received without further Admittance to prosecute and defend all Actions and Suits relating to the Orphans or Minors, as the Cause may require, in any Court or Courts of this Government.
AND if any Person or Persons, being duly summoned to appear in any of the said Orphans Courts Ten Days before [Page 59] the Time appointed for their Appearance, shall make Persons summoned, and not appearing, & c. may be punished by Imprisonment, & c. Default, the Justices may send their Attachments for Contempts, and may force Obedience to their Warrants, Sentence or Orders, concerning any Matter or Thing cognizable in the same Courts, by Imprisonment of Body, or Sequestration of Lands or Goods, as fully as any Court of Equity may or can do.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That if any Person Persons aggrieved may appeal to the Supreme Court. or Persons shall be aggrieved with any definitive Sentence or Judgment of the said Orphans Court, it shall be lawful for them, to appeal from the same to the Governor for the Time being, in Equity, which Appeal, upon Security given, as is usual in such Cases, shall be granted accordingly.
AND if any of the said Executors, Administrators, Discharges for Money, & c. by Executors, are binding to the Orphans. Guardians or Trustees, did or shall receive and give Discharges for any Sums of Money, Debts, Rents or Duties belonging to any Orphan or Minor, for whom they were or are intrusted; It is hereby Declared and Enacted, That all such Discharges or Receipts shall be binding to and upon the Orphan or Minor, when he or she attains to full Age, and shall be most effectual in Law to discharge the Person or Persons that take the same. Any when any of Bonds how to be cancelled. the said Minors attain to full Age, and the Person or Persons so as aforesaid entrusted or concerned for them, having rendered their Accounts to the Orphans Court, according to the Direction of this and the said other Acts, and paid the Minors their full Due; then such Minors shall acknowledge Satisfaction in the said Court: But in case any of them refuse so to do, then the said Court shall certify how the said Persons concerned have accounted and paid, which shall be a sufficient Discharge to the Guardians or Tutors, and to the Trustees, Executors or Administrators, who shall so account and pay; and thereupon all Bonds entered into for Payment of such Orphans Portions, shall be delivered up and cancelled.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That none of the said Orphans What Persons may have the Charge of Orphans or Minors. Courts shall have any Power to order or commit the Tuition or Guardianship of any Orphans or Minors, or to bind them Apprentices to any Person or Persons of a Religious Persuasion, that shall be different from what the Parents of such Orphan or Minor professed at the Time of [Page 60] their Decease, or against the Minor's own Mind or Inclination, so far as he or she has Discretion and Capacity to express and signify the same, or to Persons that are not of good Repute, so as others of good Credit and the same Persuasion may or can be found.
PROVIDED ALSO, That the Justices of the Due Regard to be had to Wills, & c. said Courts, and all others, concerned in the Execution of this Act, shall have due Regard to the Direction of all last Wills and Testaments, and to the true Intent and Meaning of the Testators, in all Matters and Things that shall be brought before them concerning the same.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, Bonds directed to be given by any Law, & c. to be for the Use of the Persons concerned, & c. That all such Bonds or Obligations as are by this Act, or by any other Law of this Government, directed and required to be given to the Governor, and all such Bonds as by any Law are directed to be given by the Register, or by any other Officers or Persons in Office whatsoever in this Government, for the due Execution of his or their respective Offices or Employments, ARE HEREBY DECLARED to be to, and for the Use of, and in Trust for the Person or Persons concerned; and that the Benefit thereof shall be extended, from time to time, for the Relief and Advantage of the Party grieved by the Misfeazance or Non-feazance of the Officers that did or shall give the same: And that when any of the said Bonds shall be put in Suit, and Judgment thereupon obtained, the Judgment shall remain in the same Nature the Bonds were, and that no Execution issue out thereupon, before the Party grieved shall by Writ of Scire Facias summon the Person or Persons, against whom the said Judgment is obtained, to appear and shew Cause why Execution shall not issue upon the said Judgment; and if the Party grieved shall prove what Damages he sustained, and thereupon a Verdict be found for him, the Court of Common Pleas (where such Suit is) shall award Execution for so much as the Jury shall then find, with Costs, and no more. And the former Judgment is hereby declared still to remain Cautionary, for the Satisfaction of such others as shall legally prove themselves damnified, and recover their Damages in the Clerks of Courts, & c. required to give Copies of such Bonds, & c. Manner aforesaid: And the said Clerks of the Courts of Common Pleas, and all others, in whose Hands the said Bonds, shall be deposited or lodged, are hereby required to give any Person injured, that requests the same, a true Copy of any of the said Bonds, paying Three Shillings for [Page 61] the same, and to produce the Original in Court upon any Trial that shall be had for the Breach of any of them, if required by the Court: And if the Person in whose Hands the said Bonds shall be lodged or come, shall refuse or delay to give Copies thereof, and produce the Original in Court as aforesaid, he or they shall forfeit and pay to the Party grieved, Treble Damages, to be recovered against the Officer that hath such Bonds, or his Sureties, by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Information, in any Court of this Government, where no Essoign, Protection; or Wager of Law, or any more than one Imparlance; shall be allowed.
An ACT for the better settling Intestates Estates. Repealed.
An ACT impowering Timothy Hanson,
Esq Attorney to Rebecca Kearney, Administratrix of Philip Kearney,
Esq deceased, to convey and make over unto Mess. Benjamin Shurmar, John Hall, Hugh Durborow, and Andrew Caldwell, several Tracts or Parcels of Land in the County of Kent, on Delaware.
WHEREAS it doth appear to the House of Representatives, in Assembly met, That Philip Kearney, deceased, did, by Deed of Conveyance, in his Life-time, purchase from John Roe, of Queen Ann's County, in Maryland, Planter, several Tracts or Parcels of Land, situate, lying, and being in the County of Kent, on Delaware, specified and mentioned in the said Deed, bearing Date the first Day of March, Annoque Domini 1720; AND WHEREAS the said Philip did by Indenture, or Instrument of Writing, under his Hand and Seal, bearing equal Date with the above-mentioned Deed of Conveyance, [Page 62] as it appears to this House, acknowledge and declare for himself, his Heirs, Executors, and Administrators, That the above-named Deed of Conveyance of the Lands therein mentioned, from the said Roe to him the said Kearney, were bona fide, and purely in Trust, and for the Use and Behoof of Benjamin Shurmar, John Hall, Hugh Durborow, jun. and Andrew Caldwell, and their Heirs and Assigns, for ever; and did further, in the said indented Instrument of Writing, covenant and oblige himself, his Heirs, Executors and Administrators, That he, upon Division of the said Tracts or Parcels of Land, by the above-named Parties amongst themselves made, would, at the Cost and Expence of the respective Parties, execute Deeds according to the Division so made. NOW, WHEREAS the abovesaid Philip Kearney died before the Execution of the Deeds according to the said Agreement, and his Heir being of the Age of Seven Years old only, so that the said Benjamin Shurmar, Hugh Durborow, John Hall, and Andrew Caldwell, will for the Want of a Performance of the same be prevented in the Use of the said Land, and otherwise much damnified: To the End therefore that the said Benjamin Shurmar, John Hall, Hugh Durborow, and Andrew Caldwell, and every of them, may be legally put into the Possession of what appears in all Equity and good Conscience to appertain of Right to them, and every of them; we pray that it may be Enacted,
AND BE IT ENACTED by his Excellency Sir William Keith, Baronet, Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, &c. by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That Timothy Hanson, Timothy Hanson, &c. impowered to convey Lots, & c. Esq Attorney to Rebecca Kearney, Administratrix to the said Philip Kearney, deceased, shall and is hereby impowered to execute, acknowledge, and make over unto the respective Parties above-named, their Heirs and Assigns, for ever, according to the Division of the said Parties agreed upon, the respective Lots and Parts of the said purchased Lands from the said Roe conveyed to the said Kearney, in Trust as abovesaid, firm and good Deeds of Conveyance, in Fee-simple, which said Deeds shall be, and are hereby declared to be as firm, good and valid in Law, to all Intents, Ends, and Purposes, as if made, executed, and acknowledged, by the said [Page 63] Philip Kearney in his Life-time; any Law, Custom or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding.
An ACT for reducing the Interest of Money from Eight to Six per Cent. per annum.
BE IT ENACTED by Sir William Keith, Baronet, Governor of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex Counties, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That no Person shall, directly or indirectly, for any Bonds or No Person shall take above 6 [...]. for Forbearance of 100 [...]. one Year. Contracts to be made after the Publication of this Act, take for the Loan or Use of Money, or any other Commodities, above the Value of Six Pounds, for the Forbearance of One Hundred Pounds, or the Value thereof, for One Year, and so proportionably for a greater or lesser Sum; any Law, Custom or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That if any Person or Persons whatsoever, do or shall (after the Publication of this Act) receive or take more than Six Pounds per Cent. per Annum, on any such Bond or Contract as aforesaid; upon Conviction thereof, the Person or Persons so offending shall forfeit the Money, and other Things Penalty. lent, the one Half thereof to the Governor, for the Support of Government, and the other Half to the Person who shall sue for the same, by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint or Information, in any Court of Record within this Government, wherein no Essoign, Protection or Wager of Law, nor any more than one Imparlance, shall be allowed.
An ACT for cutting a new Mouth for the Greek called the Murtherkill, in Kent County, into the Bay of Delaware.
Preamble. WHEREAS nothing tends more to the Prosperity and Well-being of a Government and People, than Trade and Navigation, for the Promotion and Advancement of which all lawful and honest Methods and Endeavours ought to be used: And because it is found that the Mouth of the Murtherkill, in the County of Kent, is too shallow for Vessels of great Burthen to enter in; and because the making a new Mouth for the same into another Part of the Bay of Delaware, by means whereof large Vessels might go into the same, would tend very much to the Encouragement of Trade, as well as the Safety of Shipping; BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by his Excellency Sir William Keith, Baronet, (with the royal Approbation Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania) by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority Present Mouth of Murtherkill to be stopt, and a new Canal cut. of the same, That it shall and may be lawful for the Inhabitants of the County of Kent aforesaid, or any of them, by the most proper and convenient Ways and Means, to stop and dam up the present Mouth of the Murtherkill in the County aforesaid, and also by a new Ditch or Canal, to be made in such a Place as to them shall seem most convenient, to convey the Water of the said Creek into the Bay of Delaware.
AND as it must of Necessity happen that the new Ditch or Canal to be cut and made, will lead and run through the Freehold or Land of some private Person or Persons, by Means whereof he or they may sustain Damage; BE IT THEREFORE FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That Four honest or indifferent Persons shall or may be chosen, Two by the Person or Persons through whose Freehold or Land the said Ditch or Canal shall be cut and made, and Two more by the Subscribers to this Work, or the Majority of them; any Three of which Persons so to be chosen by the Parties aforesaid, Damages to be made good. shall and may award such Damages as they shall find the Person or Persons through whose Freehold [Page 65] the said Ditch or Canal shall happen to be cut and made an aforesaid; have sustained, by reason of the same; which Sum by them, or any Three of them so to be awarded, shall be paid by the Subscribers to the said Work, to the Person or Persons damnified as aforesaid, within the Space of Thirty Days after they shall have made a Beginning to cut the said Canal or Ditch: And in case of Non-Payment thereof, or other Satisfaction made, within the Time aforesaid, then it shall and may be lawful for the Party or Parties so damnified, to bring his or their Account of Debt against any of the Person or Persons who shall have been at Work to open the said Canal or Ditch, before or in any Court of Record in the said County of Kent, wherein no more but one Imparlance shall be allowed.
An ACT repealing some Clauses in the Act for emitting Six Thousand Pounds, &c.
An ACT impowering the Magistrates of Newcastle County to view and direct the Removal of Obstructions to the Fishery of Brandywine.
WHEREAS, in order to preserve an uninterrupted Preamble. Peace and Friendship with our native Indians, it is requisite that the most expeditious and easy Methods should be contrived to examine into their Complaints, and to do them Justice on all Occasions; and also having a just Regard to the Petitions of our good Neighbours, some of the Inhabitants of Cbester County, with Respect to the Loss of their Fishery sustained, by Mill-Dams, and other Obstructions of the Water, laid a-cross the lower Parts of Brandywine Creek, within the County of Newcastle; BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by Sir William Keith, Baronet, & c. That the Magistrates of the County of Newcastle for the Time [Page 66] Justices to examine the Situation, & c. of Dams; being, shall at the next or any succeeding Court of Quarter-Sessions to be held for the said County, nominate and appoint three or more of their Members to enquire into and examine the Situation, Nature and Condition, of all such Dams and other Obstructions upon Brandywine Creek, within the County of Newcastle aforesaid, as shall appear unto them to be hurtful and prejudicial, by stopping or hindering the Fish from running freely up the Stream; and after such Enquiry made by three or more of the said Justices as aforesaid, they shall make Report thereof unto the next Court of Quarter-Sessions immediately following, to be held for the said County of Newcastle, with their And make Report to the Sessions; Opinions how, and after what Manner, the said Dams and Obstructions may be remedied or removed with the least Prejudice to the Owners and Proprietors of the Lands on which they are built or raised.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Who may give Orders thereupon. by the Authority aforesaid, That immediately upon such Reports being made and returned into Court as aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful for the Justices in open Court sitting, or a Majority of them, to take the Matter under their Advisement, and to give such final Orders and Directions towards altering or altogether removing such Dams and other Obstructions of the Water in Brandywine, as aforesaid, as to them shall seem just and equitable; any Law, Custom or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That if the Owners and Possessors of such Dams and Obstructions as aforesaid, shall in any wise refuse to comply with the final Judgment and Directions given by the Magistrates in the Court of Quarter-Sessions therein, as aforesaid, then, and in that Case, it shall be lawful for the Magistrates, or a Majority of them, in the same, or any succeeding Court of Quarter-Sessions, held for the County of And cause the Sheriff to see the same executed. Newcastle, to issue their Precept or Writ, directed unto the Sheriff, commanding him to see the Judgment and Direction of the Court, concerning the said Dams or Obstructions on Brandywine Creek, to be fully executed with Effect, at the Expence of the Party so refusing to comply with the same as aforesaid.
An ACT to prevent sickly Vessels coming into this Government.
WHEREAS it hath been found, by sad Experience, that the Coming and Arrival of sickly Vessels at the Ports and Towns of this Government, and the Landing of their Passengers and Goods before they have lain some time to be purified, hath proved very detrimental to the Health of the Inhabitants; BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and of the Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, and by the Authority of the same. That from and after the Publication hereof, no Vessel coming from any unhealthy or sickly Place, or having any sick Persons on board whatsoever, shall come nearer than One Mile to any of the Towns, Ports, or Plantations, within this Government, without Bills of Health, or shall presume to bring to Shore such Vessel, nor to land any of the Passengers, or their Goods, at any of the said Ports or Places, until such Time as they shall be viewed by Persons to be appointed for that Purpose, and obtain a Licence for their Landing from the Governor, or from any two Justices of the Peace of the County where such Vessel or Passengers shall come or land, under the Penalty of One Hundred Pounds, to be paid by the Master of such Ship or Vessel for every such Offence, to the Use of the Governor, to be recovered by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Information, in any Court of Record within this Government, wherein no Essoign, Protection, or Wager of Law, shall be allowed, nor any more than one Imparlance.
An ACT to oblige Witnesses, being legally summoned, to give Evidence.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and of the Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That if any Person or Persons, summoned or required by any Process whatsoever, or Order of any Court, or Magistrate, or other Officer whatsoever within this Government, lawfully authorized to issue forth the same, to give his, her, or their Evidence, upon any Matter or Difference whatsoever, shall refuse [...] to give Attendance, according to the Directions [...] said Order, Summons, or Command, such Person or Persons so refusing (not being prevented by Sickness, or some unavoidable Accident) shall pay to the Party or Parties wronged or injured thereby, all such Damages as he or they shall sustain by reason thereof, to be recovered in any Court of Record within this Government, by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Information, wherein no Essoign, Protection, or Wager of Law, shall be allowed, and shall further be liable to be fined by the Justices of the Quarter-Sessions of the Peace in any Sum not exceeding Forty Shillings, for such their Contempt.
An ACT about determining Debts under [...] Shillings.
Supplied.
An ACT concerning Bills of Exchange.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and of [Page 69] the Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That if any Person or Persons within this Government, shall draw or indorse any Bill or Bills of Exchange upon any Person or Persons in England, or other Parts of Europe, or beyond the Seas, and the same be returned back unpaid, with a legal Protest, the Drawer thereof, and all others concerned, shall pay and discharge the Contents of the said Bill or Bills, together with Twenty Pounds per Cent. Advance for the Damage thereof, and so proportionable for a greater or less Sum, in the same Specie as the same Bill or Bills were drawn, or current Money of this Government equivalent to that which was first paid to the Drawer or Indorser.
An ACT against removing Land-Marks.
FOR the greater Security and Certainty of Boundaries of Lands, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and of the Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That no Person or Persons whatsoever within this Government, shall cut, fall, alter or remove, any certain bounded Tree, or other allowed Land-Mark, or shall survey any Land, or mark any Tree as a Corner-Tree, or a Line-Tree, upon any Land not belonging to the Party so doing, without lawful Authority, under the Penalty of any Sum not exceeding Fifty Pounds, and not less than Ten Pounds, to the Use of the Party wronged, to be recovered in any Court of Judicature within this Government, by Bill, Plaint, or Information, wherein no Essoign, [Page 70] Protection, or Wager of Law, shall be allowed, nor any more than one Imparlance.
An ACT against Wears across Creeks and Rivers.
TO the End that all Persons inhabiting in or near any Creek or River in this Government, may enjoy all Privileges and Advantages that from them are to be reaped; BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and of the Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Penalty on making Wears, & c. Counties, and by the Authority of the same, That whosoever shall make any Wear or Wears, or set any Nets from one Side to the other of the Channel of any Creek or River within this Government, being thereof convicted, by the View of one Justice of the Peace, or by the Testimony of one credible Witness, shall for every such Offence pay Ten Shillings, and the Wear or Wears shall be destroyed by Order of the Justice before whom the Complaint shall be heard.
PROVIDED, That nothing in this Act extend to restrain the making of Wears over Mill-Dams or Races, nor to such as make Wears on their own Lands, so as that they in either of these Cases shall not be injurious to others.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That no Wear or Wears shall be made on the South Side of Lewes Creek, in Sussex County, under the Penalty of Ten Shillings, and the Wear to be destroyed by the Order of any Justice of the said County.
An ACT for the Trial of Negroes.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, Two Justices and fix Freeholders impowered to try all Offences committed by Negroes, & c. That from and after the Publication of this Act, it shall and may be lawful for two Justices of the Peace of this Government, who shall be particularly commissionated by the Governor for that Service within the respective Counties thereof, and fix of the most substantial Freeholders of the Neighbourhood, to hear, examine, try and determine all such Offences committed by any Negro or Mulatto Slaves within this Government, which said Freeholders shall be by Warrant, under the Hands and Seals of the respective Justices, commissionated as aforesaid, directed to some Constable of the said County, be summoned to appear at such Time and Place as the said Justices shall appoint, which said Freeholders the said Justices shall solemnly swear or attest well and truly to give their Assistance and Judgment together with the said Justices, upon the Trial of such Negroes or Mulattoes; which Freeholders, or any four of them, being qualified as aforesaid, shall hold a Court at the Court-House in the said respective Counties where the Crime is committed, for the Hearing, Trying, Determining and Convicting of such Negro or Negroes, or Mulatto Slaves, as shall be before them charged or accused of committing any Murder, Manslaughter, Buggery, Burglary, Robbery, Rape, Attempts of Rape, or any other high and heinous Offences, committed, acted or done in any the respective Counties within this Government, as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Who may acquit or condemn, according to their Evidence, and order Execution, & c. That it shall and may be lawful for the said Court of Justices and Freeholders as aforesaid, to examine, try, hear, judge, determine, convict, acquit or condemn, according to their Evidence, any Negro or Negroes, or Mulatto Slaves, for any the Crimes or Offences aforesaid, or any other High or Capital Offences, upon due Proof to them made, to pronounce such Judgment or Sentence as is agreeable to Law, and the Nature of the Offence, and to order Execution of the said Judgment [Page 72] or Sentence accordingly, or otherwise to acquit, free and discharge such Negro or Negroes, or Mulatto Slaves, in case the Evidence shall not be sufficient for a Conviction therein.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That upon the Conviction of any Negro or Mulatto Slave, Slaves condemned to Death, to be valued, and two Thirds of the Value paid to the Master, & c. belonging to any of the Inhabitants of this Government, for any Capital Cause for which the Party convicted shall suffer Death, the said Justices and Freeholders, before whom they were convicted, shall immediately value the said Slave or Slaves, and in case the Negro or Mulatto Slave shall be put to Death, that the two Thirds of the appraised Value of such Slave so executed, shall be paid to the Master or Owner of such Slave by the County Treasurer out of the publick Levy, to be raised in the same Manner as the County Levies.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That where such Negro or Negroes, or Mulatto Slaves shall be convict, and such Judgment or Sentence shall be pronounced by the respective Justices and Freeholders as aforesaid, and a Warrant by them, or any four of them, one of which to be one that sat upon the Trial, signed, sealed and delivered to the High Sheriff of the County where the Fact was committed, for the Execution of such Negro or Mulatto, the same shall be duly executed, or caused to be duly executed by the said Sheriff, Sheriff to cause the Sentence to be executed. according to the Directions of such Warrant, on Pain of being disabled to act any longer in that Post or Office; and if any of the said Justices or Freeholders neglect or refuse to do their Duty herein, they shall be liable to be fined by the Justices at their next Court of General Quarter-Sessions of the same to be held for the said County, in any Sum not exceeding Five Pounds, Penalty on Justices or Freeholders neglecting their Duty herein. for the Use of the Governor towards the Support of Government, to be levied by Distress and Sale of the Goods and Chattels of such Justices or Freeholders so refusing as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Punishment of Slaves attempting to commit Rapes: That if any Negro or Mulatto Slave within this Government, shall attempt to commit a Rape on a White Woman or Maid, they shall [Page 73] be tried in Manner aforesaid, and shall be punished by standing four Hours in the Pillory at the Court-House on some Court Day, with both his Ears nailed to the Pillory, and before he be taken down from the same, shall have both his Ears cut off close to his Head. And if any Negro or Mulatto Slave shall be convict before two Justices of the Peace in this Government, Or convicted of Stealing, & c. of stealing, or fraudulently taking or carrying away any Goods, living or dead, the Master or Owner of such Negro or Mulatto Slave, if such Goods shall not be found, shall make Satisfaction to the Party wronged, and pay all Costs, to be levied by Distress and Sale of the said Master's or Owner's Goods and Chattels, and the Negro or Mulatto, so offending, to be whipped as the said Justices shall adjudge and appoint.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Punishment of Slaves presuming to carry Arms, & c. That if any Negro or Mulatto Slave shall presume to carry any Guns, Swords, Pistols, Fowling-Pieces, Clubs, or other Arms and Weapons whatsoever, without his Master's special Licence for the same, and be convicted thereof before a Magistrate, he shall be whipt with Twenty-one Lashes upon his bare Back.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Punishment of Negroes meeting in Companies. That if any Negroes, above the Number of Six in one Company, not belonging to one Owner, shall meet together, and upon no lawful Business of their Masters or Owners, and being convicted thereof, by the View of one Justice of the Peace, or the Testimony of one credible Witness, such Negro or Negroes so offending shall be publickly whipped at the Discretion of one Justice of the Peace, not exceeding Twenty-one Lashes, each Negro.
An ACT against Adultery and Fornication.
FOR the Preservation of Virtue and Chastity among the People of this Government, and to prevent the heinous Sins of Adultery and Fornication, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That whosoever shall commit Adultery, and be thereof legally convicted, Penalty of committing Adultery. shall forfeit and pay the Sum of Fifty Pounds, one Moiety thereof to the Use of the Governor for the Support of Government, and the other Moiety to the Use of the Poor of the County where the same is committed, or otherwise to be publickly whipt with Twenty-one Lashes on his or her Back, well laid on, at the common Whipping-Post, at the Election of the Party convicted.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That the Testimony of either of the Parties concerned in committing the Adultery, shall not be sufficient to convict the other, without further Evidence, that shall at least amount to violent Presumption.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Penalties on Fornicators That if any Person shall commit Fornication, and be thereof legally convict, such Person or Persons shall receive Twenty-one Lashes on his or her bare Back, well laid on, at the common Whipping-Post, or otherwise shall pay to the Proprietor or Governor towards the Support of Government, the Sum of Three Pounds, at the Election of the Party so committed as aforesaid. What shall be Proof. And any single or unmarried Woman having a Child born of her Body, the same shall be sufficient Proof to convict her of Fornication, without the Charges of Presentment or Indictment, and the Man charged by such Woman to be the Father of such Child, shall be the reputed Father, and she persisting in her said Charge in the Time of her Extremity and Labour, and afterwards in open Court, upon the Trial of such Person so charged, the same shall be given in Evidence, in order to convict such Person of Fornication.
[Page 75]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Any Woman bearing a Bastard Child, to be punished in the County where the Child is born, & c. That if any unmarried Woman, or any Woman who cannot make Proof of her having a Husband, absenting herself from the Place where she usually lived, shall come into any County within this Government, and there bear a Child, she shall be liable to be punished in the County where the said Child shall be born, as she should or ought to have been had the Child been there begotten; and if any such unmarried Woman shall be with Child in any County within this Government, and shall go out of the same, and bear such Bastard Child in any other Place, and afterwards return into the County from whence she went with the said Child, within One Year, without receiving any Punishment for her Fornication, she shall be punished as if such Bastard Child had been begotten and born in such County into which she shall return as aforesaid. And if any Person or Persons within this Government, Penalty on Persons entertaining unmarried Women with Child. shall knowingly entertain or shelter any such unmarried Woman being with Child coming into this Government, without giving Notice thereof unto some Justice of the Peace within three Days after her coming into his or her House; such Person or Persons being legally convicted thereof, shall forfeit Five Pounds for every such Offence, to the Use of the Government, as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Woman-Servant having a Bastard Child, shall serve, & c. That if any Woman-Servant shall bear a Bastard Child within the Time of her Servitude, in Regard of the Loss and Trouble her Master and Mistress must sustain thereby, and of the Maintenance of the Child until it shall be Nine Months old, in case no Father can be found of Ability sufficient to maintain such Child, she shall serve One whole Year after her Time by Indenture or Covenant is expired, and pay all such Costs and Charges as shall happen or arise by reason of any Prosecution to be had against her for such Offence.
AND whereas sundry vagrant Persons do frequently come into this Government, Vagrant Persons pretending to be Man and Wife how to be proceeded with. and pretending to be Man and Wife, without a legal Certification of their being married Persons, and as such cohabit together; BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Persons coming into this Government as Man and Wife, without giving some sufficient Satisfaction within Ten Days [Page 76] after such their Coming, to some Justice of the Peace for the County into which they come, if thereto required, of their being married, they shall be deemed and taken to be Fornicators, and shall forfeit or be punished accordingly.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That whosoever shall after the End of this Sessions of Assembly, Persons providing for, or entertaining lewd Women, to be deemed Fornicators, & c directly or indirectly, entertain, provide for, or cause to be entertained or provided for, any lewd Woman or Women, or that shall frequent her or their Company, after that Admonition be given by the Justices of the Court of Quarter-Sessions, or any two of them, of the said County where such Person shall inhabit, shall be judged a Fornicator or Adulterer, as the Case shall require, and shall suffer such Penalties as by the Laws of this Government is appointed for such Offence.
AND for the ascertaining what shall be accounted a lewd Woman, Notice to be given before Admonition, & c BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Justices of the Peace aforesaid, or any two of them, before any Admonition by them or any of them given in Manner aforesaid, shall give or cause Notice to be given to any Person or Persons by them, or any two of them, suspected of Lewdness or Incontinency, and being or residing within their respective Counties, to appear at the next Court of Quarter-Sessions to be held for the said County, and on the Appearance of such Person or Persons, to acquaint them of the Suspicion that is had of them, and to hear what reasonable Excuse such Persons shall offer why they ought not to be proceeded against as Fornicators or Adulterers, as the Case may be: And in case the Person or Persons having such Notice given them, and the same proved by Affidavit, do not appear, or if appearing do not acquit themselves of the Cause of such Suspicion, in such Manner as the Justices of the said Quarter-Sessions shall approve; then it shall and may be lawful for such Justices, or any two of them, and they are hereby required to admonish such Person or Persons according to the Direction afore-mentioned; which Admonition, together with Proof of the Cohabitation of the Parties so admonished, or their frequenting each other's Company after Admonition given, shall be sufficient in any Court of Record within this Government, to convict the Persons so cohabiting or frequenting each other's Company after Admonition given, as aforesaid, or Fornication or Adultery, [Page 77] as the Case may happen, and subject them to the Penalties afore-mentioned; any Law of this Government to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Penalty on White Women that shall have Mulatto Children, & c. That if any White Woman within this Government, shall bear a Bastard Child begotten by a Negro or Mulatto Man, such Child shall be put out to Servitude, and shall serve such Person or Persons as the County-Court shall see fit, or order and appoint, to and for the Use, Benefit and Advantage of the County wherein such Child shall happen to be born, as aforesaid, until he or she attain to the Age of Thirty-one Years: And that the Mother of such Child shall forfeit and pay the Sum of Ten Pounds to the Governor, for the Support of Government, and be publickly whipt with Thirty-nine Stripes on her bare Back, well laid on, at the common Whipping-Post, and stand in the Pillory the Space of Two Hours; and if a Servant, and uncapable of paying the said Fine of Ten Pounds, she shall in Lieu of and Satisfaction of the said Fine, be adjudged to serve her said Master, Mistress, or such other Person, after her Servitude, and the Time allowed by the Court to her Master or Mistress for their Loss and Trouble is expired, as the Justices before whom she is or shall be convict or convicted, shall think fit, for any Term not exceeding Five Years; and that the Negro or Mulatto Man, Punishment of the Negro, & c. after Conviction thereof, shall be publickly whipt with Thirty-nine Lashes on his bare Back, and stand in the Pillory for the Space of two Hours, with one Ear nailed thereunto, and cropp'd off.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Penalty on White Men committing Fornication with Negro Women, & c. That if any White Man shall be legally convicted of committing Fornication with a Negro or Mulatto Woman, such White Man shall forfeit and pay the Sum of Twenty Pounds, and be publickly whipt with Twenty-one Lashes, well laid on, at the common Whipping-Post.
An ACT to prevent Swine running at large in the Town of Dover.
WHEREAS the Inhabitants of the Town of Dover, in Kent County, upon Delaware, have heretofore received and suffered great Spoil and Damage in their several Inclosures, from Swine, by reason of their running at large within the said Town Limits; For the Prevention thereof for the future, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and the Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the First Day of January next ensuing, after the Publication of this Act, no Person or Persons whatsoever, inhabiting or dwelling within the Limits or Bounds of the said Town of Dover, shall suffer any Hogs or Swine to run at large within said Limits or Bounds of said Town; and if any Person or Persons, inhabiting or dwelling within the said Town Limits, keep or suffer any Hogs or Swine to run at large after the First Day of January aforesaid, that it shall and may be lawful for any of the Inhabitants of said Town, to kill the same, and have such Hog or Hogs so killed, valued by two indifferent Freeholders of the said Town or County aforesaid, on their Oaths or Affirmations, and immediate Sale thereof to be made, by way of publick Vendue, to the highest Bidder, in ready Money; and after reasonable Charges being first paid, then one Half of such Money so arising as aforesaid, immediately to be rendered to the Owner or Owners of such Hogs or Swine so killed and disposed of as aforesaid, and the other Half of such Money so arising, to be paid to the Treasurer of said County, by him to be disposed of to the Use and Benefit of the Poor of the said County.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND IT IS HEREBY ENACTED, That nothing herein before contained, shall extend to the killing or destroying of any Hogs belonging to any Person or Persons not inhabiting or dwelling in the said Town Limits; Excepting always, AND IT IS HEREBY EXCEPTED, any Thing before contained to the contrary notwithstanding, That if any Person or Persons living without the Limits [Page 79] of said Town, but adjoining thereto, buy any Hogs or Swine of the Inhabitants of said Town, and such Hogs or Swine afterwards, through the Owners Negligence trespass as aforesaid, that then it shall be lawful for any of the Inhabitants of said Town to kill and dispose of such Hogs or Swine so killed, as aforesaid.
An ACT for taking Lands in Execution for Payment of Debts.
TO the End that no Creditors may be defrauded of their just Debts due to them from the Persons who have sufficient real, if not personal, Estates, to satisfy the same, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and of the Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That all such Lands, Tenements, Where personal Estate is deficient, Lands, & c. may be sold, & c. or Hereditaments whatsoever, within this Government, where no sufficient personal Estate can be found, shall be liable to be seized and sold upon Judgment and Execution obtained.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That it shall not be lawful for any Sheriff or other Officer, Unless the Rent of such Lands, & c. will within 7 Years pay the Debt and Co [...] & c. by Virtue of any Executions, or of any Writ or Writs thereupon, to sell or expose to Sale any such Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments in this Government, which shall or may yield yearly Rents and Profits beyond all Reprizes, sufficient within the Space of Seven Years, to satisfy or pay such Debts or Damages, with the Costs of Suit; but that all those Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments, shall by Virtue of the Writ or Writs of Execution, be delivered to the Party obtaining the same, until the Debt and Damages be levied by a reasonable Extent, in the same Method and [Page 80] Manner as Lands are delivered upon Writs of E [...]git in England.
PROVIDED NEVERTHELESS, How the Sheriff is to proceed, in case the Rents, & c. will not pay, & c. That if the clear Profits of such Lands or Tenements shall not be found, by the Valuation of two judicious and substantial Freeholders, upon their Oaths or Affirmations, to be sufficient within seven Years, to satisfy the Debt and Damages in such Executions, or if before the Extent be out, any other Debt or Damages shall be recovered against the same Debtor or Defendant, his Heirs, Executors or Administrators, which, with what remains due upon that Extent, cannot all be satisfied out of the yearly Profits of the Lands and Tenements so extended within seven Years; then, and in every such Case, the Sheriff or other Officer shall accordingly certify the same upon the Return of such Executions, whereupon Writ or Writs of Venditioni Exponas shall issue forth, to sell such Lands or Tenements for and towards Satisfaction of what shall so remain due upon such Extent, as also towards Satisfaction of all the rest of the said Debts or Damages, in Manner as is herein after directed concerning the Sale of other Lands.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful for the Sheriff or other Officer, by a Writ of Levari Facias, Levari Facias. to seize all Lands in Execution which are unimproved, and all such Lands and Tenements which yield no yearly Profit, and thereupon, with all convenient Speed, either with or without any Writ of Venditioni Exponas, to make publick Sale thereof for the most they will yield, and pay the Price or Value of the same to the Party towards Satisfaction of his Debt, Damages and Costs: But before any such Sale be made, the Sheriff or other Officer shall cause so many Writings to be made upon Parchment or good Paper, as the Debtor or Defendant shall reasonably desire or request, or so many without such Request as may be sufficient to signify and give Notice of such Sales or Vendues, Ten Days Notice of Sale to be given. and of the Day and Hour when, and the Place where, the same will be, and what Lands and Tenements are to be so sold, and where they lie, which Notice shall be given to the Defendant, and the said Parchments or Papers fixt by the Sheriff or other Officer in the most publick Place of each Hundred in the County where the Land lies, at least Ten Days before Sale, and upon such Sale the Sheriff or other Officer shall make Return thereof indorsed or annexed [Page 81] to the said Levari Facias, The Sheriff to give the Buyer a Deed, & c. and give the Buyer a Deed duly executed and acknowledged in Court for what is sold, as has been heretofore used upon the Sheriff's Sale of Lands: But in case the said Lands and Hereditaments so to be exposed, cannot be sold, then the Officer shall make Return upon the Writ, That he exposed such Lands or Tenements to Sale, and the same remained in his Hands unsold for Want of Buyers; which Return shall not make the Officer liable to answer the Debt or Damages contained in such Writ, but a Writ called Liberari Facias, Liberari Facias. shall forthwith be awarded and directed to the proper Officer, commanding him to deliver to the Party such Part or Parts of those Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments, as shall satisfy his Debt, Damages and Interest, from the Time of the Judgment given, with Costs of Suit, according to the Valuation of Twelve Men, to hold to him as his Free-Tenement in Satisfaction of his Debt, Damages and Costs, or so much thereof as those Lands, by the Valuation of Twelve Men as aforesaid, shall amount unto; and if it fall short, Lands, & c. falling short, Execution may be had for the Residue, & c. the Party may afterwards have Execution for the Residue, against the Defendant's Body, Lands or Goods, as the Laws of this Government shall direct and appoint from time to time concerning other Executions; all which said Lands, Tenements, Hereditaments and Premises, so as aforesaid, to be sold or delivered by the Sheriff or Officer aforesaid, with all their Appurtenances, shall and may be quietly and peaceably held and enjoyed by the Person or Persons, or Bodies politick, to whom the same shall be sold or delivered, and by his and their Heirs, Successors or Assigns, as fully and amply, and for such Estate and Estates, and under such Rents and Services, as he or they, for whose Debt or Duty the same shall be so sold or delivered, might, could or ought to do at or before the taking thereof in Execution.
AND forasmuch as divers Persons have mortgaged their Lands and Tenements in this Government for securing the Payment of Monies, and some of them have died before the Time of Payment, and left others to succeed them that have proved Insolvent, and others have neglected to pay the Mortgage-Money, and so Mortgages are become no effectual Security, considering how low the annual Profits of Tenements and improved Lands are here, and the Discouragement which the Mortgagees meet with, by reason of the Equity of Redemption remaining in the [Page 82] Mortgagers; BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Mortgagee in Default of Payment, may after one Year sue forth a Writ of Scire Facias, &c. That when Default or Defaults have been or shall be made or suffered by any Mortgager or Mortgagers of any Lands, Tenements, or other Hereditaments within this Government, or by his, her, or their Heirs, Executors, Administrators or Assigns, of or in Payment of the Mortgage-Money, or Performance of the Condition or Conditions which they or any of them should have paid or performed, or ought to pay or perform, in such Manner and Form, and according to the Purport, Tenor and Effect of the respective Proviso's, Conditions or Covenants comprized in their Deeds of Mortgage or Defeazance, and at the Days, Times and Places in the same Deeds respectively mentioned and contained; That in every such Case it shall and may be lawful to and for the Mortgagee or Mortgagees, and him, her, or them, that grant the Deeds of Defeazance, and his, her or their Heirs, Executors, Administrators and Assigns, at any Time, after the Expiration of Twelve Months next ensuing, the last Day whereon the said Mortgage-Money ought to be paid, or other Conditions performed as aforesaid, to sue forth a Writ or Writs of Scire Facias, which the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for the County where the said mortgaged Lands or Hereditaments lie or be, is hereby required and impowered to make out and dispatch, directed to the proper Officer, requiring him by honest and lawful Men of the Neighbourhood, to make known to the Mortgager or Mortgagers, his, her or their Heirs, Executors or Administrators, That he or they be and appear before the said Court or Courts, to shew, if any thing he, she or they have to say wherefore the said mortgaged Premises ought not to be seized and taken in Execution for Payment of the said Mortgage-Money, with Interest, or to satisfy the Damages which the Plaintiff in such Scire Facias shall upon the Record suggest for the Breach of Non-performance of the said Conditions; and if the Defendant in such Scire Facias appears, he or they may plead Satisfaction or Payment of Part or all the Mortgage-Money, or any other lawful Plea, in Avoidance of the Deed or Deeds, as the Case may require. But if the Defendants in such Scire Facias will not appear at the Day whereon the said Writ shall be made returnable, then definitive Judgment therein, as well as all other Judgments to be given upon such Scire Facias, shall be entered, that the Plaintiff in such Scire Facias shall have Execution by Levari Facias, directed to the proper [Page 83] Officer, by Virtue whereof the said mortgaged Premises shall be taken in Execution, And take out Execution, and expose the mortgaged Premises to Sale, & c. and exposed to Sale, and upon Sale conveyed to the Buyer or Buyers thereof, and the principal Money and Interest, with all Costs and Charges, rendered to the Mortgagee or Creditor; but for Want of Buyers, to be delivered to the Mortgagee or Creditor, in Manner and Form as is herein before directed, concerning other Lands and Hereditaments to be sold and delivered upon Executions for other Debts or Damages. And when the said Lands and Hereditaments shall be so sold or delivered, as aforesaid, the Person or Persons to whom they shall be so sold or delivered, shall and may hold and enjoy the same, with their Appurtenances, for such Estate or Estates, as they were sold or delivered, clearly, discharged and freed from all Equity and Benefit of Redemption, and all other Incumbrances made and suffered by the Mortgagers, Which Sales shall be available in Law, & c. their Heirs or Assigns; and such Sales shall be available in Law, and the respective Vendees, Mortgagees, or Creditors, their Heirs and Assigns, shall hold and enjoy the same, freed and discharged as aforesaid. But before such Sales shall be made, Notice shall be given in Writing, in Manner and Form as is herein above directed concerning the Sales of Lands upon Executions, any Law or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding.
PROVIDED ALSO, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That when any of the said Lands, Overplus of the Money arising on Sale of Lands, & c. to be returned to the Defendant. Tenements or Hereditaments, which by the Direction and Authority of this Act are to be sold for Payment of Debts and Damages in Manner aforesaid, shall be sold for more than will satisfy the same Debts or Damages, and reasonable Costs; then the Sheriff, or other Officer, who shall make the Sale, must render the Overplus to the Debtor or Defendants; and then, and not before, the said Officers shall be discharged thereof upon Record in the same Court where he shall make Return of his Proceedings concerning the said Sales.
PROVIDED ALSO, Such Sale not to create any farther Estate than, & c. That no Sale or Delivery which shall be made by Virtue of this Act, shall be extended to create any further Term or Estate to the Vendees, Mortgagees or Creditors, than the Lands or Hereditaments so sold or delivered, shall appear to be mortgaged for by the said respective Mortgages or defeazable Deeds.
[Page 84]PROVIDED ALSO, That if any of the said Judgments which do or shall warrant the awarding of the said Writs of Execution, Lands, & c. so sold, not to be restored on Reversion of Judgment, & c. whereupon any Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments have been or shall be sold, shall at any Time hereafter be reversed for any Error or Errors, then, and in every such Case, none of the said Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments, so as aforesaid taken or sold, or to be taken or sold upon Executions, nor any Part thereof, shall be restored, nor the Sheriff's Sale or Delivery thereof avoided, but Restitution in such Cases only of the Money or Price for which such Lands were or shall be sold.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Proceeding in case the Sheriff die or be removed before a Title is made. That if any Sheriff or other Officer, who have sold, or hereafter shall, by Virtue of any Writ or Writs of Execution, Venditioni Exponas, or Liberari Facias, sell or deliver any Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments, within this Government, to any Person, and shall happen to die, or be removed from his Office, before he executes a Deed or Deeds for perfecting and compleating the Title of the Purchaser to the Lands or Tenements by him sold, that then it shall and may be lawful, as well for the Purchaser as the Creditor, at whose Suit such Lands and Tenements were taken in Execution, to represent the Truth of the Case to the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas, to be held for the County where the Lands lie: And if it shall appear to the said Courts, by the Records and Proceedings of the said Courts, that the Lands and Tenements have been taken and sold in Manner directed by the Laws of this Government, an [...] that the Officer who sold the same, is dead or removed from his Office, and no lawful Deed executed for conveying the same to the Purchaser, it shall and may be lawful for the Justices of the said Courts, and they are hereby required, in such Cases, to cause an Order of Court to be made, thereby commanding and authorising the present Sheriff or Coroner, upon Payment of the Consideration Money for which such Lands and Tenements were sold by the former Officer, to execute such lawful Deed or Deeds, and to do all other lawful Acts for the conveying or delivering over the said Lands and Tenements to the Purchaser or Creditor, as the Officer who sold the same, could or ought to have done by Virtue of the said Writ or Writs, or by any Law of this Government; and such Sale or Sales, so made by Virtue of any such Order of [Page 85] Court, shall be available in Law, and the respective Vendees, Mortgagees, or Creditors, their Heirs and Assigns, shall hold and enjoy the same, freed and discharged as aforesaid.
An ACT for Appraisement of Goods taken in Execution.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Countries of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the [...]me, County Courts impowered to nominate Appraisers, & c. That the respective County Courts within this Government, shall and are hereby impowered, as often as they shall see Cause, to nominate two or three sufficient honest and discreet Persons, whom they shall swear or attest, to be Appraisers in their several and respective Counties, to value and appraise all such Goods and Chatti [...]s as shall be taken in Execution by any Precept issuing o [...]t of the respective Courts of this Government, as need shall require; Goods, & c. not to be [...] till 30 Days after Appraisement. which Goods or Chattles shall not be disposed of or sold until such Appraisement be made by them as aforesaid, or any two of them, if they will attend when required, nor till Thirty Days after Appraisement, to the End that the Party or Parties concerned may, if they think fit, relieve the same according as they were appraised; Allowance t [...] the Appraise and the Appraisers shall be allowed Four Pence per Pound for what they shall appraise, and Two Pence each per Mile for Journey Fees, to be paid out of the Value of the Effects or Goods so appraised; any Law, Custom or Usage of this Government to the coutrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding.
An ACT against Jurors absenting themselves, being lawfully summoned to attend the several Courts of Judicature within this Government.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That all Persons, Freemen within this Government, being duly and legally summoned to appear at any Court established by Law, at least Ten Days before the holding such Court, to serve upon any Jury, or any Inquest, and shall neglect or refuse to give their Attendance, shall be fined by the respective Court where they were summoned to attend, in any Sum not exceeding Twenty Shillings each Court, Fine on Jurors not attending. for the Use of the Poor of the County where such Offender shall be convicted, unless at the next succeeding Court they shall render a reasonable Excuse for such their Absence, to be allowed of by the Judges or Justices then present; And that all Grand Jury-Men, Grand Jury-men to serve one Year. summoned as aforesaid, shall serve the Space of one whole Year, notwithstanding their being sworn at each respective Court to attend that present Service only. And in case a sufficient Number, A sufficient Number not appearing, Sheriff may return others, & c. so summoned, shall not appear, the Sheriff shall have Power to return such other Freeholders of that County as he shall judge fit for that present Service, to make up the said Number, although it be in Time of Court; and any Person so summoned, and refusing to serve accordingly, shall forfeit the Sum of Twenty Shillings, for the Use of the Poor, as above directed.
An ACT for assigning Bills and Specialties.
FOR the Encouragement of Trade and Commerce, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and of the Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, Bonds, Specialties, Notes, & c. may be assigned, & c. That all Bonds, Specialties, and Notes in Writing, made, or to be made payable to any Person or Persons, his, her or their Order or Assigns, for any Sum of Money, may by the Person or Persons, to whom the same is or are made payable, be assigned, indorsed, or made over to any other Person or Persons, who will accept the same; and that such Assignee or Indorsee, their Executors, Administrators or Assigns, Assignees may assign again; may again, at their Pleasure, assign, indorse, or make over the same Bonds, Specialties or Notes, to any other, and so toties quoties as any Person shall be willing to accept of the same.
AND that such Assignee or Assignees, And sue in their own Name. Indorsee or Indorsees, their Executors or Administrators, may in their own Name or Names sue for and recover the Sums of Money contained in any Bonds, Specialties or Notes so assigned, indorsed, or made over, for his or their own Use or Uses, and at their own Costs and Charges, in like Manner as the Person or Persons to whom the same were at first made payable, might or could have done.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, Assignment how to be made, & c. That all Assignments to be made of any Bonds or Specialties, shall be under the Hand and Seal of the Assigner, and at least before two credible Witnesses; and that it shall not be in the Power of the Assigners or Indorsers, their Executors or Administrators, to release or discharge any of the Debts or Sums of Money due by the said Bonds, Specialties or Notes, after the Date of such Assignment; and that no Release, Receipt, or Discharge from the Assigner, his Executors or Administrators, made after the Date of such Assignment, shall be available to the Obliger, or the Persons from whom the [Page 88] Money was owing, his, her, or their Executors or Administrators.
An ACT of Privilege to a Freeman.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That no Freeman within this Government shall be taken or imprisoned, or disseized of his Freehold or Liberties, or be outlawed or exiled, or otherways hurt, damnified or destroyed, nor to be tried or condemned but by the lawful Judgment of his Twelve Equals, or by the Laws of England, and of this Government.
An ACT against Riots, Routs, and unlawful Assemblies.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and of the Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, What shall be deemed a Riot. That if any Persons, to the Number of three, or upwards, meet together within this Government, with Clubs, Staves, or other hurtful Weapons, to the Terror of any of the peaceable People or Inhabitants [Page 89] of the same, and shall commit, or attempt to commit, Violence or Injury upon the Person or Goods of any of the said Inhabitants, they and every of them shall to reputed and punished as Rioters, and the Act of Terror or Violence, or Attempt to do Violence, shall be accounted and deemed a Riot; and such Persons, so offending, as likewise all other riotous and unlawful Assemblies, shall be adjudged and punished according to the Laws and Statues of Great Britain against Riots and unlawful Assemblies. Riotous Sports, Revels, &c. how punished. And whosoever shall introduce into this Government any riotous and unlawful Sports and Games, as Prizes, Stage-Plays, Masks or Revels, and shall practise the same, and be lawfully convicted thereof, such Person or Persons shall for every such Offence be reputed Breakers of the Peace, and shall forfeit and pay Twenty Shillings, or suffer Ten Days Imprisonment at hard Labour in the House of Correction.
An ACT against speaking in Derogation of Courts.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, Penalties on speaking in Derogation, &c. That if any Person or Persons at any Time or Times hereafter, shall write or speak any thing in Derogation of any Sentence or Judgment given in any Court of Record within this Government, by saying, such Sentence or Judgment was given corruptly, partially or unjustly, and being thereof legally convict, shall forfeit for such Offience any Sum not exceeding Five Pounds, one Half to the Informer, and the other to the Governor for the Support of Government; Rudeness or Misdemeanour in Court how punished and in case any Person or Persons shall commit any Rudeness, or be guilty of any Misdemeanour in the said Courts, during the Sitting thereof, [Page 90] such Person, so offending, shall be fined, at the Discretion of the said Court, in any Sum not exceeding Five Pounds, for the Uses aforesaid.
An ACT against Defacers of Charters, and Counterfeiting Hands and Seals.
WHEREAS the Security of Titles and Property in a great Measure depends on the Safety and Certainty of Writing and Records, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, Punishment of Counterfeiting, Forging, &c. and by the Authority of the same, That whosoever shall counterfeit the Hand and Seal, or Hand or Seal of any Person, with an Intent to defraud or hurt another, or shall counterfeit any publick Seal, or forge, deface, corrupt or imbezzle any Charters, Gifts, Grants, Bonds, Bills, Wills, Conveyances, or Contracts, or shall deface or falsify any Inrollments, Registry, or Record, within this Government, and shall be thereof legally convict, shall suffer the like Pains and Penalties as by the Laws of that Part of Great—Britain called England, is provided against such Offences, for the Time being.
An ACT for the establishing Courts of Law and Equity within this Government.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province [Page 91] of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That there shall be a Court, stiled, The General Quarter-Sessions of the Peace and Goal-Delivery, holden and kept Courts of Quarter Sessions to be held 4 times a Year in each County. Four times in every Year in each County of this Government, ( viz.) at Newcastle, for the County of Newcastle, on the third Tuesday in the Months called February, May, August, and November. At Dover, for the County of Kent, on the second Tuesday in every of the same Months. And at Lewes-Town, for the County of Sussex, on the first Tuesday in every of the said Months. And that there shall be a competent Number of Justices in every of the said Counties, nominated and authorised by the Governor, The Governor to commissionate Justices for that Purpose. or Lieutenant-Governor for the Time being, by Commission under the Broad Seal of this Government; which said Justices, or any three of them, shall and may hold the said General Sessions of the Peace and Goal-Delivery, according to Law, and as fully and effectually as any Justices of the Peace, Justices of the Assize, and Justices of Oyer and Terminer, or of Goal-Delivery, may or can do.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Which Justices may hold special Sessions; That the said Justices of the Peace of the respective Counties, or any three of them, may, pursuant to their said Commissions, hold special and private Sessions, when and as often as Occasion shall require; and that the said Justices, And take Recognizance out of Sessions; and every of them, shall have full Power and Authority, in or out of Sessions, to take all manner of Recognizances and Obligations to the KING, as any Justices of the Peace of Great-Britain may or can, or usually do; and all Recognizances for the Peace, Behaviour or Appearances, which shall be taken by any of the said Justices out of Sessions, shall be certified into their said General Sessions of the Peace, Which shall be certified into the next Quarter-Sessions, &c. to be holden next after their taking thereof, and every Recognizance taken before any of them for Suspicions of any manner of Felony or other Crime, not triable in the said Court of Quarter-Sessions of the Peace and Goal-Delivery, shall be certified before the Justices of the Supreme Court of Oyer and Terminer, at their next succeeding Court to be holden next after the taking thereof, without Concealment, Detainment or Imbezzelling of the same: But in case any Person or Persons shall forfeit his or their Recognizance of the Peace, Behaviour or Appearance, for any Cause whatsoever, [Page 92] then the Justices of the said Court of Quarter-Sessions, shall make a Record of every such Default or Cause of Forfeiture, and issue Writs of Scire Facias, and all such other Process as shall be needful for the Recovery of the said Forfeitures.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That the said Courts of General Quarter-Sessions of the Peace, Quarter-Sessions may continue 3 Days in each County. may be kept and continued for the Space of three Days in the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, aforesaid, respectively, at any of the said Times herein before appointed for the holding and keeping of the said Courts and Sessions in each of the said Counties.
AND to the End that Persons indicted or outlawed for Felonies or other Offences in one County or Town Corporate, who dwell, remove, or be received into another County or Town Corporate, may be brought to Justice, BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, Write under the proper Seal of one County, may be directed to the Officers of another County, &c. That the said Justices, or any of them, shall and may direct their Writs or Precepts, under the Seal of the proper County to which they belong, to all or any of the Sheriffs or other Officers of the said Counties or Towns Corporate within this Government, where need shall be, to take such Persons indicted or outlawed, and that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Justices, and every of them, to issue forth Subpana's and other Warrants, Subpana's to be issued for summoning Evidence. under their respective Hands and Seals, into any County or Place of this Government, for summoning or bringing any Person or Persons to give Evidence in and upon any Matter or Cause whatsoever, now or hereafter examinable, or in any wife triable before them, or any of them, under such Pains and Penalties as by Subpana's or Warrants of that Kind usually are or ought by Law to be granted or awarded.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Persons aggrieved may have Writs of Error, &c. That if any Person or Persons shall find him or themselves aggrieved with the Judgment of any of the said Courts of General Quarter-Sessions of the Peace and Goal-Delivery, or any other Courts of Record within this Government, it shall and may be lawful to and for the Party of Parties so aggrieved, to have his or their Writ or Writs of Error, which shall be granted them of Course, in Manner as other Writs of Error, to be [Page 93] granted and made returnable to the said Supreme Court of this Government.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That there shall be holden and kept a Court of Record twice in every Year, Supreme Courts to be held twice a Year in each County, in each of the Counties of this Government, that is to say, on the Fifth Day of October, and on the Twenty-first Day of April at Newcastle, for the County of Newcastle; and on the Ninth Day of October and the Twenty-fifth Day of April at Dover, for the County of Kent; and on the Thirteenth Day of October and the Twenty-ninth Day of April at the Town of Lewes, for the County of Sussex; and if the same Days, or either of them, happen to be the first Day of the Week, then, in such Case, the said Courts shall be held on the next Days following, which said Court shall be called and stiled the Supreme Court of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware; and that there shall be three Persons, of known Integrity and Ability, By three Judges to be commissionated by the Governor, &c. commissionated by the Governor, or his Lieutenant for the Time being, by several distinct Patents or Commissions under the Great Seal of this Government, to be Judges of the said Courts, one of whom shall be distinguished in his Commission by the Name of Chief Justice, and every of the said Justices shall have full Power and Authority, by Virtue of this Act, Who have Power to issue Writs of Habeas Corpus, &c. when and as often as there may be Occasion, to issue forth Writs of Habeas Corpus, Certicrari, and Writs of Error, and all remedial Writs or Process returnable to the said Court, and grantable by the said Judges, by Virtue of their Office, in Pursuance of the Powers and Authorities hereby given them.
AND that the said Judges, or any two of them, shall have full Power to hold the said Courts, And to hear and determine Causes, &c. and therein to hear and determine all Causes, Matters and Things cognizable in the said Court, and also to hear and determine all and all Manner of Pleas, Plaints and Causes in Law or Equity, which shall be removed or brought there from the respective General Quarter-Sessions of the Peace, to be held for the respective Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, by Writs of Certiorari, Writs of Error or Appeal, or from any other Court of Law or Equity of this Government, by Virtue of any of the said Writs or Appeal, after final Judgment or Decree shall be given in the said Courts, and to examine and correct [Page 94] all and all Manner of Errors of the Justices and Magistrates of this Government, in their Judgment, Process, and Proceedings, in the said Courts, as well in all Pleas of the Crown, as in all Pleas real, personal, and mixt, and Suits in Equity, and thereupon to reverse or affirm the said Judgments or Decrees, as the Law doth or shall direct, And to correct the Errors of Justices, punish the Faults of Officers, award Process for levying [...]ines, &c. and shall be appealable to Equity, and also to examine, correct, and punish the Contempts, Omissions and Neglects, Favours, Corruptions and Defaults of all or any of the Justices of the Peace, Sheriffs, Coroners, Clerks and other Officers within the said respective Counties: And also shall award Process for levying all such Fines, Forfeitures and Amerciaments, which shall be left, taxed and let in the said Supreme Courts, and not paid to the Uses they are or shall be appropriated; And generally minister Justice as in the King's Bench in Great-Britain. And generally shall minister Justice to all Persons, and exercise the Jurisdictions and Powers hereby granted them, concerning all and singular the Premises, according to Law, as fully and amply to all Intents and Purposes whatsoever, as the Justices of the Courts of King's-Bench and Common-Pleas at Westminster, or any of them, may or can do upon Writs of Error, and other remedial Writs issuing out of the said Courts; Saving to all Persons their Right of Appeal. saving to all and every Person or Persons, his, her or their Heirs, Executors and Administrators, their Right of Appeal from the final Sentence, Judgment or Decree of any Court within [...]his Government, to his Majesty in Council, or to such Court or Courts, Judge or Judges, as by our Lord the King, his Heirs or Successors, shall be appointed in that Part of Great-Britain called England, to receive, hear, and judge of Appeals from his Majesty's Plantations.
PROVIDED, the Persons appealing, shall, upon entring his or their Appeal in the Court where the Sentence, Appellant to give Bond, &c. Judgment or Decree shall be given, in this Government, pay all the Costs before that Time expended in the Prosecution or Defending the said Suit, and shall further enter into Bond, with two good and Sufficient Securities in double the Sum recovered (in the said Court) to the Defendent in the Appeal, conditioned to prosecute the said Appeal with Effect, within the Space of Eighteen Months next after the Entry of such Appeal, and to satisfy the Judgment of the Court from whence he appeals; and further to pay all such Costs and Damages as shall be adjudged to him to pay, in case a Sentence, Judgment or Decree pass against the said Appellant, or in case he, she, or they, [Page 95] fail to prosecute their Appeal with Effect; Execution to be suspended, &c. unless the Appellee give Security, &c. and Execution shall be suspended until the final Determination of such Appeals, unless good and sufficient Security be given by the Appellee, to make ample Restitution of all that the Appellant shall have lost by means of such Judgment or Decree, in case, upon the Determination of such Appeal, such Decree or Judgment should be reversed, and Restitution awarded to the Appellant.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That all the said Writs shall be granted of Course, Stile of the Writs. and made in the Name and Stile of the King, his Heirs and Successors, and shall bear Test in the Name of the Chief Justice for the Time being, but if he be the Plaintiff or Defendant, in the Name of one of the other Justices, and shall be sealed with the judicial Seal of the said Court, signed by one of the Judges, and made returnable to the next Court after the Date of such Writ.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, No Judge of the Supreme Court shall sit in interior Courts. That none of the Judges of the said Supreme Court, shall sit judicially in any of the said Courts of Common-Pleas, Quarter-Sessions, or any other inferior Court of this Government.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, The said Judges to deliver Goals, &c. That the said Judges of the said Supreme Court, or any two of them, shall have Power, and are hereby authorised and impowered, from time to time, when there shall be Occasion, to deliver the Goals, of all Persons which now are, or shall hereafter be committed for Treasons, Murders, and such other Crimes as by the Laws of this Government now are, or hereafter shall be made Capital, or Felonies of Death, as aforesaid, and for that End, from time to time, to issue forth such necessary Precepts and Process, and force Obedience thereunto, as Justices of Assize, Justices of Oyer and Terminer and Goal-Delivery, may or can do in the Realm of Great-Britain.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, Fees in the Supreme Court to be double, &c. That the Fees due to the Judges and Officers of the said Court, for hearing any of the said Capital Offences, for any thing done there, shall be double the Fees usually taken in the General Quarter-Sessions held in any of the said Counties [Page 96] in this Government; any thing herein contained, or in any other Law of this Government, to the contrary notwithstanding.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, No Cause now depending before the Judges of the Supreme Court shall be discontinued, &c. That no Cause removed from any of the other Courts of this Government into the said Supreme Court, or any other Matter legally removed from any other Court, and now depending before the Judges of the said Court, shall be discontinued, but that the same may be heard, tried, and determined before the said Judges, as fully as the same could have been heard, tried, and determined before the making of this Act; any thing herein contained to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That nothing herein contained, shall oblige the Judges of the Supreme Court, nor any of them, to go their Circuit, or hold a Court in any County of this Government, but when there shall be some Cause removed from some inferior Courts by Writ of Error, Habeas Corpus, Certiorari or Appeal, or some other Matter or Cause cognizable by them, which shall require their coming, whereof the Clerks of the respective Counties from whence such Cause or Causes shall be removed, shall give Notice to each of the Judges, after any such Writ of Error, Habeas Corpus, Certiorari or Appeal shall be made or brought, Notice to be given the Judges when there shall be any Causes, &c. at least Fourteen Days before the Time of holding the said Supreme Court; and that the said Judges, upon Notice given them, shall cause the Sheriff of the respective County where such Supreme Court is to be held, forthwith to warn the Justices, Coroners and Constables to give their Attendance at the said Supreme Court, to be held according to the Directions of this Act.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Justices to be commissionated to hold Courts of Common Pleas 4 times a Year in each County; That a competent Number of Persons shall be commissionated by the Governor, or his Lieutenant for the Time being, under the Broad Seal of this Government, who shall held and keep a Court of Record in every County of this Government, which shall be stiled and called, The County Court of Common-Pleas, and shall be holden four times in every Year, at the Times and Places where the General Quarter-Sessions of the Peace are directed, and shall be respectively kept in the said [Page 97] Counties, (that is to say) at Newcastle, for the County of Newcastle, on the third Tuesday of February, May, August and November: And at Dover, for the County of Kent, on the second Tuesday in every of the same Months: And at Lewes, for the County of Sussex, on the first Tuesday in every of the said Months; which Justices, or any three of them (according to the Tenor and Direction of their Commissions) shall hold Pleas of Assize, Scire Facias, Replevins, Informations and Actions upon penal Statutes, and hear and determine all and all Manner of Pleas, Actions, Suits and Causes, civil, real, personal and mixt, according to the Laws and Constitutions of this Government, as fully and amply to all Intents and Purposes, as the Justices of the King's-Bench, Common-Pleas, and Exchequer in England, or any of them, may or can do.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Who are impowered to issue Subpana's, &c. That every of the said Justices shall, and are hereby impowered, to issue forth Subpana's under their respective Hands and Seals, into any County or Place of this Government, for summoning and bringing any Person or Persons to give Evidence in and upon the Trial of any Matter or Cause whatsoever, depending before them, or any of them, under such Pains and Penalties as by the Rules of the Common Law and Course and Practice of the King's Courts at Westminster are usually appointed.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, And to grant special Courts. That if any Defendant or Defendants in any Suit or Action, by reason of his or their sudden Departure out of this Government, shall require a more speedy Determination in such Action or Suit, than can be obtained by the common or ordinary Rules of Proceeding in any of the said County Courts of Common-Pleas in this Government, the said Justices, upon Application made, shall grant to such Defendant or Defendants, special Courts, and shall proceed to hear and determine the Premises according to the Course and Practice of said County Courts of Common-Pleas, for the usual Fees therein taken.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, The Defendant to give Bail, &c. That before such Justices shall grant such special Courts, or proceed to hear and determine the Premises, the Defendant shall give Bail [Page 98] to the Plaintiff's Action by Recognizance, according to the Course and Practice of the said County Courts of Common-Pleas.
AND to prevent the excessive Charges that have sometimes arisen upon executing Writs of Enquiry for Damages, BE IT ENACTED, Writs of Enquiry how to be executed. That the Justices, who give any Interlocutory Judgment, shall (at the Motion of the Plaintiff or his Attorney in the Action where the Judgment is given) make an Order in the Nature of a Writ of Enquiry, to charge the Jury attending at the same or next Court after such Judgment is given, to enquire of the Damages and Costs sustained by the Plaintiff in such Action, which Enquiry shall be made and Evidence given in open Court, and after the Inquest have considered thereof, they shall forthwith return their Inquisition under their Hands and Seals, whereupon the Court may proceed to Judgement, as upon Inquisitions of that kind returned by the Sheriffs.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful to and fo [...] the Justices of the said respective Courts of Common-Pleas within this Government, to award a Testatum Execution in all Cases where the same in needful, Testatum Executions may be awarded where needful. and is or ought to be done by the Practice and Course of the Laws of England, and to amerce the Sheriffs or other Officers neglecting or refusing to execute and make Return of such Writ or Writs, according to the Direction of the said Writs.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Courts of Equity to be held 4 times a Year. That there shall be a Court of Equity, held by the Justices of the said respective County Courts of Common-Pleas four times a Year at the respective Places, and near the said Times as the said Courts of Common-Pleas are held in every County of this Government; Prothonotary of the Common Pleas to be Register. and that the Prothonotary of the CommonPleas shall be the Register of the said Courts of Equity in every County; which said Justices, or any three of them, within the Limits of their Commissions and Authorities to them appointed as is aforesaid, Power of the Court of Equity. shall have full Power, and are hereby impowered and authorised, to hear and degree all such Matters and Causes of Equity as shall come before them in the said Courts, where the Proceedings shall be as heretofore by Bill and Answer, with such [Page 99] other Pleadings as are necessary in Chancery Courts, and proper in these Parts, with Power also for the said Justices of the respective Courts of Equity, to issue forth all manner of Subp [...]na's, and all other Process as may be needful to oblige and force Defendants to answer Suits there, as also to award Commissions for taking Answers and examining Witnesses, and to grant Injunctions for staying Suits in Law, and stopping Wastes, as there may be Occasion, observing, as near as may be, the Rules and Practice of the High Court of Chancery in Great-Britain, with Powers to make Orders and award all manner of Process, and do all other Things necessary for bringing Causes to Hearing, and to force Obedience to their Decrees in Equity, which may be by Imprisonment of Bodies, or Sequestration of Lands, and admit Bills of Revive [...], as the Case may require.
AND if any Defendant or Defendants in any Suit, Cases in which Process may be awarded out of Courts of Equity into other Counties. which shall be commenced against there in one of the said Counties, shall, after he or they are served with a Subp [...]na, or other Process, remove into any other County of this Government, all Process necessary to bring such Defendants to answer, and all Commissions for taking of their Answers and examining Witnesses, with all other Process necessary to bring such Causes to a Hearing, shall and may be awarded out of the Court where those Causes or Suits shall be first commenced, into any other County of this Government, as the Case may require.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, Before Subp [...]na's or Process for Appearance issue, Bill to be filed, &c. That no Subp [...]na's, or other Process for Appearance, shall issue out of any of the said Courts of Equity, till the Bill is filed with the proper Officer, except Bill for Injunctions to stay Wastes or Suits at Law.
