Pages 325-350 
|  Pages 375-399
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| Pages 325-350
| Pages 375-399
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| CHAP. III. | ||
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| I. WHEREAS the act of General Assembly made in the twenty second year of the reign of his present majesty, intituled, An act for amending the staple of tobacco and preventing frauds in his majesty's customs, ought to be amended, | Preamble. | |
| II. BE it therefore enacted, by the Lieutenant-Governor, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That if any person intituled to receive a hogshead of tobacco by virtue of any inspectors note or receipt, and refusing to accept the tobacco offered or tendered in payment, shall not make application to the justices, according to the directions of the said act, within eighteen months after the date of such note or receipt, such Justices after the expiration of that time, shall not have power to view and examine such tobacco, and cause it to be burnt, any thing in the said act, contained to the contrary, notwithstanding. | In what case justices shall have no power to view and cause tobacco tendered in payment of inspectors notes, to be burnt upon a refusal. | |
| III. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the twentieth day of October next, the public warehouses for the inspection of tobacco at Maycox in the county of Prince George; at Maddox's on both sides of the creek, in the county of Westmoreland; at Smith's on the east side of Pagan-creek, in the county of Isle of Wight; at Norfolk, in the county of Norfolk, be, and the same are hereby declared to be discontinued, and shall no longer be accounted public warehouses for the inspection of tobacco; and that from and after the said twentieth day of October next, public warehouses for the inspection of tobacco, be erected in the county of Prince George, at the town of Blandford, on the land of Robert Bolling, gentleman; in the county of Isle of Wight, at Fulgham's point to be under the same inspection with the warehouses in the town of Smithfield, in the said | Certain warehouses discontinued. Others erected. |
| county; in the county of Westmoreland, on the land of William Price, on the east side of Mattox-creek and on the land of the orphan of John Watts, deceased, on the west side of the said creek, to be under one inspection; in the county of Prince-George, at the Flower de Hundred, on the land of John Hood. | |
| IV. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That there shall be paid and allowed for the rent of the warehouses established in the county of Henrico, on the upper side of Four-Mile creek, on the land of John Pleasants the elder, and on the lower side thereof on the land of Charles Woodson, five pounds per annum each, and for the rent of the several warehouses by this act established, eight pence per hogshead, for every hogshead of tobacco that shall be inspected and delivered out of the same respectively. | Rents of certain warehouse. |
| V. And for the more equal settlement of the salaries of the several inspectors at the ware houses hereafter mentioned, Be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the same be established for each inspector, according to the rates following, viz. at Rocky-Ridge, thirty five pounds per annum; at Blandford, thirty five pounds per annum; at Hood's, thirty pounds per annum; at Prices and Watts under one inspection twenty-five pounds per annum, at the Great Bridge and Kemp's, thirty pounds per annum. | Inspector's salaries. |
| VI. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the notes of the several warehouses hereafter mentioned shall pass in payment of all levies quit-rents, and officers fees, payable in the counties following, that is to say, the notes of Gray's-creek, Cabbin-point, Hood's, Jordan's, Blandford, and Bolling's-point, shall pass in the county of Sussex; the notes of Bolling's-point, Blandford, John Bolling's, Byrd's, Warwick, Osborne's, Shoccoe's and Rocky-ridge, shall pass in the county of Prince-Edward; the notes of Hood's shall pass in the counties of Surry, and Southampton; the notes of Blandford shall pass in the counties of Surry and Halifax; the notes of Sleepy-Hole shall pass in the counties of Norfolk and Princess-Anne: And that no notes of any inspectors at any warehouses [warehouse] below Gray's creek on James-river, shall pass in payment of levies, quit rents, or fees becoming due in the county of Brunswick. | What notes shall pass in payment. |
| VII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That out of every hundred pounds of Tobacco, | What allowance shall be |
| which shall be paid in discharge of quit-rents, secretary's, clerks, sheriffs, surveyors, or other officers fees, in the counties hereafter mentioned, and so proportionably for a greater or lesser quantity, there shall be the following abatements or allowances to the payer, that is to say, for tobacco due in the county of Prince-Edward, the person paying shall and may retain in his hands, thirty pounds of tobacco for every hundred so due from him; for tobacco due in the county of Surry, ten pounds of tobacco; for tobacco due in the county of Sussex, twenty pounds of tobacco. | made out of such public dues and fees to the payer. | |
| VIII. And be it further enacted, That the inspectors shall not suffer or permit the proprietor, or any other person to make use of the warehouse at which they are inspectors; and if any warehouse shall hereafter happen to be burnt, the loss sustained thereby shall be made good, and repaired to the several persons injured, by the General Assembly, at the next session after such loss, as is directed by the before recited act; but if it appears that such warehouse, was burnt by means of the inspectors permitting the proprietor, or any other person to make use thereof, such inspectors shall repay to the treasurer of this colony, all such sum or sums of money as shall have been paid to the person so injured. | Inspectors not to permit proprietors of warehouses to make use of them. | |
| IX. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That so much of the said act as is within the purview of this, shall be, and is hereby repealed. | Repealing clause. | |
 CHAP. IV. | ||
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| I. WHEREAS an act of Assembly was made in the twenty fifth year of the reign of his present majesty, intituled, An act for reviving the duty upon slaves to be paid by the buyers for the term therein mentioned, which will expire on the twentieth day of April, one thousand seven hundred and fifty six; and | Preamble. |
