Pages 420-443 
|  Pages 471-482
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| Pages 420-443
| Pages 471-482
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| AT A GENERAL ASSEMBLY BEGUN AND HELD | ||||
|
Patrick Henry, esq. governor. | |||
 CHAP. I.* An act for raising Volunteers to join the Grand Army. | ||||
| WHEREAS it is of the greatest importance to the interest and freedom of America that a speedy reinforcement should be sent out of this commonwealth to his excellency general Washington, to render the operations of the present campaign more decisive and honorable to the American arms: | Preamble. | |||
| Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That two thousand volunteers rank and file be raised, who are to join the commander in chief of the American army when ordered by his excellency the governour or chief magistrate of this commonwealth. | 2000 volunteers to be raised, to join the grand army. | |||
| And be it farther enacted, That as an inducement to engage volunteers at this important and critical period, a bounty of thirty dollars, and a complete suit of regimentals, to consist of a coat, jacket, a pair of breeches, two pairs of shoes, two pair of stockings, two shirts, and a hat, shall be given to every soldier who obliges himself to serve till the 1st day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy nine, unless sooner discharged by the commander in chief; the bounty to be paid on the volunteers receiving orders to march out of their county, and the regimentals to be delivered at the place of general rendezvous. And that | Encouragment. Bounty and clothing. Exemptions. | |||
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| * In the original, none of the acts of this session are distinguished by chapters or sections. Those only are so distinguished in this collection, as were published in the Chancellors' Revisal. |
| for the farther encouragement of such volunteers, they shall be exempt from all draughts and military duty, except in case of an actual invasion of this commonwealth, or insurrection therein, and from payment of any tax on their persons for the space of twelve months, to commence from the day of their obtaining their discharge from the commanding officer in chief of the American army; that their pay and rations be the same of the soldiers in the continental army, and that while in camp they shall be supplied with a gill of spirits per day gratis, if to be procured; and all such articles as they may actually want, in the opinion of their brigadier general, or commanding officer of [the] brigade, shall be furnished them on the terms such articles were usually sold on in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-four. | Spirits. Goods, at the prices in 1774. |
| And for the more speedy carrying this act into execution, two copies thereof shall be forthwith printed for each county hereafter named, and shall be despatched by messengers express, or otherwise, to the county lieutenant or the commanding officer in the said counties, who shall call together the militia of his said county, within ten days after receiving the same, and shall then, with his field officers and captains attending, appoint the most proper man or men in the county as officer or officers for the volunteer service. The proportion of officers to the several counties hereafter named is as followeth, viz. Albemarle, one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign; Amelia, one captain, one lieutenant, two ensigns; Augusta, one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign; Amherst, one captain, one lieutenant; Bedford, two captains, two ensigns; Berkeley, two captains, one lieutenant, one ensign; Brunswick, two captains, one lieutenant, one ensign; Buckingham, one captain, one ensign; Caroline, one captain, one lieutenant; Culpeper, two captains, one lieutenant, two ensigns; Cumberland, one lieutenant; Dinwiddie, one captain, one lieutenant; Shenando, one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign; Essex, one captain, one ensign; Fairfax, one captain, one lieutenant; Fauquier, one captain, one lieutenant, two ensigns; Fluvanna, one lieutenant; Frederick, one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign; Gloucester, one captain, one lieutenant; Goochland, one lieutenant, one ensign; Halifax, one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign; Hampshire, one captain, two ensigns; Hanover, one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign; Henrico, one captain, one ensign; Henry, one | Officers, how appointed. Proportion to several counties. |