PROVIDED ALSO, That if any Person or Persons shall find themselves aggrieved with any Decree or Sentence made or given by the said Justices in Equity, Persons aggrieved, may appeal to the Supreme Court, &c. it shall and may be lawful to and for him or them so grieved, forthwith to appeal or have Recourse to the Judges of the Supreme Court, to set forth his or their Case by Petition, Bill or Plaint, so as the Sum adjudged to be paid by such Decree, amount to Ten Pounds, or upwards, and so as he or they, so appealing, first pay down the Court Charges, and either satisfy the Decree or Sentence so given, or [Page 100] deposite with the Justices the Sum awarded, or give sufficient Security to prosecute the said Appeal, and to pay all Costs and Damages that shall be awarded against him or them; and then, albeit the Party appealing be imprisoned upon that Decree or Sentence, he shall be enlarged; and that such Appeals shall supersede all other Process upon the Decree or Sentence appealed from, till the same be heard, tried or dismissed in the said Supreme Court.
PROVIDED ALSO, Matters determinable by Common Law not to be heard in [...] of Equity. That nothing herein contained shall give the said Justices any Power or Authority to hear, decree or determine in Equity, any Matter, Cause or Thing, wherein sufficient Remedy may be had in any other Court or before any other Magistrate or Judicature in this Government, either by the Rules of the Common Law, or according to the Tenor and Directions of the Laws of this Government, but that when Matters determinable at Common Law shall be brought before them in Equity, they shall refer or remit the Parties to the Common Law; When Matters of Fact arise, they are to be tried in the Courts of CommonPleas. and when Matters of Fact shall happen to arise upon their Examination or Hearing of the Matters and Causes to be heard and determined in the said Court, then, and in every such Case, they shall order the Matter of Fact to Issue and Trial at the Court of Common-Pleas for the proper County where the Fact ariseth, before they proceed to Sentence or Decree in the said Court of Equity.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Attornies how to be admitted, &c. That there may be a competent Number of Persons of an honest Disposition, and learned in the Law, admitted by the Justices of the said respective Courts, to practice as Attornies there, who shall behave themselves justly and faithfully in their Practice, and before they are so admitted, shall take the following Qualification, ( viz.)
THOU shalt behave thyself in the Office of an Attorney within the Court according to the best of thy Learning and Ability, The Qualification. and with all good Fidelity as well to the Court as to the Client: Thou shalt use no Falshood, nor delay any Person's Cause through Lucre or Malice.
AND if they misbehave themselves therein, Penalty on Misbehaviour. they shall suffer [...]ch Penalties and Suspensions as Attornies at Law in [Page 101] Great-Britain are liable to in such Cases. By which Attornies Actions may be entered, and Writs, Process, Declarations and other Pleadings; and Records in all such Actions and Suits as they shall respectively be concerned to prosecute or defend from time to time, Business of Attornies. may be drawn, and with their Names and proper Hands signed; which said Attornies, so admitted, may practice in all the Courts of this Government, without any further or other Licence or Admittance.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, Non-resident Attornies shall not plead without a Licence from the Governor, or paying 50 s. per Court. That no Person, not being an Inhabitant of this Government, or of the Province of Pennsylvania, shall be permitted to plead in any Court or Courts within this Government, without Licence first obtained from the Governor for the Time being, by the Recommendation of the Justices of one of the County-Courts of this Government; unless such Lawyer or Lawyers shall obtain the Court's Leave, and pay to the said Court, for the Use of the Governor, the Sum of Fifty Shillings for each Court he shall so plead, until licensed.
An ACT for the further securing the Administration of the Government.
WHEREAS the Prosperity of a Country very much depends upon a full and regular Administration of Government, Preamble. and considering the Uncertainty of Human Life, and that hitherto there hath not been made any effectual Provision for the due executing the Powers of Government in these Counties, in Case of the Death, Absence or Removal of the Deputy or Lieutenant-Governor, it is therefore highly necessary to make such Provision against the Inconveniencies that may happen upon such an Emergency, as may effectually preserve the Peace, and maintain the regular Administration of Justice within this Government.
[Page 102]BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor, with the royal Approbation, under the Honourable JOHN PENN, THOMAS PENN, and RICHARD PENN, Esquires, absolute Proprietaries and Governors in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and the Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, In case of Death, Absence, &c. of the Lieutenant Governor, on whom the Administration shall desolve, &c.That in case of the Death, Absence, or Removal of the Deputy or Lieutenant-Governor of the said three Counties, and no sufficient Provision being made by the Governors or Governor in Chief for the full Administration of the said Government, That then the President, or the first Person named of the Governor's Council of the said Province of Pennsylvania, shall immediately take upon him the Administration of this Government, and with the Advice and Consent of the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the said three Counties, for the Time being, and the three Magistrates that shall then happen to preside, or be first nominated in the Commissions of the Peace for the said three Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, or any three of them, the said Speaker and Magistrates shall have the full Power and Authority of a LieutenantGovernor of these Counties, as effectually as any Deputy or Lieutenant-Governor commissionated by the Governors or Governor in Chief, and approved by his Majesty, may or ought to have.
AND the said President, with the Advice and Consent of the said Speaker and Magistrates aforesaid, or of any three of them, shall accordingly act and exercise all the Powers of Government, as fully and amply as any Deputy or Lieutenant-Governor can or ought to do, Legislation Until the Vacancy be supplied, &c.. excepted, until the said Lieutenant-Governor return again, or until another Person shall be duly commissionated and impowered by the Governors or Governor in Chief, with his Majesty's Approbation, to act in his Stead, or until his Majesty's Pleasure shall be known therein.
AND to the End that no Confusion or Disorder may happen in case of such Death, Absence or Removal of the Deputy Governor, as aforesaid, before the said President and the other Persons, by whose Advice and Consent [Page 103] he is herein directed to act, can meet, and consider of the Affairs of Government; BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Magistrates and other Officers within this Government, All Magistrates, &c. to continue in Place, &c. shall continue to execute all the Powers and Authorities to them given by Law, and their respective Commissions, as fully and amply as they might or could do before the Death, Absence or Removal of the said Deputy or Lieutenant-Governor, for and during the Space of Six Months, next after the Death, Absence or Removal of such Deputy or Lieutenant-Governor, unless such Magistrates or Officers shall be removed by the Persons having Authority so to do, or the Time of the Continuance of their respective Commissions shall determine by the Laws of this Government.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That an Act of Assembly Repeal of the Further Act. of this Government, entituled, An Act for Providing for the Security of this Government in case of the Demise of the Lieutenant-Governor for the Time being, and every Article, Clause or Thing therein contained, shall be and are hereby repealed.
An ACT for keeping in good Repair the Dykes and Sluices belonging to the Marsh on the South-West End of the Town of Newcastle, commonly called, The Town-Marsh.
WHEREAS the Draining of the Marsh at the South-West End of the Town of Newcastle, contributed very much towards the Health of the Inhabitants, and is thereby become a publick Benefit to the Place; To the End therefore that the Proprietors and Owners thereof may be duly encouraged and enabled to keep the Dykes and Sluices belonging to the said Marsh, in continual good Order and Repair, BE IT ENACTED by his Excellency Sir William Keith, Baronet, with the royal Approbation [Page 104] Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania, and Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, with the Consent of the Representatives of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by Authority Owners to bear a Proportion of the Charge. of the same, That from and after the Publication of this Act, every Possessor and Owner of any Part of the said Marsh, whether improved or not improved, shall bear his proportionable Share of the Charge about, and Expence which shall be found necessary from time to time to support and keep in good Repair the Dykes and Sluices belonging to the said Marsh.
AND to the End that the said Proportion of Labour and Expence may be ascertained, and equitably assessed and charged upon the several Owners and Proprietors aforesaid; BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Manner of settling the Proportions when Owners do not agree. That if at any time it shall happen that all the several Owners and Proprietors of the said Marsh, or their lawful Attornies, cannot be easily and voluntarily convened together, so as to agree amongst themselves upon their respective Proportions of Labour and Charge, to be applied for the Use aforesaid; then, and in that Case, at the Request of any two or more of the said Proprietors, the High Sheriff of the County, for the Time being, is hereby directed and commanded to summon two Magistrates and four Freeholders of the said County, who, after being attested by the said Sheriff, upon their Oaths or Affirmations, faithfully to discharge the Service unto which they are called, shall then proceed to view and examine the Condition of the said Dykes and Sluices, and when they have made an Estimate, according to the best of their Skill, of the Cost and Charge which a necessary and sufficient Repairing the same will require, they are hereby directed to allot and proportion every Owner's Share of the whole Cost, according to the Value and Quantity of Marsh which it shall appear to them he possesseth at the Time: And the Judgment or Decision of the said two Magistrates and four Freeholders, or the Majority of them, in the Premises, shall determine the Matter, without Delay or Appeal to any other Court whatsoever.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That after such Judgment given as aforesaid, if any of the said Proprietors, or their lawful Attornies, shall refuse or neglect to contribute and pay the Proportion of Labour or Expence respectively charged upon them as aforesaid, then [Page 105] it shall and may be lawful for any two or more of the said Proprietors, Owners refusing to pay, may be sued. that are willing to contribute their respective Proportions of the said Charge, to bring an Action of Debt against the Persons or real Estates of those refusing or neglecting to comply as aforesaid, in any Court of Record within this Government, where no Protection or Wager of Law shall be allowed, nor any more than one Imparlance. And if a Verdict shall pass for the Plaintiff, he shall recover double Cost of Suit, or if the Sum be under Forty Shillings, to recover the same as the Law in other Cases directs.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That no Proprietor or Owner of the said Marsh, Publick Notice to be given in case of Owners absent. who is absent out of the Government, and has not any lawful Attorney here to answer for him, shall be liable to have any Action or Suit brought against his Lands and real Estate by Virtue of this Act, until publick Notice thereof shall first be given by affixing the same upon the Court-House and other publick Places within the County, at least Twelve Months immediately preceding such Suit or Action; any thing herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
PROVIDED NEVERTHELESS, That the Marsh or Meadow Ground belonging to John French, being Part of the same, is not meant nor comprehended in this Act, he having drained the same before any other Improvement was made.
An ACT for the keeping in good Repair the Dyke and Sluices belonging to the Marshes at Swanwick, in the Tenor and Occupation of Jehu Curtis, Adam Hay, Executor of John Silsby, Cornelius Kettle, and Samuel Eves.
WHEREAS it frequently happens that the Dykes and Sluices of the Marsh at Swanwick are out of Repair, and that several of the Proprietors and Owners of [Page 106] the said Marshes do not contribute their proportionable Part or Share of the Labour and Expence requisite to repair the same, by reason whereof some of the Owners are laid under great Hardships, and are obliged to amend a greater Part of the said Dykes and Sluices than of right they ought to do: And whereas Application hath been made by some of the said Owners for a Remedy herein; BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, Every Owner of Marsh to pay his Proportion, &c. That from and after the Publication of this Act, every Possessor and Owner of any Part of the said Marsh, whether improved or unimproved, shall pay and bear his proportionable Part and Share of the Charge, Expence and Labour which shall be found necessary from time to time to support and keep in good Repair the Dykes and Sluices belonging to the said Marsh.
AND to the Intent that the said Proportion of Charge, Expence and Labour, may be ascertained and equitably assessed upon the Owners thereof; BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Manner of settling the Proportion. That if at any Time it shall happen that all the Owners and Proprietors of the said Marsh, or their lawful Attornies, cannot be easily convened, or do not agree upon their respective Proportions of Charge, Expence and Labour to be applied to the Use aforesaid, then, and in such Case, at the Request of any two or more of the said Owners, the High Sheriff of the County for the Time being, is hereby directed and commanded to summon two of the Parties, and four of the Freeholders of the said County, who, after being attested or sworn by the said Sheriff, shall proceed to view and examine the Dykes and Sluices aforesaid, and when they have made an Estimate, according to the best of their Skill, of the Charge, Expence and Labour requisite and necessary for the Repairs of the said Dykes and Sluices, they are hereby required and impowered to allot and proportion every Owner's Share of the whole Charge, Expence and Labour, according to the Quantity and Value of the Marsh he then holdeth or possesseth; and the Estimate and Valuation of the [Page 107] said two Justices and four Freeholders, or of the Majority of them in the Premises, shall be conclusive to all the Parties, without Appeal to any Court of Judicature whatsoever.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Owner refusing to pay, may be sued. That after such Estimate and Valuation so made as aforesaid by the said Justices and Freeholders, or the Majority of them, under their Hands in Writing, if any of the said Owners, or their lawful Attornies, shall refuse or neglect to pay and contribute their proportionable Part of the Charge, Expence and Labour requisite for the Use aforesaid, according to the Estimate and Valuation aforesaid, that then, and in such Case, it shall and may be lawful to and for any two or more of the said Owners, who shall contribute and pay their respective Proportions of the Charge aforesaid, to bring an Account of Debt against the Persons so neglecting or refusing to pay, as aforesaid, in any Court of Record within this Government, wherein no Essoign, Protection, or Wager of Law, or more than one Impartance, shall be allowed. And if the Verdict shall pass for the Plaintiff, they shall recover double Costs of Suit.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, Publick Notice to be given, in case of Absentees. That no Proprietor or Owner of the said Marsh, who shall at the Time of such Estimate or Valuation be out of this Government, and hath not any lawful Attorney to answer in his Stead, shall be liable to have any Action brought against his Lands or Goods by Virtue of this Act, until publick Notice thereof shall be first given by affixing the same to the Court-House within the said County, at least One Year immediately preceding such Suit or Action; any thing herein before contained to the contrary thereof in any ways notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, Power to cut Ditches. That all and every Sharer or Sharers in the said Marsh adjoining to the said Dyke and Sluice of Swanwick, shall have Power, and he, she, or they, are hereby impowered to cut any Ditch or Ditches, in order to carry off the Water which may at any Time lie upon his, her, or their respective Shares, through such Part of the said Marshes, and to such Branches or Parts of the other [Page 108] Drains thereof as lie nearest adjoining to his, her, or their respective Shares, and not otherways.
An ACT for bailing Prisoners, and about Imprisonments.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq by the royal Approbation Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That all Prisoners shall be bailable by one or more sufficient Sureties to be taken by one or more of the Judges or Justices that have Cognizance of the Fact, unless for such Offences as are or shall be made Felonies of Death by the Laws of this Government, and that Goalers shall not oppress their Prisoners, under a Penalty not exceeding Five Pounds, for each Offence, for the Relief of the Poor of the County where such Offence or Offences shall be committed, to be recovered, upon due Proof thereof, before the Justices of the same County, in the Quarter-Sessions; and that all Prisoners shall be free as to Room, and all Prisoners shall have Liberty to provide themselves with Bedding, Food, and other Necessaries, during their Imprisonment; and that the publick Allowance shall be Six Pence per Day, and no more; and that the respective Prisons shall be Work-Houses, until others are provided, for Felons, Thieves, Vagrants, and loose and idle Persons, whereof one shall be in each respective County of this Government; and that no Person or Persons shall be obliged to answer to any Indictment or Presentment, unless the Prosecutor's Name be indorsed thereon; and if any Person or Persons shall be imprisoned or prosecuted without probable Cause, he, she, or they shall have double Damages against the Informer or Prosecutor, to be recovered by Action of Common Law.
An ACT for regulating Pedlars within the Government of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware.
WHEREAS of late many idle and vagrant Persons are come into this Government, Preamble. and under Pretence of being Hawkers or Pedlars, and carrying Goods from House to House within the same to sell, have greatly imposed upon many People, as well in the Quality as in the Price of the Goods, AND WHEREAS many of the Persons now following the Business or Employment of Pedlars, Hawkers or Petty Chapmen, within this Government, have no fixt or settled Place of Residence, and thereby are exempted from paying Taxes and contributing towards the Support of this Government proportionably with others the Inhabitants thereof. For remedying which Inconveniences, and to the End that no Person may be admitted and allowed to follow the Business of Hawkers or Pedlars within this Government, but Persons of known Honesty and civil Behaviour, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That after the First Day of January next, No Person to follow Pedling, &c. until they are recommended, licensed, and have given Bond, &c.no Person or Persons whatsoever, shall follow or employ him, her, or themselves in the Business or Employment of a Hawker, Pedlar or Petty-Chapman, or in going from Town to Town, or to other Mens Houses, and travelling with Horse or Horses, Ass or Asses, Mule or Mules, or otherways, within this Government of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, (except as herein after is excepted) or carry to fell or expose to Sale any Goods, Wares or Merchandizes, within the Government aforesaid, until such Person or Persons shall have obtained a Recommendation from the Justices of the County Court, where he or she dwells, certifying their Opinion of the Honesty of the Person recommended, and that he or she is a Liver within this Government, and intends to travel with one, two or more Horse or Horses, or other Beasts of Burden, or on Foot, and shall thereupon have obtained a Licence from the Governor, and shall have given Bond in the Prothonotary's [Page 110] Office of the County Court, in his Majesty's Name, with one Surety at least, in any Sum not exceeding Forty Pounds; Conditioned that such Person or Persons shall be of good Behaviour, during the Continuance of the said Licence, and shall well and duly pay and satisfy all such Taxes and Duties as shall be legally assessed upon him, her, or them, within the County where he, she, or they shall obtain the said Recommendation; for which Licence there shall be paid to the Governor, Fees to be paid for Licences. the Sum of Twenty-five Shillings, by every Person obtaining a Licence to travel with a Horse, Ass, Mule, or other Beast or Burden, and the Sum of Fifteen Shillings for every Person licenced to travel on Foot.
AND if any Person or Persons, Penalties on Persons not qualified, traveling as Pedlars, &c.not being qualified as aforesaid, shall be found travelling, hawking and pedling from House to House, to sell Goods, as a Hawker, Pedlar or Petty-Chapman, he or she so offending, if travelling with one or more Horses, shall forfeit the Sum of Fifteen Pounds, and if travelling on Foot, the Sum of Ten Pounds, one Moiety thereof to the Governor, for the Support of Government, and the other Moiety to the Person who will sue for the same, by any Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint or Information, in any Court of Record with in this Government, wherein no Essoign, Protection or Wager of Law, nor more than one Imparlance, shall be allowed.
AND that every Person so trading, Penalty on Pedlars, &c. that refuse to show their Licence. who, upon Demand made by any Justice of the Peace, Constable, or other Officer of the Peace, of any Town, Place or County within this Government, where he or she shall so trade, shall refuse to produce and shew unto such Justice or officer of the Peace, his or her Licence for so trading, to be granted as aforesaid, that then the Person so refusing, shall forfeit Forty Shillings, to be recovered in Manner aforesaid; and for Non-payment thereof, shall suffer as a common Vagrant.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ENACTED, Selling at Fairs, &c. not forbid: nor hawking of Goods that are made in the Government. That nothing herein contained, shall extend, or be constructed to extend, to hinder any Person or Persons from selling or exposing to Sale any Sort of Goods or Merchandize in any publick Market or Fair within this Government, or to hinder any Persons from carrying about from Town to [Page 111] Town, and from House to House, any Goods, Wares or Merchandizes, being of the Growth, Product or Linen Manufacture of this Government, but that such Person or Persons may do therein as they lawfully might have done before the making of this Act; any thing herein before contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND BE IT HEREBY FURTHER ENACTED, Any Dispute arising, Pedlars, &c. to make Oath. That if any Dispute shall happen to arise concerning the said Goods, Wares or Merchandizes, the Person or Persons so carrying about or exposing the same to Sale, in Manner aforesaid, shall be obliged to declare upon Oath or Affirmation before any Justice of the Peace or other Magistrate of the County, Town or Place, where he, she, or they shall carry about or offer the same to Sale, whether such Goods, Wares or Merchandizes, be of the Growth, Product or Linen Manufacture of this Government.
A Supplement to an Act of this Government, entituled, An ACT for the better Confirmation of the Owners of Lands, &c. in their just Rights and Possessions.
WHEREAS by the Laws of this Government, Preamble. formerly made for confirming the Owners of Lands in their just Rights, and for Quieting the Possession of such as were bona fide Purchasers of Lands within this Government, for a valuable Consideration, are found not to be sufficient to answer the good Ends proposed in the said Laws: And forasmuch as at the first Settlement of these Counties, and for a long Time after, the Inhabitants were very unskilful in making Deeds and Wills, or Conveying and Devising of Lands, which heretofore were but of very small Value in these Counties, and by the Laws of this Government were always subject to be taken in Execution, and sold for the Payment of Debts, as well as to be sold by Executors and [Page 112] Administrators for the Payment of the Debts of their Intestates and Testators, and for Maintenance of their Children, &c.
AND WHEREAS, through the Negligence of some Persons who have been intrusted with the Offices of Clerks and Registers of this Government, not only many of the Records of the several Courts of Judicature, Orphans Courts, &c. within this Government, are burned, or otherwise lost and destroyed; but even some of the former Laws are imbezzelled, so that, except where it appears by the Recitals of such Deeds as are yet in being, there is no legal Proof can be made of the Judgments, Orders or Decrees, by Virtue whereof many Lands within these Counties have been sold, and many Wills, Powers of Agency, and Letters of Attorney, are not now to be found, to warrant the Sales and Conveyances of Lands made by Executors or other Persons, who are said to have had Authority to sell by Virtue of the Powers contained in the said Wills, Powers of Agency, or Letters of Attorney.
AND WHEREAS, through the Unskilfulness which so generally prevailed formerly in this Government among Persons pretending to be Scriveners, or to have some Understanding in the Law, sundry Lands have been devised to the Children of the Testators, without the Addition of the Word Heirs, or any other Word, by which, in Construction of Law, such Devises could be understood to be any other than Estates for Life, though it has been well known that the Intention of the Testator has been otherwise; and therefore, by constant Usage, the Children of such Testators, claiming under such Devises, have held the Lands as Estates of Inheritance, and have sold, and devised the same accordingly: And other Testators and Scriveners, for Want of a due Understanding and Knowledge of the Nature of Devises, and Distinction between Words which make an Estate in Fee-simple, and Fee-tail, have devised Lands to their Children, and their Issue, or their Heirs or Issue of their Bodies, or to them and their Children; when it has been known that all that was intended by the Testator was no more, than that the Lands should go to his Child or Children, and their Heirs; and yet the Devisees, for Want of being truly informed of the legal Construction of such Devises, have, as soon as they had Children, conceived themselves to have a good Right [Page 113] to devise or sell the Lands so devised to them, and have disposed of the same accordingly; and oftentimes when it hath happened that such Devisees have died, but have not sold such Lands in their Life-time, and have left Issue, who in Construction of Law were really the Heirs or Issue in Tail, such Issue, from a Belief of their having an Estate of Inheritance in the Lands so devised to them, have devised, or for a valuable Consideration, sold or mortgaged the said Lands.
AND WHEREAS the former Assemblies of this Government, considering that rough and unimproved Lands were of very little Value, and that if Persons having any Right or Title to Lands within this Government, should neglect to take Possession, or claim the same in a reasonable Time, and by that Means, Persons being ignorant of the Claim of such Owners, should purchase the same Lands for a valuable Consideration, of other Persons, who have had the same surveyed to them, or of Persons pretending to be the true Heir or Heirs of the first Owners of such Lands, and such Purchaser should afterwards, at a great Expence of Labour and Money, render the same Lands of considerable Value by their Improvements, and die, and leave the said Lands to their Children: It was therefore provided by a Law of this Government, above Thirty Years ago, that Seven Years quiet Possession of Lands within these Counties, which were first entered on upon an equitable Right, should give an unquestionable Title to the same, excepting as in the same Act is excepted: And the People of this Government generally trusting to the Equity of that Law, and the Provision therein made for quieting Men's Possessions, many honest Persons, ignorant of the Titles of Lands, have purchased Lands and Tenements within this Government under the Circumstances before in this Act mentioned, which Purchases have been made bona fide, and for a valuable Consideration, and the Purchasers, and those claiming under them, have hitherto continued in the peaceable and quiet Possession of the said Lands, without any Claim made by any Persons pretending Right or claiming the same as Heirs or Owners, or Heirs in Tail, Remainder or Reversion; and many of the said Lands so devised and sold as aforesaid, have been taken afterwards in Execution, and sold for the Payment of the Debts of the Persons to whom they have afterwards been sold, and others of the said Lands have been taken into the respective Loan-Offices of this Government, [Page 114] for securing the Payment of the Monies borrowed on the Credit of the said Lands:
WHEREFORE to avoid the great Inconveniencies, and the Ruin of great Numbers of Families which might happen, if the Persons, who heretofore, without Fraud, and for a valuable Consideration, merely for Want of Knowledge and Skill in the Laws, and for Want of Opportunities of being better informed, have bona fide, and for a valuable Consideration, purchased Lands under any of the aforesaid Circumstances, or if the Persons claiming under such Purchasers, who have spent their Strength and Substance in improving the said Lands which formerly went but of small Value, should now be turned out of their Possessions by Persons pretending to claim the same, as Owners or as Heirs in Tail, Reversion or Remainder, or for Want of being able to produce the Records of the Judgments, Decrees or Orders of the Courts where the same were entered, or the last Wills and Tenements, or Powers of Attorney, by Virtue of which the said Lands were held; it is prayed that it may be Enacted, AND BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That where any Lands or Tenements within these Counties, which have been devised to any Person or Persons (where the Words of the Will in which the same are devised, Purchasers of Lands from Tenants for Life, &c. how to be quieted in their Possessions. may be construed to be an Estate in Tail) have at any Time before the Thirty—first Day of December, in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Fifteen, been sold by the Tenant for Life, or by the Tenant or Issue in Tail, who, in Strictness of Law, had not a good Right to sell the same; nevertheless, the Purchaser of such Lands and Tenements having hitherto continued in the peaceable and quiet Possession of the same, and for the Recovery of which no Suit in Law or Equity hath hitherto been brought against such Purchaser or Purchasers, or those claiming under him, her or them; then such Purchaser or Purchasers, upon Payment to the Heir in Tail, Remainder or Reversion, claiming Right under such Will, the Sum of Money or Price for which the said Lands or Tenements were at first sold, shall hold the said Lands and Tenements, with their [Page 115] Appurtenances, unto the said Purchaser or Purchasers, his or their Heirs and Assigns for ever, against the Claim of any Heir in Tail, Remainder or Reversion, and against all and every other Person or Persons whomsoever, claiming by, from or under any such Devise as aforesaid; the said Will, or any thing therein contained to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
PROVIDED, That such Heir in Tail, Reversion or Remainder, or other Person claiming under such Devises as aforesaid, do prosecute his or her Right within three Years after the First Day of May, in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirty-four.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Lands taken in Execution for Payment of Debts, &c. and sold by Sheriffs; or Lands sold by Virtue of some Will. Order of Court, Power of Attorney. &c. How the Possession thereof shall be quieted, in Cases where such Will, Order, or Power cannot now be found. That where any Lands have been sold by any of the Sheriffs within this Government, [...] appears by the Recitals in such Sheriffs Deeds, that such Sale was made by Virtue of some Execution or Judgment of Court, for the Payment of the Debts of the Owners of such Lands, although the Judgement, Order or Decree of the Court cannot be found; or where it appears by the Recitals of the Grants or Conveyances made by Executors of the Lands of their Testators, that such Sale or Grant was made by an Authority in the said Will, given to the Executor or other Person granting such Lands, to sell the same; or it be recited that the Lands granted were sold by Virtue of some Power of Attorney from the Person having Right to the same, although such will or Power of Attorney recited in the said Deeds, cannot be found; or if it be recited in the Grant made by any Executor or Administrator, that the same was made by some Judgement, Order or Decree of some Court within this Government, although the Record of such Judgement or Decree cannot be found; that the Sales of Lands and Tenements made by Sheriffs, Executors, Administrators or Attornies, at any Time before the Thirty-first Day of December, in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Twenty, and for the Recovery of which Lands and Tenements, no Suit in Law or Equity hath hitherto been brought or prosecuted by the Persons pretending Right to the same, shall and are hereby adjudged and allowed to be good and available to the Purchasers and their Heirs for ever; the Want of the Record of the Judgement. Orders or Decrees of Court, or the Want of any last Will and Testament, or Power of Attorney, or any of them, notwithstanding.
[Page 116]AND WHEREAS it has formerly been a Practice within this Government, for Executors and Administrators to have the Lands of their Testators or Intestates appraised with the personal Estate, and have usually accounted for the appraised Value of such Lands, either by paying the Value for which such Lands have been appraised, in Payment of the Testators or Intestates Debts, or in Maintenance of their Children, or to the Children of such Testators or Intestates themselves, or to their Use. BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Sales of Lands formerly made by Executors, shall be available, &c. That all Sales and Grants of Lands within these Counties, made before the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Twenty, by any Executors or Administrators, where it appears the Executors or Administrators, who sold the same, have accounted for and paid the appraised Value of such Lands for the Use of their Testators and Intestates, and for the Recovery of which no Suit in Law or Equity hath hitherto been brought, although it does not appear that the said Lands were sold by any Judgment, Order or Decree of any Court, or by any Authority from the Will or Wills of the Testators, shall and are hereby judged and allowed to be good and effectual for conveying such Lands for the Uses aforesaid in the said Deeds mentioned.
AND WHEREAS ever since the Settlement of these Counties, Women under Covert have been used to join with their Husbands in selling and conveying the Lands of such Feme Coverts, and the same hath been constantly hitherto deemed and adjudged a good Conveyance of the Lands of the Wife; and no Feme Covert, who jointly with her Husband hath made any such Grant or Conveyance of her Lands within these three Counties, have ever after the Death of their Husbands, or any of the Heirs of such Feme Coverts after their Decease, sued for or laid any Claim to any of the Lands sold by such Feme Coverts as aforesaid: Therefore, in order to confirm the Rights and quiet the Possessions of such Persons as have (bona fide) purchased Lands within these three Counties, of Feme Coverts with their Husbands, and to declare for the future, what Method of Conveyance shall be good and effectual to pass the Lands of Feme Coverts within this Government: Sales of Lands formerly made by Feme Coverts with their Husbands, shall be good. BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Grants, Bargains, Sales and Alienations of any Lands within this Government, made by Husband and Wife, of the Lands belonging to the Wife in her own [Page 117] Right, where the same does not appear to have been done by such Feme Covert by Compulsion of her Husband, and against her Will, declared by her at the Time of her executing the Deeds or other Writings for selling or alienating such Lands, all and every such Grant, Bargain and Sale, or Conveyance by such Feme Covert, made before the Twenty-fifth Day of March, in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirty-four, shall be and is hereby adjudged and deemed to be good and available in Law, to convey the said Lands so sold to the Purchaser and his Heirs; and that such Sale shall be as effectual a Bar against such Feme Covert and her Heirs, as if the same had been done by Fine and Recovery or otherwise howsoever. And that for the future no Grant, But for the future shall not be good, unless the Feme Covert be examined apart by some Judge, &c. Bargain or Sale of any Lands of any Feme Covert within this Government, to be made by such Feme during her Coverture, shall be good to pass away the Estate or Right of such Feme Covert, unless the said Feme Covert, granting the same, be examined apart from her Husband, by some Judge or Justice of the Court where such Deed shall be acknowledged, and the same be indorsed on such Deed by the Judge or Justice who takes such Examination, and the Time when the same was taken; any former Custom, Law or Usage of this Government to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, Nothing herein contained shall make good any fraudulent Grant, Bargain, &c. That nothing herein contained, shall be deemed or understood to make good or valid any Deed, Grant or Conveyance made of Lands within this Government, of which the Person selling the same, or his or their Under-Tenants, or some Person for him, her or them, have not been in Possession at least within three Years next before such Sale; or shall be deemed, taken or understood to make good and effectual any Grant, Bargain or Sale, where it shall appear any Fraud or Forgery hath been made or used about any Deeds or Conveyances of any Lands, or of any Powers of Agency, Letters of Attorney, last Wills and Testaments, or other Deeds, Writings or Conveyances of any Lands, grounded upon such fraudulent or forged Powers of Agency, [...] ters of Attorney, or last Wills and Testaments or to make good the Sale of any Lands and Tenements which have been taken in Execution, or sold for any set, or by any Person other than the lawful owner of the said Lands at the Time they were sold, or where any [...]it either in Law or Equity hath been commenced before the Publication [Page 118] of this Act, for the Recovery of such Lands, but that the same shall be and continue as before the making of this Act; any thing herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
An ACT for regulating Elections, and ascertaining the Number of the Members of Assembly.
WHEREAS the several Laws of this Government now in Force for regulating Elections, and ascertaining the Number of Members of Assembly, are found upon Experience in some Things to be uncertain and deficient, in making due Provision for the Freedom and Impartiality of such Elections, and the Maintenance of those Privileges which the Assembly of this Government ought to enjoy, according to the true Intent and Meaning of the Charter granted to the People of the Province of Pennsylvania, and the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware: For remedying whereof, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable Patrick Gordon, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, An Assembly to be chosen yearly. That for the well Governing of the said Counties, there shall be an Assembly yearly chosen; and for that End, it shall and may be lawful to and for the Freemen and Inhabitants of the respective Counties of this Government, without any Writ or Summons, to meet on the first Day of October yearly, The Freemen, &c. to meet on the first of October, &c. for ever, at the most usual Place of Elections in the said respective Counties; that is to say, for the County of Newcastle, at the Court—House in the Town of Newcastle: For the County of Kent, at the Court-House in the Town of Dover: And for the County of Sussex, at the Court—House in the Town of Lewes; And then and there chose their Representatives or Delegates [Page 119] to serve them in Assembly, Not less than fix Representatives to be chosen for each County. which shall consist of not less than fix Persons for each County of this Government, or a greater Number as the Governor and Assembly shall at any Time hereafter agree. And that every Person within this Government, qualified to elect according to the Directions of this Act, refusing or neglecting (not being hindered by Sickness or other unavoidable Accident) to attend at the Election, and to give in his Vote, Penalty on Persons not attending, who are qualified to elect. and being thereof legally convicted by the Oath or Affirmation of one credible Witness, before the Justices at their next Court of General Quarter-Sessions of the Peace, to be held for the County to which he belongs, shall be fined the Sum of Twenty Shillings, one Half thereof to be paid to the Treasurer for the Use of the County, and the other Half to any Person who will sue for the same. And that the Members so to be chosen, shall meet and sit in Assembly on the Twentieth Day of October yearly, The Assembly shall sit on the 20th of October yearly, &c. for ever, at Newcastle, unless the Governor for the Time being, in case of some foreign Invasion, or raging Sickness prevailing in the Place to which the Assembly shall stand adjourced, shall see Cause to appoint another Place within this Government to meet at: But when any of the said Days of Elections or Meeting of Assembly, shall happen to fall on the first Day of the Week, called Sunday, then such Election and Meeting shall be the next Day following.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, Who are qualified to elect or be elected. That no Inhabitants of this Government, shall have Right of electing or being elected as aforesaid, unless he or they be natural-born Subjects of Great Britain, or be naturalized in England, or in this Government, or in the Province of Pennsylvania, and unless such Person or Persons be of the Age of Twenty-one Years or upwards, and be a Freeholder or Freeholders in this Government, and have Fifty Acres of Land or more well settled, and twelve Acres thereof cleared and improved, or be otherwise worth Forty Pounds lawful Money of this Government clear Estate, and have been resident therein for the Space of two Years before such Election: And that every Man who shall give his Vote without being qualified as aforesaid, or that shall receive any Reward or Gift for his Vote, or that shall give, offer or promise any Reward to be elected, or shall offer to serve for nothing or less Allowance than the Law prescribes, Penalty on bribing or being bribed to vote. shall forfeit Five Pounds, the one Half thereof to the Governor, and the other to him or them who will sue [Page 120] for the same in any Court of Record within this Government; and the Person so elected shall be incapable to serve for that Year.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, The Method of making and carrying on of Elections. That every Sheriff, or in his Absence his Under-Sheriff, or such as he shall depute, or for Want of such Deputation, the Coroner, or such as he shall appoint; or for Want of such Appointment, any two of the Freeholders, who by the major Part of the Electors then and there present, shall be nominated and appointed Judges of the said Elections, in the Absence of the said Sheriff or Coroner, shall attend at the said Elections; and the Electors shall then proceed to the Choice of Inspectors of the said Elections, who shall be Freeholders, and be nominated one out of each Hundred by the free Electors thereof, and when so chosen, shall be qualified by Oath or Affirmation, by the Sheriff of the proper County, or other Judges of the Elections, who are hereby impowered and required to administer the same, Qualification of Inspectors. That they will duly attend the ensuing Election, during the Continuance thereof, and will truly and faithfully assist the Sheriff, Coroner or other Persons who shall, by Virtue of this Act, Officiate as Judges of the said Elections, to prevent all Frauds and Deceits whatsoever of Electors or others, in the Management and carrying on the same, and in causing the Poll or Votes at such Elections to be taken and cast up according to the Directions of this Act; and being so qualified shall appoint Clerks, who shall take the said Poll or Names of the Electors, in the Presence of the said Sheriff, Coroner or other Judges as aforesaid, or such as any of them shall depute or appoint, and shall make as many distinct Columns on fair Paper as there shall be Candidates voted for, Vide 13 of K. George I. as is herein after expressed; but before they begin, every Clerk so appointed, shall, by the said Sheriff or Coroner, or by some Magistrate then present, be attested or charged on his Oath or solemn Affirmation, Qualifications of Clerks. truly and indifferently to take the said Poll, and set down the Names of each Freeholder and Elector, and the Place of his Freehold or Estate, and to poll no Elector who is not attested, if so required by the Inspectors of such Elections. And every Person coming to elect Members for the said respective Counties, Names of Persons voted for to be delivered in writing, &c. shall deliver in Writing the Names of those Persons for whom they vote, to the Sheriff or some other of the said Persons so as aforesaid appointed Judges of the said Elections, who shall open [Page 121] the Paper, if the Person be illiterate, and read the Persons Names contained therein, and ask such Elector whether these are the Persons for whom he votes, which Paper, upon his answering in the Affirmative, shall be received and put with the rest of the Electors Papers in a Box, which every Sheriff is hereby required to provide for that Purpose: But if the Elector brings no such Paper or Ticket, or if the Illiterate Elector will not vote for the Persons contained in his Paper, then, and in all such Cases, the Elector shall verbally give in the Names of the Persons he mostly desires should be chosen, which Names shall be entered down by the said Clerks.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That every Elector before he be admitted to Poll (if required by any of the said Inspectors) shall upon his Oath or solemn Affirmation, declare, The Qualification of Electors, &c. That he is Twenty-one Years of Age, and a Freeholder of the County of and has Fifty Acres of Land or more well feated, and Twelve Acres or more thereof cleared, or that he is otherwise worth Forty Pounds Money of this Government clear Estate, and hath been resident therein for the Space of two Years, and that he has not been before polled at that Election. And in case any Person taking the said Oath or Affirmation, shall be lawfully convicted of wilfully and corruptly making a false Oath or Affirmation therein, Penalty on false Oath of Affirmation. or if any shall suborn any Person to take such false Oath or Affirmation, he or they shall incur the same Penalties and Forfeitures as by the Laws and Statutes of England, are provided against Persons convicted of wilful and corrupt Perjury and Subornation of Perjury respectively: The Poll not to be delayed or adjourned, & c. And that the said Poll shall not be delayed, nor the Election adjourned to another Place or Part of the Country other than where the same begins, but shall continue from Day to Day till the Freeholders and Electors then and there present, shall be polled, and no longer: And when all the Electors then appearing, shall have delivered in all their Papers or Names, the said Box shall be opened by the Sheriff or some other of the Persons appointed by this Act to officiate as Judges of the said Elections, and the said Papers taken out in the Presence of the said Inspectors, and delivered one by one to the said Clerk or Clerks, to enter the Names therein exprest in fair Columns or otherwise, so that they shall cast up how many times such Persons Name is repeated in the same, votes to be call up, and the Election proclaimed. and set it down, and shall then pronounce publickly to the People, him, whose Name is [Page 122] oftenest mentioned in the said Papers, to be first elected, and so the next highest Number successively, until the whole six Persons for the County be pronounced elected by Majority as aforesaid. But if when the said Papers are opened, there appear fewer or more Names in any one of them, Any Deceit in a Ticket makes it void. or more than one Paper deceitfully folded together, containing more Names than by this Act is allowed any one Elector to vote for, such Papers shall be rejected, and not accounted amongst the Votes.
AND after the said Representatives are so chosen as aforesaid, The Names of the Representatives to be written in Indentures; one of which to be delivered to the Governor, and the other to the House, & c. their Names (be they present or absent) shall be written in a Pair of Indentures sealed between the said Sheriff, or other Persons officiating as Judges of the said Election, and six or more of the said Electors; and every Sheriff or other Person officiating as Judges of the said Election, shall, on the first Day of the Meeting of every Assembly, in Person, or by Deputy, present one Part of the said Indentures to the Governor for the Time being, and the other Part thereof to the House of Representatives; which said Indentures shall be deemed and taken to be the Sheriffs Return of the Representatives or Delegates of the Freemen of this Government, to serve and act in the Legislative or General Assemblies of the same Government from time to time, and the Representatives so as aforesaid chosen, shall yield their Attendance accordingly.
AND if any Person or Persons so chosen and returned to serve as aforesaid, Penalty on Persons chosen refusing to serve. shall be absent from the Service for which he or they shall be so elected, he or they shall forfeit any Sum not exceeding Ten Pounds current Money of this Government, the one Half thereof to the Governor, and the other Half to him or them that shall sue for the same in Manner aforesaid, unless his or their Excuse for such Absence be allowed of by the Assembly.
AND if any Person so chosen and returned as aforesaid, How Vacancies in the House are to be filled. shall happen to die or be wilfully absent, or by Vote of the House be disabled to sit or serve in Assembly, that then, and in every such Case, the Speaker of the Assembly for the Time being, by Direction of the House, shall signify to the Governor for the Time being, the Order of the House for electing a new Member in the Room of the Person deceased, wilfully absent, or disabled by Vote of [Page 123] the House to serve in Assembly; and in case the Governor shall not within two Days after such Application to him made as aforesaid, issue out Writs to the Sheriff of the respective Counties where there shall be Occasion for electing such new Member, and cause Notice of his having so done to be given to the Assembly within the Time aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful for the Speaker of the Assembly for the Time being, by Order of the House, to issue forth the said Writs, which shall be made in the Governor's Name, under the Hand and Seal of the Speaker, whereupon every Sheriff, or other Officer, to whom such Writ or Writs are directed, shall indorse the Receipt thereof on the Back, and with all convenient Speed, after he receives such Writ, shall cause publick Notice to be given of the Time and Place of Election, and proceed to elect thereupon in Manner aforesaid, within the Space of five Days after the Receipt of the said Writ, and give three Days Notice at least of the Day appointed for the Election; which Notice shall be given in Writing, and shall be proclaimed in the most publick Places of the capital Town or Place where such Election is to be; and the said Sheriff or other Officer shall cause Copies of such Notice or Advertisement to be posted on some Tree or House in the Way leading from every Hundred, Township or Precinct to the Town or Place where the said Election is to be, as also upon the Court-Houses and publick fixed Meeting-Houses for religious Worship in the said respective Counties: And when those Elections are made by Virtue of the said Writs in Manner aforesaid, the Sheriff, or other Officer, who shall officiate as Judges of the said Elections, shall write down the Names of the Persons so elected in a Pair of Indentures sealed, and present one Part thereof to the Governor, and the other Part to the Assembly, on the Day of the Return of such Writs; which said Indentures shall be deemed to be the Sheriff's Return of such Representatives; all which said Elections shall begin between the Hours of Ten in the Morning and Two in the Afternoon; and that no Person or Persons whatsoever, by Force of Arms, or Menading, shall disturb the Freemen of this Government in the free Election of their Representatives, but that the same Election shall be freely and indifferently made.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Sheriff shall refuse or neglect to give Notice of the said Election by Writs, [Page 124] then the Coroner of the respective County where the same shall happen, is hereby required by himself, or his Deputy, to officiate and perform all that the said Sheriff or his Deputy ought to have done and performed at the said Elections, according to the Tenour and Directions of this Act. Penalty on Sheriff, & c. not performing the Duty required of them by this Act. And every Sheriff, or other Officer, not making good and true Returns of the said Elections of Representatives or Members of Assembly, according to the Direction of this Act, or refusing, or wilfully neglecting to do and perform all or any of the Matters and Things in this Act required to be done by such Sheriff or Coroner, at and after the said Elections, shall forfeit for every such Offence, the Sum of One Hundred Pounds Money aforesaid, the one Half thereof to the Governor, and the other Moiety thereof to him who will sue for the same in Manner aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, The Powers and Privileges of an Assembly. That the Representatives so chosen and met according to the Directions of this Act, shall be and continue the Assembly of this Government for the ensuing Year, and shall have Power to chuse a Speaker and other their Officers, and shall be Judges of the Qualifications and Election of their own Members, sit upon their own Adjournments, appoint Committees, prepare Bills in order to pass into Laws, impeach Criminals, and redress Grievances, and shall have all other Powers and Privileges of an Assembly according to the Rights of the free-born Subjects of England, and as is usual in any of his Majesty's Plantations in America. And if any County, or Part of this Government, shall refuse or neglect to chuse their respective Representatives as aforesaid, or if chosen do not meet to serve in Assembly, those who are so chosen and met, Two Thirds of the whole Number may act.shall have the full Power of an Assembly, in as ample Manner as if all the Representatives had been chosen and met, provided there are not less than two Thirds of the Whole that ought to [...]
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, No Member to vote in the House till qualified. That no Person who shall be hereafter a Member of the Assembly or House of Representatives of this Government, shall be capable to vote in the said House, or sit there during any Debate after their Speaker is chosen, until he shall make and subscribe the following Declarations and Profession of his Christian Belief, viz.
[Page 125] I A. B. do sincerely promise and solemnly declare before God and the World, The Qualification of every Member of Assembly. That I will be faithful and bear true Allegiance to King GEORGE the Second. And I do solemnly profess and declare, that I do from my Heart abhor, detest and renounce, as impious and heretical, that damnable Doctrine and Position, that Princes, excommunicated or deprived by the Pope, or any Authority of the See of Rome, may be deposed or murdered by their Subjects, or any other whatsoever.
AND I do declare that no foreign Prince, Person, Prelate, State or Potentate, hath, or ought to have, any Power, Jurisdiction, Superiority, Preheminence or Authority, Ecclesiastical or Spiritual, within the Realm of Great Britain, or the Dominions thereunto belonging.
AND I, the said A. B. do solemnly and sincerely, in the Presence of God, profess, testify and declare, that I do believe that in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper there is not any Transubstantiation of the Elements of the Bread and Wine into the Body and Blood of CHRIST, at or after the Consecration thereof by any Person whatsoever; and that the Invocation or Adoration of the Virgin Mary, or any other Saint, and the Sacrifice of the Mass, as they are now used in the Church of Rome, are superstitious and idolatrous.
AND I do solemnly, in the Presence of Almighty God, profess, testify and declare, that I do make this Declaration, and every Part thereof, in the plain and ordinary Sense of the Words read unto me, as they are commonly understood by English Protestants, without any Evasion, Equivocation, or mental Reservation whatsoever, and without any Dispensation already granted me for this Purpose by the Pope or any other Authority or Person whatsoever, or without any Hope of any such Dispensation from any Person or Authority whatsoever, or without thinking I am or may be acquitted before God or Man, or absolved of this Declaration, or any Part thereof, although the Pope or any other Person or Persons, or Power whatsoever; should dispense with, or annul the same, or declare that it was null or void from the Beginning.
AND I A. B. profess Faith in GOD the Father, and in JESUS CHRIST his eternal Son, and in the HOLY SPIRIT, one God blessed for evermore; and [Page 126] I do acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine Inspiration.
WHICH said Declarations and Profession of Faith shall be in the next and every succeeding Assembly to be held in this Government, Time of taking the Qualification. solemnly and publickly made and subscribed in their House, between the Hours of Nine in the Morning and Four in the Afternoon, by every such Member of the House of Representatives at the Table, and while a full House of Representatives is there sitting with their Speaker in his Chair; and during the making and subscribing thereof, all Business and Debates in the said House shall cease.
AND the Clerk of the Assembly is hereby required to record the same in Rolls or Books prepared for that Purpose, Qualification to be recorded, & c. and every Member of Assembly shall pay the Clerk for recording thereof Six Pence, and no more: And that the Manner and Method of making the said Declarations shall be as followeth (to wit) The Speaker shall first read and subscribe the same, Manner of making the Declaration, & c. and after him every Member as he is called over, shall either read and subscribe the said Declarations in Manner and Form aforesaid, or else subscribe them as they shall be read unto him by the Clerk of the Assembly.
AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, No Person chosen, that makes and subscribes the same, shall be denied his Seat in the House. That no Person whatsoever, who at any Time shall be elected Member of Assembly in this Government, and who shall make, and be willing and offer to make and subscribe the said Declarations in Manner and Form aforesaid, shall be rejected or denied to sit, debate and act in the House of Representatives, or General Assembly of this Government, he being otherwise qualified as this Law directs.
PROVIDED NEVERTHELESS, That nothing herein contained, Except unduly elected, & c. shall extend to debar or hinder the House of Representatives to reject such Persons as are or shall be unduly elected Members to serve in Assembly, or such as the Assembly, or major Part of them, shall see Cause from time to time, by Vote to expel or disable to sit or serve there, by reason of ill Practice in Elections, or Misbehaviour in the House.
[Page 127]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Members Allowance per Diem. That every Member chosen to serve in Assembly as aforesaid, shall be allowed the Sum of Six Shillings per Day, and the Speaker Ten Shillings per Day during his or their Attendance, by the Counties they respectively represent; and that every Member of Assembly shall be allowed towards his travelling Charges after the Rate of Three Pence per Mile, coming to and going from the Place where the Assembly is or shall be held.
An ACT for erecting a Pound in the Town of Newcastle.
WHEREAS many of the Preamble. Inhabitants of the Hundred of Newcastle have received great injury and Damage by unruly Horses and Cattle breaking into their Fields and Inclosures; For Remedy whereof, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq Lieutenant-Governor of and in the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, A Pound to be erected in Newcastle. That a Pound shall be erected in the Town of Newcastle in the County of Newcastle on Delaware, at the proper Cost and Charge of the Inhabitants of the said Hundred: Cattle, & c. breaking into Inclosures, shall be impounded. And if any Horses or Cattle shall at any Time hereafter break into any Field or Inclosure of any of the Inhabitants of the aforesaid Hundred, being senced as the Law of this Government directs, then and in that Case it shall and may be lawful for the Owner or Possessor of such Field or Inclosure, to put such Horses or Cattle in the Pound aforesaid, there to remain until the Damages which shall be adjudged by the Viewers of the Fences within the said Hundred to have been sustained, are paid by the Owner or Owners of such Horses or Cattle so impounded: But in case the Owner or Owners of such Horses or Cattle are not known, or do not appear, the Keeper of [Page 128] the Pound shall, and is hereby ordered immediately to Pound keeper shall give publick Notice, & c. cause Notes to be affixed at the most publick Places in the said Hundred, describing the Marks and Colour of such Horses or Cattle in his Possession, and shall in the mean Time provide the said Horses or Cattle with sufficient Food and Water. And if the Owner or Owners of Owner not appearing within Ten Days, Appraisement and Sale shall be made, & c. such Horses or Cattle do not appear within the Space of Ten Days after such Impounding, it shall and may be lawful for the said Keeper of the said Pound, to cause the said Horses or Cattle to be appraised by two creditable Men, Inhabitants of the said Hundred, (they being first lawfully qualified) and to cause them to be sold at publick Vendue, at the Market-Place within the Town of Newcastle aforesaid; and out of the Money arising by the Sale aforesaid, to pay all Charges of keeping such Horses or Cattle in the Pound, and other Costs, together with such Damages as the Owners of such Field or Inclosure shall have sustained; and the Overplus (if any be) to be lodged in the Hands of the County-Treasurer for the Time being, there to remain for the full Space of One Year; and if the Owner or Owners of such Horses or Cattle during that Time do not appear, then the Money so lodged in the Treasurer's Custody, to be applied for the Use and Benefit of the Poor of the Hundred aforesaid. But if it shall be found upon View by the Overseers of the Fences within the Hundred aforesaid, that the Fences of such Fields or Inclosures, wherein such Horses or Cattle have been taken trespassing, are not sufficient or lawful Fences, then and in such Case the Owner or Owners of such Field or Inclosure shall pay all Costs and Damages which have accrued or shall accrue thereon.
AND in order that the Design of erecting the Pound aforesaid may not be defeated, BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Justices of Newcastle Justices, & c. impowered to assess for erecting the Pound. County, in their next Court of Quarter-Sessions, together with the Assessor of the said Hundred, shall, and are hereby impowered to assess every Freeholder and Inhabitant of the Hundred aforesaid, in all such Sum and Sums of Money, as may be necessary to erect the same.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Justices to appoint a Pound-keeper, establish Fees,& c. by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Justices, at their Sessions aforesaid, or any succeeding Sessions, shall, and are hereby impowered to appoint a proper Officer for [Page 129] keeping of the said Pound, and to establish such Fees to be paid to the said Officer for his Services, and for keeping the said Pound in Repair, as they from time to time shall think proper.
An ACT impowering John Holliday, James Gorrel, and Thomas Skidmore, jun. of Kent County, Gentlemen, to sell and dispose of all such of the Lots of Ground within the Town of Dover, in the said County, as have not hitherto been sold and disposed of; and also to confirm to the present Possessors all such Lots as have been heretofore purchased within the said Town from the former Trustees, and which have not been duly conveyed to them.
WHEREAS by an Act of General-Assembly of Preamble. this Government, entituled, An Act appointing Persons to lay out Two Hundred Acres of Land in Lots adjoining to the Court-House of the County of Kent, and to dispose of the same to the Use of the Publick; Benjamin Shurmer, William Brinkloe, and Richard Richardson, of the said County, Gentlemen, or any two of them, were impowered and appointed to survey and lay out into Lots a certain Tract of Land in the said County, adjoining to the Court-House of the said County, and purchased by the People thereof, and commonly called the Town of Dover, in such Measures and Proportions as to them should seem meet and convenient; and the said Lots, so surveyed and laid out, to dispose of and sell, to such Persons as should be willing to purchase the same; and further, to execute all such Deeds and Conveyances for the same as should be necessary and requisite, as by the said recited Act may appear.
AND WHEREAS the aforesaid Benjamin Shurmer, William Brinkloe, and Richard Richardson, are since deceased and many of the Lots of Ground within the said [Page 130] Town remain unsold, to the great Detriment of the Publick.
AND WHEREAS, also after the Decease of William Brinkloe and Richard Richardson, two of the said Trustees, many Persons did actually and bona fide purchase of Benjamin Shurmer, the Survivor, several Lots of Ground within the said Town; but because the Trust did not survive to the said Benjamin Shurmer by Virtue of any Words of the Act aforesaid, such Persons could not have sufficient Titles for such Lots from the said Benjamin Shurmer, but are in Danger of being dispossessed of the same: For the remedying and preventing therefore of such Inconveniencies both to the Publick and such Persons as have been bona fide Purchasers as aforesaid, and in order that the Intention of the said Act may be fully complied with;
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly John Holliday, and others, impowered to sell Lots within the Town of Dover. met, and by the Authority of the same, That John Holliday, James Gorrel, and Thomas Skidmore, jun. of the County of Kent, Gentlemen, or any two of them, and the Survivors and Survivor of them, shall, and are hereby impowered to grant, bargain, sell and confirm all such Lots of Ground within the Town of Dover aforesaid, as have not hitherto been sold or disposed of by the Trustees in the aforesaid Act named, to such Person and Persons as shall be willing to purchase the same, for such Value and Consideration as shall be agreed upon between them and the Purchasers.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the said John Holliday, James Gorrel, and Thomas Skidmore, jun. or any two of them, and the Survivors and Survivor of them, are hereby And to make Assurances to such as purchased of B. Shurmer, impowered and required to make, execute and acknowledge all such Conveyances and Assurances as shall be reasonably required, and are necessary for the confirming all such Persons in their Rights and Possessions, who shall appear to them the said Trustees actually and bona fide to have purchased any Lots within the said Town of [Page 131] Dover, of the aforesaid Benjamin Shurmer, since the Decease of the aforesaid William Brinkloe and Richard Richardson, at the proper Costs and Charges of the said Purchasers, their Heirs and Assigns, to be had, made and executed.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That such Person or The Purchasers paying the Sum originally contracted for to the Use of the Publick. Persons shall pay, or secure to be paid to the said Trustees, for the Use of the Publick, such Sum and Sums of Money as the said Lots were originally contracted for; all which Conveyances and Assurances shall be good and valid to all such Purchaser and Purchasers, their Heirs and Assigns for ever.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Trustees shall, The Trustees to account yearly with the Justices and GrandJury. once in every Year, render an Account to the Justices of the Peace of the said County, and such of the Grand-Jury as shall be present, of all the Lots so by them sold or disposed of, and the Consideration for which the same have been purchased and bought; and shall also pay to the Treasurer of the said County, for the Time being, all such Sums of Money as they have received for Lots sold as aforesaid; all which Sums of Money shall be disposed of, and applied to such Uses and Purposes as the said Justices and Grand-Jury, at the Time of the laying of the Levies for the said County, shall direct and appoint. AND that the Justices, together with the Grand-Jury, or such Who shall allow them a Reward for their Trouble. of them as will be present, shall and may, at the Time aforesaid, yearly allow to the said Trustees such Reward, for their Care and Pains in executing the Trust reposed in them by this Act, as they the said Justices and GrandJury shall think fit and reasonable.
An ACT about Defalcation.
FOR the avoiding numerous Suits at Law within this Government, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his [Page 132] Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennlylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, Any Person sued on Bond, & c. may defalk what the Plaintiff is indebted to him, & c.That if two Men, dealing together, be indebted to each other, upon Bonds, Bills, Bargains and the like, the Defendant may, in his Plea and Answer to the Plaintiff's Declaration, acknowledge the Debt which the Plaintiff demands from him, and defalk what the Plaintiff is indebted to him the said Defendant, PROVIDED ALWAYS, That if the Plaintiff's Demand be a Specialty, the Defendant shall prove the Debt to be defalcated, by the Evidence of one credible Person at the least, or by his or her Book regularly kept, with fair Entries.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, Before Suit brought, the Plaintiff shall request the Debtor to settle. If the Ballance be under 40s, it may be recovered by Warrant. It the Debtor refuse to settle, the Plaintiff may sue for the Whole, &c. by the Authority aforesaid, That the Creditor or Plaintiff shall be obliged by Word or Writing, at least Ten Days before Suit brought, to request the Debtor or Defendant, being a Freeholder within this Government, to settle and adjust Accounts; and if the Ballance, upon such Settlement, be made under Forty Shillings, the Creditor or Plaintiff may recover the same by Warrant from a Justice of the Peace, as is directed for the Recovery of Debts under Forty Shillings: And if the Debtor or Defendant refuse to come to Account, the Creditor or Plaintiff may sue him for the whole Account, and shall recover his Costs, notwithstanding the Ballance due may be found under Forty Shillings:
BUT if the Defendant doth prove, that before Suit If the Defendant prove that he tendered his Account and Ballance, the Plaintiff shall be non-suit. brought, he tendered to the Plaintiff his, the said Defendant's, Account against him, and so much Money as shall, upon Trail, be found to be due to the Plaintiff, the Plaintiff shall suffer Nonsuit, and pay Costs.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED If Plaintiff and Defendant content to a Rule for Referring, the Award shall be binding, &c. by the Authority aforesaid, That where the Plaintiff and Defendant having Accounts against one another, shall, by themselves, or their Attornies or Agents, consent to a Rule of Court for the Referring the Adjustment thereof to indifferent Persons, mutually chosen, or appointed by the Justices in open Court, the Award or Report of such Referrees [Page 133] being made according to the Reference, and approved by the Court, shall be deemed and taken, to be as available in Law as a Verdict of a Jury; and the Party or Parties to whom any Sum of Money shall be awarded or found to be due, shall have Judgment, if he be Plaintiff, and a Scire facias, if he be Defendant, and have an Execution for the same, with Costs of that Action, any Law, Custom or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding. AND that the former Act of Assembly, entituled, An Repeal of the former Act. Act about Defalcation, shall be, and is hereby repealed.
An ACT limiting the Time of the Sheriffs within this Government holding their Offices, and preventing Bribery and Corruption in the Election of the said Sheriffs.
WHEREAS it is found by Experience that many Preamble. Evils have arisen by Persons holding the Office of Sheriff within the several Counties of this Government so often as they could procure themselves to be elected and appointed to that Office: AND WHEREAS such Persons as stand Candidates, or make Interest for being elected and returned for the Office of Sheriff within this Government, make it their frequent Practice to engage Persons to vote for them, by giving them strong Drink, and using other Means, inconsistent with the Design of free Voting at Elections; by Means whereof many unguarded Persons are drunk and disorderly more particularly at the Time of Elections; whereby great Confusions and Mischiefs arise:
FOR Prevention whereof, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly [Page 134] Sheriff, having served 3 Years successively, may not be chosen again within 3 Years. met, and by the Authority of the same, That no Person or Persons within the Government, who hath been elected or served in the Office of Sheriff in any County of this Government for the Space of three Years successively, or at any one time, shall again be elected, or be capable to serve as Sheriff of the same County within the Space of three Years next after his being Sheriff as aforesaid: And The UnderSheriff may not be one of the Persons chosen to be Sheriff. Sheriff, having served 3 Years, may not be Under Sheriffs, within three Years; nor Under-Sheriffs, Sheriffs. that of the two Persons elected to be Sheriff, the one being commissionated by the Governor for the Time being, the other shall not act as Under-Sheriff in the said County during that Year for which he was elected. AND that no Person or Persons who hath served in the Office of Sheriff as aforesaid for the Space of three Years, shall be capable of being appointed, or serve in the Office of UnderSheriff within the Space of three Years next after his serving in the Office of Sheriff as aforesaid: And that, in like Manner, no Person or Persons who shall have served in the Office of Under-Sheriff for the Space of three Years successively, in Manner aforesaid, or at any one time, shall again be elected or capable to serve as Sheriff of the said County wherein he hath so served, within the Space of three Years next after his having served as Under-Sheriff Elections, &c. contrary to this Act, are void. as aforesaid. AND if any Sheriff or Under-Sheriff within this Government shall be elected or appointed contrary to this Act, such Election and Appointment shall be void. AND if any Sheriff or Under-Sheriff shall again enter upon and execute the Office of Sheriff or Under-Sheriff contrary to the Directions of this Act, he shall forfeit the Penalty on Sheriffs, &c. acting contrary to this Act. Sum of Two Hundred Pounds, one Moiety thereof to the Governor for the Time being, the other Moiety to such Person or Persons as will sue for the same, to be recovered by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint or Information, in any Court of Record within this Government.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Penalty on Candidates, bribing or treating Electors. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons within this Government, after the Publication of this Act, who shall stand as Candidate, or make Interest by himself or others, to be elected and returned for the Office of Sheriff, shall presume, by himself, or any other Person or Persons whatsoever, to procure him or themselves to be voted for or elected for the Office of Sheriff as aforesaid, by giving to any Person or Persons, either by themselves, or others in their Behalf, or for their Use or Purpose, any Gratuity, Wages, Gift, Bribe, strong Drink of any Kind, Treats, Entertainments, or any other Reward whatsoever, [Page 135] or shall covenant, engage, promise or procure so to be done by himself or any other Person or Persons, every Person or Persons so offending, shall, for every such Offence, forfeit and pay the Sum of Ten Pounds current Money of this Government, to be, with Costs, recovered and applied in Manner aforesaid.
AND every Person and Persons whatsoever, who shall Penalty on Electors who accept any Bribe, &c. by himself, or any other Person or Persons, for his or their Use, or by his or their Means or Procurement, presume to take, accept or receive any such Gratuity, Gift, Bribe, strong Drink, Treats, Entertainments, or other Reward whatsoever as aforesaid, for giving any Vote or Votes, or causing or procuring any Vote or Votes to be given to any such Candidate, or Person or Persons making Interest by himself or others as aforesaid, to be elected and returned to serve in the Office of Sheriff as aforesaid, every Person or Persons so offending, shall, for every such Offence, forfeit and pay the Sum of Five Pounds, current Money aforesaid, to be recovered and applied in Manner aforesaid.
An ACT imposing a Duty on Persons convicted of beinous Crimes, and to prevent poor and impotent Persons being imported into the Government of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware.
WHEREAS many Persons trading into this Government, Preamble. have, for Lucre and private Gain, imported, sold, or disposed of, and daily do import Passengers and Servants into this Government, who, by reason of Age, Impotence or Indigence, have become a heavy Burthen and Charge upon the Inhabitants thereof; and likewise, do frequently import divers Persons convicted of heinous Crimes, who soon after their Coming into this Government, do often commit many Felonies, Robberies, [Page 136] Thefts and Burglaries, to the great Hurt of his Majesty's Subjects trading to and inhabiting the same.
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That all Masters of Vessels, Merchants, or others, who [...] shall import, land or bring into any Port or Place belonging to this Government, at any time after the Publication of this Act, any Person in the Condition of a Servant, or otherwise within the Intent and Meaning of this Act, who hath been convicted of any Murder, Burglary, Rape, Sodomy, Forgery, Perjury, or any other Felony, at any time before such Importation or Coming into this Government, shall, before the said Convicts be landed or put on Shore, pay the Sum of Five Pounds for every such Convict so imported or otherwise brought in, the one Moiety thereof to the Governor for the Time being, for the Support of Government, and the other Moiety to the Collector And give Security for their good Behaviour. appointed by this Act, or the Informer; and further, shall become bound with good and sufficient Security, to the Treasurer of the County, where such Importation shall be made, for the Time being, in the Sum of Fifty Pounds, for the good Behaviour of such convict Person, for the Space of one Year next after his or her Importation or Coming into this Government.