| it being found expedient that the said act should be further continued, for the purposes therein mentioned. | ||
| II. BE it therefore enacted, by the Lieutenant-Governor, Council and Burgesses of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That the said recited act, and every clause and article thereof, shall be, and continue in force, from and after the said twentieth day of April, one thousand seven hundred and fifty six, for and during the term of four years from thence next following, and not longer. | Continuance. | |
CHAP. V. | ||
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| I. WHEREAS by an act of Assembly made in the nineteenth year of the reign of his present majesty, intituled, An act for reducing the laws made for laying a duty upon liquors into one act of Assembly; a duty of two pence per gallon was laid upon rum, brandy, distilled spirits, and wine; and one penny per gallon upon cyder, beer or ale, imported from any port or place whatsoever, except directly from Great Britain, and to be paid by the owner or importer of the same, during the term of four years; and also a further duty of one penny per gallon upon rum, brandy, spirits, and wine, during the term of eleven years: And whereas by another act passed in the twenty second year of his present majesty's reign, for continuing the before recited act, the said duty of two pence upon rum, brandy, spirits, and wine; and one penny upon cyder, beer, and ale, was continued for four years longer, which will expire on the tenth day of June, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and fifty five, and by a clause of the same act, an additional duty of one penny per gallon was laid upon rum, brandy, spirits, and wine, for the term of four years, which was afterwards continued by a subsequent act made in the twenty fifth year of the reign | Preamble. |
| of his present majesty, intituled, An act for continuing a clause of an act of Assembly therein mentioned; and will also expire on the aid tenth day of June, one thousand seven hundred and fifty five, and it being necessary that the said act should be further continued, for the better payment of the public debts, claims, and other exigencies of this government, which cannot otherwise be discharged without a poll tax, always grievous and burthensome to the subjects here. | ||
| II. BE it therefore enacted by the Lieutenant Governor, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That the said duty of two pence per gallon upon rum, brandy, spirits, and wine, and one penny upon cyder, beer, or ale, and the said additional duty of one penny per gallon upon rum, brandy, spirits, and wine, shall remain and continue to be raised, levied, collected, paid, and applied in the same manner, and to the uses, intents, and purposes, by the herein before recited acts of Assembly directed, from and after the said tenth day of June, which shall be in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and fifty five, for and during the term of three years from thence next following, and no longer. | Continuance. | |
CHAP. VI. | ||
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| I. WHEREAS it will be a means of cultivating a better correspondence with the neighbouring Indians, if a farther encouragement be given to persons who have settled, or shall settle on the waters of the Mississippi, in the county of Augusta. And whereas a considerable number of persons, as well his majesty's natural born subjects, as foreign protestants, are willing to come into this colony, with their families and effects, and settle upon the lands near the said waters, in case they can have such encouragement for so doing; and whereas the settling that part of the country, | Preamble. |
| will add to the strength and security of the colony in general, and be a means of augmenting his majesty's revenue of quit rents. | ||
| II. BE it therefore enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor, Council, and Burgesses of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That all persons being protestants who have already settled, or shall hereafter settle and reside on any lands situate to the westward of the ridge of mountains, that divides the rivers Roanoke, James, and Potowmack, from the Mississippi, in the county of Augusta, shall be, and are exempted and discharged from the payment of all public, county, and parish levies, for the term of fifteen years next following, any law, usage, or custom to the contrary thereof, in any wise, notwithstanding. | Persons settling on Mississippi, exempted from the payment of all public, county, and parish levies, for 15 years. | |
CHAP. VII. | ||
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| I. BE it enacted, by the Lieutenant-Governor, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That all servants, except convicts, imported into this colony without indenture, if they be christians, of christian parentage, and above nineteen years of age, shall serve but five years; and if they be under nineteen, 'til they become twenty four years of age and no longer; but every such servant, under nineteen, shall be brought, within six months after his, or her importation, before the court of the county where the master lives, and his, or her age adjudged by the court, otherwise shall be a servant no longer than the accustomary five years, although under the age of nineteen; and the age of such servant, so adjudged and recorded, shall be accounted his, or her true age, in respect to the time of service. | Rules as to servants imported without indenture. | |
| I. And that all persons who have been, or shall be imported into this colony, by sea or land, and were | Who shall be slaved. |
| not christians in their native country, except Turks and Moors in amity with his majesty, and such who can prove their being free, in England, or any other christian country, before they were shipped for transportation hither, shall be accounted and be slaves, and as such be here bought and sold, notwithstanding a conversion to christianity after their importation. | |