| captain, one ensign; King and Queen, one lieutenant, one ensign; King George, one lieutenant; King William, one lieutenant, one ensign; Lancaster, one ensign; Loudoun, two captains, two lieutenants, one ensign; Louisa, one captain, one ensign; Lunenburg, one lieutenant, one ensign; Middlesex, one ensign; Mecklenburg, one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign; New Kent, one lieutenant; Northumberland, one captain, one lieutenant; Orange, one lieutenant; Pittsylvania, one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign; Powhatan, one lieutenant; Prince Edward, one captain, one ensign; Prince George, one lieutenant, one ensign; Prince William, one captain, one lieutenant; Richmond, one lieutenant, one ensign; Rockbridge, one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign; Rockingham, one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign; Spotsylvania, one lieutenant; Stafford, one lieutenant; Sussex, one captain, one lieutenant; Westmoreland, one captain, one ensign. | |
| The officers being so appointed, shall immediately proceed to enlist volunteers to make up their respective quotas; a captain twenty four, a lieutenant sixteen, and ensign ten. And if any person so appointed should refuse to act, or if any one who shall act fails to complete his quota within twenty days after his appointment, the said field officers and captains, or a majority of them, may appoint any other person they may judge most likely to complete the said quota, provided they should think the service would be benefitted by the new appointment; and all volunteer officers appointed under this act shall have full liberty to recruit any where within this commonwealth. The captains, besides their quotas, are to recruit two serjeants, one drummer, and one fifer; the subalterns, one serjeant each. | Number of volunteers to each officer. Vacancies, how supplied. |
| And be it farther enacted, That from and after the first day of August next all enlistments under this act shall cease; and where it may be the case that the full quota of men is not raised in any by the time aforesaid, the governour and council may join together the parts of companies in the several counties, so as to form them into complete companies. The county lieutenant, or commanding officer in the respective counties, is hereby directed to transmit to the governour and council, on or before the tenth day of August next, by express, to be paid by the treasurer on a warrant from the governour, a just and accurate return of the number of men raised in his county; and for the further encouragement | When enlistments to cease. Returns. Recruiting expenses. |
| of the officers recruiting volunteers, the sum of five dollars shall be paid for each man recruited. | |
| And be it enacted, That the said volunteers shall be formed into four distinct battalions, to consist of ten companies of fifty men each rank and file, to be under the command of one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign, and four serjeants, and allowed a drummer and fifer; each battalion t o be under the command of a lieutenant colonel commandant and major, and be allowed a chaplain, adjutant, quartermaster, surgeon, one surgeon's mate, and a quartermaster serjeant, and the whole shall be under the command of a brigadier general, who shall be appointed by the governour, with the advice of the council, and commissioned by the governour. The governour and council shall appoint the field officers, who, with the captain and subalterns, shall be commissioned by the governour. | Volunteers organized. Staff. |
| And be it farther enacted, That every officer appointed in the manner before directed, shall, on the enlistments of the volunteers under him, obtain their subscription in the following terms, to wit: We do severally enlist to serve in the corps of volunteers now raising to reinforce the continental army, for the time and upon the terms directed by an act of assembly intituled "An act for raising volunteers;" and that the volunteers so raised, when they join the grand army, are to be governed by the like rules, regulations, and articles of war, as govern continental officers and soldiers. The said volunteers when raised, shall, during the time they remain in the commonwealth, be subject to the orders of the governour and council, who shall, from time to time, as they may see cause, fix their place of rendezvous, and adjust all disputes about rank, paying proper regard to priority. | Form of enlistment. |
| The brigadier, field officers, captains, and subalterns pay and rations, to be the same of officers of equal rank in the continental army, and to commence from the time of their being called into service. | Pay and rations. |
| And be it farther enacted, That the governour, with the advice of the council, is hereby authorised to use the most expeditious and effectual means for furnishing the said volunteers with proper tents, arms, and accoutrements, and moreover to appoint one or more paymasters, commissaries, or contractors, for the more regularly and punctually paying and providing necessaries for the said troops. | Tents, arms, &c. |
| That the acts of general assembly heretofore passed, for the relief and support of the distressed wives and families of such soldiers as have hitherto enlisted into the service of this commonwealth, extend to the distressed wives and families of all such volunteer soldiers as may engage under the terms aforesaid. | Wives and families provided for. |