AND WHEREAS it hath been a Practice for Masters of Vessels, Merchants, and others, trading into this Government, with Intent to avoid complying with the Payment of the Duties, and giving the Security, required by former Acts of Assembly of this Government, made to prevent the Importation of Convicts and poor and impotent Persons, to land their Passengers, Servants and Convicts in some of the adjacent Governments, which Passengers, Servants, impotent People and Convicts, have afterwards been secretly brought into this Government;
THEREFORE to prevent such Practices for the future, BE IT ENACTED by the Authority [Page 137] aforesaid, That if any such Convict as aforesaid, or Servant, Convicts, &c. found in this Government within twelve Months after their Importation, may be apprehended and examined, &c. or Passenger, being poor and impotent Persons, shall be imported into the River Delaware, after the Publication of this Act, and shall be found within this Government at any time within the Space of Twelve Months, next after their being imported as aforesaid, whether such Persons were landed within this Government or elsewhere, it shall and may be lawful for the Collector of the Duties, appointed by this Act in each County within this Government, or any Justice of the Peace within the same, to cause to be apprehended, taken up, and to examine, upon Oath or Affirmation, all such Convicts as aforesaid, or Passengers, or Servants, being poor and impotent Persons, and all other Persons who may be supposed to be able to make any Discovery of the Time and Manner of their being imported or coming into this Government, and from whence they came last, how long they have been come from beyond Seas, of what Country, and in what Vessel, and who was Master or Merchant of such Vessel, and whether such Vessel at the Time of such Person or Persons being shipped or coming on board, was bound to or designed for this Government, and whether such Person or Persons shipped themselves with Intent to come into this Government: And if, upon Examination, it shall appear to such Collector or Collectors appointed by this Act in any County within this Government, or any Justice of the Peace as aforesaid, that the said Persons were shipped or took their Passages for this Government, then the said Collector or Collectors, or Justice of the Peace as aforesaid, before whom such Examination shall be taken, shall demand and compel the Persons, if Convicts, immediately And shall be compelled immediately to comply with the Directions of this Act. to comply with the Directions of this Act, by paying the Duties hereby imposed on them, and giving the Security directed in the Case of Convicts by this Act; and shall be, and are hereby impowered and required to send for the Master or Merchant of such Vessel, or either of them, in which such Persons were supposed to be imported, and to examine such Master or Merchant, upon their Oath or Affirmation, concerning the said Passengers, Servants or Convicts, and their Importation or Coming into this Government; Penalty on Master or Merchant convicted of acting contrary to this Act. and if it shall appear that the said Persons so apprehended, or any other Persons, being Convicts as aforesaid, were shipped and taken on board to be imported into this Government, and put on Shore, or permitted to go on Shore by such Master or Merchant in any other Government upon the River Delaware, or upon any Island [Page 138] or Place within the said River, without making Report, and complying with the Directions of this Act, then and in such Case, the said Master or Merchant shall be obliged forthwith to give Security for his Appearance at the next Court of General Quarter-Sessions of the Peace, to be held for the County where such Examination is taken; and if, upon Presentment or Information, he or they shall be legally convicted of such fraudulent Practice, he or they so offending shall forfeit the Sum of Twenty Pounds for every Person so by him or them brought in as aforesaid, and put or permitted to be put on Shore, and afterwards, at any time within the Space of Twelve-months next after their being landed or put on Shore, shall be found within this Government, without making such Entry, and paying the Duties, and giving the Security required by this Act, one Half to the Governor for the Time being, and the other to the Collector or Informer, and shall further pay the same Duties, and give the same Security for such Convicts as aforesaid, as if such Persons had been imported into this Government, and Report thereof made according to the Direction of this Act.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Importer of Persons likely to become chargeable, shall give Security to indemnify the Inhabitants. by the Authority aforesaid, That upon Information given to any two Justices of the Peace within this Government, that any old Persons, Infants, Maimed, Lunatick, or any vagabond or vagrant Persons are imported, come or brought into this Government, the said Justices to whom such Information shall be given, shall cause such aged Persons, Infants, or impotent or vagrant Persons to be brought before them, and if, upon Examination, they shall judge that such Person or Persons are likely to become chargeable to the County where they are found or were imported, it shall and may be lawful for the said Justices as aforesaid, by Warrant or otherwise, to send for the said Master, Merchant, or other Person who imported any such Infant, lunatick, aged, maimed, impotent or vagrant Person or Persons as aforesaid as are likely to become chargeable as aforesaid, and upon Proof made of their being the Importers or Owners of such Infant, lunatick, aged, maimed, impotent or vagrant Persons, who shall be judged to be likely to become chargeable as aforesaid, the said Justices as aforesaid, shall and may compel the said Master, Merchant, or Importer of such Infant, lunatick, maimed, aged, impotent or vagrant Person or Persons, to give sufficient Security to carry and transport such Infant, lunatick, [Page 139] maimed, aged, impotent or vagrant Person or Persons to the Place or Places from whence such Person or Persons were imported, or otherwise to indemnify the Inhabitants of this Government from any Charge that may come or be brought upon them by such Infant, lunatick, maimed, aged, impotent or vagrant Person coming into or living within this Government.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That if any Person or Persons aggrieved, may appeal to the Court of Quarter-Sessions. Persons shall apprehend him or themselves aggrieved with any such Order or Judgment of the Justices aforesaid, who shall make the same, the Person or Persons so aggrieved, may appeal to the next Court of General Quarter-Sessions of the Peace to be held for the County where such Order shall be made, whose Judgment then shall be final; but before such Appeal shall be allowed of, the Person or Persons appealing shall enter into Recognizance with one good Surety, at least, to pay the Costs and Charges of such Appeal, in case the said Order shall happen to be confirmed.
AND for the better Discovery of such Convicts, and poor and impotent, or idle, or vagrant Persons, who shall hereafter be imported into, and shall be likely to become chargeable to the Inhabitants of this Government, BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority Masters of Vessels, &c. to give an Account, on Oath, of the Names of all Servants, Passengers, &c. aforesaid, That all Masters of Vessels, Merchants and others, who shall hereafter bring into any Port or Place belonging to this Government, by Land or Water, any Men or Women Passengers or Servants, shall, within the Space of Twenty-four Hours after their Arrival into any Port or Place within this Government, make Entry, and give or cause to be given, upon Oath or Affirmation, to the Collector of the said Duties where such Importation is made, a true and just Account of all the Names of the Servants and Passengers so imported or brought in; and the said Collector or Collectors as aforesaid, are hereby impowered and enjoined, immediately, by Warrant or otherwise, to call before them the said Merchant, Master, or other Person or Persons importing such Servants or Passengers as aforesaid, and to examine, upon Oath or A [...]irmation, the said Master, Merchant, or other Person or Persons importing such Servant or Servants, or Passengers as aforesaid, and all other Person or Persons who may be supposed to have any Knowledge of the Character or Circumstances of such Servants or Passengers, and thereupon [Page 140] And shall have a Certificate of the Names of such as are fit to be landed. shall grant unto the Master, Merchant or Owner, or other Person having the Charge or Care of any Servant or Servants, or Passengers so imported or brought into this Government, a Certificate, containing the Names of all the Servants or Passengers which such Collector or Collectors shall judge fit to be landed or disposed of as Servants, and do not appear to him or them to have been formerly convicted of any of the Crimes mentioned in this Act, or such as do not appear to him or them to be such Infants, lunatick, maimed, aged, impotent or vagrant Persons, as he or they shall judge likely to become chargeable to the Inhabitants of this Government, for which Examination, Permit and Certificate, there shall be paid to the said Collector where such Importation Fees to the Collector. is made, the Sum of Six Pence, for every Person so imported; and there shall likewise be paid to the Collector or Collectors as aforesaid, for each Bond he shall take in Pursuance of any thing required to be done by Virtue of this Act, the Sum of Two Shillings and Six Pence, and no more.
PROVIDED NEVERTHELESS, AND IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ENACTED Duty to be paid, &c. notwithstanding the Certificate granted, if it afterward appears, that any of the Persons imported are Convicts. by the Authority aforesaid, That if after such Examination taken, and Certificate granted, as aforesaid, it shall be made appear, that any of the said Persons so landed or imported are Convicts, the Master, Merchant, or other Person who imported such Convict or Convicts, shall be liable to pay the same Duty, and give the same Security, as if no such Examination had been taken, or Certificate granted, any thing in this Act contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND if any Servant or Servants, or Convict, or other Person; shall be imported or brought into and landed in any Port or Place within this Government, without making such Entry, as aforesaid, in the Manner before directed, and paying the Duty, and giving the Security required by this Act, and within the Time limited by this Act for that Purpose, and obtaining such Certificate from the Collector or Collectors, as aforesaid, every such Master of a Vessel, Merchant and other Person, so importing, bringing in or landing such Servants or other Persons, shall forfeit and pay, for each Servant or other Person so imported, brought in or landed, contrary to the Directions [Page 141] of this Act, the Sum of Ten Pounds, One Half, after the Penalty on Master, Merchant, &c. not complying with the Directions of this Act. Charge of Prosecution deducted, to the Governor for the Time being, for the Support of Government, and the other Half, after such Charges deducted, as aforesaid, to the Collector where such Importation shall be made, or to such Person or Persons as will sue for the same in any Court of Record within this Government, by Bill, Plaint, or Information, wherein no Essoin, Protection or Wager of Law shall be allowed.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Persons obliged by Persons obliged to make Entry, shall apply to the Collectors. this Act to make Entry as aforesaid, shall apply to John Finney, Esq for the County of Newcastle, John Holliday, Esq for the County of Kent, and Simon Kollock, Esq for the County of Sussex, who are hereby appointed Collectors of the said Duties hereby imposed, without any Notice or Request made by them.
AND the said Collectors, and every of them, are Who are impowered to receive, demand, &c. hereby impowered to receive, collect, demand and recover, from all Persons importing, landing, or bringing in any Servant or Servants, or other Persons, into any Port or Place within this Government, all Forfeitures and Penalties herein before appointed to be set, imposed and levied by Virtue of this Act.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That in case of the Death or In case of Death, &c. of any Collector, the Governor may appoint another. Removal of any of the Collectors or Officers appointed by this Act, it shall and may be lawful for the Governor for the Time being, to nominate and appoint some sit and proper Person to execute the said Office, in the Room and Stead of the Person so deceased or removed.
An ACT against Drunkenness, Blasphemy; and to prevent the grievous Sins of prophane Cursing, Swearing and Blasphemy.
Preamble.WHEREAS many Persons of vicious Lives and Morals, make a common Practice of getting drunk, and prophane Cursing and Swearing, and Blasphemy, to the great Dishonour of Almighty God, the Scandal of our Christian Profession and civil Society, and the evil Example of others.
FOR the Discouragement and just Punishment whereof, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly Penalty on Drunkenness. met, and by the Authority of the same, That all and every Person and Persons being drunk, and being thereof convicted, by View of one Justice of the Peace, the Testimony of one lawful Witness, or Confession of the Party before any one Justice of the Peace within this Government, shall forfeit or pay the Sum of Five Shillings for every such Offence, to be levied by a Warrant, under the Hand and Seal of such Justice before whom the Party shall be convicted, upon the Goods and Chattels of the Offender, to be applied to the Relief of the Poor of the Town or Hundred where the Offence is committed; and if no such Goods can be found, the Party offending shall be set in the Stocks, there to remain for the Space of Two Hours.
Penalty on abusing or threatning Courts or Justices, &c. AND in case any Offender or Offenders against this Act, or any other Person or Persons, taken or arrested by the Warrant, Order or Command of any Court or Justice of the Peace within this Government, shall use any abusive, reviling or threatning Speeches against such Court or Justice, or resist or assault the Person or Persons executing such Warrant or Order, and be thereof convicted, shall be deemed a Breaker of the Peace, and shall be fined in any Sum not exceeding Five Pounds, to be paid to the Governor, for the Support of Government. AND in case the Party aggrieved, resisted or assaulted, shall sue such Offender, [Page 143] for such Resistance or Assault, he shall recover treble Damages; and the Party offending shall be bound to his or her good Behaviour.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person within this Penalty on prophane Cursing and Swearing. Government, shall, in the Hearing of any one Justice of the Peace, in his or her common Conversation, prophanely swear, by the Name of God, Christ Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, or curse himself or any other Person, and be duly convicted thereof, by one or more credible Witnesses, before any one Justice of the Peace of the Town or County where such Offence is committed, the Person so offending shall, for every such Offence, forfeit and pay the Sum of Five Shillings, to be levied on his or her Goods and Chattels, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of the Justice before whom the Offence is committed or Conviction made, for the Use of the Poor of the Town or Hundred where the Offence is committed, or the Party offending shall be set in the Stocks, there to remain any time not exceeding Three Hours.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person shall wilfully Punishment of Blasphemy. or premeditately be guilty of Blasphemy, and shall thereof be legally convicted, the Person so offending shall for every such Offence, be set in the Pillory for the Space of Two Hours, and be branded in his or her Forehead with the Letter B, and be publickly whipt, on his or her bare Back, with Thirty-nine Lashes well laid on.
An ACT providing for the Security and Desence of the Town of Lewes, in the County of Sussex, within this Government.
WHEREAS the Inhabitants of the Town Preamble, of Lewes having heretofore suffered, and now are in Danger of suffering by the Depredations and [Page 144] Insults of Privateers and Pirates; For Prevention whereof,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That it shall and may be The Governor may appoint Officers, to keep a Watch in Lewes &c.lawful to and for the Governor for the Time being, from time to time, and at all Times hereafter, to commission and impower two sufficient and well-qualified Persons or Officers, in the said Town of Lewes, to keep a military Watch within the said Town, or in such Place and Places within the Limits herein after particularly described, consisting of such Persons, under such Regulations, and at such Times as to them, or either of them, shall seem necessary.
Limits. AND that all the Inhabitants and Freemen within these Limits, That is to say, from the Mouth of Canary-Run and Pagan-Creek, to Southern's Run, at the King's Road, from thence to the Head of Pot-hook Creek, from thence down to Lewes Creek, and from thence, down the said Lewes Creek, to the Mouth of Canary-Creek aforesaid, within the said County of Sussex, shall each of them provide and keep, when thereunto required by the said Officer or Officers, these following Arms, to wit, a wellfixed Arms to be provided. Firelock or Musket, one Cartouch-Box, with Twelve sufficient Charges of Gun-powder and Ball therein, Three good Flints, a Worm and Priming-Wire, to be approved by the said Officer or Officers; and if any Inhabitant or Freeman, as aforesaid, within the Limits aforesaid, shall, for the Space of one Month next after Notice given him by the said Officer or Officers, neglect or refuse to provide the Arms aforesaid, or to produce them to the said Officer or Officers, when thereunto commanded, and he thereof convicted before any one Justice of the Peace for the said County, every such Person so offending, shall, for the first Offence or Neglect, pay to the said Officer or Penalty on Neglect, &c. to provide them. Officers the Sum of Ten Shillings, and afterwards, for every such Refusal or Neglect, monthly the Sum of Twenty Shillings, to be recovered, together with Costs, by Distress and Sale of the Offenders Goods and Chattels, [Page 145] by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of the said Justice; and if no such Goods or Chattels shall be found, the Offender shall be committed to the Goal of the said County, there to remain the Space of Ten Days, for every such Offence.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all the said Inhabitants Obedience to the Officers enjoined. and Freemen, within the said Town of Lewes and Limits aforesaid, shall yield Obedience to the said Officers, and to each of them, in all Things relating to the aforesaid Watch, and the Defence of the said Town and Limits aforesaid: And if any Person, being an Inhabitant or Freeman within the said Limits, shall wilfully refuse or neglect to give Penalty on Non attendance or Disobedience. his Attendance, when commanded by the said Officer or Officers, or disobey them, or either of them, in any Matter or Thing relating to the Watch or Defence aforesaid, every such Person so offending, upon Conviction and due Proof thereof made before any one Justice of the Peace for the said County, shall, for every such Offence, forfeit and pay to the said Officer or Officers the Sum of Five Shillings, to be recovered, together with Costs, in Manner aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Officer and Officers, for the Time being, are hereby impowered and required to call together all and every the Inhabitants and Freemen within the Limits aforesaid, once in every Month, between the first Day of April and the first Day of October, Days and Times of Exercise. and once in every Three Months, between the first Day of October and the first Day of April, yearly, to exercise or train the said Inhabitants or Freemen, and to view their Arms and Ammunition, that they be in good Order, and fit for Service, on all Occasions: And if any Person or Persons, having due Notice, shall neglect or refuse to attend, or attending, Penalty. shall wilfully disobey the Commands of such Officer or Officers, or those impowered by them, or either of them, every such Person so offending, upon Conviction and due Proof thereof made as aforesaid, shall, for every such Offence, forfeit and pay to the said Officer or Officers the Sum of Five Shillings, to be recovered, together with Costs, in Manner aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED What shall be an Alarm. by the Authority aforesaid, That the Firing Three Guns [Page 146] successively, or one after another, and the Beating of a Drum, shall be deemed and taken for an Alarm; and that upon every such Alarm given, all the Inhabitants and Freemen within the Limits aforesaid, shall forthwith; either in the Day-time, or in the Night, repair, with their Arms and Place of Rendevous. Ammunition, to the Market-Street of the said Town of Lewes, and from thence whithersoever the commanding Officer shall direct, and shall obey all and every the Commands of the said Officer and Officers, and those impowered by them for the Defending of the said Town of Lewes and Limits, from any Invasion or Descent which shall happen to be made and shall not depart without the Leave of the said Officer or Officers first had and obtained: And if any Person, being an Inhabitant or Freeman within the Limits aforesaid, shall, upon such Alarm given, refuse or neglect to attend, with his Arms and Ammunition, at the said Market-Street, or such other Place or Places whithersoever he shall be commanded by the said Officer or Officers, or those impowered by them, or either of them; or depart without Leave had, as aforesaid, every such Person so offending, upon Conviction and due Proof thereof, made before any Two Justices of the Peace for the said County, shall forfeit and pay to the said Officer or Officers Penalty on non-appearance at an Alarm. the Sum of Five Pounds, to be recovered, together with Costs, by Distress and Sale of the Offenders Goods and Chattels, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of the said Justices; and if no such Goods or Chattels shall be found, the Offender, for every such Offence, shall be committed to the Goal of the said County, there to remain for the Space of Two Months. AND if any Person or Persons shall, without the Command of the said Officer or Officers, or of such Person or Persons whom they shall impower, presume to make an Alarm within the Limits aforesaid, every such Person so offending, and being thereof legally convicted before any Court of Justice for the Penalty on making an Alarm, without the Command of the Officer, &c. said County, shall, for every such Offence, be fined in the Sum of Five Pounds, to be paid, the one Moiety thereof to the said Officer or Officers for the Time being, the other Moiety to the Informer.
AND for Prevention of the Danger that may arise by the [...] into the Bay and River Delaware the Ships No Pilot shall go on board Vessels, inward bound, without Licence: of Enemies and Pirates, BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person or Persons who are or shall be Pilots within the Bay and River aforesaid, shall presums to go on board any inwardbound [Page 147] Vessels, without the Licence of the Governor for the Time being, first had and obtained, or the Leave or Licence of such Person or Persons as shall or may be appointed by him for that Purpose, upon Pain of forfeiting the Sum of Ten Pounds, the one Half thereof Penalty. to the Use of the Governor for the Time being, the other Half thereof to the Use of such Person or Persons as will sue for the same, to be recovered in any Court of Record within this Government; and all Pilots within the Bay and River aforesaid are hereby obliged to take Notice of the same.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all the Fines and Forfeitures arising by Virtue of this Act, and which the said Officer or Officers shall receive, shall by him or them be How the Fines shall be disposed of. laid out for the purchasing Arms and Ammunition for the said Town of Lewes; and the said Officer and Officers shall from time to time keep just and fair Accounts thereof, which shall by him and them, once in every Year, be laid before and approved by the Justices of the said Court of Quarter-Sessions for the said County, at the Time of laying the Levies.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Persons whose Attendance is excused. That no Person or Persons under the Age of Fifteen Years, or above Sixty-three, and that no Person or Persons, producing to the said Officer or Officers a Certificate from the Meeting he or they frequent, and whole religious Persuasion is against bearing or using Arms, shall, by this Act, be obliged to give his or their Attendance, or be liable to any of the Fines or Forfeitures mentioned in this Act, any thing therein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
An ACT about Boats and Canoes.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That if any Person or Persons within this Government shall take up any Boat or Canoe, being adrift, and secure the same, the Taker-up The Take [...] up of Boats or Canoes shall give Notice, &c. of such Boat or Canoe shall forthwith, at the reasonable Charge of the Owner, if known, send him or her Notice thereof; if not known, shall advertise the same in three of the most publick Places of the Town or Hundred where the same are taken up, on Penalty of making good to the Owner all the Damages he or she shall sustain by the Want of such Boat or Canoe after being taken up.
AND that the Taker-up of a Boat or Canoe shall receive, as a Reward from the Owner thereof, the Sum of His Reward. Five Shillings for a Boat, and Two Shillings and Six-pence for a Canoe.
Penalty on carrying away or setting adrift Boats, &c. AND if any Person or Persons shall at any time, after the Publication of this Act, take, carry away, or set adrift any Boat or Canoe from any Landing or other Place within the said Counties, or within one hundred Yards of any Shore or landing-Place within this Government, without the Leave or Consent of the Owner or Possessor of such Boat or Canoe, and be thereof convicted before any one Justice of the Peace of this Government, he or she shall pay to the Party aggrieved, all such Damages, Costs and Charges, as shall be awarded by the Justice before whom the Complaint shall be brought, so as the Costs and Damages do not in the whole amount to above Forty Shillings.
An ACT for regulating Fences within this Government.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That Corn-Fields and Ground kept for Inclosures shall be fenced with a Post-and Post-and Rail Fences to be four Foot and Half high; Worm Fences five Foot. Rail-Fence, or Worm-Fence, well staked and ridered, at least four Feet and an Half high from the Top of the Upper-Rail or Rider to the Ground; and all Worm-Fences not staked and ridered shall be at least five Feet high from the Top of the Upper-Rail to the Ground: AND if any If Horses, &c. break through such Fences, the Owner of the Creatures to make good the Damage. Horses, Kine, Sheep, Hogs or Goats, or any Kind of Cattle, shall break into any Person's Inclosure, the same being found by the Persons to be appointed Viewers, according to the Direction of this Act, to be of the Height and Sufficiency aforesaid, then the Owner of such Horses, Sheep, Goats or Cattle, shall be liable to make good all such Damages to the Owner of such Inclosure, as shall be found and awarded by the said Viewers, upon their Oath or Affirmation made before some Justice of the Peace of the County where the Trespass is committed, to be levied, together with Costs, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of the Justice before whom such Oath or Affirmation shall be made, on the Goods and Chattels of the Owners of such Cattle so trespassing.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Persons having any Penalty on Persons Owning unruly Cattle, not taking Care to refinish them. unruly Horses, Sheep, Goats or Cattle as aforesaid, not to be kept off by such Fences as aforesaid, and Notice being first given to him, her or them, of such Creatures being unruly, are ordered, and shall be obliged to take effectual Care to restrain the same from Trespassing on any Person's Inclosures, upon Penalty of Five Shillings, or double Damages for every such Trespass, at the Election of the Party injured, to be levied, together with Costs, in Manner aforesaid.
[Page 150]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Division Fences to be made and maintained equally by both Parties. by the Authority aforesaid, That where any Person or Persons shall inclose any Land adjoining to another's Land already inclosed with a Fence, so that any Part of the Fence first made become he Partition between them, in such Case the Charge of such Division-Fence, so far as is inclosed on both Sides, shall be equally borne and maintianed by both Parties; to which End, and the others mentioned in this Act, each County-Court within this Government shall nominate, and are hereby impowered and required, at their respective Courts of Quarter-Sessions, Viewers to be appointed. to be held in the Month of May every Year, to nominate and appoint so many proper Persons as they shall think fit for each Hundred, in each County respectively, to view all such Fence and Fences about which any Difference may happen to arise: And that the aforesaid Persons, in each Who shall be sole Judges; Hundred respectively, shall be the sole Judges of the Charge to be borne by both or either of the said Parties, and of the Sufficiency of all Fences, whether Partition or other Fences, and of the Damages sustained by Means of any Creature's trespassing within the true Intent and Meaning of this Act; and where they judge any Fence to to be insufficient, they shall give Notice thereof to the Owners or Possessors; and if one of the said Owners and Possessors, upon the Request of the other, and due Notice given by the said Viewers, shall refuse to make or repair the said Fence or Fences, or pay the Moiety of any Fence before made, being a Division-Fence, within five Days after Notice given, that then, upon Proof thereof before two Justices of the Peace of the respective County, it shall be lawful for the said Justices to order the Person aggrieved and suffering thereby, to repair the said Fence or Fences, who shall be reimbursed double his Costs and Charges from the Person so refusing to make good the said Partition-Fence; and that the said Costs and Charges, together with the Damages in respect of Partition-Fences as aforesaid, to be assessed by Virtue of this Act, shall be levied by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods and Chattels, by Warrant from the said Justices, and the Overplus, if any be, to be returned to the Owner thereof; and Their Allowance. the said Viewers to be allowed Two Shillings each for Viewing such Fence so complained against, and assessing the Damages sustained by Trespass, and Two Pence per Mile each, for Travelling-Charges.
[Page 151]PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That nothing in this Act contained shall be construed, deemed or taken to repeal or make null or void an Act of General Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for erecting a Pound in the Town of Newcastle, or any Part thereof; but that the same shall continue and be in full Force, any thing herein contained to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
An ACT for establishing a Market in The Town of Newcastle, for appointing a Clerk of the Market, and directing the Assize of Bread.
WHEREAS the Want of a regular Market in the Preamble. Town of Newcastle, in the County of Newcastle, within this Government, hath been attended with great Inconveniencies to the Inhabitants thereof, as well as to such Persons who offer Provisions to Sale in the said Town: For Remedy Whereof,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That from and No Provision to be sold on Market-Days but at the MarketHouse, on Pain of Forfeiture. after the Publication of this Act, no Person or Persons whatsoever, shall presume either to buy or sell any kind of Provisions (Fish, Milk and Bread excepted) on Market-Days, within any Part of the Town of Newcastle but at the publick Market-House, under the Penalty of forfeiting, both by the Buyer and Seller, all such Provisions so sold or bought, or the Value thereof, to be levied, together with Costs, by the Clerk of the Market, for the Use of the Poor of the Town and Hundred of Newcastle, [Page 152] by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods and Chattels respectively, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of any one Justice of the Peace of the said Town or County.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Poor lean Meat, &c. shall be forfeited, &c. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons, shall presume to bring to Market and sell, or offer to Sale, any Meat or Flesh that shall be poor, lean, or Carrion, or any other Provision, not found and wholsome, every Person so offending, shall forfeit the same, if found and wholsome, to the Use of the Prisoners in the common Goal of the said Town or County, if unwholsome or unfound, to be thrown into the River.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Penalty on Slaughtering in the Market-House. by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person or Persons whatsoever, shall presume to kill or stay any Cattle, Sheep, Calves or Hogs, within the said Market-House, on Penalty of forfeiting the Sum of Five Shillings for every such Offence, to be levied as aforesaid, and applied to the Use of the Poor of the Town and Hundred aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Provision &c. sold by false Weights, or wanting Weight, shall be forfeited. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons whatsoever, shall, by themselves or others, either sell or offer to Sale, any Butter, Cheese, Tallow, or any Sort of Provisions, by any false Weights, or for more Weight than the same shall be found to be, by Trial of the said Clerk of the Market, for the Time being, upon Complaint made, such Person or Persons shall, for every such Offence, forfeit such Butter, Cheese, Tallow or Provision, so sold or offered to Sale, as aforesaid, to the Use of the Poor of the Town and Hundred aforesaid; and the Clerk of the Market is hereby impowered to seize the same.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Wednesday and Saturday shall be the Market-days. by the Authority aforesaid, That at all Times hereafter, every Wednesday and Saturday in each Week, and no other Days whatsoever, shall be deemed and taken for the publick and regular Market-Days of the said Town of Newcastle.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person or Persons whatsoever, shall presume to hawk or carry about the said [Page 153] Town [...]op Newcastle, [...]or expose to Sale in the MarketHouse within the same, any Flesh Meat, on the Tuesdays Flesh Meat exposed to Sale on Tuesdays or Fridays, shall be forfeited, except, &c. or Fridays in each Week, except in the Months of June, July, and August, on Pain of forfeiting such Flesh Meat, or the Value thereof, one Half thereof to the Use of the Poor of the Town and Hundred of Newcastle, the other Half to the Use of the Clerk of the Market, to be recovered in like Manner as other Forfeitures are directed to be recovered by this Act.
AND for preventing Frauds that may happen to be committed by publick Bakers of Bread for Sale, in the said Town of Newcastle: BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That from and after the Publication of this Act, every Baker or Bakers of Bread for Sale, in Bakers shall mark their Bread, on Penalty of 53. the said Town of Newcastle, shall, and are hereby directed and required, to make or impress some Mark, Letter or Name of such Baker, on every such Bread as he or she shall bake for Sale, as aforesaid, on Penalty of forfeiting and paying, for every such, Neglect, the Sum of Five Shillings to the Clerk of the Market, for the Time being.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Justices of the Court Justices impowered to appoint the Size and Weight of Bread. of Quarter-Sessions, shall, and are hereby impowered and required, from time to time, at their Quarterly Sessions of the Peace for the said: County, to settle and appoint the Weight of Bread,Size and Weight of the several Sorts of Bread, which shall be baked for Sale in the said Town of Newcastle. AND all Bakers in the said Town, shall conform themselves, and make the Bread, by them baked for Sale, agreeable thereto, on Pain of forfeiting, for every such Offence, all such Bread, as upon Trial of the Clerk of the Market, shall be found to be of lesser Weight; to be, by the said Clerk, Penalty on not conforming to such Appointment. seized for the Use of the Poor of the said Town and Hundred, and Five Shillings to the said Clerk, to be recovered as aforesaid.
AND that no Baker shall, upon any Pretence whatsoever, make any different or other Sorts of Bread for Sale, but such as shall, by the Justices of the said Court of Quarter-Sessions, be directed and appointed, under the Penalty of forfeiting the same, as aforesaid, to be applied in Manner aforesaid.
[Page 154]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Philip Van Leuvenigh appointed Clerk of the Market. by the Authority aforesaid, That Philip Van Leuvenigh of the said Town is hereby appointed and constituted Clerk of the aforesaid Market of the said Town of Newcastle, who is hereby strictly charged and commanded, to put this Act, and every Part thereof, in Execution; and impowered to receive, demand and recover all such Penalties, Fines and Forfeitures, as in this Act are directed to be forfeited and paid, and to enter into all such Places and Houses where he shall suspect any such Bread to be, which is not made agreeable to the Directions of this Act, and to examine the Weights, and try the same, for the Purposes in this Act before directed.
Who shall keep fair Accounts. AND the said Clerk is hereby directed and required to keep a fair and just Account of all Fines, Forfeitures and Penalties, that he shall receive by Virtue of this Act, and And settle annually with the Overseers of the Poor, &c. settle such Account, once in every Year, with the Overseers of the Poor of the Town and Hundred aforesaid for the Time being, and pay to them all such Sum and Sums of Money as shall by him be received for the Use of the said Poor.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED The said Clerks may erect Booths and Stalls, and lett them at the Fairs. by the Authority aforesaid, That the Clerk of the said Market, hereby appointed, or that shall hereafter be appointed by Virtue of this Act, [...] impowered to make, erect, allot and lett out for Hire, Stalls or Booths for accommodating such Persons as shall attend the Fairs held within the said Town of Newcastle, upon the Green, according to the usual Custom and Usage thereof, and lett out the same on Hire, for such Sum and Sums of Money as any three of the Justices of the said County shall appoint His Reward for parting this Act in Execution. and direct: AND for Encouragement and Satisfaction for his Care in executing this Act, the said Clerk shall receive and take to his own Use the whole Hire of the Stalls erected on the said Green, and one Moiety of the Rents of the Stalls in the said Market-House, and the other Moiety thereof, to be received by the said Clerk, shall by him be paid to the Treasurer of the said County, to remain in his Hands, until the same, by the said Treasurer, shall be applied to such Use and Uses as the Justices of the said Court of Quarter-Sessions shall from time to time see fit to order and direct; and that no Person or Persons whatsoever, who are not Inhabitants of the said County, shall, without the Approbation [Page 155] of the said Clerk, make or erect any such Stalls or Booths as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That upon the Death, Refusal, The Clerk dying, &c. the Governor may appoint another. Removal or Inability of the Clerk of the said Market appointed by Virtue of this Act, the Governor for the Time being may, and is hereby impowered to appoint from time to time, as often as there shall be occasion, some fit and discreet Person to serve in the Office of Clerk of the said Market; which said Clerk of the Market, hereby appointed, or that shall hereafter be appointed by Virtue of this Act, before he shall presume to enter upon his said Office, or executed the Trust reposed in him, shall first take an Oath or Affirmation before some Justice of the Peace of the said County of Newcastle, That be shall and will well His Oath. and truly demean and behave himself in the Office of Clerk of the Market aforesaid, and impartially discharge the Trust reposed in him by Virtue of this Act, during his Continuance in that Office.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the several Acts of General Repeal of former Acts. Assembly of this Government heretofore made for regulating any Market, the Affize of Bread, or for appointing a Clerk of the Market within the said Town of Newcastle, shall be and are hereby repealed, made null and void, any thing in the said Acts contained to the contrary in any wife notwithstanding.
An ACT about Departers out of this Government.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the [Page 156] Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and Departers shall publish their Design 30 Days before they leave the Government, &c. by the Authority of the same, That no Person or Persons whatsoever shall presume to depart this his Majesty's Government, who hath resided three Months, next before his Departure, in any of the Counties of this Government, but shall first signify the same in Writing under his Hand, affixed upon the Court-House-Door, in the County wherein he shall reside, at least thirty Days before his Departure, or shall have a Certificate under the Hands and Seals of two Justices of the Peace of the County.
AND if any Person or Persons shall presume to transport Otherwise, those who transport them, &c. are liable to pay all Damages. or convey, or be aiding or assisting to the Transporting or Conveying any Person or Persons out of this Government, either by Land or Water, that hath not complied with this Act, he or they shall make good and pay to the Party or Parties aggrieved all Damages that shall accrue by reason of his or their aiding, assisting, transporting or carrying away any such Person or Persons as aforesaid, to be recovered by Bill, Plaint or Information in any of his Majesty's Courts of Record within this Government.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Deeds, &c. given by Departers, void in respect of their Creditors. by the Authority aforesaid, That all Deeds and Bills of Sale privately and clandestinely given for Lands or Goods by such Departers, shall be void, in respect of the Creditors of such Person or Persons so departing this Government without such Notice or Certificate as aforesaid.
An ACT for determining Debts under Forty Shillings.
FOR the Recovery of Debts under Forty Shillings, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation [Page 157] Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That upon Complaint Justices impowered to issue Warrants, &c. in Debts under 40s. commanding, &c. made to any Justice of the Peace within this Government against any Person or Persons for any Debt under Forty Shillings, it shall and may be lawful to and for such Justice, and he is hereby impowered and required to issue out his Warrant in the Nature of a Summons or Capial, as the Case may require, directed to some Constable of the Hundred or County, commanding to bring, or cause such Defendant to come before him or some other Justice of the Peace of the same County; and when such Justice shall have heard the Proofs and Allegations of both Parties, or such of them as shall be present at such Time and Place as he shall appoint, he shall give his Judgment in the Matter according to the And to give Judgment, and award Execution, &c. very Right of the Cause, which Judgment shall be final and conclusive to both Plaintiff and Defendant, without further Appeal, and Execution, if required, shall be awarded by him against the Person refusing to comply with such Judgment, directed to some Constable, to levy the same upon the Goods and Chattels of the Party so refusing, and for Want of such Goods and Chattels, to take the Body of the said non-complying Party, and him or her to commit to the Goal of the County, until the Debt and Costs be satisfied.
AND the Justice who gives such Judgment, shall keep Justices shall keep fair Entries, &c. fair Entries of the Names of the Complainants and Defendants, and of the Debt or Sum contained in such Judgment, with the Day and Year when such Judgment was given.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person shall absent him or herself out of this Government, or conceal him or herself, so that he or she cannot be taken to answer his or her just Debts, it shall and may be lawful for any Justice Justices may grant Attachments, &c. of the Peace of the County where such Person's Goods or Effects are, upon Oath or Affirmation made of the Truth of the Debt, and that the Defendant is gone out of the Government, as is believed, or doth conceal him or [Page 158] herself, so that he or she cannot be taken, and that the Complainant is in Danger of losing his or her Debt, to grant a Warrant of Attachment for any Debt under Forty Shillings, directed to some Constable of the County, to attach the Goods and Chattels, or other Effects of such Person, in whose Hands soever the same be found, within the said County, to answer the said Creditor, to the Value of the Debt and Costs; and the Person or Persons, in whose Hands any Goods or other Effects are attached, shall be obliged to appear before the said Justice, and declare, upon Oath or Affirmation, what Effects of the Defendant he or they have in his or their Hands, and pay the same to the Use of the Plaintiff, when so required by the said Justice: And upon Proof being made, to the Satisfaction of the Justice, of the Truth of the Debt or Demand, the same And award Execution for Debt and Costs, &c. Fees. Justice shall award Execution for the Debt and Costs; to be executed by the Constable, who shall have Two Shillings for serving the said Warrant of Attachment, and Three Shillings for serving the Execution; which said Goods or other Effects, not being ready Money, shall be brought to an Appraisement, but not sold until the Expiration of one Month next after such Attachment and Appraisement, to the End that the Debtor may have Time to redeem them, if he or she shall see Cause so to do; but in case such Goods be living or perishable Goods, the Constable or Constables so attaching, shall and may, by Virtue of an Order of the Justice or Justices granting such Attachment, after Appraisement, make lawful Sale thereof, and deliver the Money arising thereby into the Hands of the same Justice, who shall keep the same, and at the Expiration of one Month, as aforesaid, shall satisfy to the Plaintiff his Debt and Costs, and the Overplus, if any be, shall be returned to the Defendant, or any other Person lawfully representing him or her, any Law, Custom or Usage to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding.
Lands and Tenements not to be attached by Virtue of this Act; nor shall Attachments issue or Rent of Damages, &c. PROVIDED ALWAYS, That no Lands or Tenements within this Government, shall be subject to be attached or taken in Execution, by Virtue of this Act; and that no Warrant of Attachment, or other Warrant, shall be granted, or issue, for any Sum or Sums of Money, due or to become due, for the Rent of any Lands or Tenements within this Government, or for any [Page 159] Trespass, or Damage done to any Person in the Nature of a Trespass.
An ACT to prevent the unseasonable killing of Deer within this Government.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That if any Freemen within this Government ( Indians excepted) shall of kill or Forty Shillings Penalty on killing Deer out of Season. destroy, by Guns or otherwise, any Deer or Fawns, within any of the Counties of this Government, between the first Day of January and the first Day of August in every Year, and be thereof duly convicted, by the Testimony of one or more credible Witnesses, or otherwise, before any Justice of the Peace of the County where such Offence shall be committed, the Offender, for every such Offence, shall forfeit and pay the Sum of Forty Shillings for every Deer or Fawn so killed or destroyed, contrary to the Directions of this Act, to be levied upon the Offender's Goods and Chattels, by Distress and Sale thereof, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of the Justice before whom the Offender shall be convicted, and paid, the one Moiety thereof to the Use of the Poor of the Hundred where the Conviction is, the other Moiety to the Informer.
AND if no such Goods and Chattels shall be found, then it shall and may be lawful to and for such Justice, before Or 6 Months Servitude. whom the said Conviction is made, to judge such Offender to make Satisfaction by Servitude, for any Time not exceeding Six Months.
[Page 160]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Servants or Slaves so offending to be whipt. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any white Servant, Mulatto or Negro Slave, shall kill or destroy any Deer or Fawns within any of the Counties aforesaid, contrary to the Intent and Meaning of this Act, such Servant, Mulatto or Negro so offending, being thereof duly convicted, shall, for every such Offence, be publickly whipt on his or her bare Back, with any Number of Stripes not exceeding Twenty-one.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Fresh Venison, &c. in Possession of any Person, shall be good Evidence. by the Authority aforesaid, That the Finding of any Venison or Skins or Deer or Fawns newly killed, in the Possession of any Person or Persons, shall be good Evidence to convict such Person, in whose Custody the same shall be found, unless such Person or Persons shall bring good Evidence to acquit him or themselves of such Charge.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Any Person Purchasing such Venison or Skins, &c. of Indians, shall suffer, &c. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons ( Indians excepted) between the first Day of January and the first Day of August in every Year, shall have in his or her House or Custody any Venison, or Deer or Fawn Skin or Skins, by him or them purchased of or killed, within the said Term, by any Indian or Indians within this Government, the said Person or Persons, in whose Possession the same shall be found, being duly convicted thereof, shall be subject to the like Pains and Forfeitures, as if he or they had been convicted or killing or destroying the same.
An ACT for regulating Innholders, Tavernkeepers, and other Publick House-keepers within this Government, and impowering the Justices to settle the Rates of Liquors.
FOR regulating Inn-holders, Tavern-keepers, and other Publick House-keepers within this Government, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable [Page 161] George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That no Person No Person may [...] &c. until recommended and licenced. or Persons within this Government shall presume to keep any Publick House of Entertainment, Tavern, Inn, Ale-House, Ordinary, or Victualling-House, without obtaining, by Petition, a Recommendation from the Justices of the Court of Quarter-Sessions, to be held in August-Term in each County within this Government, to his Honour the Governor for the Time being, for a Licence for keeping the same, setting forth that the Person so petitioning is a fit Person and well qualified for keeping a Tavern or House of Entertainment.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful Fee, [...] for granting Licences. for the Governor for the Time being, and his Secretary, to take and receive for all Licences to be granted, the same Fees and Perquisites as were usually paid before the Making of this Act.
AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person or Persons within this Government, None but fit Person may be recommended by the Justices. shall be recommended to the Governor by such Justices as aforesaid, for a Licence for keeping such Publick House, Tavern, Inn, or Ordinary, without making first appear, to the Satisfaction of the said Justices, that such Petitioner is well qualified for keeping the same, and hath Necessaries fit and suitable for the Entertainment of Travellers, and that the Place or Habitation of such Petitioner is situate in a proper and convenient Place and Stage for the Entertainment of Travellers as aforesaid.
AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Master or Keeper of any such House Penalty on Tavern keepers, &c. suffering Gaming, Drunkenness, [...] in their Houses. of Entertainment, Tavern, Ale-House or Victualling-House, shall suffer any Person or Persons whatsoever to continue Drinking and Tippling in his or her House at any unseasonable Hours of the Night, or suffer Drunkenness, corrupt or unlawful Gaming with Cards, Dice, or at other Games, within his or her House, Out-house, Office, or any other Place thereto belonging, every such Master or Owner [Page 162] of such House, upon Complaint, and due Proof thereof made before any one Justice of the Peace of the County where the Offence shall be committed, or by the View of First Offence. the said Justice, shall, for the first Offence, forfeit the Sum of Twenty Shillings, to be levied, together with Costs, on the Offender's Goods and Chattels, by Distress and Sale thereof, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of such Justice, to be paid the one Moiety thereof to the Use of the Poor of the Hundred where such Offence shall be committed, the other Moiety to the Informer; and for the Second Offence. second Offence, upon Complaint and due Proof thereof made before any two Justices of the said County, the Offender shall forfeit any Sum not exceeding Five Pounds, nor less than Forty Shillings, to be recovered, as aforesaid, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of the said Justices, and applied and paid in like Manner Third Offence. as aforesaid: And for the third Offence, upon due Proof thereof made before any two Justices as aforesaid, the Offender shall have his or her House suppressed by Order of the said two Justices, and be disabled from keeping any such Publick House as aforesaid, for the Space of three Years next after such Offence committed as aforesaid.
AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority Penalty on keeping Publick House without Licence. aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons within this Government shall presume, after the Publication of this Act, to keep any Tippling-House, or sell or retail any Wine by any less Measure than Half a Gallon; Rum, Brandy, or any spirituous Liquors, by any Measure less than a Quart; Beer, Ale, Metheglin, Perry or Cyder, by any Measure less than one Gallon; Punch, or any other mixed Liquor, by any Measure whatsoever, without Licence as aforesaid; the Person or Persons so offending shall, for every such Offence, forfeit and pay Five Pounds, to be recovered, together with Costs, by the Order of any Court of Quarter-Sessions within this Government where the Offence is committed, upon Conviction of the Offender, by Presentment, Bill, Plaint, Information, or Confession of the Party offending, to be paid to the Governor for the Time being, towards the Support of Government.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Master or Keeper of any such Publick House or Houses, or Tavern as aforesaid, [Page 163] shall, after the Publication of this Act, presume to Publick House-keepers giving Credit to Minors shall lose the Debt. trust or give any Credit to any Minor or Minors, every such Master or Keeper of such House or Houses shall lose the whole Sum or Sums so trusted and credited, and is hereby precluded and debarred from suing for the same before any Magistrate, or in any Court within this Government.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons Penalty on continuing a Publick House after Suppression. who shall have been Masters or Keepers of any such Publick-House or Houses as aforesaid, and shall have his, her, or their Houses suppressed for offending against this Act in Manner aforesaid, and after such Suppression shall presume to retail any Kind of strong or mixed Liquors contrary to the Intent and Meaning of this Act, and shall be thereof convicted in Manner of other Convictions, by Virtue of this Act, the Person or Persons so offending shall, for every such Offence, forfeit and pay the Sum of Five Pounds, to be recovered, together with Costs of Prosecution, by Presentment, Bill, Plaint, Information or Confession of the Party offending, in any Court of Quarter-Sessions for any County of this Government where the Offence shall be committed, and paid to the Governor for the Time being, for the Support of Government.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Justices of the Justices impowered to settle Rates, Prices, Orders, &c. for Publick Houses; Peace in the respective Counties within this Government, during the Sitting of the Quartes-Sessions in the Month of November in each Year, are hereby impowered and required to make and settle such Rates, Prices and Orders, on and for all Sorts of Liquors retailed by all Masters and Keepers of Publick Houses of Entertainment, as aforesaid, within the respective Counties of this Government, as to them shall appear to be just, meet and convenient; and that Copies of all such Rates, Prices and Orders shall, by such Masters and Keepers of Publick Houses, be set up in the most publick Room or Rooms Which shall be set up in the most Publick Room; on Penalty of Twenty Shillings. of his, her or their Houses, within Ten Days next after the same shall be made and settled; and be truly complied with and conformed unto, by all such Masters or Keepers of such licenced Publick Houses, on the Penalty of forfeiting the Sum of Twenty Shillings for every such Default made by such Master or Keeper of such licenced Publick Houses, upon Complaint and Proof made as in this [Page 164] Act before is directed, to be applied and paid, the one Moiety thereof to the Overseers of the Poor of the Town or Hundred where the Offender dwells, the other Moiety to the Informer.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED No Justice being an Innholder, shall judge in any Matter contained in this Act. by the Authority aforesaid, That no Justice of the Peace, being himself an Inn-holder, shall judge or determine concerning any Matter or Thing contained in this Act, any thing herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Repeal of former Acts. by the Authority aforesaid, That all other Acts of General Assembly of this Government, heretofore made, for regulating of Publick Houses, and for settling the Rates and Prices of Liquors retailed therein, be and are hereby repealed, made null and void, any thing in the said Acts contained to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
An ACT for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors within this Government.
Preamble.WHEREAS the Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors, made in the Seventh Year of His present Majesty's Reign, is found by Experience not to answer the Ends and Purposes for which the same was intended: AND WHEREAS no Person whatsoever can take any Benefit by the said Act, who hath not resided within this Government two Years next before his or her Imprisonment, by Means whereof many Persons cannot be relieved, who are equally entitled to Compassion with such as have resided a longer Time within the same: For Remedy whereof, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander [Page 165] in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That if any Person or Persons, having a Charge of small Children; not of sufficient Age to be bound out as Apprentices, or if any Person or Persons above the Age of Forty Years, shall be imprisoned within this Government for any Sum or Sums of Money or other Debts above the Value of Forty Shillings, and from and after the Publication of this Act, be willing to deliver up to his, her or their Creditors, all his, her or their Effects, towards Satisfaction of the Debts wherewith he, she, or they stand charged, it shall and may be lawful for every such Prisoner to exhibit a Prisoner to exhibit a Petition, &c.Petition to any of the Courts of Law within this Government from whence the Process issued, upon which he or she was taken or arrested, certifying the Cause or Causes of his or her Imprisonment, and an Account of his or her whole real and personal Estate, with the Dates of the Securities wherein any Part of it consists, and the Deeds or Notes relating thereunto, and the Names of the Witnesses to the same, as far as his or her Knowledge extends thereunto. And upon such Petition the Court may, and is hereby required, by Order or Rule of Court, to cause the Prisoner to be brought up, and the several Creditors at whose Suit he or she stands Creditors to be summoned to appear, &c. charged as aforesaid, and all his or her Creditors that are or can be known to the Court, to be summoned to appear personally, or by their Attorney, in Court, at a Day to be appointed for that Purpose; and upon the Day of such Appearance, if any of the Creditors summoned refuse or neglect to appear, upon Affidavil made of Notice given to the Creditor or Creditors, or that the Creditor or Creditors are not to be found, the Court shall in a summary Way examine into the Matter of such Petition, and hear what shall be alledged on either Side for or against the Discharge of such Prisoner; and if, upon Examination, the Court shall be of Opinion that the Prisoner ought to be discharged, the Court may and are hereby required to administer or tender to the Prisoner an Oath or Affirmation to the Effect following;
I A. B. do [solemnly swear, in the Presence of Almighty The Oath God] [or, sincerely and truly declare and affirm] that [Page 166] the Account by me delivered in to this Honourable Court, in my Petition to this Court, doth contain a ful [...] and true Account of all my real and Personal Estate, Debts, Credits and Effects whatsoever, which I, or any in Trust for me, have, or at the Time of my Imprisonment bad, or am, or was in any respect entitled to, in Possession, Remainder, or Reversion: and that I have not at any Time since my Imprisonment, or before, directly or indirectly, sold, leased, assigned or otherwise disposed, or made over in Trust, for myself or otherwise, other than as mentioned in such Account, any Part of my Lands, Estate, Goods, Stock, Mo [...] Debts, or other real or personal Estate, whereby to expect to have any Benefit or Profit to myself, or to defraud any of my Creditors to whom I am indebted.
AND in case the Prisoner shall in open Court take the said Oath or Affirmation, and the Creditor or Creditors shall be satisfied with the Truth thereof, the Court may immediately order the Lands, Goods and Effects contained in such Accompt (except the wearing Apparel and Bedding for such Debtor, and his or her Family, and the Tools or Instruments of such Debtor's Trade or Calling, not exceeding Five Pounds in Value for the Whole, as the same shall be appraised by two credible Persons duly qualified for that Purpose) or so much of them as may be sufficient to satisfy the Debt or Debts wherewith he or she is or shall be charged, together with Costs of Suit, and the Fees due to the Keeper of the Goal or Prison from which the Prisoner was brought, to be by a short Indorsement on the Prisoner to assign his Effects to the Creditors, &c. Back of such Petition, signed by the Prisoner, assigned to the said Creditors, or to one or more of them in Trust for themselves and the rest of them, or to some proper Person or Persons to be by the said Court appointed in Trust for all the Creditors: And by such Assignment' Estate, Interest and Property of the Lands, Goods, Debts and Effects so assigned, shall be vested in the Person or Persons to whom such Assignment is or shall be made, who may take Possession of or sue for the same, in his or their own Name or Names, in like Manner as Assignees of Commissioners of Bankrupts, to which Suit no Release of the Prisoner, his or her Executors or Administrators, or any Trustee for him or her, subsequent to such Assignment, And upon such Assignment to be discharged; shall be any Bar. And immediately upon such Assignment executed, the said Prisoner shall be discharged out of Custody by Order of Court, and such Order shall be a sufficient Warrant to the Sheriff, Goaler or Keeper of such [Page 167] Goal or Prison, to discharge the said Prisoner, if detained for the Causes mentioned in such Petition, and no other, and he is hereby required to discharge and set him or her at Liberty forthwith without Fee, nor shall such Sheriff or Goaler be liable to any Action of Escape or other Suit or Information upon that Account; and the Person or Persons to whom the said Effects shall be assigned, paying the Fees to the Goaler or Keeper of the Prison, in whose Custody the Party discharged was, shall and is, and are hereby required to procure the said Effects so assigned Effects to be appraised and divided, &c. to be appraised by Men lawfully qualified, and after such Appraisement to be divided among all the Creditors and other Persons for whom he or they shall be intrusted, in Proportion to their respective Debts: But in case any In what Cases the Prisoner may be remanded. of the Creditors of the Prisoner shall not be satisfied with the Truth of such Oath or Affirmation, but shall desire further Time to inform him or herself of the Matters contained therein, the said Court may and shall remand the said Prisoner, and direct the said Prisoner, and the Person or Persons dissatisfied with such Oath or Affirmation, to appear at another Day to be appointed by the said Court, some time within the Term next following the Time of such Examination; and if at such second Day so to be appointed, the Creditor or Creditors, dissatisfied with such Oath or Affirmation, shall make Default in appearing, or in case he or they shall appear, but shall not be able to discover any Estate or Effects of the Prisoner omitted in such his or her Petition, or to shew any Probability of his or her having been forsworn, or to have declared falsely in the said Oath or Affirmation, then the said Court shall immediately cause the said Prisoner to be discharged, upon such Assignment of his or her Effects in Manner aforesaid, unless such Creditor or Creditors do insist upon his or her being detained in Prison, and Creditors insisting on the Prisoner's being remanded, must maintain him, &c. do immediately give sufficient Security within this Government, to the Treasurer of the County wherein the Debtor is imprisoned for the Time being, that the said Prisoner, or any of his or her small Children, shall not by Sickness or otherwise become a Charge to the said County, or any of the Hundreds thereof, and to allow and pay unto such Person or Persons as the Court shall appoint, such Sum of Money as the said Court shall judge reasonable for the Maintenance of the said Prisoner and his or her small Children, to be paid on the second Day of every Week, so long as he or she shall continue in Prison, at his, her, or their Suits: But in [Page 168] case the said Prisoner shall refuse to take the said Oath or Affirmation, or, having taken the same, shall be detected of Falsity therein, he or the shall be presently remanded.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED No Person discharged by this Act, to be hereafter imprisoned, &c. by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person to be discharged by this Act, shall at any Time hereafter be imprisoned by Reason of any Judgment or Decree obtained for Payment of Money only, or for any Debt, Damages, Contempts, Costs, Sum or Sums of Money, contracted, occurred, occasioned, owing or growing due before the Time of his or her Discharge, but that upon every Arrest upon every such Judgment or Decree, or for such Debts, Damages or Contempts, Costs, Sum and Sums of Money, it shall and may be lawful for any Judge of the Court whence the Process issued, upon [...]hewing the Duplicate of such Prisoner's Discharge, to release and discharge out of Custody such Prisoner or Prisoners as aforesaid, and the Judge of the Court is hereby impowered so to do, so as every such Prisoner or Prisoners, arrested or detained as aforesaid, do give a Warrant of Attorney to appear to every such Action, and to plead thereunto.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Justices, Sheriffs, &c. may plead the General issue, &c. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Action of Escape, or any Suit or Action be brought against any Justice or Justices of the Peace, Sheriff, Goaler or Keeper of any Prison, for performing their Office in Pursuance of this Act, they may plead the General Issue, and give this Act in Evidence; and if the Plaintiff be nonsuited, or discontinue his Action, or Verdict pass against him, or Judgment upon Demurrer, the Defendant shall have treble Costs.
PROVIDED, That the Discharge of any Person by Virtue of this Act shall not acquit any other Person from such Debt, Sum or Sums of Money, for which such other Person became liable or answerable for the same, or any Part thereof, but that all others shall be answerable in such Manner as if no Suit had been brought against the said Person so discharged.
[Page 169]AND PROVIDED, That this Act shall not extend to discharge any Person out of Prison who shall stand chargeable at the Suit of the Crown only.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Judgment to stand good against w [...]t the Prisoner may hereafter possess, &c. That notwithstanding the Discharge of the Person of the Prisoner or Prisoners as aforesaid, all and every Debt and Debts, due or owing from the said Prisoner or Prisoners, and all and every Judgment or Judgments had and taken, and Decree obtained against him or her, shall stand and be good and effectual in Law to all Intents and Purposes, against the Lands, Tenements, Hereditaments, Goods and Chattels of the said Prisoner so discharged as aforesaid, which he or she, or any other Person or Persons in Trust for him or her at the Time of such Discharge, hath or have, or at any Time hereafter shall or may be any ways seized or possessed of, interested in, or [...] to, either in Law or Equity, except his or her Wearing Apparel, Bedding for his or her Family, and Working Tools and Implements necessary for his or her Occupation, not exceeding the Value of Five Pounds in the Whole, as aforesaid; and although such Prisoner were actually in Execution at the Time of his or her Discharge, And the Creditors may take out a new Execution, &c. as aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful for the Creditor or Creditors of such Prisoner so discharged as aforesaid, his, her, or their Executors, or Administrators, to take out a new Execution against the Lands, Tenements, Hereditaments, Goods and Chattels of such Prisoner (except as before excepted) for the Satisfaction of his, her, or their Debts, in such Manner and Form, as he, she, or they might have done, if the Person of the Prisoner so discharged as aforesaid, had not been taken in Execution; any Act, Statute, Law or Custom to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
PROVIDED ALSO, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, The Debtor's Effects not being sufficient, are to be divided in Proportion, &c. That if the Effects so assigned shall not extend to satisfy the whole Debts due to the Creditors of the Person so discharged, and Costs of Suit or Suits, then there shall be an Abatement in Proportion, and all the Officers concerned in the Prosecution of the Suit or Suits against such Prisoner, shall come in as Creditors for what shall be due to them for their Fees, in Proportion with the other Creditors.
[Page 170] Landlords may recover one Year's Rent as before this Act. PROVIDED, That where any Rent shall be due from any Prisoner at the Time of his or her Discharge, no Goods or Chattels then lying, or being in or upon the Tenement or Lands in Lease, or liable to be distrained, shall be removed or disposed of without the Consent of the Landlord or Person to whom the Rent is due, until the same, not exceeding one Year's Rent, be paid or satisfied; and that the Landlord may use all lawful Ways for the having and recovering his Rent, so as the same exceed not one Year's Rent, by Distress or otherwise, as he might have, had, or could have done before the making of this Act; any thing herein contained to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
No absent Creditor barred by this Act. AND PROVIDED ALSO, That this Act shall not bar any absent or distant Creditor, who had not Notice of the Prisoner's Application to the Court as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED How Prisoners for Debt under 40s. are to be relieved. by the Authority aforesaid, That where any Person whatsoever, shall be arrested or taken by Warrant from any Justice of the Peace for a Debt under Forty Shillings, if the Plaintiff cannot make appear that the Defendant hath Goods, Chattels, or other Effects wherewith to satisfy the said Debt and Costs, and the Defendant offering to make Oath or Affirmation, that he or she hath not any Goods, Chattels, or Effects, wherewith to make Satisfaction for the same (except his or her Wearing Apparel, Bedding for his or her Family, and the Working Tools or Instruments necessary for his or her Trade or Calling, not exceeding the Value of Five Pounds in the Whole, as aforesaid) and withal signifying his or her Willingness to satisfy the Plaintiff by Servitude, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Justice, and he is hereby required to administer to the Defendant such Oath or Affirmation, and thereupon to order Satisfaction to be made to the Plaintiff for his Debt and Costs, by adjudging the Defendant to serve the Plaintiff, or his or her Assigns, so long as the said Justice shall judge reasonable for the satisfying the said Debt and Costs, so as the Time of such Service do not exceed the Term of Six Months: And if the Plaintiff refuse to accept of such Service, it shall and may be lawful for such Justice before whom the Action is brought, and he is hereby required to discharge such Defendant, [Page 171] and to oblige the Plaintiff to pay all the Costs of the said Action.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person who shall take any Oath or Affirmation, Prisoner convicted of Perjury, shall suffer, &c. as by this Act before is directed, shall upon any Indictment for Perjury or false Affirming in any Matter or Particular contained in the said Oath or Affirmation, be convicted by his or her own Confession, or by Verdict of twelve Men; the Person so convicted shall suffer all the Pains and Forfeitures which may by Law be inflicted on any Person convicted of wilful Perjury, and shall likewise be liable to be taken on any Process denovo, and charged in Execution for Debt, in the same Manner as if he or she had never been taken in Execution before or discharged, and shall never after have the Benefit of this Act.
AND WHEREAS many Persons may suffer by the Oppression and Exaction of Goalers, and other inferior Officers, in the Execution of Process for Debt: For Prevention whereof, BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Sheriff, Under-Sheriff, Bailiff, or other Officer or Minister whatsoever, shall at any Time or Times hereafter convey or Prisoners not to be carried to Taverns, &c. without their Consent, &c. carry, or cause to be conveyed or carried, any Person or Persons by him or them arrested, or being in his or their Custody, by Virtue or Colour of any Writ, Process, or Warrant, to any Tavern, Ale-house, or other publick Victualling or Drinking-House, or to the private House of any such Officer, without the voluntary Consent of the Person so taken or arrested; or charge, demand, take or receive, or cause to be demanded, taken or received, directly or indirectly, any other or greater Sum or Sums of Money than is or shall by Law be allowed to be taken or demanded for such Arrest, Taking, Detaining or Waiting Extravagant Fees, &c. not to be demanded. till the Person or Persons so arrested or in custody shall have given in an Appearance or Bail, as the Case shall require, or agree with the Person or Persons at whose Suit or Prosecution he, she, or they shall be taken or arrested, or until he, she, or they shall be sent to the proper Goal belonging to the County, Town or Place where such Arrest or Taking shall be; nor shall keep the Person or Persons so taken or arrested, in any Tavern, Ale-house, or other publick Victualling-House, or private [Page 172] House of any Officer, with or without the Consent of the Person or Persons so arrested, above the Space of Twenty Days, nor shall exact or take any Reward, Gratuity or Money, for keeping the Person or Persons so arrested or in Custody out of Goal or Prison; nor shall take or receive any other or greater Sum or Sums of Money for one or more Night's Lodging, or for a Day's Diet, or other Expences, than what shall be allowed as reasonable in such Justices to make Orders for regulating Expences of Prisoners, &c. Cases, by some Order or Orders, to be made by the Justices of the respective Courts of Common-Pleas within this Government, at some Court to be held for such County, Town, or Place where such Arrest or Taking shall be, who are hereby authorized and required, with all convenient Expedition, to make some standing Order or Orders for ascertaining such Expences within their respective Counties.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Officers shall permit Prisoners to lend for Necessaries to where they please. by the Authority aforesaid, That every Sheriff, UnderSheriff, Goaler, Keeper of any Prison or Goal, or other Person or Persons whatsoever, to whose Custody or Keeping any one so arrested or taken shall be committed on any Pretence, shall permit or suffer him or her so arrested or taken, at his or her Will and Pleasure, to send for and have any Beer, Ale, Victuals, or other necessary Food from what Place he or she doth please; and also to have and use such Bedding, Linnen, and other Things, as he or she shall think fit, without purloining or detaining the same, or any Part thereof, or enforcing or requiring him or her to pay for the having or using thereof, or putting any Manner or Restraint or Difficulty upon him or her in the using thereof, or relating thereto.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Fees shall be taken by any Goaler, or Keeper of any Goal or Prison within this Government, for any Prisoner or Prisoners Commitment or coming into Goal, or Chamber-Rent there, or Discharge from thence, or other Expences, than what shall be allowed by Law, until such Fees shall be settled and established by the Justices or Judges of the respective County-Courts, and other Courts of Record within this Government, for and in respect of the Counties and Courts to which they belong, who are hereby directed, impowered and required to settle and establish the same as soon as conveniently may be; and Tables shall be made of the respective [Page 173] Orders, Rules and Fees so settled and established, Judges shall settle Lables of Fees, &c. and signed by the Justices or Judges of the respective County-Courts, Courts of General Quarter-Sessions of the Peace, and other Courts of Record, for their respective Goals within their respective Jurisdictions; which Rules, Orders and Fees, may from time to time be enlarged, reformed, altered and amended, as Occasion shall require, by the Judges of the Supreme Court, by Rules and Orders of the said Court, to be signed by the Judges of the same, and Duplicates shall be transmitted to the respective County Courts, and other Courts of Record, for which they are made, to be entered of Record, and inrolled, without any Fee to be taken for the Enrollment thereof.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the several Courts of Courts shall enquire concerning the Tables of Fees, &c. Common-Pleas, and other Courts of Record within the several Counties of this Government, shall at every time of the Sitting of such Court or Courts enquire whether such Tables of Fees, and such Rules as aforesaid, be hung up and remain publick, and easy to be resorted to in the several Prisons to the Courts respectively belonging, and whether the same be duly complied with and observed, and cause eight Days Notice to be given to the Prisoners in the said Prison of the Time appointed for such Enquiry, and shall inform themselves touching the same in the best Manner they can, and supply and redress whatever they find neglected or transgressed; And that the Judges of the Court of Oyer and Terminer, and General Goal-Delivery, shall likewise make Enquiry of the Matters aforesaid, at such Courts and Sessions of Goal-Delivery within this Government, for and in respect of the Goals and Prisons within their respective Jurisdictions, and shall expressly give it in Charge to the Grand-Jury to enquire concerning the same.
AND for the more speedy punishing Goalers, Bailiffs How Goalers, &c. guilty of Extortion, shall be punished. and others employed in the Execution of Process, for Extortions, or other Abuses in their respective Offices and Places; BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by by the Authority aforesaid, That upon Petition of any Prisoner or Person being or having been under Arrest or in Custody, complaining of any Exaction or Extortion by any Goaler, Bailiff, or other Officer or Person employed in the keeping or taking Care of any Goal or Prison, or the arresting or apprehending of any Person or Persons by Virtue of any Process or Warrant, or any other Abuse [Page 174] whatsoever, committed or done in their respective Offices or Places, unto any of his Majesty's Courts of Record within this Government, from whence such Process issued, or under whose Power such Goal or Prison is, or to any two Justices of such Court in the Time of the Vacation, or to the Judges of the Supreme Court, or any of them in their respective Sessions of Oyer and Terminer, or General Goal-Delivery, it shall and may be lawful for the same Court, Justices or Judges, to hear and determine the same in a summary Way, and to make such Order thereupon for redressing such Abuse, and punishing such Officer or Person complained of, and making Reparation to the Party or Parties injured as they shall think just, together with the full Costs of such Complaint: And all Orders and Determinations which shall be made by the said Courts, or of the said Justices or Judges respectively, in such summary Way as herein prescribed, shall have the same Effect, Force and Virtue, to all Intents and Purposes, as any other Orders of the said respective Courts, and Obedience thereto may be inforced either by Attachments ordered by the said respective Courts, or by Attachments to be issued under the Seal of the said Courts, by Direction of the Justices or Judges making such Order.
No Sheriff. &c. to keep any Tavern, &c. AND for the preventing Prisoners being imposed upon by being under a Necessity of spending their Money in Prisons where strong Liquors are sold, BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Go [...]ler or Keeper of any Goal, or any Sheriff, or Under-Sheriff, having the Care or keeping of any Goal or Prison within this Government, shall keep or suffer to be kept any Tavern, Publick House or Ale-house, or shall utter or sell to any Person or Persons under Arrest or in Prison any Wine, Rum, Beer, Ale, Cyder, Punch, or any other strong Liquors, other than what shall be allowed by the Justices as aforesaid for a Day's Diet or Expences by such Order to be made as aforesaid, on Pain of being removed from his or their Office or Offices of Sheriff, Under-Sheriff, or Goaler, upon Complaint made, to be heard and determined upon Petition in a summary Way as aforesaid, before the Justices in their respective Courts of CommonPleas for the County to which such Goaler, Sheriff or Under-Sheriff, having the keeping of any Goal, does belong.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority, aforesaid, That any Person or Persons [Page 175] being imprisoned within any of the Counties of this Government Persons under forty Years of Age, having no Charge of Children, and whose Debts exceed 40s. may be adjudged (if willing) to serve their Creditors. for any Debt, Sum or Sums of Money above Forty Shillings, and not being above the Age of Forty Years, or not having a Charge of such small Children as aforesaid, may at any succeeding Court, to be held for the County where he or she is imprisoned, next after his or her Imprisonment, exhibit to the Justices of the said Court, upon Oath or Affirmation, an Account of all their Effects (if any they have) and to which they have any Right in Law or Equity, and the Names of their Creditors, at whose Suit such Person or Persons are imprisoned, and the Sums of Money which they owe, and when the same became due, as far as their Knowledge does extend, and shall by Petition shew to the Court their Inability to pay the Debts for which such Person or Persons are imprisoned, and shall make an Assignment of their Effects (if any they have) to any Person or Persons that shall be appointed by the Court in Trust for all his or her Creditors, or for such of them as the said Court shall direct, and shall signify his or her Willingness to make Satisfaction by Servitude for the Debt or Residue of his or her Debts according to the Judgment of the Court where such Cause is depending, or Judgment given, in Order as the Judgments shall be entered against him or her, and Dignity of the Debts, if the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs will accept of the same; and the said Court may and is hereby impowered and required to adjudge the said Debtor to serve his or her Creditors, their Executors, Administrators and Assigns accordingly.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That the Time the The Time not to exceed seven Years. Defendant shall be adjudged to serve all his or her Creditors shall not exceed Seven Years in the Whole.