| III. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any person shall import into this colony, and here sell as a slave, any person or persons who have been free, in any christian country, island, or plantation, such importer and seller shall forfeit and pay, to the party from whom such free person shall recover his, or her freedom, double the sum for which such free person was sold, to be recovered in any court of record of this colony, with costs, according to the course of the common law, wherein the defendant shall not be permitted [admitted] to plead in bar, any act or statute, for limitation of actions. | Penalty for selling free men as slaves. |
| IV. Provided always, That a slave's being in England shall not be discharge from slavery, without other proof of being manumitted there; and that baptism of slaves doth not exempt them from bondage: And that all children shall be bond or free, according to the condition of their mothers, and the particular directions of this act; and where any female mulattoe, or Indian, by law obliged to serve till the age of thirty one years, hath been, or shall be delivered of any child during the time of her servitude, such child shall serve the master or mistress of such mulattoe, or Indian, until it shall attain the same age the mother of such child, was obliged by law to serve unto. | What shall be no discharge from slavery. Children bond or free according to their mother's condition. |
| V. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That all masters and owners of servants, by act of parliament, indenture or custom, shall find and provide for them, wholesome and competent diet, cloathing, and lodging, and shall not give immoderate correction, nor whip any christian white servant naked, without order from a justice of peace: And if any person shall presume to whip a christian white servant naked, without such order, he, or she, so offending, shall forfeit and pay fifty shillings current money, to the party injured, recoverable with costs, upon complaint made to the county court, within six months after such whipping. | Master's duty to servants. |
| VI. And that all complaints of servants made to a justice of peace, shall, be by him received, and if thereupon he shall see cause, he may bind over the master or owner, to appear before the next court held for his county, to answer such complaint, where the same shall be heard and determined: And all petitions of servants to the court of the county wherein they reside, for diet, cloathing, lodging, correction, whipping, freedom, or freedom dues, shall be received at any time, without the formality of an action, and such court is hereby declared to have jurisdiction and authority (the master or owner of the petitioner being first summoned to appear) to hear and determine the matter of every such petition, in a summary way, and to award execution thereupon: And where the same shall relate to diet, cloathing, lodging, or correction, the court may make such order as to them shall appear just and necessary; and if the master, or owner, will not comply with such order, the court may, upon a second complaint, or petition, order the servant, so petitioning, to be immediately sold by the sheriff, by public auction, for the residue of his or her time of service, then unexpired, and the money, or tobacco, arising by such sale after charged deducted, shall be paid to the owner, when demanded; and if such servant be sick, lame, or disabled, so that he, or she, cannot be sold for so much, at least, as will satisfy the fees, and other incident charges, the court shall order the churchwardens of the parish, to take care of, and provide for such servant, 'til the expiration of his or her time of service, or until he or she, can be sold for defraying all charges, and moreover, the court shall, from time to time, order the charges of keeping such servant to be levied, by distress, upon the goods and chattels of the master or owner. | Justices shall receive servants complaints. Proceedings upon servants petitions to the court. |
| VII. And that no master or owner, shall, during the time of service, make any contract, or bargain with his or her servant, for further service, or other matter or thing relating to liberty, or personal profit, unless the same be made in the presence, and with the approbation of the court of the county wherein the master or owner resides: And if any servant shall, at any time, bring in goods or money, or during the time of their service shall, by gift, or any other lawful means, acquire goods or money, they shall have the property and benefit thereof to their own use: | No contracts between masters and servants, unless in court. |
| And if any servant shall be sick or lame, and so becomes useless or chargeable, his or her master or owner shall maintain such servant, until his or her whole time of service shall be expired; and if any master ow owner shall put away a lame or sick servant, under pretence of freedom, and such servant becomes chargeable to the parish, such master or owner shall forfeit and pay ten pounds current money, to the churchwardens of the parish wherein such offence shall be committed, to the use of their parish, recoverable with costs, by action of debt, in any county court of this colony, and moreover, shall be liable to the action of the said churchwardens at the common law for damages. | Servants shall have the property of their own effects. Sick or lame servants may not be discharged. Penalty 10l & damages. |
| VIII. And that every servant, male or female (except convicts) not having wages, shall, at the expiration of his, or her time of service, have and receive three pounds ten shillings current money, for freedom dues, to be paid by his or her master or owner; and, in case of refusal, recoverable with costs, by petition to the county court, in manner herein before directed. | Freedom dues. |
| IX. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That no negroe, mulattoe, or Indian, altho' a christian, or any Jew, Moor, Mahometan, or other infidel, shall at any time purchase any christian servant, nor any other except of their own complexion; or such as by this act are declared slaves: And if any of the persons aforesaid shall, nevertheless, presume to purchase a christian white servant, such servant shall immediately become free, and be so held, deemed and taken: And if any person, having such christian servant, shall marry with a negroe, mulattoe, Indian, Jew, Moor, Mahometan, or other infidel, such servant shall thereupon become freed from all service then due to such master or mistress. | Who may not have a christian servant. |