| The treasurer shall, from time to time, on warrants from the governour and council, pay all such sums of money as may be requisite for the purposes before mentioned, such warrants being previously entered at the auditors office, and certified by them to be so entered. The sum so certified by the auditors shall by them be charged in account to those to whom they are payable, and due credits be given them for all expenditures authorised by their instructions from the governour and council, and properly vouched. All sums not so expended shall be repaid to the treasurer, whose receipt being delivered to the auditors they shall give to such person a discharge in full. If any such person shall fail to render account of the application of any such money, or to repay to the treasurer the unexpended balance, and produce his receipt for the same when called on by the auditors, such proceedings shall be used against him as are prescribed by an act of general assembly passed in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy seven, for the recovery of monies due to the publick. | Appropriation for expenses incurred. |
| CHAP. II. An act for raising a regiment of Horse. | |
| FOR strengthening the continental army under the command of general Washington during the present campaign, Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That a regiment of horse, to consist of three hundred and fifty rank and file, shall be raised within this commonwealth, with all possible despatch, by such persons as shall be appointed by the governour, with the advice | Regiment of cavalry to be raised to join the continental army. |
| of the council, for that purpose. That the said regiment shall be formed by the governour into six troops, each troop to be commanded by a captain, two lieutenants, and a cornet, and the whole by a colonel, lieutenant colonel, and major. The commissioned officers of each troop to be chosen by the troop itself, so soon as formed. The field officers to be appointed by the governour with the advice of the council, and the staff by the field officers. That the officers and troopers shall have the same pay, rations, and forage, as those of the continental army, to commence from the time of their rendezvous; that they shall continue in service during the present campaign, unless sooner discharged by the commander in chief of the army, and shall, during the time of their service, be subject to the continental rules and articles of discipline and government. The chirurgeons shall be removed by the field officers, at any time, for neglect of duty. If any of the said troopers shall furnish himself with a horse, arms, or accoutrements, such horse, if he be killed, or die, or be captured, or otherwise lost, not through the default of the trooper, and such arms and accoutrements, if captured, or otherwise lost, without the default of the trooper, shall be made good to such trooper by the publick. Horses, arms, and accoutrements, requisite for the said regiment, in addition to those furnished by the troopers themselves, together with ammunition and necessaries for travelling and camp uses, so far as they cannot be furnished or conveniently spared from the publick stores, shall be provided at the publick expense, with all possible despatch, by persons to be appointed by the governour with the advice of the council, under such limitations of kind, quality, and price, as they shall think expedient. | Organization. Officers, how appointed. Pay. Horses, &c. how furnished. |
| The treasurer shall from time to time, on warrants from the governour with the advice of the council, pay all such sums of money as may be requisite for the purposes before mentioned, such warrants being previously entered at the auditors office, and certified by them to be so entered. The sums so certified by the auditors shall by them be charged in account to those to whom they are payable, and due credits be given them for all expenditures authorised by their instructions from the governour with the advice of the council, and properly vouched. All sums not so expended shall be repaid to the treasurer, whose receipt being delivered to | Appropriation for expenses incurred. |
| the auditors, they shall give to such person a quietus. If any such person shall fail to render account of the application of any such money, or to repay to the treasurer the unexpended ballance, and produce his receipt for the same when called on by the auditors, such proceedings shall be used against him as are prescribed by an act of general assembly passed in the year 1777 for the recovery of monies due to the publick. All sums actually expended for the purchase of horses, pay of the troopers, or other necessaries before directed, or for the reimbursement of their losses as aforesaid to the troopers, and the value of all arms, accoutrements, or other necessaries furnished from the public stores or works, shall be carried by the auditors into account against the United States; and when the said regiment shall be discharged, due credit shall be given for all such horses and other articles as shall remain for the publick use, and shall be delivered by the commanding officer to the governour's order, according to their value, to be settled in such manner as the governour, with the advice of the council, shall find practicable and just. And such accounts shall by them, on behalf of this commonwealth, be submitted to congress for their allowance. | |