BUT if any of the Plaintiffs or Creditors will not accept Creditors not accepting such Satisfaction, his Debt is discharged. of such Manner of Satisfaction, as aforesaid, then and in such Case the Defendant shall be discharged from the Judgment, Suit, Debt, or Demand of every such Plaintiff or Creditor so refusing.
AND WHEREAS it often happens that many Those who take Writs, &c. against poor Persons, shall give Security that they do not become chargeable. poor Persons are arrested and imprisoned within the Counties of this Government, and are so poor that they immediately become a Charge to the County where they are imprisoned: For Remedy whereof, BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That every Person and Persons who shall make Application by him or themselves, or [Page 176] any other Person, for any Writ or Warrant for the taking or arresting any such poor Person within this Government, for any Debt or Demand whatsoever, shall before the granting of any such Writ or Warrant be required by the Officer or Justice who grants the same, to give sufficient Security within the same County, to be taken in the Name of the Treasurer of the said County, or of the Overseers of the Poor of the Town or Hundred where the Party shall be likely to be imprisoned for the Time being, and his and their Successors, to indemnify the said County, Town or Hundred from all Charges that may arise either by the Maintenance or Sickness of the Person so to be imprisoned; They who grant such Writs, &c. without taking such Security, shall be answerable themselves. and that until such Security be given as aforesaid, the Officer or Justice, to whom such Application shall be made, shall not grant any such Writ or Warrant, on Penalty of being answerable for all such Charges as may arise by Means of such imprisoning the Party by Virtue of such Writ or Warrant as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED No Person to have the Benefit of this Act, that has not resided one Year in the Government; except, &c. by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person or Persons who have not resided within this Government for the Space of one Year, next before his, her, or their Arrest or Imprisonment, shall have any Benefit of this Act, saving that Persons arrested for any Debt or Demand under Forty Shillings, and having no Effects wherewith to make Satisfaction for the Debt and Costs, shall be liable to make Satisfaction to the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs by Servitude as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Repeal of a former Act. by the Authority aforesaid, That one Act of General Assembly of this Government, made in the Seventh Year of his Majesty's Reign, entituled, An Act for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors, is hereby repealed and made void.
An ACT for the better Regulation of Servants and Slaves within this Government.
FOR the due Encouragement of Servants in the Discharge Preamble. of their Duty, and preventing of their Desertion from their Masters or Owners Service; and for the discouraging of such who corrupt, entertain, traffick or deal with any Servant or Slave: BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That no indentured Servant, or Person bound to serve his No Servant to be sold into another Government, without the Approbation of at least one Justice, &c. or her Time in this Government, shall have the Term of his or her Servitude, or any Part thereof, assigned, transferred or sold to any Person residing in any other Province or Government, without the Consent of such Servant, and the Approbation of at least one Justice of the Peace of the County, whereof the Master or Owner of such Servant is a Residenter, under Penalty of Ten Pounds, and the said Assignment and Sale shall be void.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no indentured Servant Nor assigned over, but in the Presence of one Justice. within this Government, shall have the Time of his or her Servitude, or any Part thereof, assigned, transferred, or sold to any other Person within this Government, but in the Presence and with the Approbation of one Justice of the Peace of the County whereof the Master or Owner of such Servant is a Residenter, under the Penalty of Five Pounds, and the Assignment and Sale shall be void.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person or Persons Nor Indentures taken, &c. whatsoever, shall, upon any Pretence or Consideration whatsoever, take or receive any Indenture of Servitude or Apprenticeship from any Person or Persons whatsoever within this Government, but in the Presence and with the Approbation of one Justice of the Peace of the County where the Party taking such Indenture dwells, under the Penalty of Five Pounds, together with Costs of Prosecution, [Page 178] to be paid by the said Party, and every such Indenture shall be void.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED The Allowance to Servants, at the Expiration of their Servitude. by the Authority aforesaid, That such Servants as shall be imported into this Government, and truly serve his or her Time mentioned in his or her Indenture, shall, at the Expiration of the Term of his or her Servitude, have a Discharge from his or her Master or Mistress, and by them be cloathed with two Suits of Apparel, whereof one shall be new, to be approved by at least one Justice of the Peace upon Complaint to him by such Servant becoming free.
AND for the Prevention of Servants absenting themselves from their Master's or Mistress's Service, BE IT Servants absenting themselves, shall make Satisfaction, &c. ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That from such Time as any Servant shall absent him or herself from his or her Master or Mistress's Service, without Leave first obtained for the same, every such Servant, for such Absence, and Expences of taking up, securing, and other necessary Charges, shall, at the Expiration of the Time of his or her Servitude, make Satisfaction by Servitude, according to the Judgment of any Court of Quarter-Sessions within this Government, before which the said Servant shall be brought for that Purpose.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Notice to be given of the taking up of Run-away Servants, &c. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person shall apprehend or take up any Run-away Servant, and carry him or her before the next Justice of the Peace of the County where such Servant shall be so taken up, in order to be sent to and secured in the Goal of the said County, for his or her Master or Mistress's Service (whom the Sheriff of the said County, or the Goaler, is hereby commanded to receive, and immediately to send Notice thereof to the said Servant's Master or Mistress, if the same can be known, and if not known, the said Servant to be advertised in some publick News-paper of the City of Philadelphia, for the Space of one Month next after such Servant's Commitment) At the Discharge of such Servant, the said Sheriff or Goaler shall pay to the Taker-up of such Servant, or his Order, as follows, That is to say, If the Place of the Taking-up the said Servant be Ten Miles distant from the Place of the [Page 179] said Servant's last Abode, or under, the Sum of Ten Shillings, Reward for taking-up Run-away Servants, &c. and if upwards of Ten Miles, the Sum of Twenty Shillings, and to all others concerned in the carrying to Prison or securing the said Servant, such Sum or Sums of Money as by the said Justice, or any other Justice, shall be allowed reasonable. AND the said Sheriff or Goaler shall detain the said Servant in Prison until the Master or Mistress of such Servant shall pay unto him for the Taking-up, together with the Charges of Committing, Securing, Maintaining, and all other necessary Expences arising upon such Servant. AND if the Master or Owner of such Servant so imprisoned as aforesaid, shall, for the Space of Six Weeks next after Notice had of his or her Servant's Imprisonment, neglect or refuse to release such Servant, it shall and may be lawful for the said Sheriff, and he is hereby required and commanded, upon Affidavit made of the due Service of such Notice, to expose every such Servant to Sale at publick Vendue, and him or her to sell to the highest Bidder, for such Term and Sum as shall be sufficient for the defraying the Costs and Charges arising upon the apprehending and imprisoning the said Servant.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any suspicious Person Suspicious Persons travelling without a Pass shall be deemed Run-away Servants. shall be taken up, travelling in or through this Government, without having a sufficient Pass, signed by some Justice or proper Officer of the Place from whence he or she came, approved and renewed by some Justices of the Peace in the Parts through which such Person hath travelled, or shall not otherwise be able to give a good and satisfactory Account of him or herself to the Justice before whom he or she shall be brought, such Person shall, by the said Justice, be committed to the Goal of the County where he or she shall be taken up, and be deemed to be, and dealt withal, as a Runaway Servant.
AND that no Sheriff or Goaler within this Government, Allowance to the Goaler for the Maintenance of Servants, &c. shall allow or receive, for the Maintenance or Victualling of any Servant, Slave, or other Person Committed to Goal as a Servant, any more than at the Rate of Two-pence per Day for such Maintenance.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons, [Page 180] Penalty on Persons dealing with Servants or Slaves. from and after the Publication of this Act, shall presume to deal, trade or barter with any indentured Servant, or Negro or Mulatto Slave, belonging to any Person within this Government, without the Consent, Approbation, or Allowance of the Master or Owner of such Servant or Slave, from time to time, first had and obtained, specifying and limiting the particular Sum for which such Servant or Slave, at every such time, are permitted or allowed to deal, trade or barter for, as aforesaid, and be thereof duly convicted, by the Testimony of one or more credible Witnesses, or otherwise, before any three Justices of the County where any such Offence shall be committed, to be heard in any Time of the Vacation, the Offender, for such his or her first Offence, shall be fined, in any Sum not exceeding Five Pounds, and for the second, in any Sum not exceeding the Sum of Ten Pounds, together with Costs, and be [...] to enter into a Recognizance with sufficient Sureties [...] his or her good Behaviour. AND in case any Master or Mistress shall complain to any two Justices of the Peace of any County within this Government, against any Person inhabiting the same, that he or she hath just Reason to suspect and believe, that the said Person doth deal, trade or barter with his or her Servant or Slave, contrary to the Intent and Meaning of this Act, and the said Justices shall judge such Suspicion just and reasonable; then the said Justices are hereby impowered and required, to oblige every such Person so complained of as aforesaid, to enter into such Recognizance as aforesaid.
AND WHEREAS it is found by Experience, that free Negroes and Mulattoes are idle and slothful, and often prove burthensome to the Neighbourhood wherein they live, and are of evil Example to Slaves; Therefore Whoever manumits a Slave, &c. shall give Security to indemnity the County. BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Master or Mistress, shall, by Will or otherwise, discharge or set free any Mulatto or Negro Slave or Slaves, above the Age of Thirty-five Years, or decrepid or infirm, he or she, or his or her Executors or Administrators, at the next respective County-Court of Quarter-Sessions, shall enter into a Recognizance with sufficient Sureties, to be taken in the Name of the Treasurer of the said County for the Time being, in the Sum of Thirty Pounds, for each Slave so set free, to indemnify the County from any Charge they or any of them may be unto the same, [Page 181] in case of such Negro or Mulatto's being sick, or otherwise being rendered uncapable to support him or herself; and that until such Recognizance be given, no such Mulatto or Negro shall be deemed free.
AND if any free Negro or Negroes having Children, are not able to maintain or support them, it shall and may The Children of free Negroes to be bound out to Service. be lawful to and for the two next Justices of the Peace, and they are hereby required, together with the Overseers of the Poor of the Hundred where the said Negro or Negroes shall dwell, to bind out to Service such Negro Children, the Males until they shall come to the Age of Twenty-one Years, the Females until they shall come to the Age of Eighteen Years.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any free Negro or Penalty on free Negroes entertaining Servants or Slaves. Mulatto shall harbour or entertain any Servant or Slave in his or her House or Habitation, without the Leave and Consent of such Servant or Slave's Master or Mistress, such free Negro or Mulatto shall forfeit and pay the Sum of Five Shillings for the first Hour, and Two Shillings for every Hour afterwards, during the whole Time that such Servant or Slave shall be so harboured or entertained; and if any free Negro or Mulatto shall barter, trade or deal with Free Negroes, &c. dealing with Slaves, shall make Restitution, and be whipt. any Servant, or Negro, or Mulatto Slave, without Licence had as aforesaid, he or she shall make Restitution to the Master or Owner of such Servant or Slave, and also be publickly whipt with any Number of Lashes not exceeding Twenty-one.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any free Negro or Mulatto Or being unable to pay, &c. shall make Satisfaction by Servitude. shall refuse, or be unable to pay his or her Fine or Forfeiture, or to make Restitution as aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful to and for the Justice before whom such Matter shall be tried, to order the said free Negro or Mulatto offending, to make Satisfaction to the Party injured, by Servitude.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That whosoever shall take up Reward for taking up Slaves, above ten Miles from home. any Negro or Mulatto Slave, at above ten Miles Distance from his or her Master or Mistress's Habitation, and not having Leave, in Writing, from his or her Master or Mistress, or not being known by the Taker-up to be [Page 182] about his or her Master or Mistress's Business or Service, and shall convey him or her to the Habitation of his or her said Master or Mistress, if known, such Taker-up shall receive, of the said Master or Mistress, for his Reward, the Sum of Five Shillings, with reasonable Charges.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Penalty on harbouring or concealing Servants or Slaves. by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person shall employ or knowingly harbour, conceal or entertain another's Servant or Slave at his or her House or Plantation without the Master or Owner's Leave and Consent, except in Distress of Weather, or other extraordinary Occasion or Accident, under the Penalty of Forty Shillings for every Twenty-four Hours he or she shall entertain any such Servant or Slave, as aforesaid, and so in Proportion for any lesser Time.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED How the Fines, &c. are to be recovered and disposed of. by the Authority aforesaid, That all the Fines and Forfeitures arising by this Act, together with the respective Costs, shall be recovered by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods respectively, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of the Justice or Justices before whom the Offender or Offenders shall be convicted, and shall be paid, the one Moiety to the Overseers of the Poor, for the Use of the Poor of the Town or Hundred where the Offence or Offences shall be committed, the other Moiety thereof to the Party or Parties aggrieved.
An ACT for the Striking and making current Six Thousand Pounds in new Bills of Credit, to exchange such of the Bills of Credit of this Government, emitted Anno Domini One Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirty-four, as are worn and defaced.
An ACT to prevent the Breach of the Lord's Day, commonly called Sunday.
WHEREAS many loose and disorderly Persons Preamble. do make a frequent Practice of prophaning the Lord's Day, commonly called Sunday, to the great Reproach of the Christian Religion. For Prevention whereof, BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That if any Person or Penalty on working on Sundays. Persons within this Government, shall, after the Publication of this Act, do any servile Work, Labour or Business, upon the Lord's [...] commonly called Sunday (excepting Works of Necessity, Charity and Mercy) and be duly convicted thereof, by his or her own Confession, the Testimony of one or more credible Witnesses, before any one Justice of the Peace, or by the View of such Justice, such Person or Persons so offending shall, for every such Offence, forfeit the Sum of Ten Shillings; or, upon [...] to pay the said Fine, be set in the Stocks, for any Space of Time not exceeding Four Hours.
AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Carrier, Pedlar, Waggoner, Carter, Penalty on Carriers, Pedlars, &c. travelling on Sundays; and on Persons selling Goods, &c. on that Day Butcher or Drover, with Horse, Pack, or Drove, shall travel upon the Lord's Day, or if any Person or Persons within this Government shall expose any Goods, Wares, or Merchandizes to Sale on the said Day, and shall thereof be duly convicted, the Person or Persons so offending, shall, for every such Offence, forfeit the Sum of Twenty Day Shillings.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person shall be Penalty on Fishing, Fowling, &c. on Sundays. duty convicted of Fishing, Fowling, Oystering, Horsehunting or Horse-racing on the Lord's Day, the Person so offending, shall, for every such Offence, forfeit the Sum of Ten Shillings, or, upon Refusal to pay the said Fine, be set in the Stocks, there to remain the Space of four Hours.
[Page 184]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Penalty on Coming, Dancing, &c. on Sundays. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Number of Persons shall meet to game, play or dance on the Lord's Day, every Person so offending shall forfeit the Sum of Five Shillings, or, upon Refusal to pay the said Fine, be set in the Stocks, there to remain for the Space of four Hours.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Penalty on Innholders, &c. suffering Persons to sit tippling during divine Service. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Innholder, Ordinary or Tavern-keeper, shall suffer any Person or Persons to sit tippling or drinking in his or her House on the said Day during the Time of divine Service, and be thereof duly convicted before any two Justices of the Peace of the County where such Offence is committed, the Person or Persons so offending, shall, for every such Offence, forfeit the Sum of Forty Shillings.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED How the Forfeitures on this Act shall be recovered and disposed of. by the Authority aforesaid, That all the Fines and Forfeitures mentioned in this Act, shall be levied by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods and Chattels respectively, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of such Justice or Justices before whom such Conviction shall be made, returning the Overplus, if any be, to the Owner or Owners thereof, and shall be applied to the Use of the Poor of the Town or Hundred where such Offence is committed, any Law, Usage or Custom to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
An ACT against unseasonable Firing the Woodlands and Marshes within this Government.
FOR Prevention of Damages and Dangers that may ensue upon Firing the Woodlands or Marshes within this Government, at unseasonable Times of the Year, [Page 185] BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That whosoever shall presume to set or cause to be set on Fire any Woodlands Woodlands or Marshes to be [...]red only between the tenth of March and first of May, on Penalty of 5 Pounds. or Marshes, within this Government, before the Tenth Day of March, or after the First Day of May yearly, and be duly convicted thereof, by the Testimony of one or more credible Witnesses, before any two Justices of the Peace of the County where such Offence is committed, shall, for every such Offence, forfeit any Sum not exceeding Five Pounds, to be levied, together with Costs, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of the Justices before whom the Conviction is had, on the Offender's Goods and Chattels; and paid, the one Moiety thereof to the Overseers of the Poor of the Hundred for the Use of the Poor where the Offence is committed, the other Moiety to the Use of the Informer; and for Want of Goods and Chattels, the Offender shall be adjudged, by the said Justices, to make Satisfaction by Servitude; and shall also make Offender to make good all Damages. good all Damages that shall thereby happen to any of the Inhabitants of this Government, to be recovered by Bill, Plaint or Information, in any of his Majesty's Courts of Record within this Government. And if any Negro or Slaves so offending to be whipt. Mulatto Slave or Slaves shall be duly convicted of such Offence as aforesaid, the said Justices shall order him, her, or them, to be publickly whipt with any Number of Lashes not exceeding Thirty-one.
A Supplementary ACT
to the Act, entituled, An Act for the Striking and making current
Six Thousand Pounds in new Bills of Credit, to exchange such of the Bills of Credit of this Government, emitted
Anno Domini One Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirty-four as are worn and defaced.
An ACT to prevent Frauds by clandestine Bills of Sale.
WHEREAS many Frauds have been and daily are committed, by making clandestine Bills of Sale for Goods and Chattels within this Government, to the Prejudice of Creditors, who by that Means are defrauded of their just Debts; For Prevention whereof,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly Bills of Sale not good without valuable Consideration, &c. met, and by the Authority of the same, That no Sale, or Bill or Bills of Sale, which shall hereafter be made of any Goods or Chattels within any of the Counties of this Government, shall be good or available in Law, or shall change or alter the Property of such Goods or Chattels, unless a valuable Consideration shall be paid, or really and bona fide secured to be paid for such Sale or Bill or Bills of Sale, and unless the Goods and Chattels sold or contained in such Bill or Bills of Sale, shall be actually delivered into the Possession of the Vendee or Vendees, as soon as conveniently may be, after the making of such Sale or Bill or Bills of Sale.
AND if such Goods and Chattels sold, or contained, or mentioned in such Bill or Bills of Sale, shall afterwards return or come into, and continue in the Possession of such Vendor or Vendors, the same shall be chargeable and liable [Page 187] to the Demands of all Creditors of such Vendor or Vendors as aforesaid.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Bills of Sale made of Goods or Chattels within any of the Counties of this Government, by any Person or Persons within the same to any other Person or Persons, shall be good and effectual against the Vendor or Vendors of such Goods and Chattels, anything herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
An ACT for acknowledging and recording Deeds.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor at Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That there shall be an An Office of Record to be kept in each County. Office of Record in each County of this Government, which shall be called and stiled, The Office for recording of Deeds; and shall be kept in some convenient Place in the said respective Counties; and the Recorder shall duly attend the Service of the same, and at his own proper Costs and Charges shall provide good large Books of Royal or other large Paper, well bound and covered, wherein he shall record, in a fair and legible Hand, all Deeds and Conveyances which shall be brought to him for that Purpose, according to the true Intent and Meaning of this Act.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Bargains and Sales, All Deeds, &c. shall be recorded. Deeds and Conveyances of Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments within this Government, shall be recorded in [Page 188] the said Office within One Year after the Execution thereof: But first to be acknowledged, &c. But before the same shall be so recorded, the Grantee or Grantees, or some other proper Person for such Grantee or Grantees, shall procure the Grantor or Bargainer named in every such Deed, or his, her or their Attorney or Attornies for that Purpose appointed, to acknowledge that such Deed or Deeds, Conveyance or Conveyances, is or are the Act or Acts, Deed or Deeds, of such Grantor or Grantors, to appear before the Court of Common Pleas of the proper County where the Lands lie; which said Court is hereby impowered to take an Acknowledgment of the Grantor, if one, or one of the Grantors, if more, or his, her or their Attorney or Attornies, that the same is his, her, or their Act and Deed. But in case the Grantor be dead, or cannot appear, and no Attorney be appointed as aforesaid, the Grantee or Grantees, or some proper Person for such Grantee or Grantees, shall and may procure one or more of the Witnesses that were present at the Execution thereof, to be brought before such Court, who shall Or proved. be examined upon Oath or Affirmation to prove the Execution of the Deed or Conveyance then produced; whereupon the Clerk of the said Court, under his Hand, and Seal of the County, shall certify such Acknowledgment or Proof upon the Back, or at the Foot of the Deed or Conveyance as aforesaid, with the Day and Year when the same was made, and by whom: And after the same Recording to be certified. shall be recorded, the Recorder shall certify on the Back, or at the Foot thereof, under his Hand and Seal of his Office, the Day he recorded the same, and the Name or Number of the Book and Page wherein it is recorded.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Deeds, &c. made out of the Government, shall be proved, &c. by the Authority aforesaid, That where any Deed or Deeds, Conveyance or Conveyances, or Power of Attorney, for granting or conveying of any Lands or Tenements within this Government, or Power of Attorney to acknowledge such Deed or Deeds, Conveyance or Conveyances, shall hereafter be made or executed by any Person or Persons out of this Government, such Deed or Deeds, Conveyance or Conveyances, or Power of Attorney, shall be proved by one or more of the Witnesses to such Deed or Deeds, Conveyance or Conveyances, or Power of Attorney, in open Court, in the County where the Lands or Tenements lie; and such Witness or Witnesses shall upon [Page 189] a legal Qualification declare, that he, she, or they, was or were present, and saw such Deed or Deeds, Conveyance or Conveyances, or Power of Attorney, duly signed, sealed and delivered by the Party or Parties making such Deed or Conveyance, or Power of Attorney.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Deeds and Conveyances Deeds, &c. to proved, acknowledged and recorded, shall be good, &c. made and to be made, and proved or acknowledged and recorded as aforesaid, which shall appear so to be by Certificate made thereon, according to the true Intent and Meaning of this Act, shall be of the same Force and Effect here for the giving Possession and Seizin, and make good the Title and Assurance of the Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments, as Deeds of Feoffment with Livery and Seizin, or Deeds enrolled in any of the King's Courts of Record at Westminster, are or shall be in that Part of Great Britain called England; and the Copies or Exemplifications of all Deeds so enrolled, being examined by the Recorder, and certified under his Hand and Seal (which the Recorder or Keeper of the Records is hereby required to affix thereto) shall be allowed in all Courts of Law where produced, and are hereby declared and enacted to be as good Evidence, and as valid and effectual in Law as the Original Deeds or Conveyances, or as Bargains and Sales enrolled at the said Courts at Westminster and Copies thereof can or may be, and the same may be sued, pleaded, and made Use of accordingly.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That in all Deeds to be recorded Force of the Words, Grant, Bargain and Sell, &c. in Pursuance of this Act, whereby any Estate of Inheritance in Fee-simple shall hereafter be conveyed to the Grantee and his Heirs or Assigns, the Words [ Grant, Bargain, and Sell] shall be judged an express Covenant to the Grantee, his Heirs and Assigns, To wit, That the Grantor was seized of an indefeazable Estate in Fee-simple, freed from all Incumbrances done or suffered by the Grantor (excepting the Rents and Services due to the Lord of the Fee) as also for quiet Enjoyment against the Grantor, his Heirs and Assigns, unless limited by express Words contained in such Deeds; and that the Grantee, his Heirs, Executors, Administrators and Assigns, may in any Action [Page 190] assign Breaches, as if such Covenants were expresly inserted.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That this Act shall not extend to Leases on Rent, or to Leases not exceeding Twenty-one Years, where the actual Possession goes with the Lease.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, No Mortgage shall be good, unless recorded. That no Mortgage-Deed, or defeazable Deed in the Nature of Mortgages, hereafter to be made, shall be good or sufficient to pass any Freehold or Inheritauce, or to grant any Estate therein for Life or Years, unless such Deed be acknowledged, or proved and recorded in the County where the Lands or Tenements lie, within Twelve Months after the Date thereof, as herein is before directed for other Deeds.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, Mortgagee having received Payment, shall enter Satisfaction on the Margin of the Record. That every Mortgagee within this Government, his or her Heirs, Executors, Administrators or Assigns, having received full Satisfaction and Payment of all such Sum and Sums of Money as are really due to him or them by such Mortgage, shall, at the Request of the Mortgager, his Heirs or Assigns, enter Satisfaction upon the Margin of the Record of such Mortgage recorded in the said Office which shall for ever thereafter discharge and release the same, and shall likewise bar all Actions brought or to be brought thereon. And if any such Mortgagee, his Heirs, Executors, Administrators or Assigns, by him or themselves, or his or their Attorney, shall not within Three Months next after Request and Tender made for his or their reasonable Charges, repair to the said Office, and there cause such Satisfaction to be entered as Forfeit on Neglect or Refusal. aforesaid; he or they neglecting or refusing so to do, shall for such Neglect or Refusal forfeit and pay unto the Party or Parties aggrieved, any Sum or Sums of Money not exceeding the Consideration mentioned in the Mortgage-Deed, to be recovered, together with Costs, in any Court of Record within this Government, by Bill, Plaint or Information.
AND WHEREAS it hath been customary for some Persons to lett out Money at Interest upon Mortgage of Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments within [Page 191] this Government, and to take of the Mortgagers absolute Deeds of Bargain and Sale, or Deeds of Lease and Release which have been acknowledged and recorded, and to give them separate Defeazances, which have not been recorded, and upon Discharge or Payment of the Mortgage-Money and Interest, to return to the Mortgager, his Heirs or Assigns, the said Deeds, with short Releases thereon indorsed, which have not been acknowledged or recorded; whereby great Difficulties will hereafter arise to the true and rightful Owners of the said Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments, and Suits for the same may be brought against them by the Heirs of such Mortgagees;
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That where any Person shall, Mortgages to be acknowledged, &c. within 12 Months. after the Publication of this Act, take or receive any absolute Deed of Conveyance, or Deed of Lease and Release from the Mortgager of any real or personal Estate, as aforesaid, and shall give or make any Defeazance or other Contract in Writing in the Nature of a Defeazance, for Redemption and Discharge of such Estate mortgaged; every such Mortgager shall, and is hereby required to cause such Defeazance, or other Contract in Writing, as aforesaid, to be acknowledged, or proved and recorded, within the Space of Twelve Months next after the Execution thereof: And if such Mortgager shall neglect so to do, he or she shall lose all Benefit whatsoever of the said Defeazance, and the same shall be utterly null and void.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That whenever any Deed or Mortgages being paid off, Reconveyances to be made. Conveyance, which shall be defeazanced as aforesaid in the Nature of a Mortgage or Mortgages, shall be paid off, and satisfied in the Mortgagee or Mortgagees, his or their Heirs, Executors, Administrators or Assigns, they and every of them shall, at the reasonable Request, and at the proper Cost and Charges of the Mortgager, his Heirs, Executors, Administrators or Assigns, by good and sufficient Deeds and Conveyances in the Law, reconvey unto such Mortgager or Mortgagers, his or their Heirs, Executors, Administrators or Assigns, for the Use of the said Mortgager or Mortgagers, his or their Heirs and Assigns, all and every the Lands, Tenements and [Page 192] Hereditaments so conveyed as aforesaid, with the Appurtenances, under the Penalty of the Value of the Lands and Tenements so mortgaged, to be recovered in Manner aforesaid, for the Use of the Mortgager, his Heirs or Assigns.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Recorders to and Sureties, &c. by the Authority aforesaid, That before any of the said Recorders shall enter upon their respective Offices, they shall find Sureties as follows, viz. The said Recorder of Deeds shall give Bond to the County-Court, or to the County-Treasurer within the County where such Recorder shall be appointed for the Time being, with one or more sufficient Sureties in a Bond of [...] Hundred Pounds, conditioned for the true and faithful Execution of his Office, and for delivering up the Records and other Writings belonging to the said Office, whole, safe, and undefaced to his Successor in the said Office; and shall take a Receipt for the same, which shall contain a List thereof; which said Bond and Receipt shall be preserved and kept safely by the Justices of the said Court, or County-Treasurer, in order to be sued and prosecuted, for making Satisfaction to the Parties that shall be damnified or aggrieved, or for not delivering the same in Manner aforesaid, as is or shall be in such Cases directed by the Laws of Penalty on officiating before Security given. this Government. And that no Recorder of Deeds whatsoever, hereafter appointed as aforesaid, shall enter upon, or officiate in the said Office, before he hath given such Surety as aforesaid, upon Pain of forfeiting the Sum of One Hundred Pounds, the one Half to the Governor, for Support of Government, and the other Half to him or them that will sue for the same, to be recovered as aforesaid.
AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority Former Acts repealed. aforesaid, That all Acts of Assembly, and Laws of this Government, heretofore made or enacted, any Way relating to, or concerning the Recording of any Deeds or Conveyances, or Mortgages, or the proving or acknowledging them, or any of them, or of any Letters or Powers of Attorney for the conveying of Lands or Tenements, or acknowledging of any such Deeds or Conveyances, as aforesaid, contrary to this Act; be, and the same are hereby repealed, and declared to [Page 193] be null and void to all Intents and Purposes whatsoever.
A Supplementary Act to an Act of General Assembly of this Government, entituled, An ACT for the Advancement of Justice, and more certain Administration thereof.
WHEREAS the Act of General Assembly of this Vid [...] supra, pag. 30. Government, made in the Sixth Year of the Reign of his late Majesty King GEORGE the First, entituled, An Act for the Advancement of Justice, and more certain Administration thereof; doth not clearly appear to have sufficiently provided for the Manner of Trial and Punishment of Petty Treason, Misprision of Treason, Murder, Manslaughter, Homicide, Bestiality, Incest and Bigamy;
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That every Person or Persons, who shall be guilty of any PettyTreason, Misprision of Treason, Murder, Manslaughter, Homicide, Bestiality, Incest or Bigamy, shall be tried in like Manner as other Felons by the said Act are directed to be tried, and punished in the like Manner as Persons guilty of the like Crimes and Offences are punishable by the Laws and Statutes of that Part of Great Britain called England.
An ACT to prevent Abuses committed by destroying Timber and other Trees within this Government.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and Penalty on falling Timber on the Land of others. by the Authority of the same, That if any Person or Persons shall fall or cut down any Timber, Tree or Trees upon the Land of any other Person or Persons within this Government, without Leave first had of the Owner or Owners thereof, every such Person so offending shall for every such Tree so fallen or cut down, forfeit the Sum of Fifty Shillings, to be recovered, with Costs of Suit, by Action of Trespass to be brought upon this Act by the Party injured; and in case such Trespasser or Trespassers shall not be able to pay such Damages and Costs as aforesaid, he or they shall be adjudged by the Justices of the Court wherein a Verdict shall be obtained against such Offender or Offenders, to make Satisfaction for the said Damages and Costs, by Servitude, for any Term of Time not exceeding Four Years.
What shall be deemed a Timber-tree. AND that every Tree which at the Distance of Two Feet from the Ground shall be found or deemed to measure One Foot over, or more, shall be adjudged a Timber-Tree.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons shall fall or cut down any Fire-or Under-Wood on the Land of another Person or Persons within this Government, without Leave first had as aforesaid, every such Person so offending shall forfeit treble the Value of all such Fire-or Under-Wood so fallen or cut down, with Costs of Suit, to be recovered in Manner abovementioned; and for Want of Goods and Chattels to satisfy such Damages and Costs, the Offender shall be adjudged by the Justices of the Court wherein a Verdict shall [Page 195] be given against such Offender or Offenders, to make Satisfaction for the said Damages and Costs by Servitude, as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That an Act of Assembly of A former Act repealed. this Government, entituled, An Act about cutting Timber-Trees, shall be and is hereby repealed.
An ACT for Limitation of Actions, and proving Accounts against the Estates of Persons dying within this Government.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That no Person Persons having Right of Entry into Lands, &c. shall not enter after twenty Years, &c. or Persons that now hath or have any Right or Title of Entry into any Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments, now held from him or them, shall thereinto enter, but within Twenty Years next after the End of this Present Session of General Assembly, or within Twenty Years next after any other Title of Entry accrued; and that no Person or Persons shall at any Time hereafter, make any Entry into any Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments, but within Twenty Years next after his or their Right or Title, which shall hereafter first descend or accrue to the same: And in Default thereof, such Person or Persons so not entering and bringing his or their Action or Actions, and their Heirs, shall be utterly excluded and disabled from such Entry or Action to be made or brought, any former Law, Statute or Act of Assembly to the contrary notwithstanding.
[Page 196]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Actions of Trespass, &c. within what Time to be commenced. by the Authority aforesaid, That all Actions of Trespass, Trespass Vi & armis, Quare clausum fregit, all Actions of Detinue, Trover and Replevin for taking away Goods or Cattle, all Actions upon Account, and upon the Case, (other than such Accounts as concern the Trade of Merchandize between Merchant and Merchant, their Factors and Servants) all Actions of Debt grounded upon any Lending or Contract without Specialty, all Actions of Debt for Arrearages of Rent (the Proprietary's Quit-rent excepted) all Actions of Trespass, Assault, Menace, Battery, Wounding and Imprisonment, or any of them, which shall be sued or brought at any Time after the Publication of this Act, shall be commenced and sued within the Time and Limit hereafter expressed, and not after, That is to say, The said Actions upon the Case (other than for Slander) and the said Actions of Account, and said Actions of Debt, Detinue and Replevin for Goods or Cattle, within Three Years after the Cause of such Actions or Suits, and not after. And the said Actions of Trespass, other than for Assault, Battery, Menace, Wounding or Imprisonment, and the said Actions of Trespass Quare clausum fregit, within Three Years after the Cause of such Actions or Suits, and not after. And the said Actions of Trespass for Assault, Menace, Battery, Wounding, Imprisonment, or any of them, within One Year next after the Cause of such Actions or Suits, and not after. And the said Actions upon the Case for Words, within One Year next after the Words spoken, and not after.
AND NEVERTHELESS BE IT ENACTED, In what Cases a new Action may be commenced. That if in any of the said Actions or Suits, Judgment be given for the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs, and the same be reversed by Error, or a Verdict pass for the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs, and the same be reversed by Error, or a Verdict pass for the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs, and upon Matter alledged in Arrest of Judgment, the Judgment be arrested and stayed, and Judgment therefore be given that the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs take nothing by his or their Plaint, Writ or Bill, That in all such Cases the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs, and his or their Heirs, Executors or Administrators, as the Case may require, where the Action shall not by Law die with the Person, may commence a new Action or Suit from time to time within a Year after such Judgment reversed, stayed or given against the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs, as aforesaid, and not after.
[Page 197]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That in all Actions of Trespass Quare clausum fregit, Defendant in Actions of Trespass, &c. may plead a Disclaimer &c. hereafter to be brought, wherein the Defendant or Defendents shall in his or their Plea disclaim any Title or Claim to the Lands in which the Trespass shall be in the Declaration supposed to be done, and the Trespass be by Negligence, or involuntary, the Defendant or Defendants shall be admitted to plead a Disclaimer, and that the Trespass was by Negligence, or involuntary, and a Tender or Offer of sufficient Amends for such Trespass before the Action brought; whereupon, or upon some of them, the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs shall be enforced to join Issue; and if the said Issue be found for the Defendant or Defendants, or the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs shall be non-suited the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs shall be clearly barred from the said Action or Actions, and all other Suit concerning the same.
PROVIDED ALWAYS NEVERTHELESS, That if any Person or Persons, who is or shall Persons within Age, [...] &c. being entitled to Actions, may afterwards bring the same, so as, &c, be entitled to any such Action of Trespass, Detinue, Trover, Replevin, Actions of Account or Debt, Actions Trespass for Assault, Menace, Battery, Wounding or Imprisonment, Actions upon the Case for Words, are or at the Time of any Cause of such Action given, or accrued, fallen or come, shall be within the Age of Twenty-one Years, Feme Covert, non compos Mentis, imprisoned, or beyond Sea, or out of this Government; That then, and in such Case, such Person or Persons shall be at Liberty to bring the same Actions, so as the same be brought within such Times as are hereby before limited, after their coming to or being of full Age, Discovertu [...]e, of sound Memory, at large, or returning into this Government.
AND if any Person or Persons, against whom any of the Causes of Action before-mentioned do arise, shall at the Time of the Cause of Suit or Action arising, or afterwards before the Time of bringing such Action be expired, be beyond Seas, or go out of this Government, then the Person entitled to such Suit, may bring an Action after the Return of such Person, so as he bring the same within such Time after the Return, as is before limited by this Act.
[Page 198]AND forasmuch as many Evils may arise, and great Frauds be committed, by suffering Persons to prove Accounts of long Standing against the Estates of Persons dying within this Government; for Prevention whereof, BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Accounts agiainst the Estates of Persons deceased, may not be proved, unless, &c. That no Person or Persons whatsoever, from and after the Publication of this Act, who doth not, or shall not keep a Day-Book or other regular Book of Account, shall be admitted to prove or require Payment of any Account or Demand against the Estate of any Person or Persons dying within this Government, if such Account or Demand shall appear to be older, or of any longer Standing than One Year next before the Death of the deceased Person, unless such Person or Persons so pretending to be a Creditor or Creditors of the Deceased, shall be able clearly to make appear, by one good and sufficient Evidence at least, that his Debt or Demand is just and true: And that no Person or Persons whatsoever, who do or shall keep regular Books of Account, shall be admitted to prove or require Payment of any Account or Demand against the Estates of Persons so dying as aforesaid, if such Account or Demand shall appear to be older, or of any longer Standing than Three Years next before the Death of such Person or Persons so dying or deceased as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Repeal of a former Act. by the Authority aforesaid, That the Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for the Limitation of Actions, be and is hereby repealed.
An ACT to prevent the Damages which may arise by firing the Woodlands in the Parts of this Government in this Act mentioned.
Preamble. WHEREAS it is found by Experience, that the annual firing the Woods, as has been customary within this Government, is very prejudicial to Lands, and doth much impoverish the same, as well as destroy many Timber-Trees, and prevent the Growth of young Trees [Page 199] and Woods; and also many Fences and Buildings have often been burnt by such Fires: For Prevention whereof,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the Publication of this Act, if any Person or Persons shall, at any Time or Times whatsoever, wilfully fire or set on Fire, or cause to fire or be set on Fire, any Woodlands, whereby any other Person or Persons shall suffer Damage, within the Limits herein after expressed, That is to say, Limits within which Woodlands shall not be set on Fire. Within the County of Newcastle, any Woodlands lying to the Northward of the publick Highway called Nottingham Road, leading from the township of Nottingham, in Chester County, to Chriftiana Bridge; any Woodlands lying to the Eastward of the Road leading from the aforesaid Bridge to the Intersecting of the Road leading down the said County, from the town of Newcastle, near Red-Lion Run; or any of the Woodlands lying to the Eastward of the Highway called the Upper Road, leading from the said Run down by the Plantation late of Andrew Peterson, Esq deceased, to Blackbird's Bridge, and from the said Bridge down Blackbird's Creek to Delaware River: And within the County of Sussex, any of the Woodlands lying to the Eastward of the King's Highway or Road leading down the said County of Sussex, from the Place where the said Road crosses the Three Runs to the Cool-Spring Branch, and up the said Branch to the Head thereof; thence, by the nearest Course, to the Head of Bundick's Branch, which issueth into Rehoboth Bay; thence down the said Branch to the intersecting Indian River Road; thence by the said Road to a Landing on Indian River, known by the Name of Philip Askew's Landing; and thence down the said River to the Ocean; every such Person or Persons so offending, and being duly convicted thereof, by the Testimony of one or more credible Witnesses, or Confession of the Offender or Offenders, before any two Justices of the Peace of the County where the Offence, is or shall be committed, shall, for every such Offence, forfeit and pay any Sum not exceeding Five Pounds, current Money Penalty. [Page 200] of this Government, at the Discretion of the said Justices, How to be recovered and disposed of. to be levied, together with Costs, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of the said Justices, before whom the Conviction is had, on the Offender's Goods and Chattels, and paid, within Newcastle County, the one Moiety thereof to the Overseers of the Poor of the Hundred where the Offence is committed, for the Use of the Poor of the said Hundred; and, within the County of Sussex, to the Treasurer of the County, for the Use of the Poor of the said County of Sussex; the other Moiety to the Informer: For Want of Effects, the Offender shall make Satisfaction by Servitude. And for Want of such Goods and Chattels, the Offender or Offenders shall, by such Justices, be adjudged to make Satisfaction for the said Fine and Costs, by Servitude; and shall also make good all Damages, that, by such Firing and Burning, shall happen to any of the Inhabitants of this Government, to be recovered, together with Costs, by Bill, Plaint or Information, in any of his Majesty's Courts of Record within this Government. AND if any Negro or Mulatto Slave, or Slaves, shall be duly convicted of such Offence, as aforesaid, the said Justices shall, at the Charge or Charges of the Owner or Owners of such Slave or Slaves, order and cause him, her or them, to be Punishment of Slaves offending against this Act. publickly whipt, with any Number of Lashes not exceeding Thirty-one, on his, her, or their bare Back or Backs, well laid on; and if the Owner or Owners of such Slave or Slaves, shall neglect or refuse to pay such Charge or Charges, then the said Justices shall commit the said Slave or Slaves to the common Goal of the County wherein the Offence is committed, there to be kept, until the same, together with the Costs thereon arising, be paid and satisfied.
An ACT for Relief of the Poor.
FOR the Prevention of straggling and indigent Persons from coming into, and being chargeable to the Inhabitants, and for the better Relief of the Poor of this Government;
[Page 201]BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That the Justices of the Peace of the several Counties of this Justices to nominate Overseers of the Poor. Government, or any three or more of them, at the Time and Place of laying the County-Levies, shall nominate and appoint one or more substantial Inhabitant or Inhabitants of each of the Hundreds within their respective Counties, to be Overseer or Overseers of the Poor of the said respective Hundreds, who shall then Who shall be qualified. and there, by the said Justices, or some of them, be qualified upon Oath or Affirmation, for the due Execution of his or their Office, as herein after directed, for the ensuing Year.
AND if any Person hereafter appointed to the Office of Overseer of the Poor as aforesaid, shall refuse or neglect to be qualified as aforesaid, the said Justices shall in the Room and Stead of such Person so refusing or neglecting, appoint some other fit Person, and so toties quoties, until some proper Person or Persons shall be appointed and qualified as aforesaid. And every such Person so refusing Penalty on refusing to serve, or neglecting, shall for such Contempt forfeit the Sum of Five Pounds, to be levied, together with Costs, by Distress and Sale of the Goods and Chattels of such Person so refusing or neglecting, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of any two of the said Justices, and paid to the Treasurer of the same County, for the Use of the Poor of the said County.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Constables and Constables and Overseers to enquire after Vagrants, Poor, &c. Overseers of the Poor in each Hundred within the several Counties of this Government, shall and are hereby required to make diligent Inspection and Enquiry in their respective Districts after all vagrant, poor and impotent Persons coming into the same, in order to settle or otherwise; and if any such shall be found as aforesaid, such Overseer or Constable shall and is hereby required to make Report thereof to the next Justice of the Peace of the said County; and the said Justice shall and is hereby [Page 202] required, by Warrant under his Hand and Seal, to cause such vagrant, poor or impotent Person to be apprehended, Vagrants, &c. to be apprehended, &c. and brought before him or some other Justice of the Peace of the same County; and if it appear to the Justice before whom such Person is or shall be brought, that such Person is likely to become chargeable as aforesaid, such Justice shall and is hereby required to order such vagrant, poor or impotent Person, if able to travel, immediately to depart the County, or to give sufficient Security to indemnify the County, as herein after mentioned; and upon Refusal or Neglect of such vagrant, poor or impotent Person to depart or give Security as aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful to and for any Two Justices of the Peace of the same County, to cause every such Person so refusing or neglecting, to be publickly whipt at the common Whipping-Post, with any Number of Lashes not exceeding Fifteen, and the same Punishment to be repeated every Day, or so often as he or she shall be found in the said County, until he or she shall depart the same as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Poor not having a legal Settlement, to be sent to the Place of their last Abode. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any poor or impotent Person shall be found in any of the Counties of this Government, who is not an Inhabitant of the same County, such Person, before he or she shall have gained a legal Settlement, as by this Act is directed, shall by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of any Two Justices of the Peace of the same County, be sent from Constable to Constable through the several Hundreds within this Government, as the Case may require, the nighest Way towards the Place of his or her last Abode; and the Constables of the respective Hundreds within this Government, shall and are hereby required to receive such Person, and him or her to convey or forward to the next Constable, and so from Constable to Constable, until he or she shall be delivered to the nighest Justice of the Peace of the County wherein such Person did last reside or dwell, or of the next County lying in the Way to the Place of such Person's last Settlement or Abode.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any poor or imposent Person, being a Resident of any one of the Counties of this Government, shall transport him or herself, or go into another of the said Counties, in order to settle or reside [Page 203] in such County, or otherwise, and shall be likely to become chargeable to the County into which he or she hath last gone; it shall and may be lawful for any two Justices of the Peace of the said County, and they are hereby required, before such Person shall have gained a legal Settlement therein, by Warrant under their Hands and Seals, to cause the said Person to be sent from Hundred to Hundred, and from Constable to Constable, the nighest Way to the County wherein such Person did last reside, and to be delivered to the nighest Justice of the Peace of the said County, or to the nighest Justice of the Peace of the next County lying in the Way to the Place of such Person's last Settlement; which said Justice is hereby required to receive such Person, if he or she be a Resident of the said County, or otherwise to cause such Person to be sent forward, from Constable to Constable, towards the County wherein he or she had his or her last Settlement or Abode as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons Penalty on entertaining Vagrants, &c. inhabiting within any of the Counties of this Government, shall, for above the Space of Three Days, harbour or entertain any such vagrant, poor or impotent Person or Persons coming into the same County, without making Report, or giving Notice thereof to the Overseer or Overseers of the Poor of the Hundred, or to the nighest Justice of the Peace of such County; every such Person so harbouring or entertaining any such vagrant, poor or impotent Person, for every Twenty-four Hours he or she shall harbour or entertain such vagrant, poor or impotent Person, upon due Proof thereof made before any Justice of the Peace, shall forfeit the Sum of Five Shillings, to be levied, together with Costs, by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods and Chattels, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of the said Justice, and paid to the Treasurer of the County for the Time being, for the Use of the Poor of the said County; and shall lose all such Debt or Account which shall be owing to him or her from such vagrant, poor or impotent Person, so that he or she may not for the same be detained within such County; and shall also, by Order of the said Justice, at his or her Expence, cause such vagrant, poor or impotent Person to be removed out of the said County within the Space of Three Days; and if any Person so harbouring or entertaining any such vagrant, poor or impotent Person, without [Page 204] giving such Notice as aforesaid, shall neglect or refuse, at his or her Expence, to cause such vagrant, poor or impotent Person to be removed out of the said County within the Time above limited, every such Person shall for such Neglect or Refusal forfeit the Sum of Five Pounds, to be levied, together with Costs, by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods and Chattels, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of any Two Justices of the same County, and paid to the Treasurer of the County for the Use of the Poor of the said County; and the said vagrant, poor or impotent Person shall, by Warrant of the said Justices, be removed out of the County, in Manner herein before directed.
AND for the better ascertaining what Continuance shall render any Person an Inhabitant of any of the Counties of this Government, BE IT ENACTED by What shall render any Person an Inhabitant, &c. the Authority aforesaid, That where any unmarried Person, not having Child or Children, is or shall be lawfully hired as a Servant in any Town, Village or Hundred within this Government, and did or shall continue or abide in the same Service during the Space of One whole Year, without being warned to depart or give Security as aforesaid, such Service shall be adjudged and deemed a good and legal Settlement. And where any unmarried Person, not having Child or Children, shall by Indenture be bound Apprentice or Servant, and inhabit in any County of this Government until the Time of his or her Apprenticeship or Servitude be expired, such Binding and Inhabiting shall be adjudged and deemed a good and legal Settlement; provided that the Term of such Apprenticeship or Servitude be not less than Two Years, And if any Person, who shall hereafter come to inhabit in any of the Counties of this Government, shall for himself, and of his own Account, execute any publick or annual Office or Charge within the said County, during One whole Year, or shall be charged with, and pay his Share towards the County-Taxes or Levies, such Person shall be adjudged and deemed to have a good and legal Settlement in the same. And that no other Person or Persons, who shall be imported or come into any of the Counties of this Government, shall be adjudged or deemed to have procured a legal Settlement in such County, unless he, she, or they, shall really, and bona fide, take a Lease of some Tenement or Plantation within the same County, of the yearly Value of Fifty Shillings, and continue thereon One whole Year without [Page 205] being warned to depart; or unless he, she or they give sufficient Security to the Treasurer of the County for the Time being, to indemnify the said County from any Charge that may accrue by reason of such Person's coming into such County, to be allowed by any two Justices of the Peace or Magistrates of the said County.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Father and Grandfather, What Relations are to maintain their Poor, &c. Mother and Grand-mother, being of sufficient Ability, shall, at their own Charges, relieve and maintain their poor, blind, same and impotent Children and Grandchildren, as the Justices of the Peace, at their General Court of Quarter-Sessions, shall order and direct; and the Children and Grand-children, being of Ability, shall, by such Order of the Justices as aforesaid, at their own Charges, relieve and maintain their Fathers and Mothers, Grandfathers and Grand-mothers, not having any Estate, nor being of Ability to work; upon Pain of forfeiting Forty Shillings Penalty on Neglect, &c. for every Month they or any of them shall fa [...]l therein, to be levied monthly, together with Costs, by Distress and Sale of the Goods and Chattels of such Father, Mother, Grand-father; Grand-mother, Child or Children respectively, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of any two Justices of the Peace of the same County, and paid to the Treasurer for the Use of the Poor of the same County.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That any two Justices of the Justices impowered to bind out poor Children, &c. Peace of the County, with the Consent and Approbation of the Overseer or Overseers of the Poor of the respective Hundred, are hereby impowered and required to bind out Apprentices to Trades or otherwise, the Children of all such who shall not by the said Justices and Overseer or Overseers be thought of Ability to maintain and educate them, for such Term and Terms as the said Justices and Overseer or Overseers in their Discretion shall see meet, so as that any such Male Child be not bound longer than until he shall arrive at the Age of Twenty-one Years, and a Female until she shall arrive at Sixteen Years.
AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Justices of the Peace, together with [Page 206] Justices, Assessors, and 8 of the Grand Jury to judge wh [...]t Poor shall receive Relief, &c. the Assessors, and Eight of the Grand Jury, or so many of them as shall be present at the laying the Levies for the respective Counties of this Government, shall from time to time be, and are hereby declared to be Judges of all such Poor within their County who shall receive Relief out of the publick Stock of the said County, and of the weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly Sums of Money, to be paid them, or to any other Person or Persons, for their Use, by the Treasurer of the said County; which Sums of Money the said Treasurer is hereby impowered and required to pay, in such Manner as the Court of Levies shall direct, out of the publick Money of the said County in his Hands, or to come to his Hands; and the said Sums of Money by proper Receipts appearing to be paid, shall be allowed to the said Treasurer in the making up his Accounts at the next Court for the laying the Levies for the said County.
Persons falling into Poverty between two Courts, how to proceed. AND if any Person or Persons, having a legal Settlement within any of the Counties of this Government, shall fall into Decay or Poverty, between any two Courts for laying the Levies for the same County, upon Complaint or Application by him, her, or them, made to the Overseer or Overseers of the Poor of the Hundred to which such poor Person or Persons doth or do belong, and any two Justices of the Peace of the same County, if the said Justices and Overseer or Overseers shall judge such Person or Persons entitled to Relief out of the publick Stock of the County, then the said Justices and Overseer or Overseers shall, under their Hands, certify the same to the Treasurer of the County, which Certificate shall contain an Order on the Treasurer for such Sum or Sums of Money that shall from time to time be paid to such poor Person or Persons, and the Time or Times when the same shall be paid, whether weekly, monthly or quarterly, until the next Court for laying the Levies; which Sum or Sums of Money the said Treasurer shall and is hereby impowered and required to pay to such Person or Persons, or to some other proper Person for him, her, o [...] them; and the said Certificate or Certificates, with proper Receipts for the Sum or Sums of Money by Virtue thereof paid, being produced by the Treasurer at the next Court for laying the Levies, shall be allowed to, and discharge the said Treasurer, for so much Money by him paid to any such poor Person or Persons as aforesaid.
[Page 207]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That every poor Person, Poor Persons to wear a Badge, &c. whose Name shall stand on the List of any of the Counties of this Government as one of the Poor of the said County, shall on the right Sleeve, or on the Back of his or her upper Garment, in an open and visible Manner, wear such Badge or Mark as herein after is mentioned and expressed, That is to say, A large Roman or Capital P, together with the first Letter of the Name of the County whereof such poor Person is an Inhabitant, cut either in Red or Blue Cloth, as by the Overseers of the Poor of the Hundred wherein such poor Person doth reside, shall be directed and appointed: And if any such poor Person within any County within this Government, shall at any time neglect or refuse to wear such Badge or Mark as aforesaid, upon Complaint and due Proof thereof made before any One Justice of the Peace of the said County, or upon the View of such Justice, the said Justice shall, and is hereby required by Writing under his Hand, to the Treasurer directed, stop Payment of such poor Person's Relief or usual Allowance, until the next time of the laying the Levies for the said County: And if any Treasurer of any of the Counties of this Government shall, after such Writing as aforesaid to him shewn, pay to such poor Person any Sum or Sums of Money; the same shall be at his own Risque, and shall not be allowed him in the making up his Accounts of the publick Money by him received.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all and every Act and Former Acts repealed. Acts of Assembly of this Government heretofore made for the Relief of the Poor, and every Article, Clause and Thing in all and every such Act and Acts contained, be, and the same are hereby, repealed, annulled and made void, to all Intents and Purposes whatsoever.
An ACT for laying out Roads.
Repealed.
An ACT for the more effectual preventing and punishing the evil and wicked Practices of Horse-stealing, and other Felonies and Offences committed within this Government.
Penalty. WHEREAS the Acts of Assembly of this Government, heretofore made for the Punishment of Horse-stealing, and other Felonies and Robberies, have been found insufficient to restrain Persons of profligate and dishonest Minds, from committing such Offences; and the Number of such hath, of late Years, greatly increased in this Government, to the great Damage of the Inhabitants thereof: For the more effectual Prevention whereof for the future, and for the more exemplary Punishment of such Offenders,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, Stealing of Slaves, Horses, &c. Death. and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the Publication of this Act, every Person who shall feloniously steal, take or carry away any Negro or Mulatto Slave, Horse, Gelding, Mare, or Colt, or aid or assist any Person or Persons, in committing any such Offence, and being thereof legally convicted or attainted, by Verdict of a Jury, or Confession of the Party offending; or being indicted thereof, shall stand mute, or not directly answer to the Indictment indorsed with the Name or Names of the Prosecutor or Prosecutors, or shall peremptorily challenge above the Number of Twenty Persons, legally returned to be of the Jury for the Trial of such Offenders, shall susse [...] Death without Benefit of Clergy, in like Manner as such Felons, by the Laws now in Force in that Part of Great Britain called England, any Law of this Government to the contrary notwithstanding.
[Page 209]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That every Person who shall Breaking into Houses in the Daytime, &c. Death. feloniously break or enter into any Dwelling-house, Out-house or other House whatsoever, in the Day-time, with an Intent to kill some reasonable Creature, or to commit some other Felony; or shall aid or assist any Person or Persons in committing any such Offence, and being thereof legally convicted or attainted, by Verdict of a Jury, or Confession of the Party offending, or being indicted thereof, shall stand mute, or not directly answer to the Indictment indorsed with the Name or Names of the Prosecutor or Prosecutors, or shall peremptorily challenge above the Number of Twenty Persons, legally returned to be of the Jury for the Trial of such Offender, shall suffer Death without Benefit of Clergy, any Law of this Government to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons whatsoever, being Stealing to the Value of Five Pounds out of any House, Death. in a Dwelling-house, or any other House, whether as a Tenant, Lodger, or otherwise, shall take, steal, or carry away, with an Intent to imbezzle the same, any Money, Furniture, Goods, Wares, or Merchandizes, whether he, she, or they be intrusted with the same, or otherwise, to the Value of Five Pounds current Money of this Government, to be valued by any two Justices of the County where the Offence shall be committed, at the Time of the Complaint made by the Party aggrieved, or the taking such Offender, every such Person so offending, shall be deemed a Felon, and being thereof legally convicted or attainted, by Verdict of a Jury, or Confession of the Party offending, or being indicted thereof, shall stand mute, or not directly answer to the Indictment indorsed with the Name or Names of the Prosecutor or Prosecutors, or shall peremptorily challenge above the Number of Twenty Persons, legally returned to be of the Jury for the Trial of such Offender, shall suffer Death without Benefit of Clergy, any Law of this Government to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That every Person who s [...]ll enter into any Entering into a MansionHouse with Intent to commit Felony, &c. Death. Mansion- or Dwelling-house of another, by Day or by Night, without breaking the same, with an Intent to commit Felony, or being in such House, shall commit any Felony, and shall in the Night-time break the said House [Page 210] to get out of the same, shall be taken to be guilty of Burglary, and ousted of the Benefit of Clergy, in the same Manner as if such Person had broken and entered the said House in the Night-time, with an Intent to commit Felony there, any Law of this Government to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Paying or receiving stolen Horses, Slaves, &c. knowingly, Death. by the Authority aforesaid, That every Person who shall receive or buy, of any such Felon or Felons, any Negro or Mulatto Slave, Horse, Gelding, Mare, or Colt, knowing the same to be stolen; or shall knowingly harbour or conceal any Felon or Felons, in this Act before mentioned, or be assisting to the Escape of such Felon or Felons, knowing him or them to be such, shall be deemed guilty of Felony, and being thereof legally convicted or attainted, by Verdict of a Jury, or Confession of the Party offending, or being indicted thereof, shall stand mute, or not directly answer to the Indictment indorsed with the Name or Names of the Prosecutor or Prosecutors, or shall peremptorily challenge above the Number of Twenty Persons, legally returned to be of the Jury for the Trial of such Offender, shall suffer Death without Benefit of Clergy, any Law of this Government to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Any Person taking and Prosecuting such Felons, shall have Five Pounds Reward. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons shall take and prosecute any such Felon or Felons to Conviction, within this Government, upon every such Conviction, and procuring a Certificate thereof, under the Hands of the Judges or Justices before whom the Conviction shall be, or either of them, which the said Judges or Justices are hereby directed and required to give, without taking any Fee for the same, such Person or Persons shall receive of the Treasurer of the County where such Conviction shall be had, the Sum of Five Pounds, lawful Money of this Government, which the said Treasurer is hereby directed and required to pay out of the publick Money of the said County in his Hands, which shall be raised upon the Inhabitants of the said County, in like Manner as other County-Levies are raised.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person shall have [Page 211] committed any such Felony or Felonies, and shall afterwards Any Felon discovering and convicting others, shall have Five Pounds, and a Pardon. discover any other Person, who shall have committed such Felony or Felonies, so that he or she be legally convicted thereof, every such Person to discovering, shall receive the like Sum of Five Pounds, to be paid and raised as aforesaid, and shall also be entitled to a Pardon of all Felonies by him or her committed within this Government before such Discovery [...] Treason and Exception. Murder excepted.
AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That every Person, who shall receive or buy of Punishment for receiving stolen Goods, Wares, &c. any Felon or Felons any Goods, Wares, or Merchandizes, knowing the same to be stolen, and being thereof legally convicted, by Verdict of a Jury or Confession of the Party offending, shall be publickly whipt, on his or her bare Back, with Twenty-one Lashes, well laid on, and be branded on his or her Forehead with the Capital Letter R; and shall moreover, for all such Goods, Wares or Merchandizes so received or bought, make foursold Satisfaction to the Party injured, with Costs of Prosecution: And if unable to make such Satisfaction, shall, for the making thereof, and Payment of the Costs of Prosecution, as aforesaid, be assigned into Servitude, by the Court where the Conviction is had or made, for any Term of Time not exceeding Seven Years, any Law of this Government to the contrary notwithstanding.
An ACT against forcible Entry, Barratry, Maintenance, Champerty and Embracery.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of [Page 212] the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That whosoever shall forcibly enter into the House, Lands, or Possessions of any other Person, or being entered peaceably, shall forceably hold the House, Lands or Possessions of any other Person within this Government shall be proceeded against and punished as by the [...] [...]tatutes made against forcible Entries and Detainures in that Part of Great Britain called England, is provided and directed.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person within this Government, be a common Barrator, vexing others with unjust and vexacious Suits, or shall promote or encourage others so to do, or shall be guilty of Maintenance, Champerty or Embracery, every such Person so offending shall be proceeded against, and punished for his Offence, as by the Common Law and the several Statutes made against such Offences in that Part of Great Britain called England, is provided and directed.
An ACT for ascertaining the Proportion of the Government-Charges hereafter to be paid by the several Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware.
WHEREAS the Quotas or Sums of Money from time to time heretofore paid by the Inhabitants of the several Counties of this Government, towards the Support of the Governor, Travelling-Charges and Wages of Assembly-men, and other Charges of Sessions of Assembly, have not been duly proportioned according to the Abilities of the Inhabitants of the said Counties respectively [...]
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his [Page 213] Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That all and every Sum and Sums of Money at any time or times hereafter to be raised upon the Inhabitants of this Government for all or any of the Purposes aforesaid, shall be raised and paid in Manner following, That is to say, Five Tenth Parts, or One Half thereof, shall be raised upon and paid by the Inhabitants of the County of Newcastle, Three Tenth Parts thereof by the Inhabitants of the County of Kent, and Two Tenth Parts thereof by the Inhabitants of the County of Sussex; any Law, Custom or Act of Assembly of this Government to the contrary notwithstanding.
An ACT to prevent Duelling and fighting of Duels within this Government.
FOR preventing of Duelling, and fighting of Duels within this Government;
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That if any Person within this Government shall challenge any other Person to fight with Sword, Pistol, Rapier, or any other dangerous and destructive Weapon, every such Person so challenging, being legally convicted thereof, by Bill, Plaint, or Information, in any Court of Quarter-Sessions within this Government, shall forfeit and pay the Sum of Twenty [Page 214] Pounds, or suffer Three Months Imprisonment in the common Goal of the said County.
AND if any Person shall carry or deliver to another Person any such Challenge, knowing it to be such, every such Person carrying or delivering such Challenge, being legally convicted as aforesaid, shall forfeit and pay the like Sum of Twenty Pounds, or suffer Three Months Imprisonment as aforesaid.
AND if any Person shall accept any such Challenge, and meet the Person challenging, in order to fight as aforesaid, every such Person so offending, and being thereof legally convicted as aforesaid, shall forfeit and pay the Sum of Ten Pounds, or suffer Six Weeks Imprisonment as aforesaid.
An ACT directing and impowering the several Sheriffs within this Government, to summon a sufficient Number of Freeholders to serve as Jurors in the several Counties thereof.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Sheriffs shall summon 24 Grand and 48 Petty Jurors, ten Days before the Court. Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That the Sheriffs of the respective Counties within this Government, shall, upon receiving a Writ of [...] facias, to be to them respectively directed, for summoning a Jury to attend a Court of Oyer and Terminer within any of the said Counties, forthwith proceed to summon Twenty-four of the most able, sufficient and substantial Freeholders within their respective Bailiwick, to serve as Grand-Jurors, and Forty-eight of the most discreet and judicious [Page 215] Freeholders, to serve as Petty-Jurors, at the Court aforesaid; which said Grand-Jurors and Petty-Jurors shall be summoned at least Ten Days before the Day appointed for holding the said Courts within the said Counties. And if any of the said Jurors so summoned as aforesaid, shall refuse Penalty on their not attending. or neglect to attend at the said Courts, they and every of them shall be fined by the said Court, according to the Directions of an Act of General Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act against Jurors absenting themselves, being lawfully summoned to attend the several Courts of Judicature within this Government.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Sheriff or Sheriffs Penalty on Sheriffs returning Jurors not so summoned. from and after the End of this present Sessions of Assembly, shall or do return any Person or Persons to serve as aforesaid, when in Truth such Person or Persons shall not have been summoned according to the Directions aforesaid, such Sheriff or Sheriffs shall for every such Offence, be fined by the said Court, in any Sum not exceeding Ten Pounds, and shall be committed till such Fine shall be paid. And if any Sheriff or Sheriffs shall refuse or neglect to summon and return Persons to serve on the Juries as before directed, whereby Justice may be delayed, it not altogether eluded; such Sheriff or Sheriffs shall for every such Refusal or Neglect, be fined by the said Court in any Sum not exceeding One Hundred Pounds, and shall be committed until such Fine be paid, and be disabled from holding or exercising the said Office, during the Term of Three Years then next ensuing.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the respective Sheriffs A standing Grand Jury to be summoned for the Year. of the several and respective Counties within this Government, shall, at least Ten Days before May-Sessions, yearly, and every Year, without any Writ of Venire facias, proceed to summon and return Twenty-four substantial and judicious Freeholders, lawful Men, and Inhabitants of his Bailiwick, to serve as Grand-Jurymen at the next May Sessions aforesaid; which said Persons, or a sufficient Number of them, so summoned and returned, shall be and remain the standing Grand-Jury for that Year: But the But [...] every Sessions. Justices of the respective Courts of Quarter-Sessions are hereby required to administer or cause to be administred to the said Jurors every Sessions the Qualifications usual for the faithful Discharge of their Duty and Trust. And the [Page 216] Petty Jurors to be summoned, &c. Sheriffs of the said respective Counties are hereby required to summon Twenty-four able, discreet and judicious Freeholders, legal Men, and Inhabitants in the Bailiwick to such Sheriffs respectively belonging, at least Ten Days before each and every Court of Quarter-Sessions, to serve as Petty-Jurymen for the Court or Sessions to which they are summoned, and make Return of the Persons so summoned, at the respective Sessions; which Persons so summoned and returned by the Sheriffs as aforesaid to serve as Grand- and Petty-Jurors, are hereby required to attend the respective Courts, upon Pain of being fined by the Courts for such their Default, according to the Directions of the Act of Assembly aforesaid.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That no Person shall be obliged to serve as a Grand-Juryman for two Years successively in any of the said Counties.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Sheriffs to summon all other Inquests, &c. by the Authority aforesaid, That the Sheriffs of the respective Counties of this Government, shall, and are hereby required and authorised, from time to time, and at all Times hereafter, when and as often as Occasion may require, to summon all and every other Inquests, or Jurors which Sheriffs ought to summon, or Evidences requisite and necessary for the executing Justice within their respective Counties, who are hereby required to give due Attendance accordingly; and the Neglects or Defaults of the Sheriffs aforesaid, or any of them, shall be punished by Fine as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Duty of Coroners is particular Cases. by the Authority aforesaid, That the Coroners of the respective Counties aforesaid, shall and are hereby required to conduct, regulate and behave themselves in summoning Juries, or other Matters where the Sheriff cannot legally do it, by reason of his Affinity to any Suitors, or otherwise, in the same Manner and Form as the Sheriffs are by this Act directed and impowered, under the like Penalties to be inflicted and laid upon Sheriffs for Neglects and Defaults contrary to this Act. And all Persons are hereby required, in such Cases, to pay the same Obedience and Attendance to the Precepts and Summons of such Coroner or Coroners as before directed, as to the Precepts and Summons of the Sheriffs aforesaid, under the like [Page 217] Penalties as above-mentioned; and generally to do and execute all other Matters and Things, which to their Offices by the Laws of that Part of Great Britain called England, appertain, under the Penalties inflicted by the Laws of England, for such their Neglect or Default, so far as the same have received no Alteration by this Act.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all the Fines and Forfeitures Fines how to be disposed of. arising or becoming due by Virtue of this Act, shall be and remain, the one Moiety thereof to the Governor for the Time being, towards the Support of Government, the other Moiety to be paid to the Treasurer of the County, for the Use of the Poor of the County where the Offence is or shall be committed.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That an Act of Assembly of Repeal of a former Act. this Government, entituled, An Act for summoning of Juries, and about Trials by Twelve Men, shall be, and the same is hereby repealed.