| And that no person whatsoever shall buy, sell, or receive of, to, or from any servant or slave, any coin or commodity whatsoever, without the leave or consent of the master or owner of such servant or slave: And if any person shall presume to deal with any servant or slave, without such leave or consent, he or she so offending, shall forfeit and pay to the master or owner of such servant or slave, four times the value of the thing so bought, sold or received, to be recovered with costs, by action upon the case, in any county court of this dominion, and shall also forfeit and pay | Penalty upon dealing with a servant, or slave, without leave. |
| the further sum of five pounds, to any person who will sue for the same, to be recovered with costs, by summons and petition, in the same manner, as is directed for the recovery of debts, not exceeding five pounds, nor under twenty five shillings, current money, in and by one act of Assembly, intituled, An act for establishing county courts, and regulating the proceedings therein, or receive on his or her bare back, thirty nine lashes well laid on at the public whipping-post, but shall nevertheless be liable to pay the costs of such petition and summons. | |
| XI. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That all servants shall faithfully and obediently, all the whole time of their service, do all their masters or owners just and lawful commands; and if any servant shall resist his or her master, mistress, or overseer, or offer violence to any of them, such servant shall, for every such offence, be adjudged to serve his or her master or owner, one whole year, after the time by act of Parliament, indenture, custom, or former order of court shall be expired. | Duty of servants. Their punishment, in case of resistance. |
| XII. And that in all cases of penal laws where free persons are punishable by fine, servants shall be punished by whipping, after the rate of twenty lashes for every five hundred pounds of tobacco, or fifty shillings current money, so that no servant shall receive more than forty lashes at one time, unless such offender can procure some person to pay the fine. | And where they transgress penal laws. |
| XIII. That [And] if any woman servant shall be delivered of a bastard child, within the time of her service aforesaid, Be it enacted, by the authority aforesaid, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That in recompence of the loss and trouble occasioned her master or mistress thereby, she shall, for every such offence, serve her master or owner one whole year after her time, by indenture, custom, and former order of court shall be expired, and pay her said master or owner, one thousand pounds of tobacco, and the reputed father, if free, shall give security to the church-wardens of the parish where that child shall be to maintain the child, and keep the parish indemnified, or be compelled thereto by order of the county court, upon the said church-wardens complaint: But if a servant, he shall make satisfaction to the parish for keeping the said child, after his time by indent, custom, or order of court, to his then present master or owner | Rules as to women servants having bastard children. |
| shall be expired, or be compelled thereto by the order of the county court, upon complaint of the church-wardens of the said parish for the time being: And if any woman servant shall be got with child by her master, neither the said master, nor his executors, administrators, nor assigns. shall have any claim of service against her, for, or by reason of such child, but she shall, when her time due to her said master, by indenture, custom, or order of court, shall be expired, be sold by the church wardens for the time being, to the parish wherein such child shall be born, for one year, or pay one thousand pounds of tobacco; and the said one thousand pounds of tobacco, or whatever she shall be sold for, shall be employed by the vestry, to the use of the said parish. And if any woman servant shall have a bastard child by a negroe or mulattoe, over and above the year's service due to her master or owner, she shall immediately upon the expiration of her time, to her then present master, or owner, pay down to the church-wardens of the parish wherein such child shall be born, for the use of the said parish, fifteen pounds current money of Virginia, or be by them sold for five years to the use aforesaid; and if a free christian white woman shall have such bastard child by a negroe, or mulattoe, for every such offence, she shall, within one month after her delivery of such bastard child, pay to the church-wardens for the time being, of the parish wherein such child shall be born, for the use of the said parish, fifteen pounds current money of Virginia, or be by them sold for five years to the use aforesaid; and in both cases, the church-wardens shall bind the said child to be a servant until it shall be of thirty one years of age. | |
| XIV. And for a further prevention of that abominable mixture, and spurious issue, which may hereafter increase in this his majesty's colony and dominion, as well by English, and other whit men and women, intermarrying with negroes or mulattoes, as by their unlawful coition with them, Be it enacted, by the authority aforesaid, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That whatsoever English, or other white man or woman, being free, shall intermarry with a negroe, or mulattoe man or woman, bond or free, shall, by judgment of the county court, be committed to prison, and there remain during the space of six months, without bail or mainprize, and | No white to intermarry with a black, &c. |
| shall forfeit and pay ten pounds current money of Virginia, to the use of the parish as aforesaid. | |
| XV. And be it further enacted, That no minister of the church of England, or other minister or person whatsoever, within this colony and dominion, shall hereafter wittingly presume to marry a white man with a negroe, or mulattoe woman, or to marry a white woman with a negroe or mulattoe man, upon pain of forfeiting and paying for every such marriage, the sum of ten pounds of tobacco; one half to our sovereign lord the king, his heirs and successors, for and towards the support of the government, and the contingent charges thereof, and the other half to the informer, to be recovered with costs, by action of debt, bill, plaint, or information, in any court of record within his majesty's colony and dominion, wherein no essoign, protection or wager of law, shall be allowed. | Penalty on minister marrying a white and black. |