| And for greater encouragement to those who shall enter into the said service, it is provided, that they shall not thereby lose their capacity to be of either house of assembly, and that they shall be free from all draughts (except in the case of an invasion of this commonwealth, or insurrection therein) from the time of their discharge, for so long a time as they shall have actually been in the said service. | Privileges of officers and troopers. |
| When so many of the said regiment shall be raised and ready, as in the opinion of the governour, with the advice of the council, it may be expedient to send on, he shall give orders for them to rendezvous, and proceed with all possible despatch to join the grand army under the command of general Washington, and so from time to time as the remaining parts shall be raised and made ready. | When to march. |
| CHAP. III. | ||
| ||
| FOR garrisoning the fortifications and batteries erected for the defence of the several ports and harbours within this commonwealth, Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That a battalion of infantry, to consist of eight companies, and each company of sixty eight rank and file, shall be raised within this commonwealth by such persons as shall be appointed by the governour and council for that purpose; that each company shall have one drummer and fifer, and be commanded by a captain, two lieutenants, an ensign, and four serjeants, and the whole by a colonel, lieutenant colonel, and major; the commissioned officers shall be appointed by the governour and council, and the staff by the field officers. That the said battalion shall have the same bounty, pay, and rations, as are allowed in the continental service, to commence from the time of their rendezvous, shall continue in service three years from that time, unless sooner discharged, and shall be subject to the continental rules and articles of discipline and government, save only, that the powers of confirming the sentences of courts martial in capital cases, or of pardon in the same cases, shall be in the governour and council. | Battalion of infantry, to be raised for garrison duty.
Number, officers, and staff. Bounty, pay, and rations. Term of service. | |
| Every person authorised by the governour and council to enlist for the said battalion shall receive, for every man he shall so enlist, the sum of ten dollars; but it shall not be lawful for him to enlist any artificer employed by contract in writing for hire in the publick manufactories of fire arms, or at any iron works, nor any indentured apprentice in such manufactory or work, nor any imported servant, without leave in writing from the manager of such manufactory or work, or owner of such servant. | Recruiting expenses. Who may not be enlisted. | |
| The treasurer shall from time to time pay all monies necessary for the enlistment, bounty, pay, or subsistence of the said battalion, such monies for enlistment and bounty being drawn for by warrant from the governour and council, and previous to their payment entered in account against the person receiving the same | Appropriation. |
| in the auditors office, and the monies for pay and subsistence by warrant from the auditors to be entered in account in like manner. And the auditors shall from time to time call for settlements of the said accounts, for vouchers for the due expenditure of the monies received, and for repayment of all unexpended sums to the treasurer, and certificate thereof by him; and if any person fails, when called on, so to account, such proceedings shall be used against him as are prescribed by an act of general assembly passed in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy seven, "For recovery of monies due to the publick." | |
| If any person enlisted for the said battalion shall at any time be ordered to march out of the commonwealth, such order shall amount to a discharge. That all soldiers who shall enlist into the regiment of artillery now raising for the defence of this state shall be entitled to the same bounty and clothing as the troops now to be raised by this act are entitled to. That the said regiment of artillery shall be officered in the same manner, and that the officers thereof shall receive the same pay and rations as is customary in artillery regiments in the service of the United States of America. | An order to march out of the state equal to a discharge.