An ACT against spreading false News and Defamation.
FOR the restraining of evil-minded Persons, who by seditious Words or Libels may endeavour to disturb the publick Peace and Quiet of this Government, or dofame any of the Inhabitants thereof;
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly [Page 218] met, and by the Authority of the same, That if any Person shall speak or write any thing tending to the Disturbance of the Peace of this Government, or shall maliciously report and spread abroad false News tending thereto, such Person, being thereof legally convicted in any Court of Quarter-Sessions in this Government, upon Presentment or Indictment, shall be fined by the said Court in any Sum not less than Five Pounds, nor exceeding Twenty Pounds, or suffer Three Months Imprisonment at hard Labour in the House of Correction. And that all the Fines and Forfeitures arising by this Act, shall be paid to the Governor for the Time being, for the Support of Government.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That whosoever shall slander or defame any Person whatsoever within this Government, the Person or Persons so slandered or defamed may bring his or their Action at Law against such Slanderer or Slanderers; and if the Plaintiff in such Action shall obtain a Verdict, although the Damages given may be under Forty Shillings, the Plaintiff in such Action or Actions shall recover his or her Costs, in such Manner as he or she should have done in case the Jury had found Damages to the Value of above the Sum of Forty Shillings. And all former Acts of Assembly of this Government concerning Defamation and Slander, are hereby repealed.
An ACT directing the Punishment of PettyLarceny.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of [Page 219] the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That if any Person within this Government Punishment of Pretty Larceny. shall at any Time hereafter be duly convicted by the Testimony of one or more credible Witnesses, or Confession of the Party offending, before any Two Justices of the Peace in any of the Counties of this Government, of having stolen from any Person or Persons within the same, any Money or Goods under the Value of Five Shillings; every such Person so offending shall by the said Justices be ordered to be publickly whipt on his or her bare Back, with any Number of Lashes not exceeding Fifteen; and also shall by the said Justices be adjudged to return to the Party or Parties aggrieved, the Money or Goods so stolen, if the same can be found, and also the Value thereof, according to the Valuation of the said Justices, who are hereby directed and required to value the same, together with the Costs of Prosecution and Whipping; and in case the said Goods be not found, double the Value of the said Money or Goods; and shall also be adjudged to pay all the Charges of such Prosecution and Whipping, to be levied and raised by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods and Chattels, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of the said Justices, or either of them: And for Want of such Goods or Chattels, the said Offender shall be adjudged by the said Justices to make Satisfaction for the adjudged Values and Charges by Servitude for any Term of Time at the Discretion of the said Justices; provided the same do not exceed One Year.
An ACT against trusting Mariners.
TO the End that no Ship or Vessel may be detained from proceeding in the intended Voyage by the Arrest of any Sailor or Mariner shipped or belonging to any such Ship or Vessel in any Port or Harbour within this Government;
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, [Page 220] Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chie [...] of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That no Tavernkeeper or Innholder, or other Person within this Government, shall trust any Sailor or Mariner shipped or belonging to any Ship or Vessel in any Port or Harbur within this Government, above the Sum of Ten Shillings, unless the Master, Commander or Owner of such Ship or Vessel, to which such Sailor or Mariner belongs, give his or their Orders or Consent for the trusting such Sailor or Mariner. And that no Person trusting any Sailor or Mariner belonging to, or shipped as aforesaid, for any Value above the Sum of Ten Shillings, without such Order or Consent as aforesaid, after Tender to him or her made of the said Sum of Ten Shillings, and Costs, if any shall have arisen, shall stop or hinder such Sailor or Mariner from proceeding the intended Voyage for which he shall then be shipped, any Law, Custom or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding.
An ACT for the appointing a Corder or Measurer of Fire-Wood in each of the Towns and Villages within this Government.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and Fire-Wood shall be sold by the Cord. by the Authority of the same, That all Fire-Wood sold and bought in any of the Towns and Villages within this Government, shall be by the Cord, each Cord to contain in Length Eight Feet, in Breadth Four Feet, and in Height Four Feet, and so in Proportion for a greater or [Page 221] lesser Quantity: And that all such Wood shall be of the Length of Eight Feet, or of Four Feet, to be measured Measure of a Cord. from the Extremity at one End unto the Beginning of the Cut or Carf at the other End, and shall be laid or corded as close as possible, and all crooked Pieces, if Occasion be, shall be cut, for the more compact and better Stowage thereof.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Justices of the Justices impowered to appoint Corders. Court of Quarter-Sessions, in each of the Counties within this Government, shall and are hereby required, from time to time, as often as Occasion shall be, to appoint some suitable and proper Person to be a Measurer or Corder of all Fire-Wood which shall be brought for Sale into any of the Towns or Villages within the several Counties; and the said Person or Persons so appointed, upon Misbehaviour to remove from his or their Office, and some other more suitable Person to appoint in his or their Room and Stead. And that there shall be paid by the Buyer of such Wood unto the said Corder or Corders, or his or their Deputy or Deputies respectively, for each Cord of Wood by him or them corded and measured, the Sum of Six Pence, and Corder's Fee [...] so in Proportion for any greater or lesser Quantity, one Half whereof shall by the Person selling the same, be repaid to the Buyer, or deducted out of the Price thereof; and upon Non-Payment thereof, the same may be recovered by the said Corder, Deputy and Buyer respectively, in like Manner as Debts under Forty Shillings.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be Corders may appoint Deputies. lawful for the said Corder of Wood for any of the Towns or Villages within this Government, to appoint one or more Deputy or Deputies to be his Assistant or Assistants, when and so often as he shall see or have Occasion. But before the said Corder or Corders of Wood, hereafter to be appointed by Virtue of this Act, enter upon the Execution of the Trust hereby reposed in him or them, every Corder and Deputy shall be qualified upon Oath or Affirmation Corders to be qualified. before some Justice of the Peace of the same County wherein such Corder or Corders, Deputy or Deputies shall be appointed; which Oath or Affirmation any such Justice is hereby impowered and required to administer, That he or they will well and truly, to the best of his or their Knowledge and Ability, fairly and impartially cord and measure [Page 222] Penalty on other Persons measuring of Wood. all such Wood as he or they shall cord. And no Person or Persons whatsoever, without Deputation from the Corder, shall cord or measure any Fire-Wood hereafter to be sold or brought to Sale into any of the Towns or Villages aforesaid, upon Pain of forfeiting the Sum of Ten Shillings for each Cord of Wood by him or them corded or measured, and in Proportion for any lesser Quantity, to be recovered, together with Costs, by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods and Chattels, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of any Justice of the Peace of the same County, and paid, the one Moiety thereof to the Corder for the Time being, the other Moiety to the Informer.
An ACT for establishing a Market in the Town of Dover in the County of Kent, and in the Town of Lewes in the County of Sussex, within this Government.
WHEREAS the Want of regular Markets in the Town of Dover in the County of Kent, and Lewes in the County of Sussex, within this Government, is attended with great Inconveniencies as well to the Inhabitants as to Persons offering Provisions to Sale in the said Towns: For Remedy whereof,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That from and No Provisions to be bought or sold but in the Markets, except, &c. after the Publication of this Act, no Person or Persons whatsoever, shall presume either to buy or sell any Kind of Provisions (Fish, Milk and Bread excepted) on Market-Days, within any Part of the said Town of Dover, but in such Part of the Market-Square, as by the Justices of the [Page 223] said County of Kent, or the Majority of them, shall be appointed, until there shall be erected a Market-House in the said Town, and after the building of a Market-House, shall not sell the same in any other Place than the said Market-House; or in the said Town of Lewes, in any other Place but at the publick Market-House of the said Town of Lewes, under Penalty of forfeiting both Penalty [...] by the Buyer and Seller, all such Provisions so sold or bought, or the Value thereof, to be levied, together with Costs, by the Clerk of the Market of the said Towns respectively, by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods and Chattels respectively, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of any one Justice of the Peace of the respective County, and to be applied to the Use of the Poor of the same County.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons shall presume to bring or carry to the said Markets, or either of them, and sell or offer to Sale any Meat or Flesh Poor or unsound Flesh how to be disposed of. that shall be poor, lean or Carrion, or any other Provision or Provisions not sound and wholesome; every Person so offending shall forfeit the same, if too poor or lean for Sale, to the Use of the Prisoners in the Common Goal of the respective County, or the Poor; if unwholesome or unsound, to be burnt, or thrown into some Creek or River.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person or Persons Butchering forbid within the Limits of the Markets. whatsoever, shall presume to kill or slay any Cattle, Sheep, Calves, or Hogs, within the Limits of the said Square or Market-House or Houses, on Penalty of forfeiting the Sum of Five Shillings for every such Offence, to be levied as aforesaid, and applied to the Use of the Poor of the said Counties respectively.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons Penalty on Frauds in Weight of Butter, &c. [...], shall, by themselves or others, either sell or offer to Sale, any Butter, Cheese, Tallow, or any Sort of Provisions, by any false Weights, or for more Weight than the same shall be found to be by Trial of the Clerk of the respective Market for the Time being, upon Complaint made, such Person or Persons shall, for every such Offence, forfeit such Butter, Cheese, Tallow, or Provision [Page 224] so sold or offered to Sale; and the Clerk of the said Market is hereby impowered and required to seize the same, to be applied to the Use of the Poor of the said County.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Market-Days appointed. by the Authority aforesaid, That at all Times hereafter every Wednesday and Saturday in each Week, and no other Day or Days whatsoever, shall be deemed and taken for the publick and regular Market-Days of the said Towns of Dover and Lewes.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED No Flesh to be sold on Tuesdays or Fridays, except, &c. by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person or Persons whatsoever, shall presume to hawk or carry about the said Towns of Dover and Lewes, or to expose to Sale on the Square in the Town of Dover, or in the Market-House or Market-Houses of the said Towns of Dover and Lewes, or either of them, any Flesh-Meat on the Tuesdays or Fridays in each Week, except in the Months of June, July and August, on Pain of forfeiting such Flesh-Meat, or the Value thereof, to be recovered in like Manner as other Forfeitures are directed to be recovered in like Manner as other Forfeitures are directed to be recovered by this Act, and paid, the one Moiety thereof to the said Clerk, for the Use of such Clerk, the other Moiety to the Treasurer of the County, for the Use of the Poor of the said County.
AND for preventing Frauds that may happen to be committed by publick Bakers of Bread for Sale in the said Towns of Dover and Lewes, BE IT ENACTED Bakers shall mark their Bread. by the Authority aforesaid, That from and after the Publication of this Act, every Baker or Bakers of Bread for Sale within the said Towns of Dover and Lewes, shall and are hereby directed and required to make or impress some Mark, Letter or Name of such Baker on every such Bread as he or she shall bake for Sale as aforesaid, on Penalty of Penalty on Neglect. paying for every such Neglect, the Sum of Five Shillings to the Clerk of the respective Market aforesaid for the Time being.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Sorts of Bread to be baked. by the Authority aforesaid, That all soft or Loaf-Bread baked or to be baked for Sale within the said Counties of Kent and Sussex, shall be either white, middling, or brown, and of no other Sort whatsoever: And that the Justices of [Page 225] the Court of Quarter-Sessions for the said Counties respectively, shall and are hereby impowered and required, from time to time, at their Quarterly Sessions of the Peace, to settle and appoint the Size and Weight of the several Size and Weight of Bread shall be conformable to Appointment made by the Justices. Sorts of Bread which shall be baked for Sale in the said Towns of Dover and Lewes respectively: And all Bakers in the said Towns shall conform themselves, and make the Bread by them baked for Sale, agreeable thereto, on Pain of forfeiting, for every such Offence, all such Bread as upon Trial of the Clerk of the Market shall be found to be of lesser Weight, to be by the said Clerk seized for the Use of the Poor of the respective County, and Five Shillings to the said Clerk, to be recovered as aforesaid: And that no Baker shall, upon any Pretence whatsoever, make any different or other Sorts of Bread for Sale, but white, middling and brown, under the Penalty of forfeiting the same, to be applied in Manner aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That Thomas Nixon, of the Clerks of the Market appointed. Town of Dover aforesaid, is hereby appointed and constituted Clerk of the Market for the said Town of Dover; and Joshua Fisher, of the Town of Lewes aforesaid, is hereby appointed and constituted Clerk of the Market for the said Town of Lewes; who are hereby strictly charged and commanded to put this Act and every Part thereof in Execution in their respective Towns, and impowered to Their Power [...] receive, demand and recover all such Penalties, Fines and Forfeitures, as in this Act are directed to be forfeited and paid; and to enter into all such Places and Houses where they shall suspect any such Bread to be which shall not be made agreeable to the Directions of this Act; and to examine the Weights, and try the same, for the Purposes in this Act before directed.
AND the said Clerks respectively are hereby directed Clerks to keep fair Accounts [...] and required to keep fair and just Accounts of all Fines, Forfeitures and Penalties that each of them shall receive by Virtue of this Act, and settle such Accounts once in every Year with the Treasurers of the respective Counties, and pay to them all such Sum and Sums of Money as shall by them be received for the Use of the Poor.
[Page 226]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED In case of Death, &c. Justices may appoint new Clerks. by the Authority aforesaid, That upon the Death, Refusal, Removal, or Inability of any of the Clerks of the said Markets of Dover and Lewes, appointed by Virtue of this Act, the Justices of the Court of Quarter-Sessions for the said Counties of Kent and Sussex respectively, shall, and are hereby impowered and required to appoint, from time to time, so often as there shall be Occasion, some fit and proper Person or Persons to serve in the Office of Clerk of the Market of the aforesaid Towns of Dover and Lewes respectively; Qualification of Clerks of the Market. which said Clerks of the said Markets hereby appointed, or that shall hereafter be appointed by Virtue of this Act, before they or any of them shall presume to enter upon their said Office or Offices, or execute the Trust reposed in them, shall first take an Oath or Affirmation before some Justice of the Peace of their respective County, That they shall and will well and truly demean and behave themselves in their respective Offices of Clerks of their Markets aforesaid, and impartially discharge the Trust reposed in them by Virtue of this Act.
An ACT to prevent stoned Horses under Size from running at large within this Government.
FORASMUCH as the Generation and Breed of good and strong Horses within this Government, is of great Benefit and Profit to the Inhabitants thereof: Therefore, for the Increase of such,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly [Page 227] met, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the First Day of June, in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Forty-two, between the First Day of March and the First Day of November, yearly, and every Year, no stoned Horse or Horses above No Stoned Horse under Thirteen Hands and an Half, shall be permitted to go at large. the Age of Two Years, and not being of the Height of Thirteen Hands and an Half, to be measured from the lowest Part of the Hoof of the Fore-foot to the highest Part of the Wither, and each Hand to contain Four Inches, shall by the Owner or Owners thereof be permitted to range or run at large in any of the Wood-Lands or Marshes within this Government. And if any such Horse, above the Age of Two Years, and under the Height of Thirteen Hands and an Half as aforesaid, shall within the Time above-limited be found at large as aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful to and for any Freeholder within this Government, finding such Horse, to take up the same, and him to bring to the next Justice of the Peace of the County wherein the said Horse shall be taken up; which said Justice shall cause such Horse's Age and Height to be enquired into, or examined and measured, and upon finding him to be above the Age of Two Years, and under the Height by this Act required, the said Justice shall, and is hereby impowered and required to administer an Oath or Affirmation to the Person or Persons taking up such Horse, that he or they did find the said stoned Horse at large within the said County, and that neither he or they, or any other Person or Persons for him or them, or by his or their Means, Privity, or Procurement, or to his or their Knowledge, did drive or turn the said Horse out of the Inclosure of any Person or Persons whatsoever, or did pull or lay down the Fence or Fences, or any Part thereof, or open any Gate or Door of any Person or Persons, with Intent that the said Horse might go out of such Inclosure: Whereupon the said Justice shall cause Notice to be given to the Owner of such Horse, if known, requiring him immediately to appear before him; and upon Appearance of such Owner, or some other proper Person for him, the said Justice shall order the said Owner to pay unto the Person or Persons taking up the said Horse, the Sum of Twenty Shillings, to be recovered, together Penalty [...] with Costs, in like Manner as Debts under Forty Shillings. And the said Justice shall cause the said Horse to be delivered to such Owner or other proper Person for him, and order him to have the said Horse cut or gelded within the Space of Three Days then next following. And if the [Page 228] Owner of such Horse shall neglect or refuse to cause the said Horse to be gelded as aforesaid, and the same Horse shall afterwards be found at large, and not gelded, upon Complaint and due Proof thereof made before any Two Justices of the Peace of the said County, the Owner of the said Horse shall forfeit the said Horse, or pay the Sum Farther Penalty. of Five Pounds, to be recovered by Distress and Sale of such Owner's Goods and Chattels, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of the said Justices, and paid, the one Moiety thereof to the Treasurer of the County, for the Use of the Poor of the said County, the other Moiety to the Informer ; or the Horse forfeited shall be gelded and sold as in this Act after directed ; and after Payment of all necessary Charges, the Money arising by the Sale, shall be applied and paid as aforesaid.
The Owner not appearing, or not being known, the Justice shall order such Horse to be cut, &c. AND if, upon Notice given to the Owner of any stoned Horse taken up, and found under Size as aforesaid, the Owner shall refuse or neglect to appear before the said Justice, or to send some proper Person in his Behalf or Stead, or if the Owner of any such Horse shall not be known, then the said Justice shall order the Taker-up of any such Horse to lead or take him to some proper and skilful Person, by the said Justice to be named, and the same Horse to cause to be cut or gelded at the Risque of the Owner thereof, and the Taker-up shall take into his Care and Keeping the said Horse, until cured; for which Cutting, Keeping and Service, there shall be paid to the said Taker-up by the Owner of such Horse, or out of the Money arising by the Sale thereof, the Sum of Ten Shillings, over and above the aforesaid Sum of Twenty Shillings: Advertisements to be put up. And the said Taker-up shall put up in Three of the most publick Places of the Hundred wherein the said Horse was taken up, Advertisements describing the Size, Colour, Age and Marks of the said Horse, and setting forth, that if the Owner thereof shall not before the End of Fifteen Days then next following, come in, and prove his Property, and pay the Charges, the said Horse will be No Claim being made in 15 Days, the Horse shall be sold, &c. sold at publick Vendue. And in case no Owner shall within the said Fifteen Days claim the said Horse, and pay Charges as aforesaid, then the said Horse, being duly advertised as aforesaid, shall, by Order of the said Justice, be sold at publick Vendue, by some Constable of the same Hundred, and the Money arising by the Sale shall be delivered to the said Justice, who out of the same shall pay [Page 229] to the Taker-up his Charges for taking up, cutting and Keeping the said Horse, and his own and the Constable's Fees ; and the Overplus, if any be, shall remain in the Hands of the said Justice, for the Use of the Owner of such Horse, if within Six Months after such Sale, he shall come in, and, to the Satisfaction of such Justice, prove his or her Property therein. And in case no Owner shall, within the Space of Six Months aforesaid, prove his or her Property aforesaid, the said Overplus Money shall by the said Justice be paid to the Treasurer of the County, for the Use of the Poor of the said County ; and the said Owner shall for ever after be foreclosed and debarred from any Title or Claim thereto.
AND BE IT ENACTED, That no Person None but Freeholders may claim the Reward, &c. other than a Freeholder within this Government, shall be entitled to any Reward for taking up any such stoned Horse under Size as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all and every Sale and Sales of Horses by Virtue of this Act, shall be good. Sales of any Horse and Horses hereafter to be made by Virtue of this Act, shall be good and available in Law, to all Intents and Purposes whatsoever; and that the Buyer and Buyers of every such Horse and Horses, shall, or lawfully may hold and retain the same Horse and Horses, and every of them, to his and their own proper Use, as his and their own proper Goods and Chattels, without any Lett, Interruption, Vexation, Suit, or Trouble of the former Owner or Owners of them, or any of them, or any other Person or Persons whatsoever.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That an Act of General Assembly Repeal of a former Law; of this Government, entituled, A Law preventing stoned Horses under the Height of Thirteen Hands and an Half, from running at large, shall be, and the same is hereby repealed.
An ACT to encourage the killing of Wolves within this Government.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That if any Person shall kill any Wolf, and shall bring the Head thereof to any Justice of the Peace of any of the Counties of this Government, and upon Oath or Affirmation declare that such Wolf was killed within the County to which such Justice doth or shall belong ; every such Person shall receive, for killing a grown Wolf, the Sum of Fifteen Shillings, and for killing a Whelp, or Puppy, the Sum of Ten Shillings, to be paid by the Treasurer of the County out of the publick Money of the said County, raised or to be raised as County-Levies are; and the said Justice shall cause the Ears of every such Wolf or Puppy to be cut off, and shall give unto such Person a Receipt and Certificate to the said Treasurer, who is hereby directed and required to pay the said Money to the Person who killed such Wolf, or his Order.
An ACT for the better settling Intes [...]ates Estates.
Repealed.
An ACT for raising County-Rates and Levies.
WHEREAS it is necessary, yearly, and every Year, to raise several Sums of Money for the desraying and paying the publick Charges of the respective Counties of this Government: Therefore, for the more easy and regular laying and raising the same,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq with the King's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Cheif, under the Honourable JOHN PENN, THOMAS PENN, and RICHARD PENN, Esquires, true and absolute Proprietaries of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the respective Freeholders to chuse Assessors yearly. Counties of this Government, who are legally qualified to elect and be elected Members of Assembly, shall yearly, and every Year, on the First Day of October, at the Place appointed for making such Elections, by a Majority of Voices of the Electors, as aforesaid, for each Hundred, chuse one substantial Freeholder for every Hundred in the Counties aforesaid, to be the Assessor for the ensuing Year ; and when such Assessor or Assessors shall be so chosen, the Sheriff of the respective Counties shall take down their Names in Writing, under the Hands and Seals of Six or more of the Freeholders of the respective Counties where they shall be so choses, and certify the same to the Justices of their General Sessions of the Peace in each of the Counties next after such Election, which Return shall be entered on Record in the Session's [...] and such Assessor or Assessors being so chosen as aforesaid, shall serve in said Office, under the Penalty of Twenty Shillings, to be Penalty on Assessors not serving. recovered by a Warrant under the Hand and Seal of any one Justice of the Beace of the County, to be paid to the Treasurer soon the Use of the Poor of the County. And if any such Assessor or Assessors so chosen as aforesaid, shall happen to die, or remove out of this Government, or be otherwise disabled to serve in the said [Page 232] office, the Justices of the respective County-Courts shall so often as it shall so happen, nominate and appoint another fit Person to serve in the said Office, until a new Election shall be made in Manner aforesaid. But before any of the said Assessors so to be chosen or returned as aforesaid, shall take upon themselves the Service and Duty by them to be performed and executed, under the Directions of this Act, they shall be qualified, by taking an Oath or Affirmation, to the Effect following, viz.
I A. B. will well and truly lay, Their Qualification. or cause the Rates and Sums of Money by Virtue of this Act to be imposed or raised, duly and equally to be assessed and laid, according to the best of my Skill and Knowledge ; and herein I will spare no Person for Favour or Affection, or grieve any for Hatred or Ill-will.
WHICH Qualification may be administred by any Justices of the Peace of the respective Counties, where such Assessor or Assessors shall be chosen as aforesaid. And if the Inhabitants of any of the said Counties neglect or refuse to chuse or elect such Assessor or Assessors (after Assessors shall be once chosen by Virtue of this Act) then and so often, No new Choice being made, the old Assessors shall continue, &c. and when it shall so happen, the Assessor or Assessors of the next preceding Year shall continue to officiate in their respective Station as Assessor or Assessors, until a new Election shall be made, pursuant to the Direction of this Act.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Justices, eight Grand Jury-men, and Assessors, to meet and settle the publick Debts, &c. That the Justices of the Peace of the respective Counties within this Government, or any Three of them, at their respective Courts to be held in the Month of November yearly, and every Year, for laying the Levies, together with Eight Grand Jury-men, or such of them as will attend, and the Assessors, or the Majority of them, shall meet at the Court-Houses within the said Counties, on the next Tuesday following their respective County-Courts held in the Month aforesaid, and shall then and there proceed to calculate and settle the publick Debts and Charges of the respective Counties, allowing all just Debts and Demands which now are or hereafter shall be chargeable upon the said respective Counties, and shall settle and adjust the Sum and Sums of [Page 233] Money, which ought of Necessity to be raised yearly, to defray the Charges of building and repairing Court-Houses, Prisons, Work-Houses, or for destroying Wolves, Crows and Blackbirds, with such other Uses as may redound to the publick Service and Benefit of the said Counties respectively ; and shall also ascertain and set down such competent Sum and Sums of Money, as shall be yearly applied toward every of the said Duties and Services ; together with such Sum or Sums as may be needful to make good Deficiencies in County-Rates assessed and not yet collected, and to enforce the Collection thereof as Need may require.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Lists of Taxables, &c. to be brought in every August-Sessions. That the Clerk of the Peace in each County, shall and is hereby required, at every August-Sessions to issue forth Precepts directed to the Constables of every Hundred or District, requiring them to bring to the said Justices at the November-Sessions next after the Date of such Precepts, fair and true Lists or Accounts in Writing, upon their Oaths or Affirmation, of the Names and Surnames of all and every the taxable Persons residing or dwelling within the Limits of those Hundreds or Districts with which they shall be charged, and the Names of all the Freemen, Inmates, hired Servants, and all other Persons residing or sojourning in every of their Hundreds or Districts aforesaid ; Penalty on Neglect. upon Pain of forfeiting any Sum not exceeding Five Pounds, at the Discretion of the Justices aforesaid, to be levied by Distress and Sale of the Delinquent's Goods and Chattels, to be paid to the Treasurer of the County, for the Use of the Poor of the County ; and for Want of such Goods or Chattels, then to take the Body of such Offender or Offenders in Execution, to be committed to the County-Goal, there to remain until Debt and Cost are fully paid, or be otherwise legally discharged. And every of the said Constables shall have and receive of the Treasurer of the respective Counties for the Time being, the Sum of Five Shillings each, for their Care and Trouble in taking and returning the said Lists in Manner aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Assessors to assess themselves and others impartially. That after settling and allowing all just Debts and Demands chargeable upon the respective Counties, and adjusting and settling the Sum and Sums of Money of Necessity to be raised as aforesaid, to [Page 234] be allowed by the Justices, Grand Jury-men and Assessors aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful for the Assessors of the respective Counties, and they are hereby required to meet together, and by the Constables Returns, or any other lawful Way or Means, inform themselves what Persons and Estates in their respective Counties are rateable by Virtue of this Act ; and shall forthwith equally and impartially assess themselves and all others as aforesaid (exempting out of such Assessments all unsettled Tracts or Parcels of Land, and having due Regard to such as are poor, and have a Charge of Children, the poorer Sort of such not to be rated under Eight Pounds) and no single Man, who at any Time of Assessment is under Twenty-one Years of Age, or hath not been out of his Servitude or Apprenticeship Six Months, shall be rated by this Act ; and as to those single Men who have no visible Estates, they shall not be rated under Twelve Pounds, nor above Twenty-four Pounds.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the said respective Sums of Money, with the Names of the Persons to whom payable, and the particular Uses to which they are appropriated, shall be entered on the Minutes kept by the Clerk of the Peace of each respective County; who is to officiate as Clerk of the Levy-Court, which said Clerk is to transcribe, Fair Duplicates to be delivered to the Treasurers. from said Minutes, fair and true Duplicates of all the Proceedings of said Court, to be delivered to the Treasurer of each respective County for the Time being; who is hereby required to provide good and sufficient Books, at his own Cost and Charge, where he shall make Entries of the said Duplicates accordingly.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Copies of Assessments to be published. That after the making such Rates and Assessments as aforesaid, the Clerk of the Peace in each respective County shall set up, or cause to be set up and published in the most publick Places of the respective Hundreds of the said Counties, in Writing under his Hand, a true Copy of such Rates and Assessments as aforesaid, together with Notice of the Day appointed by this Act for holding the Court of Appeal ; and for every Neglect or Refusal Penalty on Neglect. to forfeit and pay the Sum of Twenty Shillings, to be paid to the Treasurer for the Th [...] being, for the Use of the Poor, to be recovered [Page 235] by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of any Justice of the Peace of said County, by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods and Chattels.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Justices, &c. to meet and hear Complaints, &c. That after the Justices, Grand-Jurymen and Assessors, or a Majority of them, shall have made such Rates, Calculations and Assessments as aforesaid, the said Justices shall appoint that Day Four Weeks from the Time of their meeting in each of the respective Counties, to meet again at the same Place to hear the Complaints, and redress the Grievances of such Person or Persons as shall be unequally or over-rated, and, upon just Cause shewed, they are hereby impowered to add or diminish to such Person's Rate or Assessment as to them shall seem just and reasonable; and they may then and there call before them such Person or Persons as they find are omitted in the said Assessment, Omissions to be recti [...]ed. and rectify such Omission or Omissions ; and if the Person or Persons so omitted refuse or neglect to appear, to give an Account of his, her, or their Estate or Estates, he, she, or they so offending, shall forfeit and pay any Sum under Twenty Shillings, at the Discretion of the Court, to be paid to the Treasurer for the Use of the Poor of the County, and on Default thereof, to be recovered by a Warrant under the Hand and Seal of any one Justice of the Peace of the said County, by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods or Chattels.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Collecters to be appointed. That on the Day the Justices, Grand Jury-men and Assessors do meet to hold their Court of Appeal, as before is directed, in each of the respective Counties aforesaid, or so many of them as will be present, they shall and are hereby required to nominate and appoint One substantial Freeholder at least in every Hundred, to be Collector of the publick Tax or Assessment from time to time, and immediately after such second Meeting or Days of Appeal as aforesaid, shall cause Duplicates of the said Assessments of each Hundred to be transcribed from the Records of the Court by the Clerk, and by him delivered to the Collector of each respective Hundred, with a Warrant from the Justices aforesaid, or any Two of them, impowering such Collector, in his proper District, to demand and receive of the Persons assessed, the respective Sums of Money wherewith they shall stand charged in [Page 236] his List or Duplicate as aforesaid. And if any Person or Persons so rated or assessed by Virtue of this Act, shall refuse or neglect to pay the Sum or Sums so assessed, or any Part thereof, by the Space of Ten Days after Demand made, Their Power. such Person or Persons being a Freeholder, it shall and may be lawful for the said Collectors respectively, to levy by Distress and Sale of the Goods and Chattels of the Person or Persons so neglecting or refusing to pay as aforesaid, the said several Sums of Money that the said Person or Persons stand chargeable with, and to make Sale thereof, rendering the Overplus (if any be) to the Owner or Owners thereof, after all reasonable Charges be deducted ; but if no Distress can be found by the respective Collectors, and the Party assessed refuse or neglect to shew Goods or Chattels of his own forthwith to be levied upon to satisfy such Assessment, with reasonable Charges, then such Collector shall take the Body of every such Person or Persons so neglecting or refusing to pay as aforesaid, and bring him to the County-Goal, and deliver him to the Sheriff, or Keeper of the said Goal, who is hereby required to receive and detain him in safe Custody, until Payment, with Costs, be made.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Collectors to render Account. That the said Collector shall once in Ten Months at least, from such Day or Court of Appeal as aforesaid, render a just and true Account of, and pay unto the respective County-Treasurer for the Time being, all such Sums of Money as they or any of them shall have then received, and shall pay all and every the Sums of Money aforesaid in their respective Duplicate, within the Space of Eleven Months after such Day of Appeal as aforesaid ; and the Treasurer's Receipt to the Collectors shall be a sufficient Discharge from such Collection or Assessment. Penalty on Delinquents. And if any of the said Collectors refuse or neglect to pay the Sum or Sums of Money, or any Part thereof, that they shall be accountable for as aforesaid, according to the Directions of this Act (retaining such Sum or Sums as are herein after allowed for collecting and paying the same) then such delinquent Collector shall be fined by the respective County-Court, in any Sum not exceeding Five Pounds; and the said County-Court shall appoint another Collector or Collectors as the Case may require, to act in his or their Stead until the next Court of Appeal.
[Page 237]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Fees of the respective Collectors within this Government, Collectors Fees. shall be as followeth, viz. For collecting and paying to the Treasurer any Sum or Sums of Money by him or them so collected and paid as aforesaid, at the Rate of Ten per Cent. and so in Proportion for any greater or lesser Sum or Sums of Money ; and for taking and selling the Goods or Chattels by Virtue of their Warrant in Execution, or making Distress as aforesaid, shall be Three Shillings and Six-pence, and no more ; and for taking the Body of any Person, and delivering him to the Sheriff or Goaler as aforesaid, shall be Four Shillings, and no more, any Law, Custom or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, County Treassurers to give Bond. That the respective County-Treasurers for the Time being, or any others to be chosen by Virtue of this Act, before they enter upon their respective Offices, according to the Directions of this Act, shall give Bond to the Justices of the Court of Quarter-Sessions, in the Name of the Governor for the Time being, with one or more sufficient Sureties, in the Sum of Five Hundred Pounds, conditioned for the true Execution of their respective Offices, and due Observation of this Act; which Bond shall be immediately recorded by the Clerk of the Peace, in the Minutes of the aforesaid Court: And in case of Death, Vacancies how to be supplied. or Removal of any of the said Treasurers, then the Justices of the Peace of the proper Counties for the Time being, or the major Part of them, shall appoint others to supply the Places of such as shall so die or be removed from time to time; which said Treasurer shall give Security in Manner aforesaid, and shall keep a distinct Book in each County, containing a particular Account of all the Rates and Assessments made or to be made as aforesaid, as also of all Disbursements and Payments made by Order of the Justices and Grand Jury-men, or other lawful Authority. Treasurer's Allowance, &c. And the Treasurers shall be allowed for their Trouble, in receiving and paying all such Sums of Money as shall come into their Hands respectively, by Virtue of this Act (or any other lawful Authority) the Sum of Four Pounds for every Hundred Pounds, and so in Proportion for any greater or lesser Sums of Money, to be allowed him at settling his Accounts, as is hereafter directed. And where any County-Treasurers [Page 238] shall be removed from their Office of Treasurer, they shall deliver up to his or their Successor or Successors all the Books belonging to or concerning such respective County or Counties where he or they acted, whole, intire and undefaced; and upon the Death of any County-Treasurer, his Executors or Administrators shall deliver up in like Manner, all the Books and Papers relating to the publick Accounts of the said Office, to the succeeding Treasurer or Treasurers.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Persons to be appointed to settle Treasurers Accounts, &c. That the Justices, Grand Jury-men and Assessors, at their respective Courts, to be held in the Month of November, yearly, and every Year, shall nominate and appoint out of their own Number, Three fit Persons to settle Accounts with the Treasurer, who is hereby required to lay before them the true and just State of all the Accounts relating to the Publick, in his Hands; which Three Persons shall proceed, or any Two of them, to adjust and settle the said Accounts, and make their Report to their next Court of Appeal after their Appointment as aforesaid; which Settlement, when so made, shall be signed or subscribed by the Parties as aforesaid, and then received and filed among the Papers of the said Court.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Allowance to Justices, Grand Jury-men and Assessors. That the Justices, Grand Jury-men and Assessors of the several Counties within this Government, shall be allowed and paid for their Trouble, Attendance and Expences in executing and performing what is required of them in this Act, the several Sums of Money following, viz. To the Justices, Grand Jury-men and Assessors of the County of Newcastle, the Sum of Eighteen Pounds, and no more. And to the Justices, Grand Jury-men and Assessors of the County of Kent, the Sum of Fourteen Pounds, and no more. And to the Justices, Grand Jury-men and Assessors of the County of Sussex, the Sum of Twelve Pounds, and no more. And to the respective Clerks of the Peace of the said Counties, for their Pains in officiating as Clerks of the Levy-Court, and for writing Duplicates, Warrants and Precepts as aforesaid, relating to the Premises, such Fees as the aforesaid Justices, Grand Jury-men and Assessors shall from time to time think proper to allow.
[Page 239]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Collectors to give Bond, &c. That the several Collectors of the aforesaid Counties respectively, shall each of them, before he enter upon his Office, give Bond to the Justices of the Court of Quarter-Sessions, with such Security as shall be required, in the Name of the Treasurer of each respective County, for the faithful Performance of the Trust by this Act in him reposed.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Repeal of former Laws. That all the Laws or Acts of Assembly heretofore made in this Government for the raising County-Rates and Levies, and every Matter, Clause and Thing therein contained, shall be, and are hereby declared to be repealed, and made null and void; any thing in the said Acts, or any of them, contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
An ACT for regulating and establishing Fees.
FOR preventing Extortion and undue Exaction of Fees, by the several Officers and Practitioners of Law within this Government; and to the End that all Fees may be reduced to a Certainty, and limited,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, under the Honourable JOHN PENN, THOMAS PENN, and RICHARD PENN, Esquires, true and absolute Proprietaries of the Counties and Province aforesaid, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of [...]he said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the [Page 240] same, That the Fees of the several Courts, Magistrates, Officers and Practitioners [...]f Law within this Government, shall be, as herein is ascertained, limited and appointed, viz.
That the FEES belonging to the Governor's Secretary, shall be as followeth, viz.
FOR REading and entring every Petition to the Governor, Governor's Secretary. and the Order [...] Answer thereunto, Two Shillings.
FOR A Mediterranean Pass, or Let-Pass, if required, each Three Shillings.
FOR A Register of every Vessel, Four Shillings.
FOR Writing of the Supreme Judge's Commission, a Commission of Oyer and Terminer, or for the Trial of Negroes, each Eight Shillings.
FOR A General Commission of the Peace, to be paid by the County, Eight Shillings.
FOR A Single Commission for a Justice of the Peace, to be paid by the County, Four Shillings and Sixpence.
FOR A Commission for a Sheriff, Clerk or Coroner, to be paid by the Party, Ten Shillings.
FOR Writ of Assistance, to be paid by the Sheriff, Ten Shillings.
FOR A Warrant under the Seal at Arms of the Governor for the Time being, to affix the Great Seal to any Body of Laws, or single Law passed here, Judge's Commission, Commission of the Peace, or any other Commission, Proclamation, or other publick Instrument, each Two Shillings and Six-pence.
FOR A Warrant for the Seal to a Pardon, to be paid by the Party, Four Shillings.
And that the FEES belonging to the Master of th [...] Rolls for each County in this Government, shall be as followeth, viz.
FOR REcording the Laws of this Government (if required) in a fair close Hand, Master of the Rolls. Parchment o [...] Book included, for every Line not less than Twelve Words (one with another) One Half-penny.
[Page 241]FOR An Exemplification of any Law under the Seal of the Office, either for the royal Assent, or for the Use of any County in this Government, One Half-penny per Line, and no more.
FOR Recording Deeds, Writings and Instruments appertaining to the Inrollment-Office, for each Line, and finding Paper or Parchment, as aforesaid, One Half-penny.
FOR A Copy or Exemplification of any Record in the said Office, One Half-penny per Line, to be paid by the Party demanding the same.
FOR Searching any Roll or Record, One Shilling.
FOR An Indorsement or Certificate on each Deed proved and acknowledged, and his Hand and Seal of Office thereto, One Shilling and Six-pence.
And that the FEES of the Justices of the Supreme Court, shall be as followeth, viz.
FOR ALlowing and signing the Allocator of every Certiorari, Justices of the Supreme Court. for removing of Indictments, Orders, &c. Four Shillings.
FOR Every Cause brought into Court by Certiorari, or Writ of Error, Eight Shillings.
FOR Taking Bail to prosecute a Certiorari, Two Shillings and Six-pence.
FOR Judgment on every Writ of Error, Noli prosequi, or other Matter, Bench-Fees, Eight Shillings.
FOR Every Rule of Court, Imparlance, Continuance, by Advisement or otherwise, Two Shillings.
The Justices when they sit by a Commission of Oyer and Terminer in Capital Cases, to be paid by the County where such Court of Oyer and Terminer shall be held, viz.
THe Chief Justice, Forty Shillings per Diem; Oyer and Terminer. and each of the Assistant Justices, the Sum of Thirty Shillings per Diem, besides Six-pence per Mile for their Travelling-Charges; and for their Expences during the Sitting of the Court, Ten Pounds.
And that the FEES belonging to the Attorney General, shall be as followeth, viz.
FOR EVery capital Cause, Attorney [...] General [...] where Life is concerned, Twenty-four Shillings for the Prosecution, to be paid by the Party (if able) otherwise by the County.
[Page 242]FOR But if the Bill be not found by the Grand Inquest, Twelve Shillings, to be paid as above.
FOR Every other Matter by Bill of Indictment, if found by the Grand Jury, Eighteen Shillings; if not found, Nine Shillings.
FOR Every Information brought into Court, by Leave thereof, Eighteen Shillings.
And that the FEES belonging to the Sheriff of each County of this Government, shall be as followeth, viz.
FOR SErving every Writ of Arrest, High Sheriff. and taking into Custody, Four Shillings and Six-pence.
FOR Serving a Summons, Four Shillings.
FOR Return of a Summons, Arrest or Attachment, One Shilling.
FOR Delivery of a Copy of Declaration, One Shilling.
FOR Every Bail-Bond, Two Shillings and Six-pence.
FOR Travelling-Charges to and from the Place where the Writ or Summons shall be served, One Penny per Mile.
FOR Summoning or serving a Witness with a Subpena, One Shilling, and Mileage as above.
FOR Summoning and returning a Jury in every Cause where Issue is joined, Two Shillings.
FOR Returning an Execution for Land, Six Shillings.
FOR Returning an Execution for Goods and Chattels, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR Selling the Lands or Goods executed, or delivered to the Creditor, and returning the Venditioni exponas or Liberari facias, for any Sum not exceeding Twelve Pounds, Six Shillings. And for all other Sums, at Four-pence per Pound, and no more. And that no Poundage be paid for more than the real Debt or Damage due to the Plaintiff named in the Execution.
FOR The Turn-Key's Fees, to be paid on the Discharge of a Prisoner, Three Shillings and Six-pence. If on a Debt under Forty Shillings, One Shilling.
FOR Executing Writs of Enquiry of Damages, attesting the Jury, and making Returns thereof, Ten Shillings.
FOR A Copy of a Pannel, when demanded, Nine-pence.
[Page 243] FOR Executing every other Writ of Enquiry, and all other Writs or Orders of Partition of Lands or Tenements, attesting the Jury for any Matter or Thing to be done by him about such Partition, and making Return thereof, Fifteen Shillings.
FOR But if the Business of the Partition exceed what the Jury can perform in one Day, then the Sheriff for every Day more that he shall attend on the Jury about such Partition, shall have Six Shillings per Diem.
FOR Summoning the Grand Jury to attend for One Year, Thirty Shillings.
FOR Every Judgment in civil Causes, One Shilling.
FOR Assigning every Bail-Bond, Two Shillings.
FOR Every criminal Cause brought into Court, Ten Shillings.
FOR Every capital Cause, Twenty Shillings.
FOR Levying Fines, Forfeitures, and Amerciaments, ordered to be estreated and paid to the Governor, or to the Treasurer of the County, One Shilling per Pound.
FOR Whipping every Person by Judgment or Order of Court, Five Shillings.
FOR Branding and Pilloring a Person, Ten Shillings.
FOR Pilloring only, Seven Shillings and Six-pence.
AND that the Cryer of every Court, shall have for every Action called in Court, Nine-pence.
And that the FEES belonging to every Coroner of the Counties of this Government, shall be as followeth, viz.
FOR VIewing a dead Body, Ten Shillings, Coronors. Summoning the Inquest, entering the Verdict, and returning the Inquisition, Ten Shillings.
FOR Summoning or arresting the Sheriff, or any other Person for him, Four Shillings and Six-pence, besides Mileage as allowed the Sheriff in like Cases.
And that the FEES belonging to the Justices of the Peace of the Counties of this Government, shall be as followeth, viz.
FOR WRiting, Justices. signing and sealing every Warrant of Complaint in criminal Matters, Mittimus, Recognizance, Certificate, Pass, or other Instrument, One Shilling and Six-pence.
[Page 244]FOR Writing, signing and sealing every Warrant for Debt, Attachment, Arrest or Summons, One Shilling.
FOR Taxing every Bill of Cost, and signing every Judgment of Court, One Shilling.
FOR Every Judgment of Court, upon Confession, Default, Noli prosequi, Discontinuance in Court, Bench-Fees, Four Shillings.
FOR Administring and certifying an Affidavit, or Affirmation in proving Accounts against dead Mens Estates, Six-pence.
FOR Respiting a Recognizance, One Shilling.
FOR Writing the Assignment of a Servant, signing it, and keeping a Record thereof, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR Taking a Deposition or Affidavit out of Court, drawn in Form, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR Administring every Oath or Affirmation in any judicial Proceedings in all Matters concerning the Five Pounds- or Forty Shillings-Laws, to be done ex Officio.
FOR Writing and signing the Summons for Witnesses in any Complaint of Debt founded on the Five Pounds- or Forty Shillings-Acts, Six-pence for One Witness, and not exceeding One Shilling for Two or more.
FOR Judgment, Nine-pence, and Execution thereon, One Shilling.
And that the FEES belonging to the Clerk of the Supreme Court within this Government, shall be as followeth, viz.
FOR ENtring every Action or Cause there, Clerk of the Supreme Court. One Shilling.
FOR Filing the Errors assigned in every Cause, One Shilling.
FOR Every Retraxit, Discontinuance or Quashing a Writ of Error, One Shilling.
FOR Entring every Appearance, One Shilling.
FOR Filing and entring any Demurrer, Plea, Replication, and every subsequent Plea and Issue; Calling the Jury, and attesting them, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR Attesting each Witness in every Cause, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR Recording every Verdict, One Shilling and Six-pence.
[Page 245]FOR Entring every Judgment, One Shilling.
FOR Every Continuance, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR Entring an Arrest of Judgment, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR Entring every Warrant of Attorney, Committatur, or Rule of Court, One Shilling.
FOR Reading the Record, with all the Proceedings below and above, Two Shillings.
FOR Every Noli prosequi, One Shilling.
FOR Filing a Declaration, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR Reading every Affidavit, One Shilling.
FOR Acknowledging Satisfaction upon Record, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR Every Sub-p [...]na to give Evidence, One Shilling and Six-pence; and affixing the Seal thereto, One Shilling and Six-pence.
And that the FEES belonging to the Clerk of the General Quarter-Sessions of the Peace, shall be as followeth, viz.
FOR EVery Warrant of the Peace or good Behaviour, Clerk of the Quarter-Sessions. requiring to bring Sureties, if drawn by the Clerk, Nine-pence.
FOR Every common Warrant or Mittimus, if drawn by the Clerk, One Shilling.
FOR Every Recognizance, if drawn by him, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR Every Indictment of Felony, Trespass, Assault, Battery, Riot, & c. if drawn by the Clerk, Three Shillings.
FOR A Copy thereof, One Shilling.
FOR Entring an Appearance to every Indictment or Information, Nine-pence.
FOR Discharge of every Person upon Bail for the Peace, good Behaviour, Contempt, or the like, One Shilling.
FOR Making out Process against the Defendant upon an Information or Indictment, and fixing the Seal, Three Shillings.
FOR Discharge of every Indictment upon Ignoramus, Nine-pence.
FOR Every Plea of Not-guilty, Nine-pence.
FOR Entring every special Plea or Demurrer, Nine-pence.
[Page 246]FOR Entring every Submission, One Shilling.
FOR Calling the Jury, and attesting them, Nine-pence.
FOR Attesting each Witness on every Trial, Six-pence.
FOR Entring every Verdict, Nine-pence.
FOR Entring every Judgment, Nine-pence.
FOR A Copy of every Judgment, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR Respiting a Recognizance, Nine-pence.
FOR Every Writ of Restitution, Two Shillings.
FOR Entring every Order of Sessions, Nine-pence.
FOR A Copy of the same, Nine-pence.
FOR Reading and entring every Petition, Two Shillings and Six-pence.
FOR Entring the Return at large of a Road, Two Shillings.
FOR A Copy thereof, One Shilling and Three-pence.
FOR Entring a Similiter to join Issue, One Shilling.
FOR A Venire facias and the Seal, Three Shillings.
FOR Reading the Indictment, and arraigning the Criminal, Nine-pence.
FOR Continuing the Cause, Six-pence.
FOR Reading every Evidence upon Trial, Six-pence.
FOR Entring the Allowance of Certiorari, Writ of Error, or Procedendo, Six-pence.
FOR Entring a Rule upon a Motion to arrest Judgment, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR Entring the Arrest of Judgment, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR An Habeas Corpus, Three Shillings.
FOR Drawing up and examining every Record of all the Proceedings upon Indictment or Information, in Rolls of Parchment, not less than Ten Inches wide, for every Line containing Twelve Words, One Half-penny per Line.
FOR A Copy, and signing thereof, if required, One Half-penny per Line.
FOR Making out the Estreates for the levying of Fines and Forfeitures of each Sessions, One Shilling.
FOR Writing every Recommendation for a Licence to keep a publick Inn, Tavern or Ale-House, for selling Provisions, and all Sorts of Liquors, Two Shillings.
[Page 247] And that the FEES belonging to the Prothonotary or Clerk of the Common Pleas in every County in this Government, shall be as followeth, viz.
FOR EVery Arrest, Clerk of the Common Pleas. Attachment, or Summons, if drawn by the Clerk, Four Shillings and Six-pence.
FOR Every Replevin, if drawn by the Clerk, Four Shillings.
FOR Entring any Action, Eight-pence.
FOR Filing every Declaration, Eight-pence.
FOR Copy of a Declaration in an Action of Account, Debt, Detinue, Trespass, or Assumpsit, One Shilling.
FOR Copy of a Declaration in an Action of Slander, Covenant, or Waste, Two Shillings.
FOR Withdrawing or discontinuing every Action, Six-pence.
FOR Entring every Appearance, Nine-pence.
FOR Filing every Demurrer, Plea, Replication, and Pleas subsequent, and Issue in every Action, Eight-pence.
FOR Entring every General Issue, Nine-pence.
FOR Copy of every Plea, Six-pence.
FOR Replication, or Plea subsequent, One Half-penny per Line.
FOR Calling the Jury and attesting them, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR Attesting each Witness which shall give Evidence on every Trial, Six-pence.
FOR Recording every Verdict, One Shilling.
FOR Entring the Judgment, One Shilling.
FOR Every Imparlance or Continuance, Nine-pence.
FOR Entring a Committatur, One Shilling.
FOR Admission of every Guardian or next Friend, and Copy, Two Shillings.
FOR Entring every Warrant of Attorney, and Filing, One Shilling.
FOR Entring every Committatur for Debt or Damage, One Shilling.
FOR Drawing the Bill of Costs at large, Nine-pence.
FOR Acknowledging Satisfaction of a Judgment on Record, One Shilling.
FOR Acknowledging a Deed in Court, One Shilling.
FOR Affixing the County-Seal to a Deed or other Writing, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR Reading a Deposition and Affidavit in Court, Nine-pence.
[Page 248]FOR Recording a Mark or Brand, One Shilling.
FOR Search of a Record, One Shilling.
FOR Entring an Appeal, and taking a Recognizance, Three Shillings.
FOR A Transcript of Recognizance on Appeal, when the same is drawn up at large, Four Shillings and Six-pence.
And that the FEES belonging to the several Registers of this Government, shall be as followeth, viz.
FOR GRanting and making Letters of Administration, Register. with the Seal to them, and the registring, Thirteen Shillings; but if the Estate be under Fifteen Pounds, then Half Fees, and no more.
FOR Proving a Will, with Copy under the Seal, and recording the same, Seventeen Shillings.
FOR Every Citation to Court, Three Shillings.
FOR Filing an Inventory, Nine-pence.
FOR Copy of an Inventory, and certifying the same, One Half-penny per Line.
FOR A Search, One Shilling.
FOR A Copy of Letters of Administration, Four Shillings.
FOR A Quietus, with the Seal, Four Shillings and Six-pence.
FOR Every Caveat, One Shilling.
FOR Every Renounciation entred in the Office, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR A Copy of an Administrator's Account, One Half-penny per Line.
FOR A Copy of a Will under the Seal, to any Person requiring the same, One Half-penny per Line.
And that the FEES belonging to the several Clerks of the Orphans-Court within this Government, to be as followeth, viz.
FOR REading a Petition and Filing, Clerks of the Orphans Court. One Shilling. Reading a Will, Nine-pence.
FOR Reading an Inventory, Nine-pence.
FOR Making an Order of Court, One Shilling.
FOR Entring a Judgment of Court, One Shilling.
[Page 249]FOR Reading Letters of Administration, Nine-pence.
FOR The Seal of the Office to any Writing, One Shilling,
FOR Chusing a Guardian, recording the same, and Copy, Four Shillings.
FOR Binding an Orphan, with the Copy and Seal, Five Shillings.
FOR Taking Bond, Two Shillings.
AND the Constable attending the Orphans-Court, for every Judgment of said Court, One Shilling.
And that the FEES belonging to the Attornies at Law in this Government, shall be as followeth, viz.
FOR EVery Replevin, Attornies at Law. if drawn by the Attorney, Four Shillings.
FOR All Actions that they shall undertake for Plaintiff or Defendant, with Declaration or Plea, Twelve Shillings.
FOR Attending every Writ of Enquiry, Four Shillings.
FOR Every Action brought to Judgment, and Execution, Eight Shillings.
FOR Writing every Writ of Enquiry, Scire facias, Venditioni exponas, or Execution, Three Shillings.
FOR Drawing the Recognizance for Prosecuting a Writ of Error, or Certiorari, in the Supreme Court, Two Shillings and Six-pence.
FOR Every Writ of Execution in that Court, Six Shillings.
FOR Drawing every Warrant of Attorney, One Shilling.
FOR Giving Oyer of a Bond, or other Oyer, One Half-penny per Line, Twelve Words to a Line.
FOR Drawing out the General Issue, Nine-pence.
FOR Every Replication, Demurrer, Joinder in Demurrer, or any subsequent Plea, every Line of Twelve Words, One Half-penny.
FOR Drawing out the Record of all the Process and Proceedings, in Parchment or good Paper, every Line of Twelve Words, One Half-penny.
FOR An Injunction, Prohibition, or Audita querela, Six Shillings.
[Page 250] And that the FEES belonging to the Constables of this this Government, shall be as followeth, viz.
FOR SErving every Warrant, Constables. Nine-pence. Travelling Charges, One Penny per Mile to and from the Place of serving a Warrant, to the nearest Justice.
FOR Summoning every Evidence, Nine-pence, and Mileage as above.
FOR Serving every Execution against the Body, One Shilling, and Mileage.
FOR Every Execution against Goods and Chattels, selling the same, and making Return, Three Shillings.
FOR Serving every Warrant of Attachment in the Hands of One Garnishee, One Shilling, and Mileage.
FOR Every other Garnishee, Six-pence, besides Mileage.
FOR Whipping a Criminal by Order of the Justices, Four Shillings and Six-pence.
FOR Putting a Person in the Stocks, and attending, One Shilling.
FOR Conveying any Person to the County-Goal by Mittimus, One Shilling, and Mileage.
And that the FEES belonging to all Juries, Inquests, and Evidences within this Government, shall be as followeth, viz.
FOR TRying all Actions on Issue joined, Juries. each Juror, One Shilling.
FOR Every Inquisition on Writ of Enquiry of Damages, Elegit, Partition, Inquest of Office, or any other Enquiry, each per Diem, Two Shillings.
FOR Every Inquisition made by the Coroner, or other proper Officer, on the View of a dead Body, to each Juror, Two Shillings.
AND that every Witness legally summoned to attend, shall have for every Day that he or she is obliged to attend, in order to give Evidence, Two Shillings.
[Page 251] And that the FEES belonging to the Deputy-Surveyors of this Government, shall be as followeth, viz.
FOR SUrveying every single Hundred Acres of Land, Surveyor. or lesser Quantity, Seven Shillings and Six-pence.
FOR Surveying any Tract of Land above One Hundred Acres, Seven Shillings and Six-pence for the first One Hundred Acres, and for every Hundred more, Three Shillings per Hundred.
FOR A Town-Lot, and Return of the Plot, Six Shillings: Which Fees respectively shall be paid on delivering up the Draught or Plot, and return of the Survey, signed by the Deputy-Surveyor's own Hand, to the Possessor or Owner of the said Lands or Lots, and not before.
FOR Searching for a Warrant and Return, and Copy thereof, One Shilling and Six-pence.
FOR Search for a Warrant, if not found, Nine-pence.
FOR Travelling-Charges, per Mile, One Penny, to and from the Place of Service.
And that the said Deputy-Surveyors shall in fair Books record the Warrants, and shall duly prove the Draughts or Plots, and then record them.
Which Fees as aforesaid are to be in full of all Manner of Fees that the Deputy-Surveyors by any Means whatsoever may hereafter pretend to claim or take for any Matter or Thing relating to his or their said Offices.
AND that the Fees belonging to the Chain-Carriers, Chain-Carriers. shall be Two Shillings and Six-pence per Diem, with their Accommodations.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Magistrate within this Government, in putting in Execution the Forty Shillings- and Five Pounds- Acts, or any other Officer or Officers herein before mentioned, shall by Colour of any Law, Custom or Usage of this Government, or that Part of Great-Britain called England, take, directly or indirectly, any more, greater or other Fees, than is herein before limited and appointed, for the doing, acting or performing any of the Matters, Duties, or Things herein before enumerated, or shall make Demand of any Fees, without giving the Party of whom such Fees shall be demanded, [Page 252] a Bill of Particulars (if required) or shall refuse to give the Party or Parties a Receipt under his Hand for the said Fees (upon payment thereof) every such Magistrate, Attorney, Penalty on Breach of this Law. or other Officer, shall forfeit and pay, for the first Offence, the Sum of Ten Pounds, current Money of this Government, and for the second Offence, Twenty Pounds, current Money as aforesaid, the one Half to the Governor for the Time being, and the other Half to him, her, or them, that shall sue for the same; which Penalties and Forfeitures shall and may be received in any Court of Record within this Government, by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint or Information, wherein no Essoign, Protection or Wager of Law, or more than one Imparlance shall be allowed; and for the third Offence to be displaced or removed out of Office; any Law, Custom or Usage to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Former Laws repealed. That all Laws or Acts of Assembly heretofore made in this Government, for regulating and establishing Fees within the same, and every Matter, Clause and Thing therein contained, shall be and are hereby declared to be repealed, made null and [...] any thing in the said Laws, Acts, or any of them, to the contrary notwithstanding.
PROVIDED NEVERTHELESS, AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That an Act of General Assembly of this Government, Act establishing a Great Seal continued. entituled, An Act for establishing a Great Seal for this Government, be, and is hereby declared to continue and remain in full Force and Virtue, to all Intents and Purposes whatsoever.
An ACT for the more easy and speedy Recovery of small Debts.
WHEREAS an Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for the more easy and speedy Recovery of small Debts, and the Supplement thereunto, have been found by Experience to be of real Use and Benefit to the Inhabitants thereof; AND WHEREAS the said Act and Supplement do expire at the End of this present Session of Assembly,
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, under the Honourable JOHN PENN, THOMAS PENN, and RICHARD PENN, Esquires, true and absolute Proprietaries of the Counties and Province aforesaid, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, Debts above 40s. and not exceeding [...] cognizable before a Justice of the Peace. That all Actions for Debt or other Demand, for the Value of Forty Shillings and upwards, and not exceeding Five Pounds, except such Actions as are herein after excepted, shall immediately after the Publication of this Act, be, and are hereby made cognizable before any Justice of the Peace of any of the Counties within this Government, in the County in which the Defendant shall be or reside; and the said Justices are hereby respectively impowered and required, upon Complaint to any of them made for any such Debt or Demand, The Proceedings directed. to issue a Warrant, if the Nature of a Summons or Capias, as the Case may require, directed to any Constable of the County where the Defendant dwells, or can be found, commanding him to bring or cause such Defendant to appear before him or some other Justice of the same County, at the Time, and in the Manner following; That is to say, In Cases where such Process shall be in the Nature of a Capias, forthwith after the Service thereof, but where a Summons shall be issued, then on some certain Day therein to be expressed, not less than Six, nor exceeding Ten Days from the Date of such Process. And at the Time appointed for the Hearing of any such Cause, the said Justice may proceed to hear and determine the Matter in Controversy, unless [Page 254] either Plaintiff or Defendant objects against being tried by such Justice; then and in such Case the said Justice is hereby directed to appoint, by a Summons in Writing under his Hand and Seal, Three Freeholders of the Neighbourhood, Men of good Credit, to appear before him at such Time and Place as he shall appoint, and proceed, by his Order, to hear and examine the Proofs and Allegations of the Plaintiffs and Defendants, and to determine the Matters in Difference in Manner of Arbitrators or Referees, and, upon Return of such Auditors or Referees, or any two of them, to give his Judgment thereupon; for which Summons the said Justice is hereby impowered to take Eighteen-pence, and no more; and each Referee shall be allowed, for his Service, the Sum of Two Shillings, and no more.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Penalty on Arbitrator refusing, & c. That if any Arbitrator or Referee, being legally summoned, shall neglect or refuse to appear, and proceed to hear and determine the Matters in Controversy, according to the Directions of this Act, every such Person so neglecting or refusing, shall forfeit and pay the Sum of Twenty Shillings, current Money of this Government, unless he shew sufficient Cause for such Neglect or Refusal, to be allowed by such Justice as aforesaid, to be levied, together with Costs of Suit, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of such Justice, by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods and Chattels, and applied to the Use of the Poor of the County or Hundred where the Offence arises, and the said Justice is hereby impowered and required by Summons to appoint another Referee or Arbitrator, to serve for the Purposes aforesaid.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, Process against Freeholders to be by Summons, & c. That the Process against Freeholders shall be by Summons only, and Service shall be made thereof on the Person, or a Copy thereof left at the House of the Defendant, in the Presence of one or more of his Family or Neighbours, at least Four Days before the Time appointed for a Hearing; and in case the Defendant does not appear at the Time appointed, then, on Oath or Affirmation made by the Constable, that the said Summons was duly served in Manner aforesaid, the Justice who granted the said Summons, may either then, or on such further Day as he shall deem consistent with Reason, and the Nature of the Case, to appoint, and not [Page 255] otherwise, proceed to hear and determine such Cause or Causes in the Defendant's Absence, and give Judgment, and award Execution thereupon, as if the Defendant was personally present.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Execution to be granted, & c. That after Judgment given in any of the Cases aforesaid, the Justice who pronounced the same, or some other Justice of the said County, shall grant Execution thereupon, directed to any Constable, commanding him to levy the Debt or Damages, and Costs of the Defendant's Goods and Chattels, who, by Virtue thereof, after having first publickly advertised the same, at least Ten Days, shall expose the same to Sale by publick Vendue, returning the Overplus, if any be, to the Defendant; and for Want of such Effects, to take the Body of the Defendant into Custody, and him or her to carry or convey to the common Goal of the County. And the Sheriff, or Keeper of such Goal, is hereby required to receive the Person or Persons so taken in Execution, and him, her, or them, safely to keep, until the Sum recovered, with Costs, be fully paid, and in Default of such safe Keeping, to be liable to answer the Damages to the Party aggrieved in such Manner as by Law is provided in Case of Escapes; but in Case no Effects belonging to the Defendant, sufficient to pay the Debt and Costs, can be found, it shall and may be lawful for the Plaintiff to apply to the Justice who pronounced the Judgment, for a Transcript thereof, and on filing the same in the Prothonotary's Office of the Court of Common Pleas in the County in which the Recovery shall be had, it shall and may be lawful for the Plaintiff to levy the Sum recovered, with Costs of Suit, on the Lands and Tenements of the Defendant, either by Fieri facias, Venditioni exponas, or Extent, as the Case may require, in like Manner as by Law is provided in other Cases.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, Execution not to issue against a Freeholder in less than four Months, unless, & c. That no such Execution shall be issued out against any Freeholder in less than the Space of Four Months next after the Entry of such Judgment, unless the Plaintiff, or some body for him or her shall, on Oath or Affirmation, declare that he or the hath good Reason to believe that the Debt will by such Delay be lost, for that at the End of the said Term, or before it, he or she believes that the Defendant will not have sufficient Effects in the County on which the said [Page 256] Debt may be levied; and if any Judgment to be given as aforesaid, shall be against a Person not a Freeholder, such Person shall have the Execution against him or her respited for the like Term of Four Months, on his or her entering into Recognizance to the Plaintiff, with one sufficient Security, in the Nature of special Bail, on Condition to deliver the Body of the Defendant to the Sheriff of the County at the Expiration of the Time so to be allowed, or that the Condemnation Money shall then be paid, and in Default of giving such Security, shall be committed to the common Goal of the County, there to remain until the Debt and Costs shall be paid, or such Defendant otherwise legally discharged.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED S [...]retics, how to be proceeded against, & c. by the Authority aforesaid, That if the Debtor against whom any Judgment shall have passed, and who shall have given Security, according to the Directions of this Act, shall neglect to satisfy such Judgment, or absent him or herself, so as he or she cannot be found within Ten Days after Execution shall be issued against such Person upon Oath or Affirmation made, by the Constable directed, required or commanded to serve such Execution, [...] the Party against whom such Execution has been [...] cannot by him be found within his District in the Term aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful for the Justice who gave such Judgment, or any other Justice of the same County, who is hereby required, on Application made by the Plaintiff in the Suit, his Executors or Administrators, to issue out a Precept, in the Nature of a Summons, commanding such Security to appear before him within Ten Days, and not less than Five Days, to shew Cause why Execution should not issue against such Security's Body or Effects for satisfying the Judgment aforesaid, and the accruing Costs; and in case such Security as aforesaid shall fail to shew sufficient Cause to the said Justice why such Execution should not issue, it shall then be lawful for such Justice, and he is hereby required, at the Prayer of the aforesaid Plaintiff, his Executors or Administrators, to issue ou [...] Execution against such Security for such Judgment, and the Costs, as aforesaid.
Specialties for Sums not exceeding Five Pounds, recoverable as other Debts. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Specialties, where the real Debt and Interest thereon arising shall not in the Whole exceed the Sum of Five Pounds, shall be recovered in [...] [Page 257] Manner as other Debts and Demands are recoverable, by Virtue and according to the Directions of this Act.
PROVIDED ALSO, That where the Plaintiff Plaintiff becoming Non-suit, & c. shall pay Costs. in any Cause shall become Non-suit, or Judgment shall pass against him, then the Justice is hereby required to assess the Defendant his reasonable Costs, to be levied in Manner aforesaid.