| XVI. And to the end poor people may not be destitute of employment, under suspicion of their being servants running away, It is hereby further enacted, That every servant, upon expiration of his or her time, and proof thereof made before the court of the county where he or she last served, shall have his or her freedom recorded, and a certificate thereof to indemnify any person for entertaining or hiring such servant; and if such certificate shall happen to be torn or lost, the clerk, upon request, shall issue another, reciting therein the loss of the former: And if any person shall harbour or entertain a servant, not having and producing such certificate, he or she shall pay to the master or owner of such servant, thirty pounds of tobacco for every natural day, he or she shall so harbour or entertain such runaway, recoverable with costs, by action of debt in any county court of this dominion: And if any runaway shall make use of a forged certificate, or after delivery of a true certificate to the person hiring him or her, shall steal the same, and thereby procure other entertainment, the person entertaining or hiring, shall not be liable to the said penalty, but such runaway besides making reparation for loss of time, and charges of recovery, in the manner herein after directed, shall stand two hours in the pillory, on a court-day, for making use of such forged or stolen certificate; and the person | Servants when free, shall have a certificate. Penalty on harbouring servants without certificate. Punishment of servants using a forged or stolen certificate. And on persons forging. |
| forging the same, shall forfeit and pay ten pounds current money, one moiety to the king, his heirs and successors, for the better support of this government, and the contingent charges thereof, the other moiety to the owner of such runaway, or the informer, recoverable with costs, in any county court of this dominion; and on failure of present payment, or security for the same within six months, such offender shall receive thirty nine lashes, on his or her bare back, well laid on, at the common whipping-post: And where a runaway shall happen to be hired upon a forged certificate, and afterwards denies the delivery thereof, the Onus Probandi, shall lie upon the party hiring such runaway. | |
| XVII. And to encourage all persons to take up runaways, Be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That for every runaway servant or slave taken up ten miles, or more, from his or her usual place of abode, the taker up, shall be entitled to a reward of two hundred pounds pounds of tobacco; but if under ten and above five miles, one hundred pounds of tobacco; which shall be paid by the public, in the county where such taker up resides, and be levied by the public upon the master or owner of the runaway: But the taker up shall forthwith bring such runaway before a justice of peace, of the county where he or she shall be taken, to be examined; and if thereupon such servant or slave, appears to be run away, the justice shall grant the taker up a certificate reciting his or her proper name and surname, the county of his or her residence, the name of the runaway, the proper name and surname of his or her owner, and the county wherein he or she resides, the time and place when and where the runaway was taken, and the distance of miles in the judgment of the justice, from the house or quarter where the runaway was usually kept; and such justice shall also issue his warrant to the next constable, requiring him to receive such runaway, and give him or her such a number of lashes, as the said justice shall think fit to direct, not exceeding thirty nine, and then him or her to convey and deliver to the next constable, and so from constable to constable, until the runaway be delivered to his or her owner or overseer : And every constable to whom such runaway and warrant shall be produced, shall execute the same, and give a receipt upon the delivery of the runaway to him, under | Rewards for taking up runaways. The method of proceeding with them. Constables duty. |
| penalty of forfeiting and paying two hundred pounds of tobacco, to the church-wardens of the parish wherein such constable lives, recoverable with costs, by action of debt, in any county court, to the use of such parish: But the corporal punishment, herein before directed to be given to runaways, shall not deprive the master or owner of any servant, from the satisfaction by this act required to be made by servants for running away. | |
| XVIII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That every negroe, or other person, taken up and brought before a justice of peace, and who cannot, or will not declare the name of his or her owner, shall be committed to the goal of the county where taken, by warrant under the hand of such justice; and the sheriff or goaler, to whose custody such runaway shall be committed, shall forthwith cause notice thereof, and a description of such runaway, and his or her cloathing, to be publicly affixed at the door of the court house, and there continued two months, if no owner appears within that time; and shall also send a copy thereof, to the clerk or reader of every church within his county, to be by him published, and affixed in some open and convenient place near his church, every Sunday during two months, after the date thereof, unless the owner appear sooner, under penalty of five hundred pounds of tobacco, on every sheriff or goaler, and two hundred pounds of tobacco on every clerk or reader failing, one moiety to the king, his heirs and successors, for the better support of this government, and the contingent charges thereof, the other moiety to the informer, recoverable with costs, by action of debt, or information, in any county court: but such runaway shall be delivered to his or her owner when demanded, he or she satisfying the sheriff's fees, and also two hundred pounds of tobacco, or twenty shillings for the taking up: And that if within two months after such commitment, no owner appears or claims, the sheriff shall deliver such runaway to the next constable, to be conveyed from one constable to another, 'til brought to the public goal of this colony, and delivered to the keeper thereof, by such warrant, and to receive such punishment as is herein before directed; and the said keeper is hereby required to receive such runaway into his safe custody, and give a receipt, and shall also publish an | Runaway not declaring the name of his owner, shall be committed.