State artillery, pay rations, &c. |
| And for farther encouragement to those who shall enlist into the said service, or artillery, they shall be free from all draughts, except in case of an invasion of this commonwealth, or insurrection therein, from the time of their discharge, for so long a time as they shall have actually been in the said service. | Privileges. |
| CHAP. IV. | ||
| ||
| FOR preventing the inconveniency of draughting men to make up the deficiencies in the quota of continental troops to be furnished by this state, for giving encouragement to soldiers, and putting our army on a more permanent foundation, Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That the men hereafter to be raised in this state for the continental army shall be engaged by voluntary enlistments to serve for three years, or during the war. And the governour, with the advice of the council, is hereby authorised to appoint from time to time such and so many recruiting officers in this state as in their judgment shall be requisite for the said service, and to give them such instructions as they shall judge necessary for the government of such officers respectively in the execution of their office. | Future enlistments for continental army three years, or
during the war. Recruiting officers, how appointed. | |
| That all officers so appointed shall be under the immediate direction of the governour and council, and accountable to them for their conduct, who shall call them to account, and shall continue or displace them from time to time according to their success and good or ill behaviour. Every such officer shall be allowed ten shillings per day, to commence from the date of his instructions, and also a bounty of ten dollars for each soldier he shall enlist and deliver to a continental officer at the place of general rendezvous to be appointed by the governour and council. Every recruiting officer is empowered to appoint a drummer and fifer to attend him, who shall receive the same pay, and two such rations, as are allowed in the continental army, and two dollars each for every soldier enlisted by the recruiting officer with whom they act. The governour, with the advice of the council, shall appoint in every county, or at the place of general rendezvous, some proper person to review and ass all soldiers enlisted in this state it for service, who shall give to the officer requiring the same a certificate respecting each soldier reviewed and passed by him. The governour, with the advice of the council, shall from time to time issue | Pay of officers, and recruiting expences. Recruits, how reviewed. Appropriation. |
| his warrant upon the treasurer for the payment of such sums of money to the several recruiting officers as may be requisite for the recruiting service, which warrants shall be charged in account to the officers respectively receiving them in the auditors book, and endorsed by the auditors before payment. And all sums of money thus received by any officer shall be accounted for to the auditors in their office, who, if the said money shall not have been duly expended, shall certify the balance due from the officers respectively to the treasurer for the time being, to the end that all such balances may be collected and paid into the publick treasury; and on failure, to be recovered as is directed by an act of the general assembly for the recovery of debts due to the publick. | |
| And be it farther enacted, That a bounty of one hundred and fifty dollars be given to each soldier, at the time of his enlistment, who shall enlist to serve during the war, and of one hundred dollars to each soldier, at the time of his enlistment, who shall enlist to serve for three years; and that all persons receiving such bounty shall be deemed soldiers and subjected to the articles of war, and shall be entitled to receive the pay and rations which are allowed to soldiers in the continental army. Every soldier enlisted shall be furnished, at the publick expense, with the following articles, a coat, waistcoat, and breeches, two shirts, one hat, two pair of stockings, and one pair of shoes, to be delivered at the place of general rendezvous; and with the same articles every year afterwards, during his continuance in service, to be delivered to him at his station. Provided, that the suit of clothes to be given annually to soldiers by this act shall not be additional to that annual suit which hath been allowed by congress. And if any soldier enlisted according to this act shall be ordered to march out of this state, without having first received such clothes, such order shall amount to a discharge. | Bounty, pay, and rations. Clothing. |
| That all officers, sailors, and soldiers, raised by this state, shall, during their continuance in the service, be furnished by the agent or commissary of stores, in behalf of this state, with the following necessaries, at the prices herein affixed to them, that is to say: Osnaburgs at one shilling and sixpence per yard, coarse hats at seven shillings and sixpence each, coarse yarn stockings at five shillings | Goods, at specified prices. |
| per pair, rum or brandy at the rate of ten shillings per gallon, and whiskey at the rate of five shillings per gallon, and such other imported articles as may be necessary for them at the rate of one hundred and twenty per centum upon the first cost, at the European port whence they shall be imported; and if such articles shall not be imported from Europe, but purchased by the publick in any of the United States, or the West India islands, they shall be retailed at the same advance, in the estimation of the agent or commissary of stores, as if the same had been imported from Europe on the publick account. And as a farther encouragement, all soldiers who have enlisted, or may enlist, to serve in the army during the war, and shall actually serve that time, shall be exempted from the payment of all levies and taxes, for their own persons, during life, such soldiers producing to the court of the county in which they may reside a certificate from the commander of the regiment in which they served of their service and due discharge. | Soldiers serving during the war exempted from