PROVIDED ALSO, That if any Person or Appeal allowed to be made to the Court of Common Pleas. Persons shall conceive him, her or themselves aggrieved by any such Judgment so to be given (Cases determined on the Return of Auditors or Referees as aforesaid only excepted) it shall and may be lawful for such Person or Persons at any Time, within the Space of Six Days next following the giving of such Judgment, but not after, to appeal there from to the next Court of Common Pleas, to be holden for the County in which such Suit shall be commenced, he, she or they first entering into Recognizance with [...]t least one sufficient Security in double the Value of the Debt or Damages sued for, and sufficient to answer all Costs, to prosecute the said Appeal with Effect, and to abide the Order of the said Court, or in Default thereof, to be sent by Mittimus to the Sheriff of the County, by him to be kept, until he, she or they, shall give such Security, or be otherwise legally discharged.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Justices shall cause Justices to keep Books of Entries, & c. fair Entries to be made in Books by them to be provided for that Purpose, of the Names of the Plaintiffs and Defendants in all such Cases as may come before them, with the Debt and Costs adjudged, and the Time when the said Judgment was given: And upon any Appeal made from any such Judgment, the Justice who pronounced the same, shall send a Transcript thereof to the Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas of the County in which such Appeal is made, on or before the first Day of the Term next following any such Appeal; for which Transcript, or any other obtained by Virtue of this Act, the Justice shall be allowed, in the Costs to be taxed, Eighteen Pence, and no more.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That at the Court to which any such Appeal shall be made, the Person so appealing [Page 258] shall cause an Entry of his Suit to be made by the Prothonotary Entry of Appellant's Suit to be made by the Prothonotary, & c.of such Court, and shall either have his Appearance entered, or give Bail to the Action, as the Nature of the Case may require, or on Neglect thereof, and Application of the Appellee to the Court for that End, the Appellant's Default shall be recorded, the first Judgment affirmed, with reasonable Costs, and Execution shall be issued out of the said Court against the Defendant's Body, Goods or Chattels, as is usual in other Cases; and in case the Defendant shall appeal, or give Bail as aforesaid, the Plaintiff or Defendant in the Appeal, as the Case may require, shall file his or her Declaration, and the adverse Party plead to Issue in such Time as shall be directed by the Court, so always, that the Cause be tried by a Jury of the Country in the Usual Manner, either at the Court to which such Appeal is made, or the next Term at farthest, unless the Court, on Cause to them shewn, shall think fit to give the Parties a further Day; and as the Verdict shall be rendered in any of the said Causes the Court shall give Judgment thereupon, as the Nature of the Case may require, with Costs of Suit.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That if the Parties Appellant and Appellee shall neglect or refuse to file his or her Declaration, or to plead to Issue in such Time as shall be directed by the Court, a Non-suit, or Judgment by Default, may be entered for Want thereof, as usual.
Costs how to be taxed. PROVIDED ALSO, That the Costs to be taxed in any such Suit to the several Officers and others concerned for the Services by them respectively to be done, shall be the same as the Costs now usually taken in the said Court of Common Pleas.
Justices from whose Judgment Appeal is made, not to sit on determining the same Cause. PROVIDED ALSO, That none of the Justices which by Virtue of this Act shall hear and determine any of the Causes aforesaid out of Court, shall afterwards sit on the hearing and determining the same Cause on any Appeal made to any of the Courts of Common Pleas aforesaid.
Relief may be given to In [...]olvents.PROVIDED ALSO, That it shall and may be lawful for the Justices in the respective Courts of Common Pleas to give such Relief to any insolvent Debtor or Debtors prosecuted in Pursuance of this Act, as they [Page 259] might have done by the Law now in Force, in case this Act had not been made.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person shall absent Justice may grant Attachment for Debt not exceeding Five Pounds, to be laid on the Goods or Effects of Absentees, & c. him or herself out of this Government, or conceal him or herself, so that he or she cannot be taken to answer his or her just Debts, or the Demands of his or her Surety or Sureties by Recognizance, Bond, Bill, Assumption, or otherwise, it shall and may be lawful for any Justice of the Peace of the County where such Person's Goods or Effects are, upon Oath or Affirmation made of the Truth of the Debt or other Demands of Sureties as aforesaid, and that the Defendant is gone out of the Government, as is believed, or doth conceal him or herself, so that he or she cannot be taken, and that the Complainant is in Danger of losing his or her Debt or Demand as aforesaid, to grant a Warrant of Attachment for any Debt or Demand for the Value of Forty Shillings and upwards, and not exceeding Five Pounds, directed to some Constable of the County, to attach the Goods and Chattels or other Effects of such Person in whose Hands soever the same may be found, within the said County, to answer the said Creditor or Surety as aforesaid to the Value Proceedings on such Attachment. of the Debt and Costs; and the Person or Persons in whose Hands any such Goods or Effects are attached, shall be obliged to appear before the said Justice, or any other Justice of the Peace of the said County, and declare upon Oath or Affirmation what Effects of the Defendant he, she, or they have in his, her, or their Hands, and pay the same for the Use of the Plaintiff, when so required by the said Justice; and upon Proof made to the Satisfaction of the Justice of the Truth of the Debt or Demand, the Justice shall award Execution for the Debt and Costs, to be executed by the Constable; which said Goods or other Effects, not being ready Money, shall be brought to an Appraisement, but not sold until the Expiration of one Month next after such Attachment shall be laid, to the End that the Debtor may have Time to redeem them, if he or she shall see Cause so to do; but in case such Goods be living or perishable Goods, the Constable so attaching, shall and may, by Virtue of an Order of the Justice granting such Attachment, after Appraisement make lawful Sale thereof, and deliver the Money arising thereby, into the Hands of the said Justice, who shall keep the same, and, at the Expiration of One Month, [Page 260] as aforesaid, shall satisfy to the Plaintiff his Debt and Costs and the Overplus (if any) shall be returned to the Defendant, or any other Person lawfully representing him or her, any Law, Custom or Usage to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
In case of real [...], Attachments to issue from the Prothonotary, & c.PROVIDED NEVERTHELESS, AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That where any Person or Persons shall absent him or herself out of this Government, having no Goods nor Chattels, or any other Effects to satisfy his or her just Debt [...], only his or her Right, Title and Claim to some Tract, Lot, or Parcel of Land, then, and in all such Cases, [...] shall and may be lawful for the Creditor or Creditors of such Absenter or Absenters as aforesaid, for any Debt or Demand of the Sum of Forty Shillings and upwards, not exceeding Five Pounds, to apply to the Prothonotary's Office in the County where the Land lies, [...] there proceed as is directed in other Cases by an Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, An [...] regulating Attachments, and the Supplement thereunto; any thing in this Act to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED [...] and Lands of nonresident Debtors may be attached. by the Authority aforesaid, That where any Person [...] Persons who do not reside within this Government stand or are justly indebted to any of the Inhabitants [...] the same, in any Sum or Sums of Money made cognizable by this Act, and shall keep out of this Government, in such Manner that he, she, or they cannot [...] taken, to answer such their just Debt or Debts as aforesaid, in such Case, upon Oath or [...] made of the Truth of the Debt or Debts, or any other Demand [...] aforesaid, and that the said Debtor or Debtors, as it is believed, doth avoid coming into this Government, left [...], she, or they should be taken, to answer his, her or their just Debt, the Creditor or Creditors shall be entitled to [...] Warrant of Attachment as aforesaid, or in case of no other Goods or Effects but Land, then to apply to the Prothonotary's Office, as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons whosoever, shall commence, sue or Prosecute any [Page 261] Suit or Suits for any Debts or Demands made cognizable Plaintiff suing in any other Manner than is directed by this Act, shall not recover Costs, unless, & c. as aforesaid, in any other Manner than is directed by this Act, and shall obtain a Verdict or Judgment therein for Debt or Damages, which without Costs of Suit shall not amount to more than Five Pounds, not having caused an Oath or Affirmation to be made before the obtaining of the Writ of Summons, or Capias, and file the same in the Prothonotary's Office respectively, that he, she, or they so making Oath or Affirmation, did truly believe the Debt due, or Damages sustained, exceeded the Sum of Five Pounds, he, she, or they so prosecuting, shall not recover any Costs in such Suit, any Law, Usage or Custom to the contrary notwithstanding.
PROVIDED ALSO, That this Act, nor any What Actions this Act doth not extend to. thing herein contained, shall be deemed, construed, or understood to extend to Actions of Debt for Rent, Debt upon Bonds for Performance of Covenants, to Actions of Covenant, to Actions of Replevin, or upon any real Contract, nor to Actions of Trespass on the Case for Trover and Conversion, or Slander, nor to Actions of Trespass for Assault and Battery, or Imprisonment, nor to such Actions where the Titles of Lands shall in any wise come in Question.
PROVIDED ALSO, That this Act shall continue Limitation. in Force for the Space of Three Years, and from thence to the End of the next Session of Assembly, and no longer.
An ACT for reprinting, exchanging, and re-emitting all the Bills of Credit, and for striking Six Thousand and One Hundred Pounds, &c. to be emitted on Loan.
An ACT for the better Relief of the Poor of the County of Newcastle.
Preamble.WHEREAS an Act of this Government, entituled, An Act for the Relief of the Poor, is conceived by the greater Part of the Inhabitants of the County aforesaid not to answer the good End and Purposes thereby intended, so far as it relates to the said County,
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, under the Honourable JOHN PENN, THOMAS PENN, and RICHARD PENN, Esquires, true and absolute Proprietaries of the Counties and Province aforesaid, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the Justices to appoint two Overseers of Poor for each Hundred. same, That the Justices of the Peace for the County of Newcastle, or any Three of them, shall, at the Time and Place of laying the County Levies, nominate and appoint two substantial Inhabitants in each respective Hundred within the County aforesaid, of which Two the Collector of the County Levies shall be One, as Overseers of the Poor of the several Hundreds within the said County, for the Year ensuing.
AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority Overseers may make a Rate, & c. aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful for the Overseer or Overseers of the Poor so nominated and appointed, to make a Rate according to the Rate of the County Assessments for the current Year, of such Sum or Sums of Money in each respective Hundred, as shall be sufficient to maintain and support the Poor and Impotent of the Hundred wherein they have attained their legal Settlement or Abode, and to be collected by the respective Collectors in each Hundred, at the Time of collecting the County [...] and [...] within [...] respective Hundreds, [...] shall be found needful for the Relief of the poor, indigent and impotent Inhabitants in the Hundred, in such Manner as by this Act is directed and appointed; and if any Person or Persons so rated or assessed, shall refuse to pay the Sum [Page 263] or Sums on them charged, that it shall and may be lawful Method of levying the same on Persons [...] to pay, & c. to and for the said Overseer or Overseers, having first obtained a Warrant under the Hands and Seals of two Justices of the Peace for the County of Newcastle, where the said Assessment is made, who are hereby required and impowered to grant such Warrant, to levy the same on the Goods and Chattels of the Person or Persons so refusing; and in case such Person shall not, within Three Days next after such Distress made, pay the Sum or Sums on him or her so assessed, together with the Charge of such Distress, that the said Overseer or Overseers may proceed to the Sale of the Goods distrained, rendering to the Owner the Overplus (if any there shall remain) on such Sale, reasonable Charges first deducted; and in case such Person or Persons have no Goods or Chattels whereby they may be distrained, that then it shall be lawful for any one Justice of the Peace to commit the Delinquent or Delinquents to Prison, there to remain without Bail or Mainprise until they have paid the same.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Father and Grandfather, What Relations shall be obliged to maintain their Poor. Mother and Grand-mother, being of sufficient Ability, shall maintain every poor, blind, lame, or impotent Child or Children, Grand-child or Grand-children, not able to work, at his, her or their the said Parent or Parents own proper Costs and Charges, as the Justices of the Peace at their General Quarter-Sessions shall order or direct; and that the Children and Grand-children of such, being of Ability, shall by such Order of the Justices as aforesaid, at their own Charges, relieve and maintain their Fathers and Mothers, Grand-fathers and Grand-mothers, not having any Estate, nor being of Ability to work, on Pain of forfeiting Forty Shillings for every Month they shall fail therein.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That any two Justices of the Overseers impowered to bind out poor Children. Peace for the said County, with the Consent and Approbation of the Overseer or Overseers of the Poor of the respective Hundred, are hereby impowered, and required to bind out Apprentices to Trades, or otherwise, the Children of all such who shall not by the said Justices and Overseer or Overseers be thought of Ability to maintain and educate them, for such Term and Terms as the said Justices and Overseer or Overseers in their Discretion shall [Page 264] see meet, so as that any such Male Child be not bound longer than until he shall arrive at the Age of Twenty-one Years, and a Female until she shall arrive at Sixteen Years.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Order to be obtained before any Poor are relieved. by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person or Persons shall be admitted or entered into the Poors Books, or receive Relief from the Overseers of the Poor, before such Person or Persons have procured an Order from two Justices of the Peace for the same; and in case the said Overseers shall enter into their Books, or relieve any such poor Person or Persons, without such Orders, they shall forfeit all such Money or Goods paid or distributed, unless the Justices shall approve and allow them the same upon making up their Accounts.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Overseers to make up their Accounts yearly, & c. by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Overseers shall yearly at the Court, when the County Levy is laid, make up their Accounts with the Magistrates, or any three of them, and if any Money shall then be found remaining in the Hands of any of the said Overseers, the same shall be paid to the respective Overseers of the Poor who shall next succeed in that Office; and the said Justices, or any three of them, shall then and there appoint other Overseers in Manner aforesaid, to serve for the succeeding Year; and in case the Overseers shall neglect to bring such their Accounts, and pay what Money is levied for the Use of the Poor, and shall be found to be remaining in their Hands, Penalty on Neglect or Refusal. such Overseer or Overseers so neglecting, shall forfeit any Sum not exceeding Fifty Pounds, or as the Justices shall think fit.
Penalty on Overseers refusing to serve when appointed. AND in case the Person or Persons so appointed by the said Justices, to be Overseers of the Poor of any Hundred or Hundreds within the County aforesaid, shall refuse to take upon him or them the said Office, and to do his or their Duty therein, he or they shall forfeit the Sum of Five Pounds each; which said several Forfeitures shall go and be to the Use of the Poor of the Hundred or Place where such Neglect or Refusal shall be made, and shall be levied by the Constable, by Warrant from any two Justices of the Peace of the County aforesaid, under their Hands and Seals, on the Goods and Chattels of such Person or Persons so neglecting or refusing, and by the Constable sold [Page 265] within Ten Days after such Distress is made, and if there happen any Overplus upon the Sale thereof, the same shall be paid to the Person or Persons to whom the same shall belong, reasonable Charges first deducted; and if in case such Person or Persons so neglecting as aforesaid, shall not have Goods or Chattels whereby he or they may be distrained as aforesaid, that then the said Justices may commit the Offender or Offenders to Prison, there to remain, without Bail or Mainprise, till the said Forfeitures shall be by them fully satisfied and paid, and the Justices shall impower another Person in Room of him so refusing.
AND for the better ascertaining what Settlement shall render one an Inhabitant by this Act, BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That where any Person is lawfully hired as a Servant in What Settlement shall render one an Inhabitant. any Town, Hundred or District within the County aforesaid, who shall continue and abide in the same Town, Hundred or District, during the Space of one whole Year, without being w [...]rned to depart such Service, shall be adjudged and deemed a good Settlement therein; and if any Person shall be bound an Apprentice or Servant by Indenture within any Town, Hundred or District within the said County until the Time of his or her Apprenticeship or Servitude shall expire, such binding and inhabiting shall be adjudged a good Settlement; and if any Person, who shall hereafter come to inhabit in any Town, Hundred or District within the said County, shall for himself, and on his own Account, execute any publick annual Office or Charge in any Town or Hundred in the County aforesaid, during one whole Year, or shall be charged with and pay Levies, or share towards the County Taxes or Levies for the Poor in any Hundred within the said County, then he shall be adjudged and deemed to have a legal Settlement in the same; and that no other Person or Persons whatsoever, who shall come into any Town, Hundred or District within the said County, shall be adjudged to have procured a legal Settlement in such Town, Hundred or District in the County aforesaid, unless he, she, or they, shall really and bona fide take a Lease of the yearly Value of Fifty Shillings per Annum of some House, Lot or Plantation in the County aforesaid, and continue therein one whole Year, without being warned to depart, unless he, she, or they, give sufficient Security to indemnify the said Town, Hundred or District within the said County, from [Page 266] any Charge that may accrue by Reason of such Persons coming into such Town or Hundred within the said County, to be allowed by any two Justices of the Peace of the said County.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That where any Person or Persons are come into any Town, Hundred or District within the said County, out of any other County or Hundred, or out of any other Place or Province, and being likely to become chargeable to the Place or Places aforesaid, where they are so come to inhabit, have been or shall be required by the Overseers of the Poor within the County aforesaid, to return from whence they came, or give Security for to indemnify the Town or Hundred within the County aforesaid, where they are come to inhabit, he, she, or they, refusing or neglecting so to do, shall not be deemed to have acquired a legal Settlement by their Continuance in the Town or Hundred where they are so come to inhabit, but that, upon Complaint made by any of the Overseers of the Poor within any Town or Hundred within the said County, to any one or more of the Justices of the Peace in the said County, where any of the said Persons refusing or neglecting to return or give Security as aforesaid, or coming to settle in any Tenement or Plantation under the said yearly Values of Fifty Shillings, or otherwise obtaining a lawful Settlement, according to the true Meaning of this Act, shall reside or be found at the Time of such Complaint, it shall and may be lawful to and for any two Justices of the Peace, by their Warrant, to remove and convey such Person or Persons to the County or Place where he, she, or they, were last legally settled, either as Housholder, Sojourner, Apprentice or Servant, Unless he, she, or they, give sufficient Security that they shall not become chargeable to the said Town or Hundred, which Security shall be allowed by the said Justices.
Importers of Persons may be obliged to give Security for them. AND if any Person or Persons be imported or brought into any Town or Hundred within the said County, it shall then be lawful for any two of the said Justices to cause to come before them the Master or Owner of the Vessel wherein such Person or Persons were imported, or the Importer or Bringer-in of such Person or Persons, and oblige them to export or carry back to the Place from whence they came any such Person or Persons [Page 267] so by them imported or brought in, and upon Neglect or Refusal so to do, or to give such sufficient Security to the Magistrates as aforesaid, to bear the Town or Hundred harmless from any Charges that may accrue by Means of the Person or Persons so imported or brought in, then it shall and may be lawful for the said Justices, or any two of them, to commit such Master, Owner, Importer or Bringer-in, to Goal, there to remain until he or they shall comply with the Order of the said Justices.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That if any Person or Persons shall find him, her, or themselves, aggrieved by any Order or Determination, which any of the said Justices of the Peace shall make in any of the Cases abovesaid, such Person or Persons shall have Liberty to appeal to the next General Quarter-Sessions of the Peace for the County aforesaid, who, upon hearing such Appeal, shall have full Power finally to determine the same, and to award Costs, as the Justices of the Peace at their Quarter-Sessions in that Part of Great Britain called England, by a Statute made in the Eighth and Ninth Years of King WILLIAM the Third, are impowered and required to do in such Cases.
AND if any Person be removed by Virtue of this Act, Overseers obliged to receive removed Poor. from any Town or Hundred, or Place within this County, to any other Town or Hundred within the same, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of two Justices of the Peace as aforesaid, that the Overseers of the Hundred or Place to which the said Persons shall be so removed, are hereby required to receive the said Persons; and if any of Penalty on Refusal. the said Overseers shall refuse or neglect so to do, he or they so offending, upon Proof thereof by one or more credible Witnesses, upon Oath or Affirmation before any two of the Justices, shall forfeit for such Offence the Sum of Five Pounds, to the Use of the Poor of the Hundred or Place from which such Person was removed, to be levied in Manner and Form as aforesaid, by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of the said Justices, or any two of them, which they are hereby impowered and required to make, directed to the Constable or Constables of the Hundred where such Offender or Offenders dwell, returning the Overplus (if any be) to the Owner or Owners; and for Want of sufficient Distresses, then the Offender to be committed to [Page 268] the Goal, and there to remain without Bail or Mainprise for the Space of Forty Days.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That any Person or Appeal allowed. Persons, who shall think themselves aggrieved with any such Judgment of two Justices, may appeal to the next General Court of Quarter-Sessions of the Peace, to be held for the County from which the said Person or Persons were removed, and that the Appeal against any Order, for the Removal of any poor Person out of any Hundred or Place within the County, shall be had, prosecuted and determined at the General Quarter-Sessions for the said County, Hundred or Place, from whence such Persons shall be removed, doth lie, and not elsewhere.
AND to the End that the Money raised only for the Relief of such as are impotent and poor, may not be misapplied and consumed by idle, sturdy and disorderly Beggars, BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Poor to wear a Badge.Authority aforesaid, That every such Person, who, from the Publication of this Act, shall be upon the Collection, and receive Relief of any Hundred within the said County, and the Wife and Children of any such Person cohabiting in the same House, such Child only excepted as shall by the Overseers of the Poor be permitted to live at home, in order to have the Care of and attend an impotent and helpless Parent, shall upon the Shoulder of the right Sleeve of the Upper-Garment of every such Person, in an open and visible Manner, wear such Badge or Mark as is herein after mentioned and expressed; That is to say, A large Roman P, together with the first Letter of the Hundred or Place within the County whereof such poor Person is an Inhabitant, cut either in red or blue Cloth, as by the Overseers of the Poor it shall be directed and required; and if any poor Person shall at any Time neglect or refuse to wear such Badge or Mark in Manner aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful for any Justice of the Peace for the County where any such Offence shall be committed, Penalty on Refusal. upon Complaint to him for that Purpose made, to punish every such Offender for such Offence, either by ordering of his or her Relief, or usual Allowance of the Collection, to be abridged or withdrawn, or otherwise by committing such Offender to the House of Correction, there to be kept at hard Labour for any Number of Days, not exceeding Twenty-one Days, as to the said Justices shall seem meet. [Page 269] And if any such Overseer or Overseers of the Poor shall relieve any such poor Person not having or wearing such Badge or Mark as aforesaid, being thereof convicted upon the Oath or Affirmation of One or more credible Witnesses before any one Justice of the Peace within the County or Hundred where such Offence shall be committed, shall Penalty on Overseers relieving Poor not wearing the Badge. forfeit for every such Offence the Sum of Twenty Shillings, to be levied by Distress and Sale of the Goods of every such Offender, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of such Justice, one Moiety thereof to the Informer, and the other to the Poor of the Hundred where the Offence shall be committed.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons Penalty on entertaining vagrant Poor. inhabiting within any of the Hundreds of the said County, shall for above the Space of Three Days harbour or entertain any such poor or impotent Person or Persons coming into any Town or Hundred, without making Report, or giving Notice thereof to the Overseer or Overseers of the Poor of the Hundred, or to the nighest Justice, every such Person so harbouring or entertaining any such poor or impotent, or sturdy Beggars, upon due Proof thereof made before any Justice of the Peace for said County, shall forfeit the Sum of Five Shillings, to be levied, with Costs of Suit, and applied to the Use of the Poor, as aforesaid; and if any Person so harbouring or entertaining any such poor, or impotent, or vagrant Person, without giving such Notice as aforesaid, shall neglect or refuse, at his or her Expence, to cause such to be removed out of the said Hundred, within the Time limited, every such Person shall for such Neglect or Refusal forfeit the Sum of Five Pounds, to be levied, together with Costs, by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods and Chattels, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of any two Justices of the County, and paid to the Overseer or Overseers of the Poor, for the Use of the Poor in the Hundred where such Offence shall be committed; and such poor, vagrant or impotent Person, shall by Warrant of the same Justice or Justices be removed out of the Hundred or County, without further Delay.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Acts of General Assembly Former act [...]. of this Government, for the Relief of the Poor, [Page 270] so far as they relate to the County of Newcastle, be and are hereby repealed, annulled, and made void, to all Intents and Purposes whatsoever.
An ACT to impower Executors and Administrators within this Government, by Leave of Court, to convey Lands contracted for with their Decedents.
WHEREAS it frequently happens that Persons Preamble. within this Government sell Lands, and by Bond or other Writings obligatory under their Hands and Seals, in their Life-time duly executed, oblige themselves and their Heirs to convey the same, and die before they have conveyed the Lands so contracted for, sometimes Intestate, and sometimes without making sufficient Provision by their last Wills or Testaments, for discharging such Obligation or Contract, by which Means the Purchaser or Purchasers may be without the full Use or Benefit of his, her, or their Purchase or Purchases, for many Years, when the Heir or Heirs are in his or their Minority; whence many Inconveniencies already have, and hereafter may arise, both to the Purchasers, and to the Estates of the Deceased, for Want of some proper Provision for fulfilling their mutual Contracts. For remedying whereof for the future, and for preventing the Costs and Damages which may accrue to the Estate of the Deceased, for Want of such Contracts being complied with,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, under the Honourable JOHN PENN, THOMAS PENN, and RICHARD PENN, Esquir [...], true and absolute [Page 271] Proprietaries of the Counties and Province aforesaid, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the Publication of this Act, Bond to convey Land must be proved, & c. any Person or Persons whatsoever, having any Bond or other Writing, under Hand and Seal duly witnessed, whereby any deceased Person or Persons hath or have obliged him, her, or themselves, or their Heirs, to convey any Land or Lands, which has not been complied with in the Life-time of the Deceased, such Person or Persons having any such Bond or Writing in Possession, whether in his, her, or their own Right, or as Attorney, Agent, Trustee, or Guardian to any other Person or Persons whatsoever, shall, before he, she, or they, bring any Suit against any Executor or Executrix, Administrator or Administratrix, procure the said Bond or Writing to be proved in open Court of Common Pleas, in the County where the said Lands lie, in the same Manner as Deeds executed by deceased Persons, and not acknowledged in their Life-time, are directed to be proved, which Probate the Clerk Probate to be certified, & c. of the said Court shall certify under his Hand and Seal of the said County, and when so certified and recorded in the Rolls Office, shall be shewn to the Executor or Executrix, Administrator or Administratrix concerned, who shall then be at Liberty to prefer a Petition to the said Court, praying Leave to execute a Deed for such Lands, in Discharge of such recorded Bond, or other sealed Writing as aforesaid; whereupon the said Court shall, and are hereby Order to issue for Conveyance, & c. authorised and required, as often as any such Petition shall be to them preferred, to give an Order for the said Executor or Executrix, Administrator or Administratrix, to execute and acknowledge in open Court a Deed or Conveyance of and for the said Land or Lands, according to the Tenor and true Intent and Meaning of the respective Writing or Writings so proved and recorded as aforesaid.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That the Consideration Consideration Money to be first paid. Money, if any shall appear to be due for the said Lands, shall be first paid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Deeds and Conveyances Such Conveyances to be valid, & c. executed by Virtue of, and in Pursuance of this Act, shall be as good and available in Law and Equity, and as [Page 272] binding on the Estate of the Deceased, as the same might or could have been if executed by the Deceased in his, her, or their Life-time.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Suits brought contrary to the Direction of this Act, shall not recover Costs. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons shall bring any Suit in any Court of this Government, for Non-performance of any such Writings as aforesaid, without first proving, recording, and acquainting the Defendant thereof, according to the Direction of this Act, such Person or Persons shall not recover any Costs in such Suit, any Law, Custom or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding.
Executor, & c. suffering Suit, to pay Costs, unless, & c. AND that any Executor or Executrix, Administrator or Administratrix, who shall suffer him, her, or themselves, to be sued in any such Case or Cases, after due Proceedings and Notice given him, her, or them, according to the Direction of this Act, shall pay the Costs of such Suit, without burthening the respective Estate therewith, except he, she, or they, shall shew good Reason for the same to be allowed of by the Orphans Court within the respective Counties of this Government.
An ACT for the enabling Religious Societies of Protestants within this Government, to purchase Lands for Burying-Grounds, Churches, Houses for Worship, Schools, &c.
Preamble. WHEREAS sundry Religious Societies of People within this Government, professing the Protestant Religion, have, at their own respective Costs and Charges, purchased small Pieces of Land within this Government, and thereon have erected Churches, and other Houses of religious Worship, School-Houses, and inclosed Part [Page 273] of the same Lands for Burying-Grounds; AND WHEREAS the said Lands were purchased and paid for by the said respective Societies in the Name or Names of Persons, at that Time being of, or professing themselves to be of the same religious Persuasion with the Societies who made Use of the Names of the said Persons as Trustees for and in Behalf of the said Societies; AND WHEREAS some of the said Trustees, or their Heirs, having afterwards changed their Opinions, and joined themselves to other Religious Societies, of a different Persuasion from the People by whom the said Persons were at first intrusted, and, upon Pretext of their having the Fee-simple of the Lands so purchased in their Names vested in them, have, contrary to the true Intent and Meaning of the first Grant, or Gift, attempted (by granting away the said Lands, Houses of religious Worship, and Burying-Grounds) to deprive the Society of People in Possession of the same, of the Right and Use of the said Houses of Worship and Burying-Grounds, to the great Disquiet and Uneasiness of many of the good People of this Government; and others, being intrusted in the like Manner, may hereafter do the same. For Remedy whereof, and for the better securing the several Religious Societies in the quiet and peaceable Possession of their Churches, Houses of Worship, School-Houses, Alms-Houses, and Burying-Grounds within this Government,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, under the Honourable JOHN PENN, THOMAS PENN, and RICHARD PENN, Esquires, true and absolute Proprietaries of the Counties and Province aforesaid, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That all Gifts, Grants, or Bargains and Sales, made of Grants to Trustees of Religious Societies, & c. declared to be for the Use of such Societies, & c. Lands or Tenements within this Government, to any Person or Persons in Trust for Societies of Protestant Churches, Houses of religious Worship, Schools, Alms-Houses, and for Burying-Grounds, or for any of them, shall be, and are hereby ratified and confirmed to the Person or Persons to whom the same were sold, given, or granted, their Heirs and Assigns in Trust, and not otherwise, [Page 274] but for the Use of the same Religious Societies for whom they were at first so sold, given, granted, or purchased, according to the true Intent and Meaning of such Gifts, Grants, or Bargains and Sales; and that every Sale, Gift, Grant, or Devise of any such Trustee or Trustees, or any Person or Persons, in whose Name or Names the said Lands for erecting Churches, Houses of religious Worship, Schools, Alms-Houses, or Burying-Grounds, within this Government, were purchased, taken, or accepted, or the Heirs or Assigns of such Trustees shall be, and are hereby declared to be for the sole Use, Benefit and Behoof of the said respective Societies, who have been in the peaceable Possession of the same, for the Space of Seven Years next before the First Day of April, in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Forty-four, or for whose Use the same were at first given, granted, or devised, and no other.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Religious Societies may hold Lands, & c. by the Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful to and for any Religious Societies of Protestants within this Government, to purchase, take, and receive by Gift, Grant, or otherwise, for Burying-Grounds, erecting Churches, Houses of religious Worship, Schools, and Alms-Houses, for any Estate whatsoever, and to hold the same, for the Uses aforesaid, of the Lord of the Fee by the accustomed Rents.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, But only for the Uses in this Act mentioned. That nothing in this Act contained shall be deemed, taken, or construed, to enable any of the said Religious Societies of People, or any Person or Persons whatsoever, in Trust for them, or to their Use, to purchase, take, or receive, any Lands or Tenements by Gift, Grant, or otherwise, for or towards the Maintenance or Support of the said Churches, Houses of Worship, Schools, or Alms-Houses, or the People belonging to the same, or for any other Use or Purpose, save for the Uses in this Act before mentioned.
PROVIDED ALSO, That this Act, nor any thing therein contained, shall be deemed or construed to impeach the just Right or Title which any Person or Persons may have to any of the Lands or Tenements herein [Page 275] before mentioned, so that they prosecute such their Right or Claim within the Space of Three Years next after the Publication of this Act.
An ACT for enabling the Trustees of the respective Loan-Offices within this Government, to lend Two Hundred and Thirty Pounds for the Uses in this Act mentioned.
An ACT for reprinting, exchanging, and re-emitting Twenty Thousand Pounds of the Bills of Credit of this Government.
An ACT for repairing and amending the Highways, Roads, Causeways, and Bridges, within the Hundred of Newcastle.
WHEREAS the Manner and Method of repairing Preamble. and amending the publick Highways, Roads, and Causeways, according to the Direction of a late Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for erecting publick Bridges, Causeways, and laying out and maintaining Highways, is found to be disagreeable to the Inhabitants of the Hundred of Newcastle aforesaid, and by no Means to answer the good intentions of the said Act,
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, [Page 276] by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That Overseers, with one Justice, may agree with and employ Persons to keep the Roads, & c. in Repair. the Overseer or Overseers of the Highways, within the Hundred of Newcastle, appointed, or to be hereafter appointed by the Court of Quarter-Sessions, by Virtue of the said Act, together with One Justice of the Peace within the said Hundred, shall have Power, and are hereby required to agree with, and employ some proper Person or Persons (if any such can be found) from Year to Year, as they may think fit and convenient, to keep in Repair and amend all the publick Highways, Causeways, and Bridges, leading through the said Hundred (except such Bridges lying over Creeks and deep Waters, as are to be erected and supported at the common Expence of the County, according to the Direction of the said Act) which Agreement (if any such be made) shall by the Clerk of the Such Agreement to be recorded. County be entered on the Records of the said Court, thence after to be made Use of as Occasion may require, and the said Justice and Overseers shall draw an Order or Orders on the Treasurer of the County for the Time being, for the Payment of such Sum or Sums of Money, which are in such Agreement mentioned, payable to such Person or Persons so undertaking and compleating the same. Or they may employ Labourers, & c. But in case no such Agreement shall be made, then the Overseer or Overseers of the Highways within the said Hundred, together with such Justice residing and dwelling in the said Hundred, are hereby impowered and required to employ Labourers and Workmen to repair and amend such Highways, Bridges, and Causeways, as aforesaid, which The Treasurer to pay, & c. said Labourers and Workmen shall be paid by Orde [...] drawn by the said Justice and Overseers on the said Treasurer, who is hereby required to pay the same, as aforesaid, and the Account of the Charges thereof shall be brought into the next succeeding Court to be held for raising County Levies, in order that the same may be levied on the Inhabitants of the Hundred of Newcastle aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED The Money so paid to be raised on the Inhabitants. by the Authority aforesaid, That all and every the Sum and Sums of Money, which shall hereafter be paid for repairing any Roads, and erecting of Bridges (except what is before excepted) within the Hundred of Newcastle, by Virtue of this Act, shall be assessed and raised upon the [Page 277] Inhabitants of the said Hundred, in the Manner as other County Levies are raised.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Overseer or Overseers so appointed, or to be appointed, by the Directions of this Act, for laying out Roads, or any Person or Persons employed, or undertaking as aforesaid, shall neglect or refuse to do his or their Duty by this Act required, or, after Notice to him or them given by such Justice or Overseer of the said Hundred, shall, after the Space of Ten Days, suffer any of the said Roads, & c. within his or their District by him or them so undertaken, to remain unpassable, incumber'd, or unrepaired, upon Complaint and due Proof thereof made before any such Justice, every such Person employed or undertaking as aforesaid, shall for every such Neglect forfeit the Sum of Five Pounds, Penalty on Neglect. to be levied, together with Costs, by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods and Chattels, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of such Justice, and paid by the Treasurer of the County, towards defraying the Charge of repairing the Roads of the said Hundred.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That it shall not be Out of what Money the Treasurer is to pay.lawful for the Treasurer of the County of Newcastle, to pay any Order or Orders that shall be drawn on him as aforesaid, for the Uses aforesaid, out of any other Part of the County's Stock, only such as shall be levied, from time to time, on the taxable Persons of the Hundred of Newcastle aforesaid, any thing in this Act to the contrary thereof notwithstanding.
An ACT concerning Rangers and Strays.
Preamble. WHEREAS an Act, entituled, An Act concerning Rangers and Strays, has been found by Experience to be of real Use and Benefit to the Inhabitants of this Government; AND WHEREAS the said Act, passed in the Fifteenth Year of his present Majesty's Reign, did expire the Twentieth Day of October, in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Forty-four,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, Young Creatures not to be deemed Strays, except, & c. and by the Authority of the same, That no Horse, Mare, Colt, or horned Cattle, shall be taken, or deemed to be Stray, unless the same be of the Age of Eighteen Months at the least, except such as follow their Dams being Strays; and that no Person or Persons whatsoever, at any Time, after the Publication of this Act, shall take up as a Stray any unmarked Horse, Gelding, Mare, Colt, or any other Cattle, that shall be under the Age of Eighteen Months, except such as are before excepted, under the Penalty of Penalty on taking up such as Strays. Five Pounds, to be recovered as herein after directed; but if any such Beasts or Cattle as aforesaid, of the Age of Eighteen Months, or upwards, be found at large, it shall and may be lawful to take up, and carry the same to the Ranger of the respective County wherein such Beasts or Cattle shall be so taken up, to be secured and disposed of Penalty on marking Creatures not belonging, & c. according to Law. And every Person who shall mark or brand any Horse, Gelding, Mare, Colt, or horned Cattle, not belonging to him or her, shall forfeit the Value of the said Horse, Gelding, Mare, Colt, or horned Cattle, together with Costs of Suit, to be recovered as herein afterwards directed, with respect to any Person or Persons who shall ride, work, use, or abuse, any Stray or Waif.
Creatures not having been strayed Six Months, shall not be taken up, unless trespassing, & c. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person or Persons whatsoever shall presume to take up any marked Horse, Gelding, Mare, Colt, or other Cattle, before the same shall have been a Stray from the Owner for the Space of [Page 279] Six Months next before such Taking-up, unless such Horse, Gelding, Mare, Colt, or other Cattle, as shall trespass upon, or prejudice, such Person or Persons, and then, and in such Case, the Person taking up any such Creature or Creatures, and not knowing the Owner or Proceedings in Case of Trespass, & c. Owners thereof, shall take or lead the same to the next Justice of the Peace of the County wherein the said Trespass shall be committed, and shall, upon Oath or Affirmation, declare, that he doth not know who is the Owner or Owners thereof, and that the said Stray or Strays hath or have really trespassed upon him or her, without his or her Default, which Oath or Affirmation such Justice is hereby impowered and required to administer, and shall award to such Person or Persons for his or their Trouble of taking up, leading, or driving to the Ranger, such trespassing Creature or Creatures, such Satisfaction as to the said Justice shall seem reasonable; for doing whereof, administring the said Oath or Affirmation, and certifying the same under his Hand and Seal, the said Justice shall receive the Sum of Eighteen-pence, and no more; and the Sum awarded by such Justice, together with the said Sum of Eighteen-pence, shall by the Ranger of the County be paid to the said Person or Persons so trespassed upon, when the said trespassing Creature or Creatures shall by the Ranger be delivered to the Owner or Owners thereof, or after Sale thereof made by the Ranger, and Deduction of his Fees, and Charges of keeping the same; and the said Person or Persons so trespassed upon as aforesaid, then, and not before, shall, and lawfully may take, and deliver to the Ranger, together with the said Certificate, such Horse, Gelding, Mare, Colt, or other Cattle, in order to be entered in his Book; and that no Person or Persons whatsoever shall take up any marked Creature or Creatures not committing Trespass, unless the same shall have been strayed or absent from the Owner at least for the Space of Six Months, after which Time it shall and may be lawful to take up, and take and lead the same before a Justice as aforesaid, who shall administer such Oath or Affirmation, as before directed, and make such reasonable Allowance, as before mentioned, to be paid, together with the like Fee, to the Justice by the Ranger, as aforesaid, and the Stray or Strays shall be delivered to the Ranger in the Manner before appointed.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That any Person or Persons, [Page 280] Penalty on working of Strays, & c. who shall ride, work, use, or abuse any Stray or Waif, upon Complaint and due Proof thereof made to any two Justices of the Peace of the County wherein the Offence shall be committed, shall for the first Offence forfeit, by the Judgment of such Justices, the Value of such Stray or Waif, to be recovered, together with Costs, by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods and Chattels, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of the said Justices, and paid, the one Moiety thereof to the Informer, and the other Moiety to the Owner or Owners of such Stray or Strays, if known, and if not known, to one of the [...] Justices, for the Use of such Owner or Owners; but if Fine how to be disposed of. within Six Months next after such Conviction, the said Owner or Owners shall not, to the Satisfaction of such Justice, prove his or their Right to the Moiety of the said Fine, then the same shall by the said Justice be paid to the Treasurer of the County wherein the Offence is or shall be committed, for the Use of the Poor of the said County, and for every other Offence as aforesaid, such Offender or Offenders shall forfeit and pay double the Value of such Waif or Waifs, Stray or Strays, to be valued, recovered, and disposed of in Manner aforesaid. Insolvent Offenders to make Satisfaction by Servitude. And if such Offender or Offenders shall not be able to pay such Forfeiture or Forfeitures as aforesaid, he or they shall and may be bound by such two Justices of the respective County where such Offence shall be committed as aforesaid, to any Person or Persons as such two Justices shall think proper, for any Term not exceeding Two Years, to make Satisfaction for the Forfeitures aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Ranger to receive and make Entry of Strays brought to them, & c. by the Authority aforesaid, That every Ranger within this Government, shall, and is hereby required to receive into his Custody every Horse, Gelding, Mare, Colt, and other Cattle, brought to him with such Certificate, and shall enter the same in his Book; and the said Ranger shall and is hereby required to keep a fair Book, in which he shall enter, in a fair and legible Hand-writing, the Colours, Flesh-Marks, and Brands of all Stray and Strays which any such Ranger shall take up, or which shall be brought to him, with the Date or Time when he shall take up the same, or they shall be brought to him, and shall within one Week after the Receipt of any such Stray And advertise them. or Strays, fix up one Advertisement in the most put [...] Place in each respective Hundred in the County to which such Ranger doth belong, describing the Colour, [...], [Page 281] and Brands of such Stray or Strays, and if within Three Months next after the bringing to the Ranger any such Stray, the Owner thereof shall come to the Ranger, and prove his Property in the same, as before directed, and shall pay to him for his Trouble the Sum of Five Shillings, Charges. and his reasonable Charges of keeping the same, and also the Sum awarded to the Taker-up, and Justice's Fee, as aforesaid, then the Ranger shall deliver to such Owner the said Stray; and in case, after the Expiration of the said Three Months, and before the Sale of any such Stray, the Owner thereof shall come in, and prove his or her Property in the same Manner as aforesaid, if the Owner and Stray how to be valued, & c. Ranger do not agree as to the Value of the Stray, the same shall be valued by two substantial, honest, and judicious Freeholders of the respective County, to be qualified for that Purpose upon their Oath or Affirmation, by some Justice of the Peace of the same County, and the Stray shall be delivered to the Owner, upon his or her paying to the Ranger, for his Trouble at the Rate of Two Shillings in the Pound, according to such Valuation, and his reasonable Charges of keeping, and the Charge for taking up, appraising, and Justice's Fees, arisen thereon; but in case the Owner shall refuse to pay the aforesaid Charges, or shall not appear within the Time herein after limited for the Sale of Strays, then the Ranger shall cause such Stray to be sold at publick Vendue to the highest Bidder, and out of the Money arising by the Sale, shall reserve to himself, for his Trouble, at the Rate of Three Shillings in the Pound, according to such Sale, and his reasonable Charges of keeping the Stray (whereof any Justice of the Peace of the same County shall, and is hereby declared to be a proper Judge) and out of the Residue of the Money, if any be, shall pay to the Justice, and Taker-up, their respective Dues as aforesaid; and, after Payment of all necessary Charges, the Residue of the Money arising by the said Sale, if any be, shall remain in the Ranger's Hands, by him to be paid to the Owner of such Stray, if, within the Space of Twelve Months next after such Sale, he appear and prove his Right to the same, to the Satisfaction of any one Justice of the Peace of the County to which such Ranger belongs, and if within the Space of Twelve Months no such Owner appear and prove his Right thereto as aforesaid, then the Ranger shall account with the Proprietor for the same, as has been usual heretofore.
[Page 282]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Time of selling Strays, regulated. by the Authority aforesaid, That the Times of selling any Strays brought to the Ranger, and entered on his Book, shall be as follows; That is to say, A trespassing Stray shall and may be sold at the End of Ten Months, and the other Strays at the End of Eight Months, next after the Entry thereof on the Ranger's Book, and not before; and the Ranger shall, and is hereby required, at every Court of Quarter-Sessions to be held for the County to which he belongs, Advertisements of Sale to be set up, & c. to fix up at the Court-House Door Advertisements of all Strays on his Book, describing the Age, Colour, Marks, and Brands of such Strays, and the Times when the same came to his Hands, and when and where to be sold.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Sales made by Virtue of this Act, shall be good. by the Authority aforesaid, That all Sale and Sales of any Stray and Strays to be made by Virtue of this Act, shall be good and available in Law, to all Intents and Purposes whatsoever, and that the Buyer and the Buyers of any such Stray and Strays, shall and lawfully may hold and retain the same, and every of them, to his and their own proper Use, as his and their proper Goods and Chattels, without any Lett, Interruption, Vexation, Suit, or Trouble of the former Owner or Owners of them, or any of them, or any other Person or Persons whatsoever.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Taking Strays from the Ranger without Leave, & c. in Felony. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person shall, without Leave, take any Stray entered upon the Book of any Ranger within this Government, or Waif, out of the Inclosure of such Ranger, or of any other Person to whom the same shall by the said Ranger be delivered to be kept, every such Offender shall be deemed a Felon, and, being legally convicted thereof, shall be punished as the Laws of this Government in such like Cases direct and appoint.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That nothing in this Act contained, shall be construed, deemed, or taken, to repeal an Act of General Assembly of this Government, made in the Twelfth Year of his present Majesty's Reign, [Page 283] entituled, An Act for erecting a Pound in the Town of Newcastle, or any Part thereof.
An ACT to prevent Swine running at large without Rings and Yokes, in certain Parts of Newcastle County, within this Government.
WHEREAS the several Acts of Assembly of this Preamble. Government, for the preventing of Swine running at large in certain Parts of Newcastle County, within this Government, are not found to answer all the good Ends designed thereby: For Remedy whereof,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable George Thomas, Esq by and with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the No Swine to run at large in Newcastle County, except, & c. First Day of April, which shall be in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Forty-seven, no Swine shall be allowed to run at large (unless sufficiently ringed, to prevent them from rooting, and yoked, to prevent them from creeping or breaking through Fences) on any of the improved Lands, Meadows, or Marshes, of the Inhabitants in the County aforesaid ( Pencader and Appoquinimink Hundreds only excepted) And if at any Time after the said First Day of April, in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Forty-seven, any Swine shall be found at large, and trespassing upon the improved Lands, Meadows, or Marshes, of any Inhabitant within the above-mentioned Limits, not, as aforesaid, sufficiently ringed and yoked (except upon the Lands, Meadows, or Marshes of the Owner or Owners of the said Swine) it [Page 284] shall and may be lawful for any Person, being a Freeholder, or possessing some Tenement or Farm, within the said Limits, of the yearly Value of Forty Shillings, to take up or kill any such Swine found upon his or their improved Lands or Farms, and shall immediately give Notice to the Damages by trespassing Swine, to be made good. Owner or Owners thereof, who shall be obliged to make good all Damages done by such trespassing Swine, according to the Valuation of two creditable Men of the Vicinage, to be appointed and qualified by the next Justice of the Peace of the same County for that Purpose; but in case the Owner or Owners of such Swine should neglect or refuse to pay the Damages valued as aforesaid, then it shall and may be lawful for any Justice of the Peace of the County aforesaid, who is hereby required, upon Complaint made to him by the Person or Persons so trespassed upon in any Manner aforesaid, to grant a Warrant under his Hand and Seal, in order to recover the Valuation of such How to be recovered. Damages as aforesaid, to be levied by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods and Chattels, together with Costs accrued thereon; or if the Owner or Owners of the said trespassing Swine be not known, shall inform the next Justice of the Peace of the same County, whereupon the said Justice shall cause the same immediately to be appraised by two creditable Men as aforesaid, upon their Oaths or Affirmations, and sold to the highest Bidder, and, after Deduction of Charges and Damages, the Residue of the Money arising by such Sale, shall be paid to the said Justice, for the Use of such Owner or Owners, if within Six Months next after such Sale he or she shall claim the same, and (to the Satisfaction of such Justice) prove his or her Right thereto; and the said Justice shall cause an Advertisement Advertisement to be made. to be set up in some publick Place of the Neighbourhood, setting forth the Number and Marks of all such Swine, and the Time of their being so taken up or killed as aforesaid. But in case no such Owner shall within the said Six Months appear, and make out such his or her Right as aforesaid, then the said Residue shall by the said Justice be paid for the Use of the Poor, to the Overseer or Overseers in the Hundred where the Trespass is committed, and the said Owner shall for ever after be foreclosed and debarred from any Title or Claim thereto.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Swine not to be carried out of the Limits, & c. by the Authority aforesaid, That no Person or Persons inhabiting within the Limits aforesaid (except as before [Page 285] excepted) shall be allowed or permitted to drive or carry any Swine out of the Limits aforesaid, which were raised or bred therein, with Intent that the said Swine may run at large without Rings and Yokes in any other Parts of the said County of Newcastle, under the Penalty in this Act before provided against Swine running at large within the said Limits, to be disposed of in Manner aforesaid, unless the Person or Persons so driving or carrying any such Swine, shall at the Time of his or their doing thereof, be Owner or Owners, or Possessor or Possessors of Land near the Place whereunto such Swine shall be so driven or carried, and whereupon he or they shall have a Tenant or Tenants, Servant or Servants, Slave or Slaves, residing or inhabiting.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all other Acts of General Former Acts repealed. Assembly of this Government, heretofore made, relating to Swine running at large without Rings and Yokes in certain Parts of Newcastle County, within this Government, be, and are hereby repealed, made null and void, any thing in the said Acts contained to the contrary in any wife notwithstanding.
A Supplement to an Act, entituled, An ACT imposing a Duty on Persons convicted of heinous Crimes, & c.
WHEREAS it is found by Experience that the Preamble. said Act is deficient in several Parts, and doth not answer the good Purposes for which the same was intended; [Page 286] AND WHEREAS there are no Directions for the several Collectors mentioned, or to be named, pursuant to said Act, to keep a Register of the several Persons imported, as in said Act is mentioned; AND WHEREAS there is no Penalty enjoined on the Purchaser or Purchasers of said Convicts so as aforesaid imported; AND WHEREAS there is a Duty of Six-pence by said Act laid on every Passenger who hath paid for his Passage to the Master or Owner of such Vessel wherein he, she, or they are imported, which is found to be an Aggrievance to many honest Persons imported into this Government: For remedying whereof,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq by his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by Collectors not to take any Money, & c. from free Passengers. the Authority of the same, That it shall not be lawful for any Collector or Collectors mentioned, or to be named pursuant to the said Act, after the Publication hereof, to take or receive, directly or indirectly, any Sum or Sums of Money, or any thing in Lieu thereof, of and from any Person or Persons who shall be imported into this Government, where it shall or may appear by any Certificate or other Writing, under the Hand of the Captain, Master, Merchant, or Owner of such Vessel wherein said Person or Persons are imported, that same Person or Persons have paid the Sum of Money contracted for with said Master, Owner, or Merchant, for his, her, or their Passage, and that the same Person or Persons are free from any Indenture of Apprenticeship or Servitude to said Master, Owner or Merchant of any Vessel as aforesaid, or any other Person whatsoever, Penalty. on Pain of forfeiting the Sum of Three Pounds, current Money of this Government, to be recovered by Bill, Plaint, or Information, in any Court of Record within this Government, wherein no Essoign, Protection, or Wager of Law, shall be allowed; any Law, Usage, or Custom to the contrary notwithstanding.
[Page 287]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the several Collectors Collectors to keep a Register. mentioned, or hereafter to be appointed, pursuant to the aforesaid Act, shall, and each of them are hereby required to keep a fair Book or Register of all the Persons Names who shall be imported into this Government as Redemptioners, Servants, and Convicts, for keeping of which Register the said Collector and Collectors shall be allowed and paid by the Master or Importer of such Redemptioner, Servant and Convict, for each the Sum of Six-pence, and for taking every Bond, pursuant to the aforesaid Act, as by said Act is directed, and no more.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That any Person or Persons Penalty on purchasing Convicts. within this Government, who shall buy or purchase any Person or Persons convicted of any of the several Crimes in the aforesaid Act mentioned, knowing them to be such, such Person or Persons buying as aforesaid, shall forfeit the Sum of Ten Pounds, current Money, for every such Convict so as aforesaid bought, to be recovered in Manner aforesaid, one Half thereof to the Governor for the Time being, the other Half to the Informer, or Person who will sue for the same, together with Costs of Suit.
AND WHEREAS it is found by Experience, that sundry Masters of Vessels, and others, to avoid complying with the aforesaid Act, land Servants and Convicts as aforesaid, at Reedy Island, and thereabouts; for Prevention whereof, BE IT ENACTED by the Authority John Vance appointed Collector. aforesaid, That all Persons obliged to make Entry by the aforesaid Act, and who incline to land said Servants and Convicts at any Place within the Bounds of Newcastle County, below St. George's Greek, shall apply to John Vance, of Newcastle County, Gentleman, who is hereby appointed a Collector of the Duties within the Limits aforesaid, as by said Act and this Supplement is imposed, without any Notice or Request made by him.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That nothing in this Supplement contained, shall be deemed, construed, or understood, to alter, change, or repeal, any Clause, Article, or Thing, in the aforesaid Act mentioned, except [Page 288] as in this Supplement is mentioned, any Law, Custom, or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding.
An ACT allowing a Salary to the Justices of the Supreme Courts within this Government.
WHEREAS an Act of General Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for establishing Courts of Law and Equity within the same, hath not made due Provision for the Support of the Justices of the Supreme Court within this Government,
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq by his [...] royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and [...] in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That the Chief Justice, and the Assistant Justices of the Supreme Courts, for the Time being, within the respective Counties of this Government, shall be allowed the same Salaries and Expences as are allowed the said Justices when they sit by their Commission of Oyer and Terminer, besides the common Court-Fees, as ascertained in an Act of Assembly, entituled, An Act for regulating and establishing Fees within this Government; which several Sums of Money shall be paid by the respective Counties where [Page 289] said Courts shall be held; any Law, Usage, or Custom to the contrary notwithstanding.
An ACT for reviving and continuing an Act of Assembly of this Government, made in the Seventeenth Year of his Majesty's Reign, entituled, An ACT for the more easy and speedy Recovery of small Debts.
WHEREAS the said Act was revived and continued to the End of this Session of Assembly, by an Act made in the Twentieth Year of his Majesty's Reign; AND WHEREAS the said Act of the Seventeenth Year of his Majesty's Reign, hath been found by Experience to be of great Service and Benefit to the Inhabitants of this Government, by enabling them to recover small Debts or Demands in a speedy Manner, and without burthening the Debtor with heavy Costs;
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That the said Act, and every Part and Clause thereof, is hereby revived, re-enacted, and continued in full Force and Strength, immediately from and after the Publication of this Act, for and during the Term of Five Years, and no [Page 290] longer, any Law, Custom, or Usage of this Government to the contrary notwithstanding.
An Act for repealing an Act passed in the Twenty-second Year of his Majesty's Reign, entituled, An ACT obliging Executors to give Security in the Register's Office, in the respective Counties within this Government, at the Time of the proving the Wills of their Testators or Testatrixes, for the due Execution thereof; and likewise impowering the said Executors to sell the Lands of their Testators by Order of Orphans Courts, and directing how Executors shall make such Sales, and render Accounts of their Testators Estates for the future.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq by his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and Orphans Court impowered to call Executors to Account, & c. by the Authority of the same, That from and after the Publication of this Act, the Orphans Courts in the respective Counties of this Government, shall, and may, and are hereby enabled to proceed, and call every Executor and Executors to Account for and touching the Goods and In what cases Lands may be sold, & c. Chattels of their Testators or Testatrixes, and if, upon Examination and due Proof thereof made to the respective Orphans Courts within this Government, it shall be found that the personal Estate of such Testators is not sufficient [Page 291] to discharge and pay the several and respective Debts due by such Decedents, being Owners of Lands and Tenements within this Government at the Time of their Death; and likewise, if the Widow and Children of the said Testators (if any) or any Devisee of the said Decedents, who have Lands left him or them, by the said Testators being of the Age of Twenty-one years, or, being under that Age, any Person or Persons who are or may be their Guardians, or any other Person or Persons who may have the Care and Tuition of such Minors, shall neglect and refuse to pay the said Decedents Debts which shall remain unpaid after a just Settlement of the personal Estate of the said Decedents in the respective Orphans Courts for the Counties aforesaid, in Proportion to the Parts or Parcels of Land enjoyed by each Devisee, by Virtue of any Devise as aforesaid; that then, and in such Case, it shall and may be lawful for the Executor or Executors of such Testators, by Order of the Orphans Court, to sell and convey such Part or Parts of such Decedents Lands and Tenements, in Proportion to each Devisee's Share, as shall by the said Orphans Court be deemed sufficient to defray and pay the just Debts of such Testators, upon the best Computation the said Orphans Court can make of the Value of such Lands, so as aforesaid to be sold; all which Sales made pursuant to this Act, shall be deemed as available as if the said Decedents had sold and conveyed the same Lands in their Life-time.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That before Sales to be advertised. any such Sale of Lands and Tenements, be made as aforesaid, the Court shall order to many Writings to be made by the Clerk of the said Court, as they shall think fit, to signify and give Notice of such Sale, and of the Time and Place of the said sale, and also what Lands are to be sold, and where they are situate, which Notice shall be by the said Executors affixed in three of the most publick Places of the County, and in the Hundred where the Lands lie, at least Twenty Days before the said Sale shall begin.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Executor or Executors Proceedings to be returned into the Orphans Court. that makes such Sale, shall return his, her or their Proceedings therein to the next Orphans Court to be held in the respective Counties after such Sale made; and if it [Page 292] should happen that any Lands shall be sold by Virtue of this Act, for more than the Court's Computation of the Value thereof, that then, and in such Case, the Executor or Executors shall be accountable for the Surplusage of the same, to be paid and divided in such Manner as by the said Orphans Court shall be directed.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Former Act repealed. by the Authority aforesaid, That the aforesaid Act, Passed in the Twenty-second Year of his Majesty's Reign, obliging Executors to give Security, & c. and every Part thereof, is hereby repealed, made void, and utterly annulled and abolished.
A Supplementary Act for the Amendment of an Act of General Assembly of this Government, entituled, An ACT for the Relief of Infolvent Debtors, & c.
Preamble. WHEREAS the Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors within this Government, made in the Fourteenth Year of his Majesty's Reign, is by Experience found Deficient, and not to answer all the good Ends and Purposes thereby intended, in admitting all Persons having a Charge of small Children not of sufficient Age to be bound out as Apprentices, or who shall be above the Age of Forty Years, to the Benefit and Relief of the said Act, without lodging a discretionary Power in the Court to grant or reject the Petition of such Persons as they shall see meet, after due Enquiry made into the Case and Circumstances of such Petitioner; by Means whereof many ill-disposed Persons, who have not been real Objects of Compassion, have been relieved by the said Act, and have defrauded their Creditors of their Just Debts:
[Page 293]BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Government of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That if any Insolvent Debtors having a Charge of small Children, or being above 40 years of Age, may Petition, & c. Persons or Persons within this Government, having a Charge of small Children not of sufficient Age to be bound out as Apprentices, or if any Persons or Persons above the Age of Forty Years; shall be imprisoned for any Sum or Sums of Money, or other Debts, above the Value of Forty Shillings, and shall be willing to deliver up to his, her, or their Creditors, all his, her, or their Effects and Estate, towards the Satisfaction of the Debts wherewith he, she, or they, stand charged, it shall and may be lawful for such Person or Persons to exhibit a Petition or Petitions to the Court of Common Pleas of that County where he, she, or they shall be imprisoned, in like Manner as by the said Act is Prescribed and directed; and thereupon the said Court shall and may proceed to the summoning the Creditors of such Petitioner, and after hearing (on a Day to be for that Purpose appointed) what shall be alledged on either Side for or against the Discharge of such Prisoner, If the Court shall be of Opinion, that the Prisoner, upon the Circumstances and Equity of his Case, should be discharged, then, and in such Case, and no other, the said Court shall go on to tender or administer to the said Prisoner the Oath or Affirmation in the said Act Particularly specified, and take such other Methods for the Discharge of the said Prisoner, as the said Act Limits and appoints; but if the said Court, upon such Examination, shall adjudge, that the said Prisoner, on the Merits of his or her Case, ought not to be admitted to the Benefit of the said Act, then the said Court shall and may reject Petition of such Prisoner, and [...] mand him or her to Goal; or if the said Prisoner shall signify his or her Willingness to deliver up all his or her Effects towards the Discharge of his or her Debts, and make Satisfaction for the Residue by Servitude, then the said Court shall and may adjudge the said Debtor to serve his or her Creditors, their Executors, Administrators, or Assigns, in order as the Judgements shall be entered against him or her, and Dignity of the Debts, for any Term or Time not exceeding Seven Years; and Law, Statute, [Page 294] Custom, or Usage to the contrary in any wise not withstanding.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That all and every other Part of the said Act for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors within this Government, shall be and continue in full Force, save only those Parts which by this Present Act are altered and amended.
An ACT for the better settling Intestates Estates.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Government of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly Registers to take Bond. met, and by the Authority of the same, That the Registers of the several Counties in this Government, having Power to grant Letters of Administration unto the Widow or next of Kin to the Intestate, and, upon their Refusal to the Principal Creditor or Creditors of the said Intestate, as the said Register shall think meet and convenient, shall, upon their granting and committing of such Letters of Administration, take sufficient Bond, with one or more able sureties, in the Name of the Governor for the Time being (Respect being had to the Value of the Estate) with a condition in Manner and Form following, mutatis mutandis, viz.
The Condition THE CONDITION of this Obligation is such, That if the above bounden, A.B. Administrator of all and singular the Goods and Chattels, Rights and Creditors of C.D deceased, do make, or cause to be made, a [Page 295] true and perfect Inventory of all and singular the said Goods and Chattels, Rights and Credits of the said Deceased, which have or shall come to the Hands, Possession or Knowledge of the said A.B. or unto the Hands and Possession of any other Person or Persons for him; and the same so made, do exhibit, or cause to be exhibited, unto the Register's Office of the County of at or before the Day of next insuing; and the same Goods and Chattels, Rights and Credits of the said Deceased, at the Time of his Death, or which at any Time after shall come to the Hands or Possession of the said A.B. or into the Hands and Possession of any other Person or Persons for him, do well and truly administer, according to Law; and further do make, or cause to be made, a true and just Account of his Administration, at or before the Day of And all the [...] and [...] of the said Goods and Chattels, Rights and Credits, which shall be found remaining upon the said Administrator's Account, the same being first examined and allowed of by the Orphans Court of the County where the said Administration is granted, shall deliver and pay unto such Person or Persons respectively, as the said Orphans Court in the respective Counties, by their Decree or Sentence, pursuant to the true Intent and Meaning of this Act, shall limit and appoint. And if it shall hereafter appear that any last Will and Testament was made by the said Deceased, and the Executor or Executors therein named do exhibit the same into the Register's Office, making Request to have it allowed and approved accordingly; if the said A.B. within bounden, being thereunto required, do surrender and deliver up the said Letters of Administration (Approbation of such Testament being first bad and made in the Register's Office) then this Obligation to be void and of none Effect, or else to remain in full Force and Virtue.
WHICH Bonds are hereby declared and enacted Estate how to be divided by the Orphans Courts. to be good to all Intents and Purposes, and pleadable in any Court of Justice within this Government; and also that the said Orphans Courts in the respective Counties of this Government, shall, and may, and are hereby enabled to proceed and call such Administrator or Administrators to Account for and touching the Goods and Chattels of any Person dying Intestate, and upon the hearing and due Consideration thereof, to order and make just and equal Distribution of what remaineth clear of the Deceased's personal [Page 296] Estate, after all Debts, Funeral and just Expences of every Sort first allowed and deducted, amongst the Widow and Children, or their legal Representatives, if any such be, in Manner and Form following; That is to say. One third Part of the Surplusage of the said Intestate's personal Estate to the Widow of the said Intestate for ever, and the Residue of the Deceased's personal Estate shall be distributed, by equal Portions, to and amongst the Children of the said Deceased, and such as shall legally represent them, if any of the said Children be then dead, other than such Child or Children, who shall have any Estates by Settlement of the Intestate, or shall be advanced by him in his Life-time, by Portion or Portions equal to the Share which shall by such Distribution be allotted to the other Children, to whom such Distributions are to be made; and in case there be any Child or Children, or their Representatives, who shall have had any Estate by Settlement from the Intestate, or shall have been advanced by the said Intestate in his Life-time by Portion or Portions not equal to the Share which will be due to the other Children by such Distribution as aforesaid, then so much of the Surplusage of the Estate of such Intestate shall be distributed to such Child or Children, or their Representatives so advanced as aforesaid, as shall make the Estate of all the said Children to be equal, as near as can be estimated. And in case there be no Children, nor any legal Representatives of them, then one Moiety of the said personal Estate to be allotted to the Widow of the Intestate, and the Residue of the said Estate to be distributed equally to and among the Brothers and Sisters of the Deceased, or their legal Representatives; and in case there be no Brothers and Sisters, or legal Representatives of them, then the Residue of the said personal Estate to be distributed equally to every of the next of Kindred of the Intestate, who are in equal Degree, or those who legally represent them; and if there be no Kindred, then the Whole of the said personal Estate to be allotted to the Widow of the Intestate for ever. PROVIDED ALWAYS, That there be no Representatives admitted amongst Collaterals after Brothers and Sisters Grandchildren. And in case there be no Wise, then the said personal Estate to be distributed equally to and amongst the Children of the Intestate, and their legal Representatives. And in case there be no Wife or Child, then the personal Estate of the said Deceased to be distributed equally to and amongst the Brothers and Sisters of or unto the Intestate, and their legal Representatives; and in case [Page 297] there be no Brothers or Sisters, or legal Representatives of them, then to the next of Kindred in equal Degree of or unto the Intestate and their legal Representatives as aforesaid, and in no other Manner whatsoever.
PROVIDED ALSO, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, to the End that a due Regard be had to the Creditors of Distribution not to be made before the Expiration of one Year, & c. the Intestate, that no such Distribution of the Goods and Chattels of any Person dying Intestate, shall be made as aforesaid, [...]ill one Year be fully expired after the Intestate's Death, and that every one, to whom any Distribution or Share shall be allotted, shall give Bond, with sufficient Surety or Sureties to the Orphans Court, in the Name of the Governor for the Time being, for the Use of the Administrator or Administrators, that if any Debt or Debts, truly owing by the Intestate, shall be afterwards sued for, and recovered, or otherwise duly made appear, that then, and in every such Case, he, she, or they, shall respectively refund and pay back to the Administrator, or Administrators, his, her, or their rateable Part of the said Debt or Debts, and of the Costs of Suit and Charges of the said Administrator or Administrators, by reason of such Debt or Debts, out of the Parts or Shares so as aforesaid allotted to him, her, or them, thereby to enable the said Administrator or Administrators to pay and satisfy the said Debt or Debts so recovered, or made to appear, after Distribution made as aforesaid.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That in all Cases where the Register bath used heretofore Administration with Testament annexed, & c. to grant Administration, with the Testament annexed, he shall continue so to do, and the Will of the Deceased, in such Testament expressed, shall be performed and observed in such Manner as it should have been if this Act have never been made.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons Lands of Intestates how to be divided, & c. shall die Intestate, being Owners of Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments, within this Government, at the Time of his Death, that then all and every such Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments shall be subject to a Division, and be distributed according to the Manner and Form herein after expressed; That is to say, One third [Page 298] Part of the said Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, to the Widow of the said Intestate, during her natural Life (where such Widow shall not be provided for by Marriage Settlement or otherwise) and the Residue of the said Deceased's real Estate shall be distributed, by equal Portions, to and amongst the Children of the said Deceased, or such as shall legally represent them, if any of them be dead, and to their Heirs and Assigns for ever, other than such Child or Children who shall have any real or landed Estate by Settlement, or shall have been advanced by the said Deceased in his or her Life-time, by Portion or Part of such real Estate equal to the Shares which shall by such Distribution be allotted to the other Children to whom such Distributions are to be made. And in case there be any Child or Children who shall have any real or landed Estate by such Settlement from the Intestate, or shall be advanced by the Intestate in his or her Life-time by Part or Portion not equal to the Share which shall be allotted to the other Children by such Distribution as aforesaid, then so much of the real or landed Estate of such Intestate shall be distributed to such Child or Children as shall have had any such Settlement from the Interstate, or were advanced in the Lifetime of the Intestate, as shall make the real or landed Estate of all the said Children to be equal, as near as can be estimated, except the eldest Son, or his lawful issue (if any be) who shall have two Shares, or a double Portion of the Whole of the real or landed Estate of the said Intestate. And when there are no Sons, the Daughters shall inherit as Coparceners in the Division of the Intestate's Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments. And in case there be no Child or Children, not any legal Representatives of them, then one Moiety of the real or landed Estate of the Intestate shall be allotted to the Widow of such Intestate, during her natural Life, and the Residue thereof shall be distributed equally to and amongst the Brothers and Sisters of the Deceased, or their legal Representatives, And in case there be no Brothers or Sisters, or legal Representatives of them, then the said Residue to be distributed equally to every of the next of Kindred of the Intestate, who are in equal Degree, or those who legally represent them. And in case there be no Wife, then all the said real or landed Estate to be divided amongst the Children of the Intestate, or their legal Representatives, in Manner and Form aforesaid. And if there be no Wife or Child, then to the Brothers and Sisters of the said Deceased, or their legal Representatives. And in case there be no [Page 299] Brothers or Sisters, or legal Representatives of them, then to the next of Kindred in equal Degree of or unto the Intestate, and their legal Representatives, as aforesaid, and in no other Manner whatsoever.