Proceedings thereupon. |
| advertisement, and a description of the person and cloaths, in the Virginia Gazette, and continue the same three months, of no owner appears; and it shall be lawful for the said keeper, upon application to the nearest county court to the said goal, with consent of the said court, to let such runaway to hire, to any person by them approved of, for money or tobacco, and for such term as shall be by them directed, and out of the hire arising thereby, all charges for taking up, imprisonment, conveying to goal, maintaining, and releasing such runaway, shall be first paid, and the overplus disposed of as such court shall direct; but the said keeper shall cause a strong iron collar, with the letters P G stamped thereon, to be put on the neck of every runaway so hired out, at the time of delivering him or her to the person hiring, which shall indemnify him from any escape afterwards; and for every runaway so hired out, the keeper of the said public goal shall be allowed one fee for commitment, and the same for releasement, and no more: And if any such runaway shall happen to die in goal, the reward for taking up, and all other fees incident, shall be defrayed by the public. Provided always, That when the owner of such runaway shall demand him or her, the person to whom he or she was hired, shall forthwith deliver the same into the custody of the keeper of the public goal, and shall then also pay the hire, in proportion to the time the runaway hath served; and if that be not sufficient to satisfy all charges, the owner paying down the residue, shall have him or her delivered. | |
| XIX. But whereas the continuance of runaway slaves tome time in the public goal, may induce dishonest persons to pretend themselves owners, and thereby obtain possession to the prejudice of the true owner, Be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, That before any such slave shall be delivered by the keeper of the public goal, the person claiming such slave, shall first apply to the court of the county where he resides, and make proof of his having lost a slave, answering the description, published by the said keeper in the Gazette, and obtain certificate thereof, and also there give security to answer all damages, if it shall thereafter appear, that the slave he shall thereupon receive from the said keeper, doth really belong to some other person: And on producing such certificate | Owner claiming a runaway slave in the public goal must prove his property. |
| to the keeper aforesaid, and making oath before the mayor, or some other magistrate of Williamsburg, that the slave, who shall be there present, is his or the slave of for whom he appears, it shall be lawful for the said keeper, to deliver the slave so described and sworn to, and not otherwise. | |
| XX. And if no owner shall appear to claim such runaway, the county court shall, after the charges aforesaid are paid and satisfied, cause such runaway to be sold at public auction, by the sheriff, and the money arising by the sale, shall be paid to the treasurer of this colony, and applied by him for the use of the public; but in case the owner shall, at any time afterwards, prove his property in the said runaway, the said treasurer shall repay him or her, the money so received, and be allowed the same in his account. | Where no owner appears. |
| XXI. And that when any runaway shall have crossed the bay of Chesapeake, and be brought before a justice of any county lying upon the bay, such runaway shall be committed to a sheriff, and not to the constable; but if he or she, after crossing the bay, shall get into some other county more remote, in such case the runaway shall be committed to a constable, and so from constable to constable, 'til delivered to the sheriff of some county adjoining the bay aforesaid: And every such sheriff is hereby required to receive the runaway so to him committed, and shall forthwith caus him or her to be transported again across the bay, and delivered to a constable there, to be conveyed as is herein before directed; and for his trouble and charge herein, such sheriff shall have and receive five hundred pounds of tobacco, for every runaway so transported and delivered, to be paid by the public, and repaid by the owner of the runaway: And if any sheriff, or his officer, shall cause or suffer such runaway to work, so as to occasion any delay, such sheriff or officer, shall forfeit and pay one thousand pounds of tobacco, tot he owner of the runaway, recoverable with costs, by action of debt, or information, in any county court of this dominion. | Where runaways have crossed the bay. |
| XXII. And where a runaway, belonging to an inhabitant of Maryland or Carolina, shall be taken and brought before a justice, such runaway shall be by him committed to the goal of the county where taken, and the sheriff or goaler, shall cause advertisements to be published in the same manner, and for the same time, | Where they belong to Maryland or Carolina. |
| as is herein before directed to be done by the keeper of the public goal, and if no owner appears, may, with the consent and approbation of his county court, hire out such runaway, and shall pay the reward for taking up, which shall be reimbursed out of the hire, or by the owner, together with all other charges, if the hire be not sufficient. And all other money or tobacco arising by such hire of the runaway, 'til claimed by his or her owner, shall be to the use of such sheriff or goaler, and he may demand and take of the owner, the like fees and charges, as are or shall be then demandable of the inhabitants of Virginia, for runaways taken up, in the province where such owner resides. | |
| XXIII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That every sheriff, constable, or other officer, charged with conducting runaways, shall be, and is hereby impowered to impress men and horses, where necessary, for the safe conveying the person or persons wherewith he stands charged: And if such officer shall suffer such runaway to escape, he shall be liable to the party grieved, for recovery of damages and costs at the common law. | Officers may impress assistants, and liable for escapes. |
| XXIV. And that the keeper of a public goal, may demand and take, for the commitment of every runaway, two shillings current money, or twenty pounds of tobacco, and the same for releasement, and for every twenty four hours keeping him or her in goal, six pence, or five pounds of tobacco, and no more: And if he, or any sheriff, or goaler, shall demand and take any other or greater fee than is, or shall be by law allotted [allowed] for runaways, he or they so offending shall, for every such offence, forfeit and pay twenty shillings to the party grieved, and shall also refund and pay back all money or tobacco received over and above the legal fees, recoverable with costs before any justice of peace of the county where such offence shall be committed. | Prison fees. |