AND for the lessening the Charge of dividing the Lands of Intestates amongst their Children or their Heirs, BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Five Freeholders to be chosen to divide, & c. That the Justices of the Orphans Court of the County where the Lands lie, upon Application made to them by any of the Children, or other Heirs of the Intestate, when he, she, or they, shall attain to the Age of Twenty-one Years, shall, and are hereby impowered to appoint five sufficient Freeholders of the County, who, being first sworn or affirmed for that Purpose in open Court, or before some Judge, or Justice of the Peace of the County, shall take with them a skilful Surveyor, to be qualified on his solemn Oath or Affirmation, and go upon the Lands of the Intestate, and divide the same equally amongst the Children or other Heirs of the Intestate, according to the Directions, true Intent, and Meaning of this Act, due Regard being had to the Quality as well as Quantity of the said Lands; which said five Freeholders, or any three of them, agreeing, shall make Return of such Division to the next Orphans Court: And if such Division be approved of by the said Court, the same shall remain firm and stable for ever.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That nothing in this Act contained shall be deemed or judged to extend to such Persons interested in any Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments of the Intestate, who, being of Age, and capable to act for themselves, shall agree of and make Division of such Lands, & c. amongst one another, and mutually give each other Releases in Writing, under their Hands and Seals; in which Case such Releases shall be allowed and accounted good and valid in Law, being first acknowledged by the Parties subscribing the same in open Court of Common Pleas for the aforesaid respective Counties, and duly enrolled.
PROVIDED ALSO, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Proceedings where Lands cannot well be divided, & c. That where any Estate in Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, cannot be divided amongst all the Children or other Heirs of the Intestate, without prejudicing and spoiling [Page 300] the Whole, the same being so represented and made to appear by the Report of the said five Freeholders, or any three of them, to the Orphans Court of the County where the said Lands or Tenements lie; then, and in such Case, the said Court may and shall order the Whole of such Lands or Tenements to the eldest Son, if he will accept it, or, on his Refusal, to any other of the Sons successively; and if all the Sons refuse, or there should be no Sons, then to the eldest Daughter, or, on here Refusal, to every other of the Daughters successively, he, she, or they, paying to the other Children of the Deceased, or their Representatives, their equal or proportionable Parts or Shares of the appraised Value of such Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, to be made by three sufficient Freeholders to be appointed by the Orphans Court, and qualified as aforesaid for the Purpose, or giving good Security to pay the same in such reasonable Time as the said Orphans Court shall limit and appoint; and the Person or Persons, whether Minors or others, to whom, or for whose Use, Payment or Satisfaction shall be made as aforesaid, for his, her, or their respective Parts or Shares of the Deceased's Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, shall be for ever debarred of all his, her, or their Right, Title, and Demand, of, in, and to such Share or Parts, by Virtue of this Act, and the same shall be held and enjoyed by the said Purchaser, as freely and fully as the Intestate held the same; saving to any Person or Persons aggrieved at any Order, Sentence, or Decree of the Orphans Court, made for the Settlement and Distribution of any Intestates Estates, their Right of Appeal to the Supreme Court of this Government, to be held for each County respectively; every Person so appealing giving Security to prosecute the said Appeal with Effect, with in Twelve Months after such Appeal.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Bond to be given the Administratios, & c. by the Authority aforesaid, That every one, to whom any Distribution or Share of the Intestate's Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, shall be allotted, shall give Bond, with sufficient Surety or Sureties, if required, to the Orphans Court, in the Name of the Governor for the Time being, for the Use of the Administrator or Administrators, to refund, if any Debts of the Intestate should afterwards be recovered, or made appear, in the same Manner and Form as is herein before directed in the Distribution of Intestates personal Estates; and the Widow's [Page 301]Part or Portion of the Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments Widow's Portion, & c. of the Intestate, shall, after her Decease, be distributed and divided amongst the Children or other Heirs of the Intestate, by such Proportions and in like Manner as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENTACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if the personal Estate of Personal Estate being insufficient to pay Debts, Lands may be sold, & c. any Person or Persons Dying Intestate, being Owners of Lands and Tenements, at his Decease, within this Government, shall be found insufficient to pay their just Debts, and maintain their Children, then, and in such Case, it shall and it may be lawful for the Administrator or Administrators of such Deceased, to sell and convey such Part or Parts of the Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments of the said Deceased, for the defraying their just Debts, Maintenance of their Children, and putting, them Apprentices, Children to be educated, & c. and teaching them to read and write, and for the Improvement of the Residue of the Estate (if any be) to their Advantage, as the Orphans Court of the County where such Estate lies, shall think fit to allow, order, and from time to time direct.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That no Lands and Marriage Settlements, & c. Tenements contained in any Marriage Settlement, shall, by Virtue of this Act, be sold or disposed of contrary to the Form and Effect of such Settlement, nor shall any Orphans Court allow or order any Intestate's Lands and Tenements to be sold before the Administrator or Administrators, requesting the same, do exhibit one or more true and perfect Inventory or Inventories, and conscionable Appraisement, Administrators to exhibit an Inventory, & c. of all the Intestate's personal Estate whatsoever, and also a true and just Account upon his, her, or their solemn Oath or Affirmation, of all the Intestate's Debts which shall be then come to his, her, or their Knowledge; and if thereupon it shall appear to the said Court, that the Intestate's personal Estate will not be sufficient to pay the Debts and maintain the Children untill the eldest Son attain the Age of Twenty-one Years, or to put them out to Apprentices, and teach them to read and write, then, and in every such Case, and not otherwise, the said Court shall allow such Administrator or Administrators to make publik Sale of so much of the said Lands, as the Court, upon the best Computation they can make of the Value thereof, shall judge necessary for the Purposes aforesaid, reserving the Mansion-House and most [Page 302] Publick Notice to be given of all Sales of Land, & c. profitable Part of the Estate till the last. But before any such Sale the Court shall order so many Writings to be made by the Clerk as they shall think sit, to signify and give Notice of such Sale, and of the Day and Place where the said Sale will be, and what Lands are to be sold, and where they lie, which Notices shall be by the Administrator or Administrators affixed in the most publick Places of the County, at least Twenty Days before the said Sale is to begin, and the Administrator or Administrators shall bring his, her, or their Proceedings thereon to the next Orphans Court after such Sale made, and if it should happen that any Lands be sold, by Virtue of this Act, for more than the Court's Computation of the Value thereof, then the Administrator or Administrators shall be accountable for the Surplusage of the same to be paid and divided as by this Act is before required and directed, in respect of the Intestate's personal Estate.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Surplusage how to be divided. by the Authority aforesaid, That the Surplusage and remaining Parts of the Intestate's Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, shall be divided as the other Lands of the Intestate are herein before directed.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Posthumous Children how to be provided for. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any posthumous Child or Children of any Person dying Intestate, leaving a personal and real or landed Estate within this Government, shall be born, such posthumous Child or Children shall be admitted and entituled to such Part or Portion of the said Deceased's personal and real Estate as the said Child or Children would have shared had he, she, or they, been born and living at the Time of the said Intestate's Death; and if any Person should die, leaving a personal and real Estate as aforesaid, his Wife being pregnant or with Child, and shall have disposed of his Estate by a Will in Writing, or a nuncupative Will, without taking Notice, or having made any Provision in his said Will, for such Child or Children in Ventre sa Mere, such Child or Children born after the Death of the said Testator, shall be admitted and entituled to such Part or Portions of the Deceased's whole Estates, as he, she, or they, would have shared, by Virtue of this Act, if the said Testator had died Intestate, and no such Will had ever been made. And if any one shall die Intestate, having no known Kindred but a Wife, then all his Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, shall be enjoyed [Page 303] by his Wife, during her natural Life, and after her Death the same shall escheat to the immediate Landlord Effects of Intestates, having no Relations, & c. how to be disposed of. of whom such Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, are held, and to his Heirs and Assigns for ever. And all the Goods, Chattels, and personal Estate whatsoever, of such Persons dying Intestate, and without Wife or Kindred, shall go to the Governor and Commander in Chief of this Government, for the Time being, and his Heirs and Assigns for ever. But if any of the said Intestate's Relations shall appear, and make good their Claim or Claims to such Intestate's Personal Estate within Seven Years after the Decease of the Intestate, they shall be restored thereunto. And if any lawful Heir to any such escheated Lands, or Tenements, shall at any Time appear within Twenty-one Years, after the Intestate's Decease, he may traverse the Inquisition or Office found for the Lands so escheated, and recover the same, paying the Lord, or Person in Possession, for the Improvements they have made thereon, according to the Valuation of a Jury of Twelve men, to be appointed by the Court of Common Pleas for that County in which the said Lands or Tenements lie.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Laws, or Acts of Former Lawn repealed. Assembly, heresofore made in this Government, for the settling Intestates Estates, and directing the Descent or Distribution thereof, and every Matter, Clause, and Thing therein contained, shall be, and are hereby declared to be repealed, made null and void.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That all Settlements and Divisions of any Intestates Estates, either real or Personal, heretofore made, pursuant to any former Laws of this Government, shall stand in full Force, and are hereby ratified, confirmed and approved.
An ACT against Larceny to the Value of Five Shillings and upwards.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and Larceny above Five Shillings, how to be Punished. by the Authority of the same, That if any Person or Persons within this Government, shall seloniously and fraudulently take and carry away any Goods, Chattels, or Effects of another, to the Value of Five Shillings or Upwards, which is not made Felony of Death by any Law of this Government, and shall be duly convicted thereof at the Court of Quarter-Sessions to be held for the respective County where such [...] shall be committed, he, she, or they, so offending, their Accessaries, Aiders, Comforters, and Abettors, shall restore the Goods, Chattels, or Effects, so stolen, to the right Owner thereof, and pay to the said Owner double the Value thereof; or if the said Goods, Chattels, or Effects, cannot be found, then the fourfold Value thereof, with the full Costs of Prosecution, and be committed to the Publick Goal, till all the said Sums be paid, and shall be whipped at the Publick Whipping-Post of the County, with any Number of Lashes not exceeding Twenty-one, on his, her, or their bare Back, well laid on, and shall be adjudged to wear a Roman T, as a Mark or Badge of his, her, or their Crime, not less than four Inches in Length, and one Inch in Breadth, on the outer Part of the left Arm, between the Shoulder and the Elbow, which shall be of such Colour as the Court shall order and direct at all Times that he, she, or they, shall travel or appear from his, her, or their Habitation, for the Term of Six Months; and if such Felon or Felons shall at any Time, during the said Term of Six Months, be found from his, her, or their Habitation, without such Badge or Mark and be thereof duly convicted before any Justice of the Peace, he, she, or they, for every such Offence, shall be whipped not exceeding Twenty-one Lashes.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons [Page 305] shall be duly convicted of such Offence as aforesaid, a Second Offence. second Time, he, she, or they, so offending, their Accessaries, Aiders, Comforters, and Abettors, shall make fourfold Satisfaction, as aforesaid, to the Owner or Owners of the Goods, Chattels, or Effects Stolen, and be whipped at the publick Whipping-Post of the County with any Number of Lashes not exceeding Thirty-one, and shall stand in the Pillory for the Space of Two Hours, and pay the Costs of Prosecution, and be committed as above directed.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons Where the Criminal is insolvent, Satisfaction is to be made by Servitude. convicted as aforesaid of either of the said Offences, shall not have sufficient Estate, real or Personal, to make Satisfaction as aforesaid, and discharge the Costs attending the Prosecution, he, she, or they, shall be adjudged by the Court of Quarter-Sessions for the respective County where such Offence shall be committed, to be disposed of as a Servant by the Sheriff, for the Payment thereof, for any Term or time not exceeding Seven Years.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons For the third Offences, Death. shall commit a third Offence as aforesaid, and be duly thereof convicted, he, she, or they, so offending, shall suffer Death, without Benefit of Clergy, any Custom, Law, or Statute to the Contrary in any Wise notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons Penalty on compounding of Felonies, &c. shall agree or compound any Felony, made punishable by this Act, or shall take back again his, her, or their stolen Goods, or receive any Amends not to prosecute such Felons or Felons, and shall be duly convicted thereof at any Court of Quarter-Sessions for the respective County where such Offence shall be committed, he, she, or they, so offending, shall forfeit and pay treble the Value of the Goods stolen, or the Sums taken or agreed for, to the Governor for the Time being, towards the Support of Government, to be recovered by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Information, in any Court within this Government, wherein no Essoign, Protection, or Wager of Law shall be allowed, nor more than one Imparlance.
[Page 306]PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Indictment, Presentment, or Process whatsoever, now depending in any Court within this Government, for any of the Crimes or Offences mentioned in this Act, shall be discontinued, abated, or quashed, for or by Reason of this Act, or any thing herein contained; but the Justices of the respective Courts in this Government shall proceed to hear, try, and determine the said Offences, and thereupon to give Judgment, and award Execution, according to the Directions of the Law, or Acts of Assembly, on which the said Indictment, Presentment, or Process, are founded, any thing herein contained to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, Former Act repealed. That the Law of this Government, entituled, An Act against robbing and Stealing, shall be, and is hereby repealed
An ACT obliging Persons returned and appointed for Constables, to Serve accordingly.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutemant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and Each Constable must return three Freeholders. by the Authority of the same, That from and after the Publication of this Act, all Constables of Hundreds in the several Counties of this Government, shall, and are hereby commanded to return to the Justices of the Quarter-Sessions, to be holden in May annually for each respective County, three good and sufficient Freeholders out of their respective Districts, that the Justices aforesaid may chose [Page 307] and nominate one out of every such District, as aforesaid, to serve in the said Office for the ensuing Year.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That all Persons hereafter returned to serve as Constables, Penalty on Constable refusing to serve when appointed. and appointed so to do by the respective Courts, in Pursuance of this Act, shall be obliged to take the Oath or Affirmation, for faithfully executing the Office of Constable, or otherwise be obliged to pay the Sum of Five Pounds, for refusing to qualify themselves to serve in that Office, to be appropriated to the Support of Government. PROVIDED ALWAYS, That no Person, who No Person obliged to serve twice, unless, & c. hath heretofore served in the said Office within any of the said Counties of this Government, shall be obliged to serve again in the same Office, without his own Consent, or that other sufficient Persons cannot be found within the said Hundred or District.
AND if any Constable shall refuse to execute any Penalty on Constable refusing to execute legal Precepts. legal Precept directed to him by any Justice of the Peace, or be guilty of any Breach of Duty or Neglect in his said Office, and shall be duly convicted thereof before any three Justices of the Peace of the County where such Offence shall be committed, he shall forfeit the Sum of Five Pounds, to the Support of Government, for each Offence, to be levied by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of the said Justices, by Distress and Sale of the Offender's Goods and Chattels.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That no Negro or Mulatto shall be employed by any Constable, No Negro, & c. to be employed as a Whipper. or other Officer, within this Government, to whip, or inflict any corporal Punishment, on any white Person or Persons, in any Case whatsoever.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That an Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, Repeal of former Act. An Act obliging Persons returned for Constables, to serve accordingly, shall be, and is hereby repealed.
An ACT for the making and establishing a new Great Seal for the Use of this Government.
Preamble. WHEREAS, by an Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for establishing a Great Seal for this Government, it is therein directed, that a certain Silver Seal, in the then Governor's Custody, with the King of Great Britain's Arms engraved thereon, and the Inscription, DELAWARE, round it, should be held and deemed to be the Great Seal of Government in these Counties and Territories, to be made Use of and affixed to all judicial Writs, of whatsoever Kind, issued in the King's Name, and made returnable into the Supreme Court of this Government, also to all Charters, Patents, Commissions, Privileges, or Authorities, which the Governor for the Time being, by Virtue of his Commission and Power, might or could lawfully grant; AND WHEREAS, upon viewing the said Seal, it is found that the Inscription, DELLOWARRE, round the same is thereon cut, instead of the Word, DELAWARE, in the said Act mentioned: Therefore, for preventing any Doubts and Controversies that may arise, by Reason thereof,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That all Laws, Patents, Grants, Commissions, and other publick Writings, heretofore sealed with the Seal now called the Great Seal of this Government, and inscribed round the same with the Word, DELLOWARRE, or which hereafter may be sealed with the said Seal, until another be provided, and delivered into the Hands and Possession of the Governor Laws, & c. sealed with the present Seal, to be deemed valid, & c. for the Time being, shall be deemed, taken and adjudged to be as good and available in Law, as if the Inscription round the same had been DELAWARE, pursuant to the said Act of Assembly.
[Page 309]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That Jehu Curtis, Benjamin Chew, and Abraham Wyncoop, A new Seal to be provided. Gentlemen, or any two of them, are hereby authorized and appointed to procure, at the Expence of this Government, with all possible Speed, a Silver Seal to be made of the Diameter of two Inches, and to cause the same to be engraven, with the Arms of the King of Great Britain, and an Inscription of the Words, COUNTIES ON DELAWARE, and the Figures 1751. round the same, which Seal, when so engraven, and inscribed, shall be delivered to the Governor for the Time being, by the aforesaid Jehu Curtis, Benjamin Chew, and Abraham Wyncoop, Gentlemen, or any two of them, and from thenceforth shall be taken, adjudged, and deemed, to be the Great Seal of this Government, to be made Use of and affixed to all Laws, Writs, Charters, Patents, Commissions, and other publick Writings, which the Governor for the Time being, by Virtue of his Commission, Power, and the Laws of this Government, may or can grant. The which new Seal being so as aforesaid made, engraven, inscribed, and delivered, the aforesaid Jehu Curtis, Benjamin Chew, and Abraham Wyncoop, or any two of them, shall cause the Great Seal now in Use, to be broken and defaced in their Presence.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Laws, Writs, Charters, All Laws, & c. to be sealed with the new Seal, after the same shall be delivered to the Governor. Patents, Grants, Commissions, and other publick Writings, whereto an Impression of the same Great Seal may be required, shall be of no Force, or have any Effect in Law, to the Purposes therein respectively mentioned, until the Impression of the said Seal, after Delivery thereof to the Governor for the Time being, as aforesaid, be thereunto affixed, either by the Governor for the Time being, who is hereby understood and declared to be the principal and sole Keeper of the Great Seal of this Government, or by such Person or Persons, as by the Governor for the Time being, from time to time, may be appointed for keeping of the said Great Seal.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Keeper of the Seal not to affix the same but by Warrant from the Governor. That it shall not be lawful for any Person or Persons to be appointed as aforesaid, to affix any Impression of the said Great Seal to any Writ, Charter, Patent, Commission, or other publick Writing, until the said Person or [Page 310] Persons to be appointed as aforesaid, shall first obtain a Warrant under the Governor's Sign Manual and Seal at Arms, for affixing each Stamp and Impression of the said Great Seal respectively; which Warrant, so as aforesaid granted by the Governor for the Time being, from time to time as aforesaid, shall be carefully preserved on a File in the Office where the said Great Seal is kept.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Penalty on affixing the same without [...] by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons, either by Fraud, or any pretended Authority whatsoever, shall at any Time affix the Impression of the said Great Seal unto any Parchment, Paper, Wax, or Wafer, or otherwise, than by Warrant under the Governor's Sign Manual, and Seal at Arms, as aforesaid, to be preserved in the Office, as aforesaid, he or they so offending, shall forfeit the Sum of Two Hundred Pounds, to be levied for the Governor's Use, and shall be for ever incapable of any publick Trust within this Government, and shall suffer the Punishment inflicted by the Laws of that Part of Great Britain called England, on Persons convicted of Forgery.
AND for defraying the necessary Expence of Parchment, Paper, Wafers, and Wax, and appointing and keeping an Office for the said Great Seal, with a proper Clerk to give his Attendance on the same, BE IT ENACTED Fee to the Keeper of the Seal. by the Authority aforesaid, That for each Impression of the said Great Seal, there shall be paid by the Party or Parties requiring the same, to the Clerk of the said Office, or any other Person appointed by the Governor to receive the same, the Sum of Twenty Shillings, for the Governor's proper Use, as a Recompence for the Trouble and Charge of keeping the Office of Great Seal of this Government.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Former Act repealed. by the Authority aforesaid, That an Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for establishing a Great Seal of this Government, shall be, and is hereby repealed.
An ACT for preventing Accidents that may happen by Fire in any of the Towns or Villages within this Government.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the Publication of this Act, if any Person or Persons within any Town or Village of this Government, shall set on Fire any Chimney or Chimnies of the House or Houses wherein he, she, or they dwell, to cleanse the same, or, by Neglect, shall suffer his, her, or their Chimney or Chimnies to take Fire, and blaze out at the Top thereof, every such Person being thereof duly convicted, by the Oath or Affirmation of one credible Witness, or the Confession of the Party or Parties offending, before any one Justice of the Peace of the Town or Hundred wherein such Chimney shall take Fire, shall, for every such Offence, or Neglect, forfeit the Sum of Twenty Shillings, to be levied, together with Costs of Prosecution, on his, her, or their Goods and Chattels, by Distress and Sale thereof to be made, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of such Justice; which said Forfeiture shall be paid to the Treasurer of the respective County for the Time being, for the Use of the Poor of the Town or Hundred wherein such Chimney shall take Fire.
An Act for the Amendment of an Act, entituled, An ACT for establishing a Market in the Town of Dover, in the County of Kent, and in the Town of Lewes, in the County of Sussex, within this Government.
Preamble. WHEREAS the said Act hath been found insufficient, so far as it concerns the Town of Dover, in Regard that no Place within the said Town hath yet been laid out, and called by the Name of a Market Square, nor any Place yet allotted for building a Market-House, or appointed where Provisions may be bought and sold on Market-Days, until such House shall be built; For Remedy whereof,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and Persons appointed to lay out a [...] Square, & c. by the Authority of the same, That Nicholas Ridgely, Esq Andrew Caldwell, and Thomas Alford, of Kent County, Gentlemen, or any two of them, shall lay out, and are hereby authorized and required, with all convenient Speed, after the Publication of this Act, to lay out a Square Plot of Ground in or near the Middle of that Part of the Town of Dover, commonly called the Court-House Square, which said Plot of Ground, when so laid out, shall be called the Market Square. AND the said Nicholas Ridgely, Esq Andrew Caldwell, and Thomas Alford, or any two of them, shall also allot and describe some Spot of Ground within the said Market Square, for building a Market-House upon, and make Return of their Proceedings therein to the next succeeding Court of Quarter-Sessions, to be held for the said County [...] Kent, who shall order the same to be recorded in the Roll's Office for the said County.
AND that the Inhabitants of the said Town of Dover may not be longer prevented from building a Market-House, and putting the said Act in Execution so far as it relates to them, BE IT ENACTED by the Authority [Page 313] aforesaid, That as soon as the said Nicholas Ridgely, Market-House to be built. Andrew Caldwell, and Thomas Alford, or any two of them, shall have laid out the Market Square, and Spot of Ground for a Market-House, as aforesaid, they, or any two of them, shall, and are hereby required and authorized to have the Oversight and Care of building the said Market-House; and that as soon as a Market-House shall be built, as aforesaid, the said Act shall be put in Execution, to which all Persons concerned are hereby required to be assisting.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That Thomas Parke, Esq Clerk of the Market appointed. of the Town of Dover aforesaid, is hereby appointed and constituted Clerk of the Market, for the said Town of Dover.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That no Person or Persons shall be restricted from buying and selling Provisions in any Part of the said Town of Dover, until the said Market-House shall be built, any thing in the above recited Act to the contrary, notwithstanding.
AND WHEREAS many Pedlars and petty Chapmen, recommended and licensed to sell Goods within this Government, do frequently (especially at Court Times) set up Stalls or Booths in the Town of Dover, for Exposing their Goods to Sale, which, for Want of proper Regulations, do not only too much incumber some Part of the Town, but also often produce Frays and Disorders; For the Remedy whereof, BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Clerk of the Market impowered to erect Stalls, & c Clerk of the Market for the said Town of Dover, already by this Act appointed, or hereafter to be appointed by the Justices of the Court of Quarter-Sessions of the said County, in Manner and Form as in the before mentioned Act is directed, shall and may, and he and they [...] by impowered and authorized to set us Stalls, [...] within the said Market Square, by Virtue of this [...] laid out, and to lett out the same on [...] such [...] or Sums of Money as any three of the Justices of the said County shall direct. AND [...] Encouragement and Satisfaction for his Care, in executing the said Act, the said Clerk for the Time being, shall receive, and take to his own Use, the whole Hire of the said Stalls and Booths so [Page 314] to be erected for the Uses aforesaid; and that no Person Penalty on Strangers selling Goods except in the MarketSquare. or Persons whatsoever, who are not an Inhabitant or Inhabitants of the County of Kent, shall expose Goods to Sale in any Street, Alley, or Square of the said Town of Dover, except in the Market Square only, and by the Approbation of the Clerk, on Penalty of forfeiting the Sum of Ten Shillings for every such Offence, to be recovered as other Fines and Forfeitures are by the said Act directed, one Half to the Use of the Poor of the said County, and the other Half to the Use of the said Clerk.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Former Act repealed. by the Authority aforesaid, That an Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for the Amendment of an Act for establishing a Market in the Town of Dover, in the County of Kent, and in the Town of Lewes, for the County of Sussex, is hereby repealed.
An ACT for regulating Attachments within this Government.
Preamble. WHEREAS the Laws of this Government, heretofore made, relating to Attachments, have been found, by Experience, not to answer all the good Ends and Purposes thereby proposed, but have given Room for the [...] of many Frauds, whereby just Creditors have been deprived of their Debts; For the remedying of which for the future,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen [Page 315] of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That no Writ of Writ of Attachment not to issue, until, & c. Attachment shall issue out of any Court within this Government, for any Sum to the Amount of Forty Shillings and upwards, before the Person or Persons requesting the same, or some other credible Person for him, her, or them, shall, upon Oath or Affirmation, declare that the Defendant is justly indebted to the Plaintiff in the Sum of Forty Shillings and upwards, and that the said Defendant is absconded from the Place of his or her usual Abode, or is gone out of this Government, with an Intent to deceive and defraud his or her Creditors; or if the Defendant resides in any other Government, that he or she avoids coming into this Government, lest he or she be taken to answer his or her just Debts, as it is believed; which Oath or Affirmation shall and may be administer'd by the Officer that grants the Writ, and shall be filed in the Court to which such Attachment is returnable; whereupon a Writ of Attachment shall be granted, directed to the Sheriff, or Coroner, as the Case may require, commanding him to attach the Defendant, or Defendants, by all his, her, or their Goods and Chattels, Rights and Credits, Lands and Tenements, in whose Hands or Possession soever the same may be found in his Bailiwick, or County, so that he, she, or they, be and appear at the next Court of Common Pleas, to be held, & c. to answer, & c. and that he summon the Garnishee, or Garnishees, to appear at the Court to which the said Writ is returnable, then and there to declare what Goods, Chattels, or Effects, he she, or they, hath or have in his, her, or their Hands.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Writs of Attachment, Attachments to be served by the Sheriff, & c. to be issued as aforesaid, shall be served by the Sheriff or other Officer of the Proper County, as the Case may require, who shall attach all the Lands and Tenements, Goods and Chattels, Rights and Credits, of the Defendant, that he can find, and take into his Hands all the said Goods and Chattels, Rights and Credits, and cause the same to be appraised and inventoried, and be answerable for the same; but if he cannot come at the actual Possession of such Goods and Chattels, Rights and Credits, he shall go to the Person or Persons in whose Hands or Possession the same are supposed to be lodged, and there declare, in the Presence of one or more credible Witnesses, that he [Page 316] attacheth all the Goods and Chattels, Rights and Credits, of the Defendant, in his, her, or their Hands, at the Suit of the Plaintiff, for the Use of the Creditors of the Defendant, and that he doth summon the Garnishee or Garnishees to appear at the next Court to which the said Writ is returnable, to declare on Oath or Affirmation, what Goods, Chattels, or Effects, he, she, or they, hath or have, in his, her, or their Hands or Possession, belonging to the Defendant; from and after which Declaration, the Goods, Chattels, or Effects, so attached, shall be delivered to the Sheriff, and be by him secured for the Use of the Creditors, unless the Garnishee or Garnishees will give Security for the same; but if the Defendant or Defendants in the Attachment, or some sufficient Person or Persons for him, her, or them, will at any Time, before Judgment be entered, put in Special Bail to the Plaintiff's Action, and to all other Actions, that his, her, or their Creditor or Creditors shall enter against him, her, or them, then the Garnishees, and the Lands, Goods, Chattels, and Effects of the Defendant, shall thereupon be immediately discharged.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That no second No second Writ of Attachment to issue, unless, & c. Writ of Attachment shall issue against the Defendant out of any Court within this Government, unless the first Attachment shall happen not to be executed, or otherwise shall be dissolved by the Court, or discontinued by the Plaintiff, with the Consent of the Majority of the Defendant's Creditors.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, Sheriff to [...] Return into Court, & c. That the Sheriff, or Coroner, as the Case may require, shall return into Court a particular Account, as well of all the Lands and Tenements, as of the Goods, Chattels, and Effects, Rights and Credits, of the Defendant, by him attached, and the appraised Value of the Goods, Chattels, and Effects, together with the Name or Names of such Person or Persons as he shall summon as Garnishee or Garnishees, and if any of the Goods, Chattels, or Effects, so attached, are of a perishable Nature, or such as will create an Expence in the keeping of them, the Court, or, in the Vacation, three Justices of the Court of Common Pleas of the County, may and shall order the said Officer, after reasonable publick Notice given, to sell them, and retain the Money in his Hands, or deliver the same into Court, [Page 317] there to remain, until Judgment shall be obtained against the Defendant in the Attachment.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That if the Garnishee, or Garnishees, summoned as aforesaid Proceedings with the Garnishee, & c. shall fail or neglect to appear, and declare, upon Oath or Affirmation, what Goods, Chattels, or Effects, Rights or Credits, of the Defendant, he, she, or they, had in his, her, or their Hands, Custody, or Possession, at the Time of the Attachment laid, or at any Time after, an Attachment or Attachments of Contempt shall issue out of the said Court against such Garnishee or Garnishees, to compel him, her, or them, to appear: And if the Garnishee or Garnishees do appear, and, at the Request of the Plaintiff, or any other Creditor, shall declare, on his, her, or their Oath or Affirmation, that he, she, or they, had no Money, Goods, Chattels, Rights, Credits, or Effects, of the Defendant, in his, her, or their Hands, Custody, or Possession, at the Time of the Attachment laid, or at any Time after, then such Garnishee, or Garnishees, shall be discharged; but if the Plaintiff in the Attachment, or any other Creditor or Creditors of the Defendant shall require the Garnishee or Garnishees to plead that he, she, or they, had no Money, Goods, Chattels, Rights, Credits, or Effects, of the Defendant, in his, her, or their Hands, Custody, or Possession, at the Time of laying the Attachment, or at any Time after, then such Garnishee or Garnishees shall not be admitted to make Oath or Affirmation as aforesaid, but shall be obliged to plead such Plea, and the Plaintiff, or any other Creditor, or Creditors, as aforesaid, may take Issue thereon, and proceed to Trial. And if it shall appear to the Jury on the Trial of such Issue, that the Garnishee or Garnishees had any Money, Goods, Chattels, and Effects, of the Defendant, in his, her, or their Hands, Custody, or Possession, they shall find a Verdict for the Plaintiff, or such other Creditor or Creditors, and assess Damages, to the Value of such Money, Goods, Chattels, and Effects, with Costs of Suit; whereupon Judgment shall be entered against the Garnishee or Garnishees, and the Plaintiff, or such other Creditor, or Creditors, shall, at his, her, or their Election, have an Execution against such Garnishee or Garnishees, his, her, or their Bodies, Goods and Chattels, Lands and Tenements, as for his, her, or their proper Debt or Debts; and the Money levied thereon, shall be distributed among [Page 318] all the Creditors of the Defendant, in Manner and Form as is herein after directed.
AND WHEREAS it frequently happens, that the Persons or Garnishees, in whose Hands the Defendant's Goods, Chattels, or Effects, are attached, reside in another County or Government, or are likely to depart this Government, or remove out of the County where the Attachment is served, and the Plaintiff loses the Benefit of his Writ; For remedying which Inconveniency, BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority Proceedings where Garnishee is not an Inhabitant, or is about to depart, & c. aforesaid, That if any Plaintiff in any Writ of Attachment, prosecuted within this Government, as aforesaid, or any Creditor, claiming any Benefit by or under such Writ of Attachment, shall, upon Oath or Affirmation, declare, that the Garnishee is not an Inhabitant of this Government, or of the County where the Attachment is depending; or, in case the Garnishee is an Inhabitant, that he or she verily believes such Garnishee is about to depart this Government, or the County where such Attachment is depending; and that he or she does also believe, that such Garnishee hath some of the Defendant's Goods, Chattels, or Effects, in his or her Hands or Possession, or is indebted to the Defendant in any Sum of Money, although the same shall happen at that Time not to be due, then, and in such Case, it shall and may be lawful for the Plaintiff, or Creditor, to take a Writ against the said Garnishee or Garnishees, and oblige him, her, or them, to find Sureties to appear at Court, and make Answer, as by this Act is required, and further to abide the Judgment of the Court.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Three Freeholders to be appointed Auditors, & c. by the Authority aforesaid, That the Justices of the respective Courts to which the said Writ of Attachment is returnable, as soon as the Officer hath returned the same, shall and may, and are hereby authorized, impowered and required, to nominate and appoint three honest and discreet Freeholders of the County, to audit the Accounts of all the Defendant's Creditors (except such of them as have taken out Warrants of Attachment from any Justice of the Peace within this Government, for Debts under Forty Shillings, and caused the Goods and Chattels of the Defendant to be attached thereby, who are utterly barred and excluded hereby from claiming or receiving any Benefit by Virtue of this Act) and to adjust and ascertain the Demands, [Page 319] as well of the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs, in the Attachment, as of all the rest of such Creditors of the Defendant, and make a true and just Report of their Proceedings, therein to the said Justices at the Court next after such Appointment, who shall have Power to contro [...]l and correct any Errors that shall appear to them in such Report, either in the Allowance of any Debts or Demands against the Defendant, which by Law ought not to be allowed, or in the Calculations of the Dividends to be made of the Defendant's Estate and Effects amongst the Creditors, or otherwise, howsoever.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, Notice to be given to the Creditors, & c. That the Auditors, after such Appointment, shall give Notice to the Creditors of the Times and Places of their meeting, by affixing Advertisements at the Court-House, and other publick Places in the respective County, at least Thirty Days before such Time; and all and every Creditor, and Creditors, neglecting or refusing to attend, in Person, or by Attorney, according to such Notice, and then and there to make Proof of his, her, or their Debt, or Debts, or other Demands, in Manner as by this Act is directed, shall be debarred from receiving any Share or Dividend on the Distribution herein after specified.
AND for the avoiding of Frauds, BE IT ENACTED, That the Auditors, so to be appointed, shall Auditors may examine on Oath, & c. and may examine, upon Oath or Affirmation, or by any other Ways or Means, as to them shall seem meet, all or any of the Creditors of the Defendant, for the finding out and Discovery of the Truth and Certainty of the several Debts due and owing to such Creditor or Creditors; and if any Person or Persons, either by Subornation, unlawful Procurement, or Means, of any other, or by his own Act, Consent or Agreement, shall willfully and corruptly commit any Manner of wilful Perjury before such Auditors, the Party or Parties so offending, being duly convicted thereof, shall incur such Forfeiture, and receive and suffer such Pains and Punishments as are limited by the Law and Statutes of that Part of Great Britain called England, concerning Perjury.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That Judgment shall be Judgment to be given the third Court, unless, & c. given for the Plaintiff, in the Attachment, the third Court after issuing of the Writ, unless the Defendant shall enter [Page 320] Special Bail, as aforesaid; whereupon the Justices of the Court shall immediately make an Order of Court for the Sheriff, to proceed to the Sale of the Defendant's Goods and Chattels, Lands and Tenements, in such Manner and Form as is directed by the Laws of this Government in other Cases, and to deliver the Money arising upon such Sales (all Costs and Charges being first deducted) into the Hands of the Auditors aforesaid, who, on the Receipt thereof, are hereby required and directed to calculate and settle the Shares, Proportions, and Dividends, due to the several Creditors of the Defendant (except as before excepted) and to distribute and pay to the said Creditors, their Executors, Administrators, or Assigns, respectively, their rateable or proportionable Parts of the said Money, according to the Quantity of their respective Debts.
Auditors to be qualified. PROVIDED ALWAYS, That every Auditor, to be appointed as aforesaid, shall, before he enter upon the Execution of his office, take an Oath or Affirmation in open Court, or before any Justice of the Peace of the respective County, that he will well and faithfully discharge his Duty in the said Office, according to the best of his Skill and Knowledge.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, Sales made pursuant to this Act, shall be good, & c. That all Sales of the Goods and Chattels, Lands and Tenements, of the Defendant, in any Attachment, to be made pursuant to this Act, shall be good and available in Law, against the said Defendant, his Heirs, Executors, and Assigns; and if any Action shall be brought against any Officer, or other Person having any Power or Authority to do or perform any Matter by Virtue of this Act, he may plead the General Issue, and give this Act in Evidence in his Justification. PROVIDED ALWAYS, That the Overplus of the Defendant's or Debtor's Estate (if any be) remaining, after all his, her, or their Debts, and the lawful Costs and Charges are paid and deducted, be returned to such Defendant or Defendants, his, her, or their Executors, Administrators, or Assigns.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Creditors not contented, may have Remedy, & c. by the Authority aforesaid, That if the Creditor or Creditors of any such Debtor or Defendant be not fully satisfied, or otherwise contented, for his, her, or their Debts, and Duties, by the Ways and Means before specified and declared, that then the said Creditor or Creditors, and [Page 321] every of them, shall and may have their Remedy for the Recovery and levying of the Residue of their said Debts or Duties, against the Debtor or Debtors, in the like Manner and Form as they should and might have had before the making of this Act; and that the said Creditor or Creditors, and every of them, shall be only barred and excluded, by Virtue of this Act, of and for every such Part and Portion of the said Debts and Duties as shall be paid, satisfied, distributed, or delivered, unto him, her, or them, by Order of the Auditors aforesaid, and of no more Portion or Parcel thereof, any thing herein specified, that may be taken or construed to the contrary, notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Auditors Fees for their Services shall be as follows; Auditors Fees. To wit, For auditing the Accounts of the Creditors, and settling and returning a List of the Ballances due to them respectively, Two-pence in the Pound, and for calculating the Shares and Dividends due to the Creditors, and receiving and distributing the Money among the said Creditors, Two-pence in the Pound, and no more, nor other Fees, on any Pretext whatsoever. AND that the Sheriff's Fees. Sheriff's or Coroner's Fees upon Attachments, shall be as follows; To wit, For serving the Writ of Attachment on the Goods and Effects, Lands and Tenements, of the Defendant, if any be to be found, Eight Shillings, and Mileage as in other Cases; for laying the Attachment in the Hands of the two first Garnishees, and summoning them, Six Shillings each, and in the Hands, and summoning every other Garnishee, One Shilling and Six-pence each, and no more; and for his Trouble in securing the Effects of the Defendant, to be paid such reasonable Charges as the Court shall think fit to allow; and for all his Services in advertising and selling the Goods and Effects, Lands and Tenements, of the Defendant, and paying the Money into the Auditors Hands, Six Shillings for the first Twelve Pounds, and Four-pence in the Pound for the Residue of the said Sum, and no more.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That before any Creditor, or Creditors, shall receive Creditors to enter into Recognizance, & c. his, her, or their Dividend, or proportionable Share of the Debtor's Estate, he, she, or they, shall be obliged to enter into a Recognizance to the Debtor, or Debtors, [Page 322] with Surety, or Sureties, before the Prothonotary of the Court where such Judgment shall be obtained, that if such Debtor, or Debtors, shall, within a Year and Day next following, come into Court, either in Person, or by Attorney, and disprove, or avoid, his, her, or their Debt, or Debts, or any Part thereof, that then he, she, or they, will make Restitution of the said Money, by him, her, or them, received, or of so much thereof as shall be so disproved; and for each Recognizance Eighteen-pence shall be paid, and no more.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Sureties for Persons absenting, to have a Share of the Effects, &c. by the Authority aforesaid, That all and every Person, or Persons, who are or shall become Surety, or Sureties, for the Debt or Debts of any Person or Persons absenting themselves, or residing out of this Government, as aforesaid, either by Recognizance, Bond, Bill, Assumption, or otherwise, and shall make Proof thereof in Manner aforesaid, to the Satisfaction of the Auditors to be appointed as aforesaid, shall come in for an equal or distributive Share, or Shares, of the Estate of such Person or Persons, with the rest of his, her, or their Creditors, in like Manner as if the Debts for which such Surety, or Sureties, are or shall be bound, as aforesaid, were originally due to them (except as before is excepted.)
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Writ of Attachment, or any Entry under such Writ, now depending in any Court within this Government, shall be discontinued, or abated, for or by Reason of this Act, but the Justices of the respective Courts within this Government shall proceed to Trial and Judgment, and awarding Execution thereon, as if this Act had never been made, any thing herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND WHEREAS if often happens, that Persons Proceedings in case Debtors are about to remove before Day of Payment. who are indebted in considerable Sums of Money to the Inhabitants of this Government, remove themselves and their Effects out of the same before the Days of Payment of their said Debts, and the Creditor is without all Relief, except in a Course of Equity, which is both tedious and expensive; For the remedying which Evil, and the better secure the Inhabitants of this Government against such dishonest Practices, BE IT ENACTED by the [Page 323] Authority aforesaid, That if any Person be indebted to an Inhabitant of this Government, in any Sum of Money exceeding Forty Shillings, and the Day of Payment is not then come, and the Creditor, or some credible Person for him or her, will, on Oath or Affirmation, declare, that the Defendant or Debtor is indebted to him or her in a Sum of Money exceeding Forty Shillings, and that the Day of Payment is not then come, and that such Deponent or Affirment doth verify believe, upon good Grounds, that the Debtor is about to depart this Government, and to remove his or her Effects, and that such Debtor bath refused to give better Security for the Payment of the Money, when the same shall become due, it shall then be lawful for such Creditor, or Creditors, to take out a Writ against such Debtor, or Debtors, and cause him, her, or them, to be arrested; and the said Debtor, or Debtors, on his, her, or their Appearance in Court, at the Return of the Writ, shall be obliged to give better Security for such Debt, or Debts, if the Court shall see Cause, on the hearing the Allegations of the Parties, so to order it; in which Case the Defendant shall pay the Costs of such Suit. But if the Court shall be of Opinion, that there was not a sufficient Cause for demanding better Security of the Defendant or Defendants, and for causing him, her, or them, to be arrested, then Judgment shall be given against the Plaintiff, or Plaintiffs, who shall be adjudged to pay to the Defendant or Defendants such Costs and Charges as the Court shall think sit to allow.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Acts of Assembly Former Act repealed. of this Government, heretofore made, so far as the same Acts relate to Attachments to the Amount of Forty Shillings and upwards, shall be, and are hereby repealed, made null and void.
An ACT against Menacing, Assault, and Battery.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and Punishment for such as assault, &c. Parents. by the Authority of the same, That whosoever shall menace, assault, or beat, his or her Parent, and shall be duly convicted thereof in any Court of Quarter-Sessions within this Government, upon Complaint first made by his or her Parent, he, she, or they, so offending, shall suffer Imprisonment for any Space of Time not exceeding Eighteen Months, during which Time he or she shall be kept at hard Labour.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Assault and Battery fineable at the Discretion of the Court. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons shall, at any Time, after the Publication of this Act, commit an Assault or Battery on the Person or another, and be duly convicted thereof in any Court of Quarter-Sessions within this Government, he, she, or they, so offending, and convicted as aforesaid, shall be fined, at the Discretion of the said Court before whom such Conviction is had, according to the Heinousness of the Offence, which Fine shall go to Use of the Governor for the Time being, towards the Support of Government.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT Free Negroes, &c. convicted, to be [...]ned, &c. ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any of the Persons convicted as aforesaid, be a free Negro, or Malatto, he, she, or they, shall be fined by the Court before whom such Conviction is had, as aforesaid, in any Sum not exceeding Ten Pounds, and not less than Five Pounds, to be appropriated as aforesaid; and for Want of Goods and Chattels, to pay the said Fine and Cost of Prosecution, he, she, or they, shall be adjudged to make Satisfaction by Servitude, for any Term or Times not exceeding Four Years, and be publickly disposed of as a Servant, by the Sheriff of the respective County where such Offence shall be committed.
[Page 325]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons Menacing or assaulting of Magistrates, fineable at Discretion of the Court. shall menace, assault, or beat, any Magistrate, or Justice of Peace of this Government, in the Execution of his Office, and be duly convicted thereof, he, she, or they, so offending, and convicted as aforesaid, shall be fined at the Discretion of the said Court, to be levied and applied as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any indented or adjudged Penalty on Servants assaulting their Masters, &c. Servant, or Servants, shall assault, or beat, his, her, or their Master, or Mistress, and be legally convicted thereof by one credible Witness at least, besides the Oath or Affirmation of his or her said Master or Mistress, before two Justices of the Peace for the County where such Offence shall be committed, such Servant or Servants so offending, and convicted as aforesaid, shall be adjudged by the said Justices, to serve his, her, or their Master or Mistress, for every such Offence, after the Expiration of their Indenture, or adjudged Time pursuant to Law, any Term or Time not exceeding Six Months; and the Justices, before whom such Conviction and Adjudication as aforesaid, shall be had, are hereby ordered to keep a fair Book of Record of the whole Proceedings, which Record shall be as available in Law, as if the same Servant had been adjudged by any Court of Record within this Government. AND that the said Justices, before whom such Conviction is had, and Adjudication made, shall, for recording the same, and giving a Transcript thereof, receive the Sum of Two Shillings and Six-pence each, to be paid by the Master or Mistress requiring the same.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Negro or Mulatto Negroes, &c. assaulting white Persons, how to be punished. Slave shall assault or beat any white Person or Persons, he, she, or they, so offending, being duly convicted thereof before one Justice of the Peace for the County where such Offence shall be committed, shall be adjudged by the said Justice to stand in the Pillory, for any Space of Time not exceeding Two Hours, and be publickly whipt with any Number of Lashes not exceeding Thirty-nine, on his, her, or their bare Back, well laid on.
[Page 326]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Law of this Government, entituled, An Act against Menacing, Assault, and Battery, shall be, and is hereby repealed.
A Supplement to an Act of General Assembly of this Government, entituled, An ACT for acknowledging and recording of Deeds.
Preamble. WHEREAS by the said Act it is directed, That where any Deed or Deeds, Conveyance or Conveyances, or Power of Attorney, for granting or conveying of any Lands or Tenements within this Government, or Power of Attorney to acknowledge such Deed or Deeds, Conveyance or Conveyances, should thereafter be made or executed by any Person or Persons out of this Government, such Deed or Deeds, Conveyance or Conveyances, or Power of Attorney, should be proved by one or more of the Witnesses thereto, in open Court, in the County where the Lands or Tenements lie, &c. AND WHEREAS it hath been found very inconvenient, as well as very difficult and expensive, where Deeds or other Writings are executed out of this Government, to procure the Witnesses thereto to come into the County where the Lands lie, and prove the same in Manner as by the said Act is required: For the remedying whereof,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That all Deeds and Conveyances, and Powers of Attorney in the said Act mentioned, [Page 327] already made and executed, or hereafter to be Deeds, &c. proved before a Mayor, or chief Magistrate, &c. and certified, &c. shall be as available as if proved in the proper County. made and executed, out of this Government, and brought hither, and recorded in the County where the Lands lie, the Execution thereof being first proved by the Oath or Affirmation of one or more of the Witnesses thereunto, before the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas, or any Mayor, chief Magistrate, or Officer, of the City, Town, or County, where such Deeds, Conveyances, or Powers, are or shall be made and executed, and accordingly certified under the Common or Publick Seal of such City, Town, or County, shall be as good and available in Law, to all Intents and Purposes, as if the same had been made, acknowledged and proved in the proper County where the Lands lie in this Government.
AND WHEREAS, for Want of a due Understanding of the Laws of this Government, heretofore made, relating to the Acknowledgement of Deeds and other Writings, the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas of some of the Counties within this Government, have, as Occasion required, called Special Courts, and therein received the Acknowledgment of sundry Deeds, under which many of the Inhabitants of this Government claim Title to, and have quietly enjoyed Possession of the Lands granted and conveyed by such Deeds: THEREFORE, for the quieting the Minds of those, who have purchased, enjoyed, and held, Lands under such Deeds, and for confirming them in their Rights and Possessions, BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Deeds, Conveyances, and other Writings, that Deeds, &c. heretofore acknowledged before three Justices, shall be deemed as good as if acknowledged in Court. have heretofore been acknowledged before any three or more of the Justices of any Court of Common Pleas within this Government, at any Special Court, by them called and held, shall be deemed, and are hereby declared to be as good and effectual in Law, to all Intents and Purposes whatsoever, as if the same had been acknowledged in open Court of Common Pleas for the said County, any Law, Usage, or Custom to the contrary notwithstanding. PROVIDED ALWAYS, That nothing in this Act contained, shall be construed, or deemed, to make good and valid any Deed proved or acknowledged as aforesaid, where any Fraud in such Case can be made appear.
AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That an Act of General Assembly of this Government, Former Act. repealed. [Page 328] made in the Twenty-second Year of the Reign of his present Majesty, entituled, A Supplement to an Act of General Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for recording and acknowledging of Deeds, shall be, and is hereby repealed.
An ACT for the new Appointment of Trustees for the Several General Loan Offices within this Government.
Preamble. WHEREAS by an Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for reprinting, exchanging, and re-emitting Twenty Thousand Pounds of the Bills of Credit of this Government, passed in the Twentieth Tear of the Reign of his present Majesty, Jebu Carties, John M'Coole, and John Vance, of Newcastle County, Gentlemen, were constituted Trustees of the General Loan Office of the said County of Newcastle; and John Brinkley and Thomas Green, Gentlemen, were constituted Trustees of the General Loan Office of Kent County, and Ryves Holt and Jacob Kollock, Gentlemen, were constituted Trustees of the General, Loan Office of Sussex County; AND WHEREAS the Time limited by the said Act, for the Continuance of the said Trustees in the Exercise of their respective Offices, will at the End of this Session of Assembly expire; whereby a new Appointment of Trustees, to execute said Offices, is become necessary:
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of [Page 329] the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That Jebu Curtis, John Vance, Trustees appointed. and Richard M'William, of Newcastle County, Gentlemen, are hereby nominated and appointed Trustees of the General Loan Office for the County of Newcastle; and John Vining and Andrew Caldwell, of Kent County, Gentlemen, are hereby nominated and appointed Trustees of the General Loan Office of the County of Kent; and Ryves Holt and Jucob Kollock, of Sussex County, Gentlemen, are hereby nominated and appointed Trustees of the General Loan Office for the County of Sussex. Which said Trustees shall and may have, hold, and enjoy, the same Offices, for and during the Term of Four Years next after their entering into the Execution of their respective Trusts as aforesaid, and from thence to the End of the next Session of Assembly. AND the said Trustees are hereby authorized and impowered, immediately after the Their Duty. End of this Session of Assembly, to enter upon the Execution of their Trust, to which they are hereby appointed, in their respective Counties, and to receive, re-emit, and exchange, all Bills of Credit of this Government, according to the Directions of the Act of Assembly aforesaid; and to do and perform all other Matters and Things enjoined or required, or that shall be enjoined or required to be done by the several Trustees, in their respective Counties, by any Act of Assembly, now made, or hereafter to be made, during their Continuance in said Trust and Office, as fully and amply, to all Intents and Purposes, as the present or former Trustees of the several General Loan Offices within this Government, now can, or might, or could have done, by Virtue of any of the Acts of Assembly, by which the said Trustees therein named were appointed; and as fully as if the aforesaid Jebu Curtis, John Vance, and Richard M'William, for the County of Newcastle, John Vining and Andrew Caldwell, for the County of Kent; and Ryves Holt, and Jacob Kollock, for the County of Sussex; had been nominated, constituted, and appointed, Trustees of the respective General Loan Offices within this Government, in the Bodies of said Acts of Assembly.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That each of the Trustees to enter into Recognizance, &c. said Trustees in their respective Counties before they enter upon the Execution of their Trust as aforesaid, shall enter into a Recognizance in the respective Courts of Quarter-Sessions, or by Bond to the Treasurer [Page 330] of the said County, in the Sum of One Thousand Pounds, with two or more Sureties at the least, conditioned as by the said Act of Assembly is directed, with a further Condition, to deliver up to their Successors in the said Trust, the Mortgage Deeds, Bonds, and Warrants of Attorney, Plate, Bills of Credit, and other Money, remaining in the said Office, and all Books and Papers appertaining to the same, at the Expiration of their said Office, or when they shall be removed from their Trust; and shall take the Oath or Affirmation therein enjoined to be taken by the Trustees, for the due Performance of their respective Trusts as aforesaid.
In case of Death, &c. the Assembly to nominate others. AND if any of the above-mentioned Trustees shall happen to die, or be removed, for any Cause whatsoever, it shall and may be lawful to and for the General Assembly of this Government, so often as Need may require, to nominate and appoint some other sit Person or Persons in the Place and Stead of such Trustee or Trustees, so dead or removed as aforesaid, who shall have the same Power and Authority as if he or they had been nominated and appointed by this Act. And the Trustees aforesaid are Trustees impowered to receive the Mortgage Deeds, &c. hereby further authorized and required, from and immediately after the End of this present Session of Assembly, to demand, take and receive, of the present Trustees, and of every of them, and of every other Person concerned therein, all Mortgage Deeds, Bonds, and Warrants of Attorney, together with the Books of Record, and Enrollments of the same, and all Deeds and Evidences, relating to or concerning the Right or Title of any Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments, or other Things, taken or received by any of the Trustees of the respective Offices, into the said General Loans Offices, for the Security of the Payment of any Sum of Money; and all the Bills of Credit, and other Money, of what Kind soever, in their, or any of their Hands, belonging to any of the General Loan Offices of the respective Counties within this Government; and, on Refusal or Neglect to deliver the same, to take all legal Ways and Means necessary for the Recovery thereof, and, on Receipt thereof, to account with the respective Committees, as by the afore-mentioned Act is directed.
Late Trustees may have Recourse to the Records, &c. PROVIDED ALWAYS, That it shall and may be lawful for the late Trustees, or any of them, in their respective Counties, at any seasonable Time, or [Page 331] Times, to have Recourse to, and Inspection of, all Mortgage Deeds or Inrollments of the same, with their Indorsements, thereby to enable them, or either of them, to account with the General Assembly of this Government, or their Committees, or any other Persons appointed by the General Assembly of this Government for that Purpose, if any such Account shall be required.
A Supplementary Act to the Act, entituled, An ACT for the better Regulation of Servants and Slaves, within this Government.
WHEREAS the Laws of this Government, Preamble. in regard to the Regulation of Servants and Slaves, have been found to the defective, in not prescribing any Mode for the settling and determining in a short and summary Way any Differences or Disputes that may arise between any Master or Mistress, and his or her Apprentice, indented or other Servant; For the remedying of which Inconveniences and Defects for the future,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That the Justices Justices, on Petition, may summon Master, &c. of the respective Courts of Quarter-Sessions within this Government, upon any Petition to them, to be preferred by any Apprentice or Apprentices, or his, her, or their Parent, Guardians, or next Friends, or by any Servant against his or her Master or Mistress, for or by Reason of any Branch of Covenants, or other Matter, Cause, or Thing whatsoever, is shall and may be lawful for the said [Page 332] Justices, to issue a Summons against such Master or Mistress, and to cause him or her to come before them, to answer such Complaint; and, after hearing the Proofs And discharge Apprentices, &c. and Allegations of the Parties, to discharge any Apprentice from his or her Indenture, and bind him or her out to some other Master or Mistress of the same Trade, Art and Mystery, if to the said Justices it shall seem meet and expedient; and likewise to order and compel any Master or Mistress, to sell and dispose of the Residue and remaining Part of such Servant's indented Time to some other Person or Persons, to be approved of by one or more of the said Justices, or to make such other Order or Decree between any Master or Mistress, and his or her Apprentice, indented or other Servant, as to them shall seem agreeable to Equity and good Conscience; and to force Obedience to such their Judgment and Decree, by committing the Body of the Person or Persons refusing or neglecting to comply therewith.
An ACT to limit the Continuance of Actions in the respective Courts of Common Pleas, in this Government.
Preamble. WHEREAS the long Continuance of Actions in the several Courts of Common Pleas within this Government, [...]ath been attended with great Evils, and many Persons, by Means thereof, have been kept out of their just Rights: For the Remedy whereof for the future,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the [Page 333] Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, Court may make a Rule for Defendant to plead, &c. and by the Authority of the same, That in all Actions hereafter to be commenced in any Court of Common Pleas within this Government, where the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs shall send a Copy of the Declaration, with the Writ, and cause the same to be served on, or delivered to, the Defendant or Defendants, or left at the last Place of his, her, or their Abode, at least Twenty Days before the Court to which such Writ is returnable, it shall and may be lawful for the Justices of such Court, on due Proof thereof, to make a Rule for the Defendant, or Defendants, to file his, her, or their Plea, or Pleas, by the second Day of the next succeeding Term after such Court; and if the Defendant, or Defendants, shall neglect or refuse to comply with such Rule, the Justices of such Court shall and may proceed to render Judgment against him, her, or them, with Costs of Suit, for such Neglect or Refusal, unless, he, she, or they, can shew good Cause, upon Oath or Affirmation, why a further Day should be given, and thereupon to award a Writ of Enquiry, if the Case may require it.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That in all Actions, hereafter Plaintiff neglecting to file Declaration in due Time, Judgment may be entered for Defendant, &c. to be commenced in any Court of Common Pleas within this Government, the Plaintiff, or Plaintiffs, shall file his, her, or their Declaration, by the second Day of the next Term succeeding the Court to which the Writ is returnable; and if the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs shall neglect or refuse to file his, her, or their Declaration, within the Time aforesaid, then the Justices of such Court are hereby impowered and directed to cause Judgment to be entered for the Defendant, with Costs, against the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs, for such Neglect or Refusal, But if the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs shall file his, her, or their Declaration within the Time aforesaid, then the Justices aforesaid shall make Defendant neglecting, &c. a Rule for the Defendant, to file his, her, or their Plea, by the second Day of the next Term after filing the said Declaration, and, on Neglect or Refusal, to comply with such Rule, shall give Judgment against the Defendant, or Defendants, in Manner above-mentioned, unless sufficient Cause shall be shewn in Manner aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Action hereafter to be commenced as aforesaid, may or shall be continued [Page 334] No Action to be continued longer than the 4th Term, unless, &c. longer than the fourth Term after such Action brought, and then the Parties shall be obliged to come to Trial, unless it shall happen that some material Evidence is wanting, and out of the Reach of the Process of the Court, or some other special Cause shall be assigned, to the Satisfaction of the Court, all which Matters and Things shall be made out to the Court by Affidavit of the Party, Plaintiff, or Defendant, in such Suit. And in such Cases the Justices may direct the Trial of the said Cause to be put off to some succeeding Court.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Former Act repealed. by the Authority aforesaid, That an Act of Assembly of this Government, made in the Twenty-second Year of the Reign of his present Majesty, entituled, An Act to limit the Continuance of Actions in the Several Courts of Common Pleas within this Government, shall be, and is hereby repealed, made null and void.
An ACT for erecting publick Bridges, Causeways, and laying out and maintaining Highways.
Preamble. WHEREAS nothing more contributes to the Ease, Safety, and Conveniency of Travellers, than the erecting of Bridges, Causeways, and keeping in good Repair the Highways and Roads of each particular Government,
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly [Page 335] met, and by the Authority of the same, That all Highways, &c. to be laid out, by Order of the Justices. King's Roads and Highways, and all such other Roads as may be deemed necessary for the Ease and Advantage of the Inhabitants of this Government, and Travellers, shall be laid out by Order of the Justices of the Peace, at the Court of Quarter-Sessions, within each respective County, where the Application shall be made in Manner as hereinafter is directed.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Justices of each respective Justices to appoint Overseers of Highways and Bridges, &c. Court of Quarter-Sessions within this Government, are hereby impowered and required, in May Sessions, yearly, and every Year, to nominate and appoint in each of the Hundreds of their respective Counties, one or more discreet and substantial Inhabitant, or Inhabitants, to be Overseer or Overseers of the Highways, Causeways, and Bridges, of the several Parts of their respective Hundreds, for the ensuing Year, by Warrant from under the Seal of the said Court, signed by the Clerk of the Peace.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all King's Roads or Breadth of Highways, &c. Highways within this Government, shall be of the Breadth of forty Feet, whereof thirty Feet shall be grubbed and cleared, and the Branches and Limbs of Trees adjoining to the said Roads or Highways, shall be cut down, at least ten Feet from the Ground, and all dead Trees standing near the said Roads or Highways, if by falling they might reach the same, shall be cut down, and that all publick Roads, which are not properly King's Roads or Highways, shall be of the Breadth of thirty Feet, twenty Feet of which shall be grubbed and cleared in like Manner as King's Roads or Highways.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Roads into and out Causeways to be made.of all Swamps, Creeks, Runs, and sunken Lands, that fall within the Limits aforesaid, shall be secured by good Causeways, and that all Causeways and Bridges shall be of the Breadth of twelve Feet at least, and Bridges standing over deep Water, shall be railed in at the Distance of ten Feet from Rail to Rail, and of the Height of three Feet from the Plank or Floor of the Bridge.
[Page 336]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Bridges by whom to be repaired. by the Authority aforesaid, That all Bridges over Creeks, and deep Waters, lying on the King's Highways, Roading through any of the Counties aforesaid, shall be repaired and maintained at the common Expence of the respective County where such Bridges are erected.
PROVIDED NEVERTHELESS, That such Persons as by any Act of Assembly of this Government are entituled to the Benefit of any Bridge or Bridges lying over deep Waters or Creeks, and the Causeways leading thereto, built at their own Expence, or at the Expence of their Predecessors, or Assignors, shall enjoy all and every the Privileges and Advantages already granted them, they maintaining and keeping in Repair such Bridges and Causeways as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That every Person or Persons, Where MillRaces, &c. cross a publick Road, the Owner to keep the Way is Repair. who, for his, her, or their own Benefit, already hath or have, or hereafter shall cut through the King's Highway, or other publick Road, any Mill-Race, Ditch, Drain, or other Water-Course, he, she, or they, shall be obliged to make, support, maintain, and repair, a [...] and sufficient Way over the same, for the convenient Passage of Men, Horses, Carts, and other Carriages, under Penalty. the Penalty of Five Pounds for each Offence, to be recovered by Bill, Plaint, or Information.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Bridges not in the King's Roads, by whom to be repaired. by the Authority aforesaid, That all Bridges heretofore erected in the several Hundreds of this Government, or publick Roads, which are not properly King's Roads, shall be repaired and maintained by the Inhabitants residing in the respective Hundreds where such Bridge or Bridges are erected.
PROVIDED NEVERTHELESS, That where any Bridge is already erected over any Creek or deep Water, which is a Boundary between two Hundreds, the Inhabitants of each Hundred shall and are hereby obliged to support equally the said Bridge, and the Causeway leading to the same on either Side.
AND in order that Bridges and Causeways may be easier built and supported, BE IT ENACTED [Page 337] by the Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be Power to Overseers, of cutting Timber, &c. lawful for the Overseers in their respective Hundreds, to fall, cut down, and carry away, all such Timber and Trees as stand within the Limits of the Roads aforesaid, for and towards the Support of the Bridges and Causeways of the same. And in case no such Timber or Trees can there be found, then it shall and may be lawful for the respective Overseers, to cause such Trees or Timber, as shall be necessary for building and repairing Bridges and Causeways, standing or growing on any Lands that are most commodiously situated for such Use, to be viewed Timber to be appraised and paid for. and appraised by two impartial Freeholders of the Vicinage, nominated and appointed by the said Overseer or Overseers, they being first sworn or affirmed before some Justice of the Peace, to duly appraise the same in the Presence of the Owner thereof, if he will attend (after Notice given him by the Overseers) to be cut down, and carried off for the Use before mentioned, and the appraised Value thereof to be paid to the Owner or Owners, and to be levied as other County Rates and Levies are.
AND if the said Overseer or Overseers shall be sued Overseers sued, may plead the General Issue, &c. for cutting down any Timber for the Uses as above-mentioned, he or they may plead the General Issue, and give this Act in Evidence. And if the Plaintiff be non-suited, discontinue his Action, or a Verdict pass against him, he shall pay the Defendant treble Costs.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That where Application shall Proceedings in obtaining new Roads. be made to the Justices in their Court of Quarter-Sessions of their respective Counties, by any Person or Persons, that a Road is necessary or wanting, the said Justices are hereby required and impowered to nominate and appoint five good and substantial Freeholders of the Neighbourhood, to view and examine whether such [...] is necessary and convenient. And if, upon viewing the Premises, the said Freeholders, or a Majority of them, shall think such Road fit and convenient, then they are hereby ordered to lay out of the same, and make Return thereof to the Justices of the succeeding Court of Quarter-Sessions, to be held in the County where such Application is made, describing, in Writing under their Finds, the said Road, with Courses and Distances, as high as can be estimated; and if the said Return shall be approved of by the said Justices, they shall [Page 338] cause the same to be entered on Record, and from thenceforth it shall be deemed, taken, and allowed, to be a publick Road; and whenever it shall be found necessary and convenient by such five Freeholders, or any three of them, Damage to Improved Lands, how to be settled, &c. that such Road shall run or go through the improved Lands of any Person or Persons, then, and in such Case, such five Freeholders, or any three of them, shall, together with the Return of the View of such Road, make Return to the respective Courts of Quarter-Sessions, upon Oath or Affirmation, to be taken before any Justice of the Peace of the County where such Lands lie, of the Damages that may be sustained by such Person or Persons as shall be Owners of such improved Lands, by Reason or Means of laying out such Road through the same. And the Road so returned shall not be confirmed until the Person or Persons petitioning for the same, shall pay to the Owner or Owners of such improved Lands all such Damages as he, she, or they, shall have sustained, by the Valuation of such Freeholders, or any three of them, as Costs, by whom to be paid. aforesaid. And the Petitioner or Petitioners for such Road, shall pay and satisfy all Costs and Charges whatsoever, that shall or may happen to accrue for laying out such Road. And the said Freeholders, or any three of them, so nominated and appointed by the Justices as aforesaid, shall receive and have from the Parties petitioning for any Road or Roads as above mentioned, the Sum of Five Shillings each, for every Day they shall attend the viewing Penalty on Freeholders neglecting, &c. and laying out the same. And any of the said Freeholders so nominated and appointed by the Justices as aforesaid, neglecting or refusing to comply with the Directions of this Act. (unless hindered by Sickness, or other unavoidable Accidents) every such Freeholder so neglecting or refusing, and being duly convicted thereof, shall, for such Neglect or Refusal, forfeit the Sum of Ten Shillings, to be levied, together with Costs, by Distress and Sale of the Offenders Goods and Chattels, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of any one Justice of the Peace of the County where such Offender shall reside.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Penalty on obstructing High Roads. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons shall presume to obstruct any of the said Highways or other Roads heretofore laid out, or hereafter to be laid out, and allowed of as aforesaid, or to learn the same, without Leave of the Court of Quarter-Sessions first had [Page 339] and obtained, or shall commit any Nusance therein, by falling of Trees, making Fences, or any other Way, and do not remove the same forthwith, such Person or Persons so offending, and being duly convicted thereof, shall be fined in the Sum of Five Pounds, to be recovered in Manner aforesaid, and to be applied by the Court for the clearing and removing such Nusances, and the Remainder thereof ( [...]f any there be) shall be applied by the said Court, to repairing and clearing other Roads within the Hundred where the Offence shall be committed.