| XXV. And that every runaway servant, upon whose account any reward shall be paid for taking up, shall serve his or her master or owner, after all other time of service due shall be expired, one month and an half for every hundred pounds of tobacco so paid, or to be paid, and for all necessary disbursements and charges expended in pursuit and recovery of such runaway, and moreover, shall serve double the time of his or her absence, to be adjudged and | Runaway servants to repay all charges and loss of time. |
| allowed by the court of the county where the owner resides, or where the runaway is kept, at the next court held after his or her recovery, he or she being also brought before them; but if the owner neglects so to do, the court may allow or reject such claim, as to them appears just, without any appeal. Provided always, That if any servant, at the time of such judgment, shall repay, or give good security before the court, for repayment of all charges and disbursements, within six months after, the master or owner shall accept thereof, in lieu of service. | |
| XXVI. And whereas many abuses have been committed by persons, who under pretence of understanding trades and mysteries, have procured large sums of money to be advanced to them, and entered into covenants with merchants and others, in Great Britain, or elsewhere, for the payment of yearly wages, though they were really ignorant of, and unable to perform such trades or mysteries: Be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, That all and every person or persons already imported, or who shall be imported into this colony, as a tradesman or workman on wages, and shall be found not to understand such trade or employment, may be brought, by his or her master or owner, before any county court of this colony, who are hereby impowered and directed, upon complaint of such deceit to them made, to enquire into the same, and upon finding any such fraud, may order and direct such satisfaction to be made to the master, or owner of such servant, either by defalcation of the wages or part thereof, or by such further time of service for the money advanced, as to them shall seem just: And that if any such tradesman or workman, on wages, shall refuse or neglect to perform his duty, or absent himself from his master's service, without leave, the justices of the county court wherein such master resides, upon complaint and proof to them made, may order such satisfaction to be made to such master or owner, as to them shall seem just; and that for every days absence, such servant shall serve two days, without wages, after his time of indenture, or former order of court is expired. | Remedy against servants imported as tradesmen, or mechanics,
upon wages, and found ignorant. Or, where they refuse to work, or absent themselves. |
| XXVII. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That every person who at any time or times hereafter shall be bound by indenture, to serve as an apprentice in any trrde, art, mystery, or occupation, | Apprentices shall serve out their full time. |
| with the consent and approbation of any court of record within this colony, although such person be within the age of twenty one years at the time of making his indenture, shall be obliged to serve the full time in such indenture contained, as amply and largely to every intent, as if such apprentice were of full age at the time of making the same. | ||
| CCVIII. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That if any person or persons shall steal any negroe, mulattoe, or Indian slave, whatshoever, out of, or from the possession of the owner or overseer of such slave, the person or persons so offending, shall be, and are hereby declared to be felons, and shall suffer death, without benefit of clergy. | Stealing slaves felony without clergy. | |
| XXIX. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That all and ever other act and acts, clause and clauses, heretofore made, for or concerning any matter or thing within the purview of this act, shall be, and are hereby repealed. | Repealing clause. | |
CHAP. VIII. | ||
| ||
| I. WHEREAS by one act of the General Assembly made in the twenty second year of the reign of his present majesty, intituled, An act for the support of the clergy, and for the regular collecting and paying the parish levies, it is enacted, that every minister preferred to, or received into any parish within this dominion, shall have and receive an annual salary of sixteen thousand pounds of tobacco, and cask, with an allowance of four percent for shrinkage; to be levied, | Commutation of ministers salaries, in Frederick, Augusta, and Hampshire. |
| assessed, collected, and paid in manner in the said act directed. And whereas by one other act of General Assembly, made in the twelfth year of the reign of his present majesty, intituled, An act for erecting two new counties and parishes, and granting certain encouragements to the inhabitants thereof, it is enacted, for the more easy payment of all levies, secretary's, clerks, sheriffs, and other officers fees, by the inhabitants of the new counties of Frederick, and Augusta, that the said levies and fees shall and may be paid in money, for tobacco, at three farthings per pound, without any deduction: By virtue of which last mentioned act, the salaries of the ministers of the parish of Frederick, in the county of Frederick, and of the parish of Augusta, in the county of Augusta, have ben, and are levied and paid in money, for tobacco, at three farthings per pound, which are not sufficient for the ministers of the said parishes of Frederick and Augusta. | |
| II. BE it enacted, by the Lieutenant Governor, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That from and after the passing of this act, the vestries of the parishes of Frederick and Augusta, and of Hampshire when the same shall take place, at the time of laying their respective levies shall, and they are hereby authorised and required to levy and assess upon the tithable persons in their respective parishes, an annual salary of one hundred pounds for the ministers of the said parishes, respectively, with any allowance of six percent. for collecting the said salary; to be collected, levied, distrained for, and paid in the manner directed for the first above mentioned act, instead of, and in full compensation for the said salary of sixteen thousand pounds of tobacco and cask, and if the vestry of either of the said parishes, shall neglect or refuse to levy the said one hundred pounds, in such case all the vestrymen of the parish neglecting or refusing shall be liable to the action of the minister injured thereby, his executors, or administrators, for all damages, which he shall sustain by occasion of such refusal or neglect. |
| CHAP. IX. | ||
| ||
| I. WHEREAS the act of Assembly made in the twenty second year of the reign of his present majesty, intituled, An act for regulating the practice of attornies, which will expire at the end of this session of Assembly hath been found to answer the ends thereby intended, and it is necessary the same should be continued with amendments. | ||
| II. BE it therefore enacted, by the Lieutenant Governor, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That the said recited act of Assembly, intituled, An act for regulating the practice of attornies, shall continue and be in force, from and after the end of this session of Assembly. And for preventing lawyers taking unreasonable and exorbitant fees, and for the more equal settlement of the same, | ||
| Be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That during the continuance of the said recited act, the lawyers in this colony shall not, directly, or indirectly, or by any device, way, or means whatsoever, exact, take, or receive, any greater or other fees or reward, for the following services, than what are herein particularly mentioned and expressed, that is to say, lawyers practising in the general court, may demand and receive, for an opinion or advice where no suit is brought, one pound one shilling and six pence; in any suit at common law, other than the actions herein after mentioned, fifty shillings; in all chancery suits, or real, mixt, or personal actions, where the title or bounds of land shall or may come in question, five pounds: And lawyers practising in the county courts, and other inferior courts, for services to be by them done in such courts, may demand for an opinion or advice, ten shillings; in any suit at common law, other than the actions hereafter mentioned, or | Lawyers fees settled. |
| by petition, fifteen shillings; in all chancery suits, or real, mixt, or personal actions, thirty shillings; on a petition for a small debt, seven shillings and six pence: And any lawyer, for attending a survey in the country, for every day he shall attend, may demand one pound one shilling and six pence. And every lawyer exacting, taking, receiving, or demanding any greater fee, or other reward, for any of the above services, shall forfeit and pay fifty pounds for every offence, one half to our sovereign lord the king, his heirs and successors, for and towards the better support of this government, and the contingent charges thereof, and the other half to the informer, to be recovered by action of debt or information, in any court of record in this colony. | ||||
CHAP. X. | ||||
|
Edit. 1769, p. 316. | |||
| I. FOR the more easy payment of all levies, secretary's, clerks, and other officer's fees, by the inhabitants of the counties of Halifax, Bedford, and Hampshire, who make little or no tobacco. | Officers, fees in Halifax, Hampshire, and Bedford, payable in money. | |||
| II. BE it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor, Council and Burgesses of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the said levies and fees, may be paid in money for tobacco, to wit, for the counties of Halifax and Bedford, at twelve shillings and six pence per hundred, on the nett tobacco; and for the county of Hampshire, on the gross tobacco, three farthings per pound, without any deduction, in the same manner as the inhabitants of the counties of Frederick and Augusta, are now by law impowered to do. |
| CHAP. XI. | ||
| ||
| I. WHEREAS by one act of Assembly made in the third and fourth years of the reign of his present majesty, intituled, An act for the better regulating the payment of the Burgesses wages, it is amongst other things enacted, that when any session of Assembly should be thereafter held, and upon examination of the treasurer's account it should appear, that there are monies sufficient, in his hands, to discharge all the money debts, together with the Burgesses wages, and the salaries and allowances to the respective officers of the General Assembly, saving and reserving in the hands of the treasurer, over and above the said payment, a ballance of one thousand five hundred pounds, at the least, then every Burgess elected and serving for a county or corporation within this dominion, should be paid out of the said public money, the sum of ten shillings for each day he should serve in the house of Burgesses, with such further allowances, and under such restrictions and regulations as in the said act is at large directed. | Burgesses wages payable in money. | |
| II. And whereas the wages of the Burgesses for this present session cannot be discharged in money, according to the letter of the said act, but it is likely there will soon be money sufficient in the hands of the treasurer; and forasmuch as the payment of the Burgesses wages in money, for this present session, will be a great ease to the poorer sort of people, by lessening the levy by the poll, Be it therefore enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor, Council, and Burgesses of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the Burgesses wages for this present session of Assembly, shall be paid by the treasurer, on the first day of November, in the year of our lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty four, out of the public monies then in his hands, according to the directions and regulations in the said recited act mentioned, any thing in the said act to the contrary thereof, in anywise notwithstanding. |
| CHAP. XII. An Act for raising a Public Levy. | |
| I. BE it enacted, by the Lieutenant-Governor, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That five pounds and an half of tobacco be paid by every tithable person within this dominion, for the defraying and payment of the public charge of the country, being the public levy from the twenty seventh day of February, one thousand seven hundred and fifty two, to the first day of November, one thousand seven hundred and fifty three, and that it be paid by the collectors of the several counties, to the several persons and counties respectively to who it is proportioned by this General Assembly, and if it shall happen that there shall be more tithables in any county than the present levy is laid on, then such county shall have credit for so much, to the use of the county; and if fewer tithable in any county, then such county shall bear the loss. | Public levy or tax. |
| II. Provided abways, That where any allowance is made in the book of proportions to any county, to be paid in the same county, no more per poll shall be collected from the tithables of such county, than will discharge the ballance after such allowance shall be deducted, and that every county court shall regulate the levy accordingly. | |
| III. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the sheriff of every county shall, at the court of his county, to be held in the months of January, February, or March next, give bond and security for the due collection and payment of the public levy, now laid and assessed. |
| Pages 325-350
| Pages 375-399
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