AND to the End that Highways may be kept in good Order and Repair, BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all and Overseers to give Notice to the taxable Inhabitants, &c. every Overseer and Overseers of every Hundred, within the respective Counties of this Government, being first by the Justices appointed as aforesaid, may and are hereby respectively impowered and required to give Notice to every taxable Person within their respective Districts, in Manner and Form following; That is to say, Every Overseer appointed as aforesaid, shall six publick Advertisements in Writing, at five of the most noted Places in his District, at least Ten Days before the intended Day of meeting, advertising and requiring each and every Person in his said District, taxed or rated at any Sum not exceeding Thirty Pounds, to find one sufficient Man Number of Men to be sent, &c. to be and appear at the Place he the said Overseer shall in the said Advertisement appoint, in order to do and perform such Services as the said Overseer, in the Discharge of his Duty, shall direct; and every Person taxed or rated at any Sum not exceeding Sixty Pounds, nor under Thirty-one Pounds, to find two sufficient Men for the Purposes aforesaid; and any Person taxed or rated at any Sum exceeding Sixty Pounds, to find three sufficient Men for the Purposes aforesaid; which said Notice shall be deemed a sufficient Warning; and every Penalty on sending Men, &c. Taxable, who neglects, refuses, or delays, to appear after Notice given as aforesaid, or to stand a sufficient Man or Men, according to the Directions of this Act, with proper Tools and Instruments, to do and perform such Services as the Overseer or Overseers shall require and direct, from one Hour after Sun-rise until one Hour before the Setting of the same (Meal Times excepted) shall forfeit for the Delinquency, or Non-performance [Page 340] of the Duties and Services above required and directed, any Sum not exceeding Five Shillings, nor under Two Shillings and Six-pence, to be levied as aforesaid; and the Overseers Return of each Delinquent or Delinquents, upon his Oath or Affirmation, to any one Justice of the Peace of the County where he resides, shell be deemed sufficient Proof for the Conviction.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Penalty on Overseers neglecting, &c. by the Authority aforesaid. That any Person appointed Overseer, as in this Act is directed, refusing or neglecting the Performance of his Duty as Overseer, shall forfeit, for such his Refusal or Neglect, the Sum of Four Pounds, to be recovered by Bill, Plaint, or Information.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Fines how to be appropriated. by the Authority aforesaid, That all and every the Fines and Forfeitures in this Act laid, and to be recovered as aforesaid, and not herein before appropriated, shall be paid to the Treasurer of the County where such Fines and Forfeitures shall be hereafter levied to and towards the defraying the Charges in repairing and maintaining the Bridges lying on the King's Highways as aforesaid. And to prevent any Difference that may arise amongst Neighbours about Roads or Causeways already laid cut by Order of the Governor and Council, or any of the Courts of this Government, and which are or shall be entered upon Record, either before or after the making and publishing this Act, all such Roads and Causeways as aforesaid, shall be taken, deemed, and allowed to be free, open, and lawful common Roads and Cart-Ways, from the Time of their being laid out and recorded as aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, Former Acts repealed. That all Acts of Assembly of this Government, for laying cut Roads, and for erecting, repairing, and maintaining Bridges, Causeways, and Highways, within this Government, shall be, and are hereby repealed, made null and void, except an Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for repairing and amending the Highways, Roads, Causeways, and Bridges, within the Hundred of Newcastle, which is hereby declared to be in full Force, any thing in this Act [Page 341] contained to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
An ACT to prevent Swine running at large within the Bounds of Lewes-Town, in Sussex County.
WHEREAS the Inhabitants of the Town of Preamble. Lewes, and Parts adjacent, have heretofore suffered great Damage by Swine running at large, without Rings and Yokes,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the Publication Swine not to run at large without Rings and Yokes, &c. of this Act, no Swine shall be allowed or permitted to run at large, without sufficient Rings and Yokes, on any of the Lands and Marshes within the Limits and Bounds following, viz. Beginning at the Mouth of Pagan or Canary Creek, thence up the same to the publick Road; thence by a right Line to the Head of Potbook's Creck; thence down the same to the Mouth thereof; and thence down Lewes Creek, to the Mouth of Pagan or Canary Creek aforesaid. And if at any Time, after the Proceedings directed concerning Swine found running at large, &c. Publication of this-Act, any Swine shall be found at large within the above-mentioned Bounds and Limits, not sufficiently ringed and yoked as aforesaid, unless on the Lands or Marshes of the Owner thereof, it shall and may be lawful for any Person, being a Freeholder, to take up, and secure, or kill the same Swine to found upon his, [Page 342] her, or their Lands and Marshes, without Rings and Yokes, as aforesaid, and shall give Notice to the Owner or Owners thereof, if known; which Owner or Owners shall make good and pay all Damages, by the Party taking up the said Swine, sustained, as shall be adjudged by two sufficient Freeholders, upon Oath or Affirmation; which Damages so adjudged as aforesaid, shall be levied by Distress and Sale of the Offenders Goods and Chattels, and paid to the Party injured: But if the Party or Parties injured by such Swine shall kill all or any such Swine, he, she, or they, shall inform the nearest Justice of the Peace of the same County, whereupon the same Justice, by Warrant under his Hand and Seal, directed to any of the Constables of Lewes, shall cause the Swine so killed as aforesaid, immediately to be appraised by two sufficient Freeholders, upon their Oath or Affirmation; and the said Constable shall publickly advertise the Marks thereof, and fell the said Swine so killed, to the highest Bidder, and deliver the Money arising on such Sale into the Hands of the Justice of Peace who granted the Warrant, there to remain for the Benefit of the Owner, after deducting legal Costs: But if the Owner or Owners shall neglect to claim the Money due on such Sale, after deducting legal Costs, as aforesaid, within the Space of Six Months, then, and in such Case, the said Justice shall pay to the Treasurer of the County the Sum remaining in his Hands, for the Use of the Poor, and the Owner is hereby utterly barred, after the Six Months as aforesaid, from claiming any Part of the said Sum of Money.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Swine not to be driven into other Parts, without Yokes, &c. by the Authority aforesaid, That no Freeholder or Freeholders, residing within the Limits aforesaid, shall be allowed or permitted to drive or carry any Swine out of the Limits aforesaid, which were bred or raised therein, without Rings and Yokes, into any other Part of the County of Sussex aforesaid, under the Penalty in this Act before provided against Swine running at large, without Rings and Yokes, within the Limits aforesaid, to be disposed of in Manner aforesaid.
AND BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons shall be sued for doing any thing according to the Directions of this Act, he, she, or they, may plead the General Issue, and give [Page 343] this Act in Evidence, as a Justification, and shall recover treble Costs of the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs, any Law, Custom, or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That all Acts of Assembly Former Acts repealed. of this Government, heretofore made for preventing Swine running at large within the Limits aforesaid, so far as the same may relate to Swine, shall be, and are hereby repealed, made null and void.
An ACT for the killing of Squirrels in the County of Kent.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That every tithable Every Taxable to kill a Squirrel for each Pound in his Rate, &c. or taxable Person of the said County of Kent, upon Delaware, shall, for the Term of Three Years, from and after the First Day of March next ensuing, kill, or cause to be killed, within the said County of Kent, one Squirrel for every Pound that each tithable or taxable Person shall be rated at yearly and every Year, during the said Term, and carry their Heads or Scalps before some Justice of the Peace of the said County, and shall make Oath or solemn Affirmation, if required, that they were killed in the aforesaid County of Kent, and after the First Day of March, as aforesaid, which Justice, before whom such Squirrel Heads or Scalps shall be brought, being satisfied that they were killed in Manner aforesaid, shall burn and destroy all such Heads or Scalps, and give a Receipt for the same.
[Page 344]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Penalty on Neglect. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any tithable or taxable Person, within the said County of Kent, shall fail or neglect to kill, or cause to be killed, one Squirrel for every Pound, such tithable or taxable Person shall be rated at during the Term and Time aforesaid, and carry the same before some Justice, to be destroyed as aforesaid, he, she, or they, shall pay Three-pence for every Squirrel, by him, her, or them, so neglected to be killed, which Money shall be paid to such Collector or Collectors as shall by the Levy-Court of the said County be appointed, from time to time, to collect the County-Levies; and the said Collector or Collectors are hereby impowered and required to collect the same, and the Fines, when received, shall be paid, by the Collector or Collectors, to the Treasurer of the said County for the Time being, to be applied towards the Payment or defraying of the publick Charges of the said County; and in case any Person or Persons shall neglect or refuse to pay the said Sums arising or becoming due by Virtue of this Act, then such Collector or Collectors are hereby impowered and required to levy the same in like Manner as other County Rates and Levies by the aforesaid Act are directed to be levied.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Allowance for Squirrels killed above the Rate. by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons shall kill, or cause to be killed, after the First Day of March, as aforesaid, and within the Term or Time of three Years, as aforementioned, more than the Number of Squirrels for every Pound each tithable or taxable Person or Persons shall be rated at as aforesaid, he, she, or they, on producing the Receipt of any Justice of the County for the same, shall receive, and be allowed, at the Time of laying the County Levies, by the Magistrates, Grand Jurors, and Assessors of the said County, yearly and every Year, Two-pence per Head or Scalp, for the same, to be levied in like Manner as other County Rates and Levies are.
An ACT for the Regulation of Toll.
WHEREAS the Inhabitants of this Government do greatly suffer, by Reason of the exorbitant Toll taken by Millers within the same, for the grinding of Grain: Therefore, for the better and more just Regulation of the same for the future,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That no Person or Quantity of Toll to be taken by Millers regulated. Persons, keeping a Mill or Mills, within this Government, shall, after the Publication of this Act, presume, on any Pretence whatsoever, to take more than the Tenth Part of each Bushel of Wheat, Rye, Indian Corn, Buckwheat, or Malt, as Toll, for grinding the same, within the County of Newcastle; or more than the Tenth Part, for grinding each Bushel of Wheat or Malt, and the Eighth Part of Indian Corn, Rye, and Buckwheat, within the Counties of Kent, and Sussex; and if any Miller or Millers, within this Government, shall take, or cause to be taken, any greater or larger Toll than is allowed by this Act, he or they so offending, being legally convicted thereof, shall be adjudged to pay double Damages to the Party injured, with Costs of Prosecution, and shall be fined the Sum of Five Pounds, one Moiety whereof shall go to the Governor for the Time being, towards Support of Government, and the other Moiety to the Party grieved, to be recovered by Bill, Plaint, or Information, wherein no Essoign, Protection, or Wager of Law, shall be allowed.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That an Act for the Regulation Former Act repealed. of Toll, made in the Twelfth Year of his late Majesty's Reign, is hereby repealed, made null and void.
A Supplementary Act to an Act, entituled, An ACT for regulating and establishing Fees within this Government.
WHEREAS an Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for regulating and establishing Fees, is not found sufficient to answer all the good Ends and Purposes thereby intended, as it now stands, in Regard to Attornies at Law, within the said Government: For the Amendment whereof,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Fees on Warrants of Attorney regulated. Authority of the same, That the Fees belonging to the Attornies at Law within this Government, on Bonds, with Warrants of Attorney, to confess Judgment, shall be as followeth, viz. To the Attorney, on the Side of the Plaintiff, for all his Services, Thirteen Shillings; to the Defendant's Attorney, for all his Services, Seven Shillings, and no more.
An ACT about Contracts and Assumptions.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and [Page 347] by the Authority of the same, That all Promises and Assumptions, Assumptions proved on Oath, &c. shall be available, &c. whereby any Person or Persons shall undertake to answer or pay for the Default, Debt, or Miscarriage, of another, any Sum under Forty Shillings, being proved by the Oath or Affirmation of the Person or Persons to whom such Promise and Assumption shall be made, are hereby declared to be good and available in Law, to charge the Party or Parties making such Promise and Assumption.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Action shall be Executors, &c. not to be charged, except the Assumption be proved, &c. brought, whereby to charge any Executor or Administrator, upon any special Promise, to answer Damages out of his own Estate; or whereby to charge any Defendant, upon any special Promise, to answer for the Debt, Default, or Miscarriage, of another Person, of the Value of Forty Shillings, and not exceeding Ten Pounds, unless such Promise and Assumption shall be proved by the Oath or Affirmation of one credible Witness, or some Memorandum, or Note in Writing, shall be signed by the Party to be charged therewith.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That no Action shall What Agreements are to be in Writing. be brought, whereby to charge any Person or Persons, upon any Agreement made upon Consideration of Marriage, or upon any Contract, or Sale of Lands, Tenements, or Heredi [...]aments, or any Interest in, or concerning them, or upon any Agreement that is not to be performed within the Space of One Year from the making thereof; or to charge any Person or Persons, whereby to answer for the Debt, Default, or Miscarriage, of another, in any Sum of the Value of Ten Pounds and upwards, unless the same shall be reduced to Writing, or some Memorandum or Note thereof shall be signed by the Party or Parties to be charged therewith, or some other Person thereunto by him or them lawfully authorized, except for Goods, Wares, and Merchandizes sold and delivered, and other Matters, which be and are properly chargeable in an Account; in which Case the Oath or Affirmation of the Plaintiff, together with a Book regularly and fairly kept, shall be allowed in all Cases to be given in Evidence, in order to Charge the Defendant or Defendants with the Sum or Sums therein contained.
[Page 348]AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Former Act repealed. by the Authority aforesaid, That an Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act about Contracts and Assumptions, shall be, and is hereby repealed.
A Supplementary Act to an ACT for raising County Rates and Levies.
Preamble. WHEREAS an Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for raising County Rates and Levies, hath been found very defective, by omitting to direct in what Manner the respective County Treasurers within this Government shall be elected and appointed, and how long they shall continue in the Enjoyment of their respective Offices; For the remedying of which for the future.
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That the Justices, Eight Grand Justices to appoint a County. Treasurer, Jurymen, and Assessors, in the Several Counties of this Government, or as many of them as will attend at the next ensuing Courts of Appeal, to be held in the said Counties respectively, shall and are hereby required to elect, nominate and appoint one good and substantial Freeholder in each County, to be their Treasurer, who, Who shall give Bond, &c. before he shall enter into the said Office, shall give Bond, with Surety or Sureties, in Manner and Form as is directed and prescribed by the said Act, for raising County Rates and Levies, who is hereby vested with all the Powers and Authority, and entitled to all the Benefits and [Page 349] Advantages by the said Act to such Officer allowed and given.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Treasurers so to be Treasurers to continue three Years, &c. elected, shall hold and enjoy their respective Offices for the Term of Three Years, and no longer, unless they shall be re-elected; but the said Justices, Grand Jurymen, and Assessors, for the Time being, shall proceed to a new Choice at the Expiration of every three Years, AND in case of the Death or Removal of any Treasurer within the said Time, then the Justices of the Peace of the Proper Counties, for the Time being, or the major Part of them, shall appoint another, to succeed hi [...], for the Residue of the said Term, who shall give Security in Manner aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Day, on which Court of Appeal not to be held on ChristmasDay. the Court of Appeal is appointed to be within the respective Counties of this Government, by the aforesaid Act, for raising County Rates and Levies, shall happen to be Christmas—Day, then, and in such Case, such Court shall be held on the Day next following, and not otherwise, any Law, Custom, or Usage to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.
An ACT for regulating the Ferry over Christiana Creek, and the Bridge over Brandywine, in Newcastle County.
WHEREAS the said Ferry was erected and established for the better Accommodation of Passengers, travelling in the said County,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, [Page 350] Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by Sufficient Boats and Men to be kept at the Ferry, &c. the Authority of the same, That the Person or Persons who at present do or hereafter shall keep the said Ferry, shall, and are hereby required, and enjoined (at all convenient Times) to maintain and keep at the said Ferry such good and sufficient Boats and Men, as shall, from time to time, be needful for the Carriage of all Persons, Horses, Cattle, Coaches, Chaises, Chairs, Carts, Waggons, Goods, &c. which are to be carried over the said Creek, and shall give constant and due Attendance on the said Ferry, for which the Person, or Persons, who now do, or hereafter shall keep the said Ferry, shall take and receive, for Ferriage over the same, of all Persons (the Proprietaries, their Lieutenant-Governor, and Attendants excepted) Raises of Ferriage. the Rates and Prices following, viz. For every single Horse and Rider, Three-pence; for every led Horse, Ox, Cow, or Heiser, Two-pence each; for every FootPassenger, Two-pence; for every Sheep and Hog, One Penny; for a Coach, with a Pair of Horses, and the Passengers, Sixteen-pence; Chaise or Chair, with one Horse, and the Riders, Nine-pence; with [...] and Riders, Ten-pence; a Cart, and [...]ne [...] and Driver, Nine-pence; a Waggon, and one Horse and Driver, One Shillings; and for every other Horse in the said Cart or Waggon, Two-pence; for every Bushel of Grain, One Halfpenny
Penalty on Beach of this Act. AND if the Person, or Persons, who now do, or hereafter shall keep the said Ferry, shall not maintain and keep such sufficient Boat or Boats, and Men, as aforesaid, or shall not give constant and due Attendance on the Service of the said Ferry, or shall exact or demand any greater or other Fees, for any of the Services aforesaid, than is herein before limited and appointed, then, and in every such Case, he, she, or they, so offending, shall forfeit and pay the Sum of Five Pounds, lawful Money of this Government, for every such Offence, one Moiety thereof to the Governor, towards Support of Government, and the other Moiety thereof to the Party grieved, to be recovered by Bill, Plaint, or Information, in any Court of Record within this Government, wherein no Essoign, Protection, or Wager of Law, shall be allowed.
[Page 351]AND WHEREAS there is a Bridge erected over Rates of Toll for passing Brandywine Bridge, &c. Brandywine Creek, BE IT ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Person, or Persons, who at present do, or hereafter shall own or possess the said Bridge, so long as the same shall be permitted to be kept up, shall keep the said Bridge in good Repair, for the Passage of Travellers over the same, as also of Horses, Cattle, Coaches, Chaises, Chairs, Carts, and Waggons, for which he, she, or they, so owning or possessing the said Bridge, shall take and receive the Rates and Prices following, viz. For every single Horse and Rider, Two-pence; for every led Horse, Ox, Cow, or Heiser, One Penny; for every Foot-Passenger, One Penny; for every Sheep, or Hog, One Half-penny; and for a Coach, with a Pair of Horses and Riders, Six-pence; for a Chaise or Chair, with one Horse and Riders, Four-pence; with two Horses and Riders, Six-pence; Cart or Waggon, loaded, and Horses or Oxen, One Shilling; empty Cart o [...] Waggon, and Horses or Oxen, Four-pence.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That if the present Owner or Penalty on demanding more, or tailing to keep the Bridge, in Repair, &c. Possessor of the said Bridge, or whosoever shall hereafter own or possess the same, shall exact or demand any greater or other Prices, or Rates, for the passing over the same, than what is herein before prescribed and specified, or shall neglect to keep the said Bridge in good Repair, he, she, or they, so offending, shall, for every Offence, forfeit and pay the Sum of Five Pounds, like Money as aforesaid, to be recovered and appropriated in like Manner as above directed.
An ACT for barring Estates Tail within this Government.
WHEREAS the Intailing of Estates within this Government, would introduce Perpetuiti [...]s, prevent the Improvement of such Estates, and disable [Page 352] Tenants in Tail from making Provision for the younger [...] of their Families; AND WHEREAS it hath been made a Doubt, whether Estates Tail can legally be barred, or docked, by Fines and common Recoveries suffered within this Government, in like Manner as they may in that Part of Great Britain called England: For the remedying whereof for the future,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and Fines and Recoveries declared to be good and valid. by the Authority of the same, That all Fines and common Recoveries heretofore levied and suffered within this Government, or which at any Time hereafter shall or may be levied or suffered therein, in Pursuance of, or according to, the Common or Statute Laws of that Part of Great Britain called England, in any of the Supreme Courts of this Government, or in any of the Courts of Common Pleas within the County where the Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments intailed, do, or shall lie, shall be, and are hereby declared to be as good and available in Law, to all Intents, Constructions, and Purposes, for the barring Estates so intailed as aforesaid, as Fines and common Recoveries of Land, Tenements, and Hereditaments, Suffered or levied in that Part of Great Britain called England, may or can be.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That it shall and may be lawful for any Heir at Law, or other Person or Persons claiming any Right in the said Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments, either by Appeal, or Writ of Error, as the Case may require, to reverse such Fines or Recoveries, for any Error, or Errors, which heretofore have, or hereafter may happen in levying or suffering the same.
An ACT impowering James Gorrell, Benjamin Chew, and Robert Willcocks, of Kent County, Gentlemen, to sell and dispose of all the Lots of Ground within the Town of Dover, in the said County, as have not hitherto been sold and disposed of; and also to confirm to the present Prossessors all such Lots as have been heretofore purchased, within the said Town, from the former Trustees, and which have not been duly conveyed to them.
WHEREAS by an Act of General Assembly of this Preamble. Government, entituled, An Act appointing Persons to lay out Two Hundred Acres of Land in Lots adjoining to the Court-House of the Country of Kent, and to dispose of the same, to the Use of the Publick, Benjamin Sburmer, William Brinkley, and Richard Richardson, of the said County, Gentlemen, or any two of them, were impowered and appointed to survey, and lay out into Lots, a certain Tract of Land in the said County, adjoining the Court-House of the said County, and purchased by the People thereof, and commonly called the Town of Dover, in such Measures and Proportions as to them should seem meet and convenient, and the said Lots so surveyed and laid out, to dispose of and sell to such Persons as should be willing to purchase the same; and further, to execute all such Deeds and Conveyances for the same, as should be necessary and requisite, as by the said recited Act may appear; AND WHEREAS the aforesaid Benjamin Sburmer, William Brinkley, and Richard Richardson, afterwards died, and many of the Lots of Ground, within the said Town, remained unfold, to the great Detriment of the Publick; AND WHEREAS, after the Decease of the aforesaid William Brinkley, and Richard Richardson, two of the said Trustees, many Persons did actually, and bona fide, purchase of Benjamin Sburmer, the Survivor, several Lots of Ground, within the said Town; but because the Trust did not survive to the said Benjamin Sburmer by Virtue of any Words of the Act aforesaid, such Persons could not have sufficient Titles for such Lots from the said Benjamin Sburmer, but were in Danger of being dispossessed of the same; AND WHEREAS, for the remedying and preventing of such Inconveniencies, [Page 354] both to the Publick and such Persons as were bonafide Purchasers, as aforesaid; and in order that the Intention of the said Act might be fully complied with, an Act of General Assembly of this Government was made in the Thirteenth Year of the Reign of his present Majesty, appointing John Holliday, James Gorrell, and Thomas Skidmore, junior, of Kent County aforesaid, Gentlemen, or any two of them, and the Survivors and Survivor of them, to bargain, sell, and confirm all such Lots of Ground within the Town of Dover aforesaid, as had not theretofore been conveyed and confirmed by any of the said Trustees; AND WHEREAS the aforesaid John Holliday, and Thomas Skidmore, junior, two of the said Trustees, are since deceased, and their Survivor, by an Indisposition of Body, is at present rendered incapable of performing the Trust required of him by the said Act; AND WHEREAS there are several Lots of Ground within the said Town of Dover, which have not been conveyed and confirmed, by any of the aforesaid Trustees, to the Purchaser or Purchasers thereof: For the remedying and preventing therefore of such Inconveniencies, both to the Publick and such Person or Persons as have been bona fide Purchasers,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lientenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Trustees impowered to convey the Lots, &c. Authority of the same, That James Gorrell, Benjamin Chew, and Robert Willcocks, Gentlemen, or any two of them, and the Survivors and Survivor of them, shall and are hereby impowered to grant, bargain, sell, convey, and confirm, all such Lots of Ground, within the Town of Dover aforesaid, as have not hitherto been sold or disposed of by any of the Trustees in the aforesaid Acts named, to such Person or Persons as shall be willing to purchase the same for such Value and Consideration as shall be agreed upon between them and the Purchasers.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Their Conveyances, &c. declared valid. by the Authority aforesaid, That the said James Gorrell, Benjamin Chew, and Robert Willcocks, or any two of them, and the Survivors and Survivor of them, are hereby [Page 355] imopowered and required to make, execute, and acknowledge, all such Conveyances and Assurances, as shall be reasonably required, and are necessary for the confirming all such Persons in their Rights and Possessions, who shall appear to them, the said Trustees, actually and bona fide to have purchased any Lots within the said town of Dover, of the aforesaid Trustees, or any two of them, at the proper Costs and Charges of the said Purchasers, their Heirs and Assigns; all which Conveyances and Assurances shall be good and valid to all such Purchaser and Purchasers, their Heirs and Assigns, for ever.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, That such Person or Persons shall pay, or secure to be paid, to the said Trustees, for the Use of the Publick, such Sum and Sums of Money as the said Lots were originally contracted for, unless the same shall appear to be paid to any of the former Trustees.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Trustees shall once in every Year tender an Account to the Levy Trustees to render Account, &c. Court of the said County, of all the Lots so by them sold or disposed of, and the Consideration for which the same have been purchased and bought, and shall also pay to the Treasurer of the said County for the Time being, all such Sums of Money as they have received for Lots sold as aforesaid, which Money shall be disposed of, and applied to such Uses and Purposes as the said Levy Court, at the Time of laying of the Levies for the said County, shall direct and appoint. And the said Court shall and may, at the Time aforesaid, yearly allow to the said Trustees such Reward for their Care and Paln [...], in executing the Trust reposed in them by this Act, as they shall think fit and reasonable.
An ACT for repealing divers Acts of Assembly of this Government, in this Act mentioned.
WHEREAS sundry Acts of Assembly of this Government are found, by Experience, not to be well adapted to the present Circumstances of the Inhabitants thereof,
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly Titles of the Acts repealed. met, and by the Authority of the same, That an Act, entituled, An Act for Ascertaining the Dimensions of Cases, and for the true packing of Meat and Tobacco for Transportation; and that one other Act, entituled, An Act for the Recovery of Officers Fees; and that one other Act, entituled, An Act for the Destruction of Blackbirds and Crows; and that one other Act, entituled, An Act impowering the Justices of Newcastle County in a further Regulation of Roads; and that one other Act, entituled, An Act for Stopping up the Mouth of the Broad Kyll, in order to deepen Lewes Creek; and that one other Act, entituled, An Act for improving Navigation by deepening Lewes Creek; and that one other Act, entituled, A Supplement to the Act for regulating and establishing Fees; and that one other Act, entituled, An Act impowering James Smith and Abraham Allee to sell the Lands late of John Hall, deceased, &c. and all and every of them, and all and every Matter, Clause, and Thing, in the said Acts, and every of them, contained, are hereby repealed, made null and void.
An ACT for Confirming the Sales of Lands made by Executors, by Virtue of Orders of the Several Orphans Courts within this Government.
WHEREAS it hath been a Practice within this Preamble. Government, For Executors to sell and convey the Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments of their Testator or Testators, by Order of the respective Orphans Courts within the same, upon due Proof made to such Court, that the Personal Estate or Estates of such Testator or Testators hath or have not been sufficient to discharge his, her, or their just Debt, or Debts, and to educate and maintain his, her, or their Children, when in Strictness of Law the said Courts do not appear to have been invested with any Power to make such Order or Orders: Therefore, for the quieting the Minds of such Persons as have fairly purchased Lands from Executors, under such Orders, and for the confirming them in their Rights and Possessions,
BE IT ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and Sales of Lands, &c. by Executors, since 1720, declared valid. &c. by the Authority of the same, That all Grants, Bargains, and Sales of Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, that have been made within this Government, Since the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Twenty, by any Executor or Executors, pursuant to any Order of the respective Orphans Courts within this Government, where it appears that the Executor or Executors have accounted for, and paid the Money for which such Lands were sold, for the Uses above-mentioned, and where no Suit in Law or Equity hath been brought, for the setting aside such Grants, Bargains, and Sales, shall be adjudged, and are hereby declared to be good and effectual in Law, to all Intents, Constructions, and Purposes, for the conveying, assuring, and confirming, to the Grantee, or Bargainee, such Estate or Estates therein, as by his or her Deed or Deeds are limited and directed.
[Page 358] Unless in cases of Fraud. PROVIDED ALWAYS, That nothing in this Act contained shall be deemed or understood to make good or valid any Grant, Bargain, or Sale, wherein any Fraud or Collusion hath been p [...]actised.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED Former Act repealed. by the Authority aforesaid, That an Act of Assembly of this Government, entituled, An Act for the Confirmation of the Possessors of Lands purchased bona side from Executors, by Virtue of Orders of Orphans Courts, within this Government, and every Matter, Clause, and Thing, therein contained, is hereby repealed, and declared to be null and void.
An ACT appointing Trustees to sell the Goal and Lot in the Town of Dover, and to Purchase another Lot in said Town for the erecting a new Goal thereon.
Preamble. WHEREAS it hath been represented to this House, that the Inhabitants of Kent County are raising and levying a Sum of Money for the erecting a new Prison in the Town of D [...]ver, in the said County, and that the Lot whereon the old Goal now Stands, is not conveniently situated for such Purpose,
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties, in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the Trustees appointed to sell Lots, &c. same, That Samuel Dickinson, John David, and John Vining, of the County of Kent, Esquires, and Robert [Page 359] Willcocks, and Benjamin Chew, of the said County, Gentlemen, or the Majority of them, are hereby constituted, nominate' and appointed Trustees, and are hereby impowered to sell and dispose of the Goal and Lot in the Town of Dover, for the best Price they can procure for the same, and to make over, convey, and confirm, by one or more Deed or Deeds, the said Goal and Lot, with the Appurtenances thereunto belonging, to the Purchaser or Purchasers thereof, his, her, or their Heirs and Assigns for ever; which Sale, when so made, is hereby declared to be good and valid in Law, to all Intents and Purposes; and the said Trustees shall apply the Money arising Money how to be applied. on such sale towards the Purchase of a new Lot in the said Town, for the Use of the Publick, and the Residue (if any) shall be paid to the Treasurer of the said County for the Time being, to be applied towards defraying the Charge of building a new Goal, or such other Purposes as the Levy Court of the said County shall direct and appoint.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Trustees, or Lot for the Goal to be [...] the major Part of them, shall, and are hereby impowered and authorized to purchase some other Lot of Ground within the said Town of Dover, for the building of a new Goal, and shall take a Deed to themselves, and the Survivor of them, their and the Survivor of their Heirs and Assigns for ever, in Trust for the Use of the Inhabitants of the said County of Kent.
An ACT prescribing an easy and summary Method to perpetuate the Testimony of Witnesses, relating to the Bounds of Lands within this Government.
WHEREAS the Estates of the Inhabitants of this Preamble. Government consist chiefly in Lands, the Bounds of which being subject to Decay, and to be destroyed by various Accidents, many Disputes frequently arise about such Bounds; AND WHEREAS the present legal Mode of perpectuating the Testimony of Witnesses relating to the Bounds of Lands, is both tedious and expensive: For the remedying of which Evils,
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq with his Majesty's royal Approbation Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief, of the Counties of Newcastle, Kent and Sussex, upon Delaware, and Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Counties in General Assembly met, and by the Authority of the same, That it shall and may be lawful for any Person or Persons who are Owners and Possessors of any Lands within this Government, as often as he, the, or they shall have Occasion, to examine any Witness or Witnesses, to prove any Boundary or Boundaries of his, her, or their Land, in Order to Perpetuate Petition to be exhibited to the Chancery Court. their Testimony, to exhibit his, her, or their Petition to the Justices of the Court of Chancery, of the County where the Lands lie, thereby praying that they will appoint three Commissioners to take the Examination of such Witness or Witnesses. And if the said Justices shall see a reasonable cause for the Granting the Prayer of such Petition, then and in such Case they shall nominate Who may appoint Commissioners, &c. and appoint three honest and discreet Freeholders of the County, to be Commissioners for the taking such Examination, who shall, before they enter on their Office, take an Oath or Affirmation before one of the Justices of the said Court, to whom Power is hereby given to administer such Oath or Affirmation, that they will faithfully and impartially take the Examination of such Witness or Witnesses as shall be produced to them for the Purposes aforesaid, and return the same into the said Court.
[Page 362]PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That before the said Justices shall proceed to appoint such Commissioners, the Person or Persons petitioning, or intending to petition for such Appointment, shall give, Ten Days Notice to be given, & c. or cause to be given, ten Days Notice in Writing to the Owners of the contiguous or adjoining Lands, their Agents, Attorneys or Guardians (if they are known, or can be found) of such the said Petitioner's intended Application to the said Justices, in order that such Owners of the contiguous Lands, their Agents, Attorneys or Guardians, or any of them, may be present, and make and offer to the said Justices, any legal or reasonable Objections to any Person or Persons to be nominated by the said Justices for such Commissioners; and also, that before any such Examination shall be taken, the Person or Persons petitioning, or some Person or Persons by him, her, or them delegated, And an Advertisement to be affixed to the Court-house Door, & c. shall affix an Advertisement at the Court-house Door of the said County, at least ten Days before the Meeting of the said Commissioners, thereby giving Notice of the Time and Place of their Meeting; and shall further give such Notice in Writing, to all the Owners of the contiguous or adjoining Lands, their Agents, Attorneys, or Guardians, in order that they may attend (if they think proper) to cross-examine such Witness or Witnesses: And such Owners of the contiguous Lands, their Agents, Attorneys, or Guardians, or any of them, shall also have Liberty to produce on their Part, to the said Commissioners, any Witness or Witnesses, to be examined touching such Boundaries, reserving to the said Petitioners, their Agents or Attorneys, the like Power and Liberty to be present at such Examinations, and to cross-examine such Witness or Witnesses so to be adduced by the Owners of the contiguous Lands, their Agents, Attorneys or Guardians, Commissioners Power. or any of them. And full Power and Authority is hereby given to the said Commissioners, to take the Examination and Depositions of all such Witness or Witnesses as shall be produced before them, as well by the said Petitioners, their Agents or Attorneys, as by any of the Owners of the contiguous Lands, their Agents, Attorneys, or Guardians, upon the Oath or Affirmation of such Witness or Witnesses; which Oath or Affirmation the said Commissioners are impowered to administer.
[Page 363]PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, Depositions, & c. to be taken in Writing, & c. That all such Depositions and Cross-examinations shall be fairly and impartially taken in Writing, upon the Oath or Affirmation of the Witness or Witnesses making the same, and shall be distinctly read to, approved and signed by, such Witness or Witnesses making the same respectively.
AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, That the Depositions so as aforesaid taken, And returned into the Court of Chancery, & c. shall be returned into the Court of Chancery aforesaid, by the Commissioners aforesaid, or any two of them, in order to be there recorded and perpetuated, and shall be admitted as Evidence in any Court of Law or Equity within this Government, in case of the Death of such Witness or Witnesses, or his, her or their Absence out of [...]is Government, or other legal Disability to attend, and in no other Case whatsoever.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED by the Authority aforesaid, In case of Error, new Commissioners may be appointed. That if upon the Return of any such Depositions into the said Court, any Error or Errors shall appear to the Justices of the said Court, to have been made or committed by the said Commissioners, in the taking the said Depositions, or any of them, either through Mistake, Partiality or otherwise, that then the said Justices shall have Power to make a new Appointment of three other Commissioners, to re-take the Depositions of such Witness or Witnesses, and make Return thereof in Manner aforesaid, any thing herein before mentioned or contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
THE TABLE.
- ACCESSARIES to capital Offences, how to proceed against them, 35, 39
- Accessaries to Felonies, how punished if Principal cannot be taken, 35
- —the Statute of the Second and Third of Edward VI. Cap. 24, relating thereto, extended, 40
- —to Slave or Horse-stealing, to suffer Death, 210
- Accounts for Merchandizes, &c. what Proof good therein, 347
- —against deceased Persons, limited, and within what Time to be proved, 198
- Actions, within what Time to be brought, 196
- —the Time of their Continuance limited, 333
- —Rules to be observed by the Courts therein, ibid.
- Administrators to pay Government Debts first, 48
- —in what Order they are obliged to pay Debts, 49
- —Sales of Lands formerly made by them confirmed, 116
- —impower'd to convey Lands, sold by their Intestate, 271
- —the Mode to be pursued by them previous thereto, ibid.
- —to give Bond and the Form thereof, 294
- —may require Bonds of Persons intitled to a distributive Share of an Intestate's Estate, 300
- —how to sell Intestate's Lands, where the personal Estate proves insufficient, 301
- Administration of the Government, on whom devolves in case of the Governor's Death or Removal, &c. 102
- —of Intestates Estates, to whom to be granted, 294
- —with the Will annexed, in what Cases to be granted, 297
- Adultery, Persons convicted thereof, how punished, 74
- Affirmation, to have the Effect of an Oath, 32
- [Page] Affirmation, Persons convicted of Falshood therein, to suffer as for Perjury, 32
- Agreements on Consideration of marriage, must be in Writing, &c. 347
- —for Sale of Lands, &c. not good unless in Writing, ibid.
- —not to be performed within one Year, must be in Writing, ibid.
- Aliens, how to be naturalized, 16
- Al [...]s-houses, Gifts, Grants of Lands for such Uses, confirmed, 273
- Appraisors, to be appointed in each County, 85
- —their Duty and Fees, ibid.
- Apprentices, Indentures not taken before a Justice are void, 177
- Arson or House-burning, punished with Death, 34
- Assigness of Bonds, &c. may sue in their own Names, 87
- Assembly to sit on the 20th of October annually, 119
- —Vacancies in the House, how filled, 122
- —the Power and Privileges thereof, 124
- Assembly-man, absenting himself, the Penalty, 122
- Assembly-men, what Number, and when to be chosen, 118
- —not to Vote till qualified, and the Form of the Qualification, 124, 125
- —their Wages to be Six Shillings per Day, 127
- Assessors for each County to be chosen annually, 231
- —refusing to serve, the Penalty, 232
- —to rate themselves and other Taxables impartially, 234
- Assessments to be copied, and set up by the Clerk of the Levy Court, ibid.
- Assault by Children on their Parents, how punished, 324
- Assault and Battery, to be punished by Fine, &c. ibid.
- Assaulting a Magistrate in the Execution of his Office, &c. 325
- Assault by Servants on their Masters, how punished, ibid.
- —by a Slave on a white Person, the Penalty, ibid.
- Assumptions for another under Forty Shillings, how to be proved, 347
- —to charge Executors or Administrators of their own Estate, how to be proved, ibid.
- —above Forty Shillings, for another's Debts, must be in Writing, ibid.
- —above Ten Pounds, for another, must be in Writing, ibid.
- Attachments may issue from a Justice, for Debts under Forty Shillings, 157
- —See Writs of,
- [Page] Attornies, to be qualified before Admittance, 20, 100
- —their Oath, ib. ib.
- Attorney-General, his Duty, &c. 21
- Attornies suing Process for Non-residenters, liable for Costs, 47
- —who are Non-residenters, not to plead without Governor's Licence, &c. 101
- Award of Referees, equal to the Verdict of a Jury, 132
- Bastard, Mother concealing the Death thereof, shall suffer Death, &c. 33
- —Accessaries to such Offence, to suffer as the Principal, ibid./HI / REF
- —Woman having such Child, may be punished in the County where born, 75
- Bail, to be granted in all Cases bailable by Law, 108
- Barratry, to be punished according to the Laws of England, 212
- Bakers of Bread in Dover and Lewes, to put their Mark thereon, 224
- —what Sorts to make, and the Size and Weight thereof how regulated, 225
- —Clerks of the Markets, how appointed, and their Duty, 226
- Beer, to be sold by English Standard of Beer Measure, 22
- Benefit of Clergy, in what Cases to be admitted, 37
- —Women intitled thereto as well as Men, 39
- —to be granted but once to the same Person, ibid.
- Bills of Exchange protested, Drawer, &c. shall pay 20 per Cent. 69
- Bills, Specialties and Notes, made assignable, 87
- —of Sale clandestinely given, void as to Creditors, 186
- —what shall be Evidence of Fraud therein, ibid.
- Blasphemy, how to be punished, 143
- Boats and Canoes, the Taker-up of them to give Notice, &c. 148
- —carrying them away, or setting adrift, the Penalty, ibid.
- Bounds of Lands, Testimony relating thereto, how perpetuated, 363
- Breakers of Prison, how to be punished, 37
- Brandywine, an Act for removing Obstructions therein, 65
- Bribery in Elections, the Penalty, 119
- Bridges, how to be made, and their Breadth, 335
- —by whom to be repaired, 336
- Brandywine Bridge, Rates thereof regulated, 351
- Buggary, Persons convicted thereof, to suffer as Felons, 33
- [Page] Burying-grounds, Gifts, Grants, &c. of Lands for such Uses, confirmed, 273
- Burglary, what, and how punished, 34, 209
- Buyers or Receivers of Goods stolen, knowingly, how punished, 211
- Canoes and Boats, the Takers-up to give Notice, &c. 148
- Causeways to be made, and of what Breadth, 335
- Charter of Privileges from William Penn, Esq 8
- Charters, Defacers of them, their Punishment, 90
- Champerty, to be punished according to the Laws of England, 212
- Challenge, Persons convicted thereof, their Fine and Punishment, 213
- —Persons carrying the same, how punished, 214
- —Acceptor thereof, his Punishment, ibid.
- Chimnies taking Fire in Towns or Villages, the Penalty, 311
- Churches, Gifts, Grants, &c. made for such Uses, confirmed, 273
- Christiana Ferry, the Rates thereof regulated, 350
- Conjuration, the Statute of the First of James I. Cap. 12. relating thereto extended, 35
- Courts, Penalty on speaking or writing in Derogation of them, 89
- —Rudeness or Misdemeanor therein, fineable, 89, 142
- —of Quarter Sessions. See Title Quarter Sessions.
- —of Equity. See Equity,
- —Supreme. See Supreme Court.
- —of Common Pleas, to be held four Times a Year in each County, 96
- —Justices thereof to be appointed by the Governor, ibid.
- —may call special Courts, 97
- —their Power and Jurisdiction, 97, 98
- —of Appeal for each County, when to sit, &c. 235
- —to appoint Collectors for each Hundred, ibid.
- Convicts, the Penalty on the Importer of them, 136, 137
- —Penalty on Persons purchasing them, 287
- Constables to enquire after poor Persons, &c. and inform the Justices, 201
- —to take and return List of Taxables to every August Sessions, 233
- Coroners to be elected and appointed annually, 29
- Coroner, his Duty, and the Penalty for neglecting it, 216
- Costs full, given in Slander, tho' Damages under Forty Shillings, 218
- —not to be recovered where Debt or Damages under Five Pounds, unless, &c. 261
- [Page] Costs on an Appeal from a Justice's Judgment, how to be taxed, 258
- Cord of Wood, what Measure to be, 220
- Corders of Wood, how to be appointed, their Fees and Duty, 222
- Collectors of Levies, their Duty, Power and Fees, 236, 237
- —obliged to enter into Bonds, &c. 239
- —of Duties on Convicts appointed, 141, 287
- —their Duty and Fees, 140, 286
- Constables to return three Freeholders every May Sessions, &c. 306
- —refusing to serve, the Penalty, 307
- —refusing to execute legal Precepts, the Penalty, ibid.
- Common Recoveries declared good to bar Estates Tail, 352
- Commissioners to examine Witnesses, &c. how appointed, 361
- Contracts, what good. See Title Assumption.
- Criminals allowed Challenges, Council and Process for Witnesses, 32
- —standing mute, shall suffer as Felons convict, ibid.
- —shall answer for their just Debts, 37
- Cursing and Swearing profanely, the Penalty, 143
- Deeds of Feossment from the Duke of York to William Penn, Esq 3, 5
- —Recitals therein of Records, Wills, &c. that are lost, good Evidence, and Titles of Lands depending therein, confirmed, 115
- —to be acknowledged and recorded within one Year, 187, 188
- —made out of the Government, how to be proved, 188, 327
- —the Force of the Words, Grant, Bargain and Sell, therein, 189
- —formerly acknowledged before three Justices, confirmed, 327
- Debts due to the Inhabitants of this Government, to be first paid, 43
- —due from deceased Persons, in what Order to be paid, 49
- —under Forty Shillings, how to be recovered, &c. 157
- —above Forty Shillings, and under Five Pounds, how to be recovered, 253
- —Process thereon against a Freeholder, to be by Summons, &c. 254
- —Execution issuing on a Judgment against a Freeholder, how to be granted, 255
- —Appeal, where it lies from Justice's Judgment, to Common Pleas, 257
- —the Mode to be pursued thereon, 258
- —the laid Act revived and continued, 289
- Debtors, in what Cases to be adjudged to Servitude, 175
- [Page] Debtors about to depart before Day of Payment, how to be proceeded against, 322
- Defalcation, Defendant admitted thereto, in what Cases, and the Mode, 132
- Departing Persons out of the Government, in what Manner to give Notice, &c. 156
- —Transporters of, without Notice, &c. to pay all Damages, ibid.
- —clandestine Deeds, or Bills of Sale made by them, void, ibid.
- Deer, not to be killed out of Season, 159
- Defeazance taken by Mortgagor void, unless recorded in one Year, 191
- Defamation against the Government, the Punishment thereof, 218
- Deputy Surveyor, to record Warrants and Plots in fair Books, 251
- Distribution of Intestates personal Estate, how to be made, 295
- —not to be made till after one Year, &c. 297
- —Lands, how to be made, ibid.
- Dover, an Act appointing Commissioners to sell Lots therein, 45
- —an Act impowering Commissioners to sell, &c. Lots therein, &c. 129
- —new Trustees appointed to sell, &c. Lots therein, 354
- —the Power and Duty of such Trustees, 355
- Drunkenness, Persons convicted thereof, how punished, 142
- Duelling, how punished, 214
- Election of Assembly-men, to be annually on the First of October, 118
- Electors, their Qualification, and Right to vote, 119
- Elections, the Mode to be observed and pursued therein, 120, 121, &c.
- Embracery, to be punished according to the Laws of England, 212
- Entry into Lands, to be made within 20 Years after Title, 195
- Equity Courts, to be held by the Justices of the Common Pleas, four Times a Year, 98
- —Prothonotary to be Register thereof ibid.
- —the Power of such Court, &c. 99
- —Appeal lies therefrom to the Supreme Court, ibid.
- —not to determine Matters wherein Remedy lies at Law, 100
- —Matters of Fact arising therein, to be tried in Common Pleas, ibid.
- Estates tail, may be barred by Fine or common Recovery, 352
- Execution, Lands liable thereto where personal Estate not sufficient, 79
- [Page] Execution, how the Sheriff must proceed therein, 80
- —Goods taken thereon, to be appraised, and not sold till thirty Days, 85
- Executors, to pay Government Debts first, 48
- —the Order in which they must pay Debts, 49
- —Sales of Lands formerly made by them, confirmed, 116
- —impowered to convey Lands sold by their Testator, 271
- —the Mode to be pursued by them previous thereto, ibid.
- —impowered to sell their Testators Lands for Payment of Debts, &c. 291
- —Sales of Lands made by them since the Year 1720, declared va [...]d, 357
- Fees to the Supreme Judges, and other Officers of that Court, to be double, 95
- Fees allowed to the Governor's Secretary, 240
- —Masters of the Rolls, ibid.
- —Justices of the Supreme Court, 241, 288
- —Justices of Oyer and Terminer, 241
- —Attorney-General, ibid.
- —Sheriff of each County, 242
- —Coroner, 243
- —Justices of Peace, ibid.
- —Clerk of the Supreme Court, 244
- —Clerk of the Peace, 245
- —Clerk of the Common Pleas, 247
- —Registers and Clerks of Orphans Courts, 248
- —Attornies at Law, 249, 346
- —Constables, Juries, Inquests and Evidences, 250
- —Deputy Surveyors, and Chain-carriers, 251
- Felons, Persons harbouring, concealing, or buying Goods of them, how to be punished, 35
- Felon discovering another, to be pardoned and rewarded, 211
- —Persons receiving or buying stolen Goods of them, how punished, ibid.
- Felonies, Persons compounding of them, how punished, 305
- Feme Covert, former Sales of their Lands made with their Husbands, confirmed, 116
- —how future Sales to be made by them, 117
- Fences, of what Height they ought to be, 149
- —Owners of Creatures trespassing therein, to pay the Damage, ibid.
- —Division to be equally maintained by the Parties, 150
- —Viewers, how appointed, their Duty and Fees, ibid.
- Firing the Woodlands and Marshes unseasonably, the Penalty, 185
- [Page] Firing the Woodlands in divers Places, prohibited, 198
- Fines, declared sufficient to bar Estates tail, 352
- Five Pounds, Debts not exceeding that Sum, how to be recovered, 253
- Fornication, Persons convicted thereof, how punished, 74
- —what shall be admitted as Evidence, therein, ibid.
- Forgery, punished according to the Laws of England, 90
- Forcible Entry, punished according to the Laws of England, 212
- Gaming in Publick-houses, the Penalty, 161
- Governor dying or being removed, the Administration of Government Affairs devolves on the President of the Council, and others, &c. 102
- —Officers to continue in Office six Months afterwards, unless, &c. 103
- Goaler, oppressing their Prisoners, to be fined, 108
- Goaler, his Fees to be Six-pence per Day, ibid.
- —to allow Prisoners to send for Necessaries, &c. 172
- —his Fees to be settled and rated by the Justices, ibid.
- —guilty of Extortion, how to be punished, 173
- —not to keep a Tavern, 174
- —shall give Notice of, or advertise Run-away Servants, 178
- —his Allowance for Servants or Slaves, 179
- Goal in Dover, Trustees appointed to sell it, and buy a new Lot, 358
- Government Charges, the Proportions of each County settled, 212
- Grant, Bargain and Sell, the Force of such Words in Deeds, 189
- Grand Jurors to attend Courts of Oyer and Terminer, how to be summoned, 214
- —Penalty on their not attending, 215
- Grand Jury, a standing One to be summoned once a Year, ibid.
- Grand Juror, not obliged to serve two Years successively, 216
- Great Seal, an Act for the making a new One, 308
- —Keeper thereof not to affix the same without a Warrant, &c. 310
- —his Fees and Duty, ibid.
- Hanson, Timothy, Attorney to Rebecca Kearny, Administratrix of Philip Kearny, impowered to make over Lands in Kent to B. Shurmer, and others, 61
- Highways, to be laid out by Order of the Court of Quarter-Sessions, 335
- —of what Breadth to be, ibid.
- —Penalty on obstructing them 338
- —Persons not sending Men to repair them, &c. the Penalty, 339
- [Page] House-burning, what, and how punished, 34
- House-breaking in the Day-time with a felonious Intention, made capital, 209
- House, stealing thereout to the Value of Five Pounds, how punished, ibid.
- Horse-stealing, punished with Death, 208
- Horse-stealers, Persons buying of, or harbouring them, to suffer Death, 210
- Impotent Persons, Importers of them to give Security, &c. 139
- Indentures of Apprenticeship, &c. to be taken before a Justice, 177
- Indictment, no One to plead thereto, till a Prosecutor indorsed, 108
- Inn-holders, not to sell Liquor without Licence, 161
- Insolvent Debtors, how to be discharged, 165, 293
- —may be remanded if the Creditors will maintain him, 167
- —once discharged may never be imprisoned again, 168
- —their Estate always liable to make good their Debts, 169
- —their Discharge no Bar to a Creditor, without Notice, 170
- Inspectors, how chosen and qualified, 120
- —shall chuse Clerks, to take the Polls on Oath, ibid.
- Interest, in what Cases to be paid for Minors Money, 57, 58
- —of Money, settled at Six per Cent. 63
- Intestates personal Estate, how to be distributed, 295
- —Lands, how to be distributed, 297
- —to be divided by five Freeholders, 299
- —where a Division would injure, the Whole to be allotted to the eldest Son, &c. 299
- —personal Estate not being sufficient, &c. Lands may be sold, 301
- —Estates, where no Relations, shall escheat, &c. 303
- Jurors, legally summoned and not attending, may be fined, 86
- Justices of Goal Delivery, may pass Sentence against Persons reprieved, 41
- Justices of Peace, the Penalty for abusing or threatening them, 142
- Justice of Peace may grant Warrants for Debts under Forty Shillings, 157
- Justices to keep Books of Entries under the Five Pounds Act, 257
- [Page]Kent, an Act for the laying out 200 Acres of Land therein, for a Town, 45
- Land, not to be bought of the Natives, 15
- —Sales and Distribution thereof before the Year 1721, &c. in what Cases confirmed, 50, 51
- —Sales thereof made by Attornies, adjudged good, 51, 52
- Land-marks, the Penalty for cutting or removing of them, &c. 69
- Lands, liable to Execution where no personal Estate to be found, 79
- —the Steps to be taken before Sale thereof, 80
- —unimproved, may be sold on Levari Facias, ibid.
- —sold, not to be restored on Reversal of the Judgment, 84
- —purchased of Tenants for Life, &c. Possession thereof quieted, 114
- Larceny Petty, how punished, 219
- —above the Value of Five Shillings, the first Offence how punished, 304
- —the second Offence how punished, 305
- —the third Offence punished with Death, ibid.
- —Compounders of such Felonies, how punished, ibid.
- Lewes Town, Sheriff, Clerk, &c. of Sussex, to reside therein, 43
- —an Act providing for the Security of it, 143
- Letters of Administration granted out of the Government, to be filed before the Administrator can sue therein, 48
- —without giving Bond, are void, 56
- Levy Court, to judge of, and allow the Poor, &c. 206
- Levy Courts, of what Members composed, and when to meet, &c. 232
- —Clerks of the Peace appointed Clerks thereof, and their Duty, 234
- —when to meet a second Time to redress Grievances, &c. 235
- —the Fees allowed to such Courts, 238
- Licences to be obtained by Inn-holders, &c. 161
- —Fees for granting, to be as usual, ibid.
- Limitation of Actions, and proving Accounts against deceased Persons, 105
- Libels against the Government, how punished, 218
- Maim, Persons convicted thereof, by cutting out the Tongue, &c. shall suffer Death, 34
- [Page] Marriages, clandestine, an Act to prevent them, 23
- Marriage, Banes to be set up thirty Days before Solemnization, ibid.
- —solemnized before twelve Witnesses, and registered, is good 24
- —of a Servant without the Master's Consent, the Penalty, ibid.
- —of a free Person with a Servant, the Penalty, ibid.
- —Settlements, no Lands therein contained to be sold, &c. 301
- Market, an Act for establishing one in the Town of Newcastle, &c. 151
- Markets, established in Dover and Lewes, 222
- —poor or unsound Meat offer'd to Sale therein, how to be disposed of, 223
- —Butter, Cheese, &c. under Weight to be seized, ibid.
- Masters of Vessels to give an Account on Oath to the Collector, of the Names of all Servants and Passengers, &c. 139
- —shall take a Certificate of the Names of those to be landed, 140
- Maintenance, to be punished according to the Laws of England, 212
- Mariners, Inn-holders not to credit them for any Sum above Ten Shillings, 220
- Master of the Rolls, his Fees, 240
- Market in Dover, the former Act establishing the same, amended, 312
- Master and Servant, or Apprentice, Disputes between them how to be heard, 331
- Mills, an Act to encourage the Building of them, 43, 44
- Mortgagee, how to proceed after Default made to bar Equity of Redemption, 82
- —receiving his Money, shall enter Satisfaction on Record, 190
- Mortgage-Deeds void, unless recorded in one Year after, &c. ibid.
- Mortgagor taking a Defeazance, shall record it, or 'tis void, 191
- Mortgagees being paid, shall re-convey, 192
- Murther-kill Creek, an Act for cutting a new Mouth thereto, 64
- Mulattoes, not to be appointed to whip white Persons, 307
- Natives, an Act against buying Land of them, 15
- Negroes, how to be tried for Offences committed by them, 71
- [Page] Negroes, attempting to ravish a white Woman, how punished, 72
- —Slaves condemned to die, shall be valued, &c. ibid.
- —Slaves carrying Arms, or meeting, to be punished, 73
- —having Children by white Women, to be whipt, 77
- —Free Justices, &c. may bind out their Children, 181
- —not to be appointed to whip white Persons, 307
- Newcastle County, an Act to ascertain the North and West Bounds thereof, 28
- —an Act for keeping in Repair the Dykes at the North End of the Town, 53
- —an Act for repairing Dykes on the South-West End thereof, 103
- —an Act for establishing a Market in the Town, &c. 151
- Non-residenters to give Security before they obtain a Writ, 46
- Notes made assignable, 87
- Oath, administer'd at the Request of a Quaker Officer, good, 42
- Officers, to give Security for their Offices, 27
- —taking more than legal Fees, the Penalty, 252
- Orphans Courts, their Jurisdiction and Power, 55
- Overseers of the Poor, to be appointed by the Justices, 201
- —refusing to serve, the Penalty, ibid.
- —their Duty, ibid.
- —of Highways, &c. how to be appointed, 335
- —have Power to cut Timber for Repairs, &c. 337
- —being sued, may plead the General Issue, ibid.
- —how to give Notice to the Inhabitants, 339
- —how to be punished for Neglect of Duty, 340
- Outlawry, how to proceed thereto against capital Offenders, 36
- Pass, suspicious Persons travelling without it may be taken up, 179
- Pedlars, not to travel without Licence, and giving Bond, &c. 109
- —refusing to shew their Licence, the Penalty, 110
- Perjury, and Subornation of Perjury, how punished; and the Statute of the Fifth of Elizabeth, Cap. 9, relating thereto, extended here, 40, 41
- Poor Persons, no Writ or Warrant to issue against them, without Security, &c. 175
- —coming into this Government, to be remanded, &c. 202
- [Page] Poor Persons, not having a legal Settlement, to be sent back, &c. 202
- —Penalty on entertaining such Persons, or Vagrants, 203
- —what Relations are to maintain them, 205
- Poor Children may be bound out by the Justices, &c. ibid.
- Poor, the Levy Court to judge of, and allow them, &c. 206
- —between Courts may be relieved by two Justices, and the Overseer, &c. ibid.
- —Person, to wear a Badge, on Pain of losing his Allowance, 207
- —an Act for the better Relief of them in Newcastle County, 262
- Petty Jurors to be summoned to attend Court of Quarter-Sessions, 216
- —Larceny, Persons thereof convicted, how punished, 219
- Possession quiet, of Lands for seven Years, give a good Title, 19
- Posthumous Children, how provided for, 302
- Pound, an Act for erecting one in the Town of Newcastle, 127
- —Keeper, how appointed, and his Duty, 128
- Privilege, an Act thereof to a Freeman, 88
- Privileges and Powers of the House of Assembly, 124
- Prison-breakers, how to be punished, 37
- Prisoners in all Cases bailable, to be admitted to Bail, 108
- —to have Liberty to provide themselves with Necessaries, 108, 172
- —not obliged to plead to Indictments before Prosecutor indors'd, ibid.
- Prisons to be Workhouses till others built, ibid.
- Prisoner for a Debt under Forty Shillings, how to be relieved, 170
- Prisoners, not to be carried to Taverns without Consent, 171
- Prothonotaries, issuing Writs without Security, where liable for Costs, 47
- Prosecutor without probable Cause, shall pay double Damages, 108, 172
- Prosecutors, of divers Falons, their Reward, 210
- Publick-houses, Penalty on keeping them without Licence, 162
- —Rates of Liquors to be settled by the Justices, 163
- Quarter-Sessions Court, shall sit four Times a Year, 91
- —Justices thereof, to be appointed by the Governor, ibid.
- —Justices may hold special Courts, their Power, &c. 91, 92
- —Persons aggrieved, may have Writs of Error, &c. 93
- [Page] Ranger, his Duty, and how to dispose of stray Creatures, 280, 281
- —Persons taking Strays from him esteemed Felons, 282
- Rape, Persons convicted thereof, how punished, 33
- Rates of Liquors to be settled by the Justices, 163
- Recorders of Deeds, to provide and keep good Books, &c. 187
- —to give Security, and not act before, &c. 192
- Receivers or Buyers of stolen Goods, knowingly, how punished, 211
- Records, Defacers of them, their Punishment, 90
- Referees Report as available as the Verdict of a Jury, 132
- Registry of religious Societies, as to Births, &c. good Evidence, 25
- Rent, of one Year due from Insolvents, must be paid to the Lessor, 170
- Religious Societies, Gifts, Grants, &c. made to them, confirmed, &c. 273
- Repeal of divers Acts of Assembly, 356
- Riots, Routs, &c. Persons convicted thereof how punished, 88
- Roads, &c. how to be kept in Repair in Newcastle Hundred, 275
- —how to be laid out, 335
- —new Ones, how to be obtained, and the Proceedings thereon, 337, 338
- —Penalty on obstructing them, 338
- Robbery, what, and how punished, 33
- Sales of Lands made by Executors since the Year 1720, declared valid, 357
- Sale of Lands, &c. See Land. 308
- Seal of Government, an Act for the making a new One, 308
- Schools, Gifts, Grants, &c. of Lands for such Uses, confirmed, 273
- Secretary to the Governor, his Fees, 240
- Servant, marrying without the Master's Consent, the Penalty, 24
- Servant-Woman having a Bastard, shall serve, &c. 75
- Servants, not to be sold into another Government without their Consent, 177
- —their Indentures to be assigned before a Justice, ibid.
- —their Freedom Dues allowed by Law, 178
- —absenting themselves, shall make Satisfaction, &c. ibid.
- —the Reward for taking them up, 179
- —or Slaves, the Penalty on dealing with them, 180
- —the Penalty on free Negroes, &c. harbouring them, &c. 181
- —other Persons concealing them, the Penalty, 182
- —petitioning against their Master, may be heard in a summary Way, 331
- [Page] Settlement in this Government, how gained, 204
- Sheriffs, to be annually elected on the first Day of October, 29
- —having served three Years successively not to be reelected in three Years more, 134
- —Candidates convicted of Bribery, to be fined, 135
- —not to keep a Publick-house, &c. 174
- —shall give Notice of, or advertise Run-away Servants, 178
- —in what cases may sell such Servants, 179
- —their Duty to summon Inquests, 216
- Sickly Vessels, an Act to prevent their coming into this Government, 67
- Slaves, Persons manumitting them shall give Security, 180
- —the Stealing of them punished with Death, 208
- Slave-stealers, harbouring, buying, &c. of them, made capital, 210
- Slander, full Costs given therein, tho' Damages under Forty Shillings, 218
- Sodomy, Persons convicted thereof shall suffer as Felons, 33
- Specialties, made assignable, and how Assignment to be made, 87
- Squirrels, how many each Taxable to kill, in Kent County, 343
- —what Allowance for killing more than one's Number, 344
- Stoned Horses, under thirteen Hands and an Half high, not to run at large, 227
- —Owners thereof known, how to proceed against them, ibid.
- —Owners being unknown, what Steps to be taken, 228
- Strays, what Creatures to be esteemed such, 279
- Stray Creatures trespassing, how to be disposed of, ibid.
- —Penalty on working them, 280
- Statute of James I. Cap. 8. against Stabbing, extended, except, &c. 33, 34
- Surety of the Peace, in what Cases to be granted, 16
- Supreme Courts, to be held twice a Year in each County, 93
- —Judges, to be commissionated by the Governor, ibid.
- —their Power and Duty, 93, 94
- —Notice to be given them when a Court necessary, 96
- —shall be likewise Judges of Goal-delivery, &c. 95
- —Appeal to England lies from their Judgment, 94
- —Fees to them, and the other Officers, to be double, &c. 95
- —A Salary allow'd them, 288
- Sunday, the Brea [...] thereof how punished, 183, 184
- Surveyor, Deputy to record Warrants and Plots, 251
- [Page] Swanwick, an Act for keeping in Repair the Dykes there, 105
- Swearing prophanely, how to be punished, 143
- Swine, prohibited from running at large in the Town of Dover, 78
- —not to run without Rings, &c. in certain Parts of Newcastle County, 283
- —not to run at large without Rings, &c. within the Bounds of Lewes, 341
- Tavern-keepers, to be recommended and licenced, 161
- —suffering Gaming, &c. the Penalty, 161, 162
- —crediting Minors, shall lose the Debt, 162
- —suffering Persons to tipple during divine Service on Sunday, the Penalty, 184
- —not to trust Mariners above Ten Shillings, 220
- Taxables, a List of them to be returned to every August Sessions, 233
- Testater Executions may be awarded out of the Court of Common Pleas, 98
- [...]inder of Account, and the Money due being proved, in any Suit, the Plaintiff shall be Non-suit, and pay Costs, 132
- Timber Trees, what, and Penalty on cutting them down, 194
- Tall, the Quantity to be taken, regulated, 345
- —Penalty on Millers taking more than their legal Due, ibid.
- Trespass Vi & Armis, such Actions to be brought within three Years, 196
- Trials of High Treason and other Offences, to be according to the Common and Statute Laws, 31, 193
- —of all Offences to be by Oath or Affirmation, &c. 31
- Treasurers, how to be appointed in each County, 237, 348
- —Accounts to be settled once a Year, 239
- Treasurer, his Fees, and how long to continue in Office, 237, 349
- —to give Bond for his Office, &c. 237
- Trustees, new Ones appointed for the Loan-Offices, 328
- —their Duty and Powers, 328, 329
- —appointed to sell Goal Lot in Dover, and buy a new One, 358, 359
- Vagrants, pretending to be Man and Wife, how to be proceeded against, 75
- —the Penalty on entertaining them, 203
- Vessels sickly, an Act to prevent their coming into this Government, 67
- Underwood, Persons, cutting it on another's Land, to forfeit treble the Value, 194
- [Page] Wears across Creeks and Rivers, an Act against them, 70
- Weights and Measures, to be according to the Exchequer Standard, 21
- —Standards to be provided by each County, ibid.
- —to be marked by a proper Officer, ibid.
- White Women having Mulatto Children, how punished, 77
- Widows of Intestates, to have One Third of Estate, real and personal, &c. 295
- Widow's Thirds in Lands, after her Death how to be distributed, 301
- Wills in Writing duly proved, sufficient to pass Lands, &c. 18, 26
- —within what Time to be proved, ib. ib.
- Wills, nuncupative, how to be proved, ib. ib.
- Witnesses, legally summoned, obliged to attend, &c. 68
- —how to perpetuate their Testimony about Bounds, &c. 361
- Women lewd, whoever entertains them after Admonition, shall be proceeded against as Adulterers or Fornicators, 76
- Workhouse-Master, his Duty, 38
- Wood, to be sold by the Cord, 220
- Wolves, the Reward for killing them in this Government, 230
- Writs of Enquiry, how to be executed, 98
- —of Warrants against poor Persons, not to be issued without Security, 175, 176
- —of Attachment, to issue for Debts above Forty Shillings, 314
- —but one Writ to issue against the some Person, &c. 316
- —Sheriff, his Duty therein, ibid.
- —Garnishees summoned thereon, how to proceed with them, 317
- —three Auditors to be appointed by the Court, 318
- —their Duty and Oath, 319, 320
- —their Fees, and Sheriff's Fees, 321
- —Creditors to enter Recognizance before Distribution, ibid.
- —Sureties of the absconding Person to have a Share, 322