personal taxes and levies for life. |
| And be it farther enacted, That every soldier who is now enlisted for a limited time, and shall hereafter engage for the war, shall, at the time of re-enlistment, be entitled to a bounty of one hundred and fifty dollars, and all privileges given by this act. | Bounty for re-enlistment during the war. |
| And be it farther enacted, That all soldiers who may be disabled in the service shall be entitled to receive full pay during life, to commence at the time of their discharge. | Pensions, full pay for life. |
| CHAP. V. An act providing a supply for the Publick Exigencies. | |
| WHEREAS, in order to carry into effect the several acts passed at this present session of general assembly for raising a regiment of horse, for raising a battalion of infantry for garrison duty, for raising volunteers to join the grand army, for recruiting the continental army, and other purposes therein mentioned, and the resolutions of the twenty ninth of May one thousand seven | Preamble. |
| hundred and seventy eight, for making good the losses of certain sufferers in the town of Norfolk, it will be necessary to make a farther emission of treasury notes, and to provide for the redemption thereof: | |
| Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That it shall be lawful for the treasurer to issue treasury notes in dollars, or parts of a dollar, for any sum which may be requisite for the purposes aforesaid, in addition to the sums issuable by former acts of assembly, so as the said sum to be issued by authority to this act do not exceed six hundred thousand dollars; and he shall cause the said notes to be engraved and printed in such manner, and on such paper, as he shall judge most likely to secure the same from being counterfeited, and shall appoint proper persons to overlook the press, and to number and sign the notes, upon the best terms on which he can procure them. | Further emission of treasury notes, or paper money authorised. |
| And whereas there is reason to believe that the taxes imposed by an act passed at the last session of general assembly, "For raising a supply of money for publick exigencies, will be more than sufficient to answer the purposes in the said act, Be it farther enacted, that after the taxes which shall be levied by authority of the said act shall have effected the purposes to which they are appropriated by the said act, so much of what shall remain, as shall be sufficient for the redemption of the notes to be issued by authority of this present act, shall be applied to that purpose; and if so much as shall be sufficient shall not remain, farther provision shall be made by law for making good the deficiency, and redeeming the whole before the first day of December, which shall be in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty five. | How redeemed. |
| If any person shall counterfeit any of the said treasury notes issued by authority of this act, or shall be accessory thereto, or shall pass any such counterfeited note knowing the same to be counterfeit, he shall, on conviction thereof, suffer death without benefit of clergy. | Forging or counterfeiting death without clergy. |
| CHAP. VI. An act to amend an act for providing against invasions and insurrections. |
[Chan. Rev. p. 78.] | ||
| I. WHEREAS by an act of general assembly, intituled "An act for providing against invasions and insurrections," it has been found by experience that the fine to be inflicted on any officer or soldier guilty of mutiny, desertion, disobedience of command, absence from duty or quarters, neglect of guard, or cowardice, is by no means sufficient to deter defaulters from committing all or any of the said offences: | Punishment for mutiny, desertion, &c. encreased. | ||
| II. Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That it shall and may be lawful for a court martial to inflict any fine upon such delinquent as they shall determine reasonable, so as such fine do not exceed six months pay. | |||
| III. And be it farther enacted, That so much of the said act as relates to the fine aforesaid shall be, and the same is hereby repealed. | |||
| CHAP. VII. | |||
|
[Chan. Rev. p. 78.] | ||
| I. BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That the judges of the high court of chancery, or any two of them, may before the next term appoint a clerk thereof, in the room of him who lately died, by writing under their hands and seals, and at any time hereafter, when that office, or the office of serjeant at arms, shall by any means become vacant, may in like manner appoint | Judges of High Court of Chancery authorised to appoint a clerk in vacation. |
| a successour; and such succeeding clerk or serjeant, having in any court of record taken the oaths required by law, shall exercise the same power, perform the same duty, and be entitled to the same fees and profits, as he might have exercised, performed, and been entitled to, if he had been appointed in term time. | |
| II. The clerk of the high court of chancery shall be paid by the treasurer out of any publick money that may be in his hands a salary at the rate of one hundred and fifty pounds by the year, until the general assembly shall make such other provision for him for him as will encourage a man of sufficient ability to accept the office. | Salary of clerk. |
| III. Any party thinking himself aggrieved by a decree of the court of a county, city, or borough, in chancery, and not having entered an appeal from the decree at the time it was pronounced, may appeal from such decree at any time within three months after passing this act, or within one month after the decree pronounced, lodging for that purpose with the clerk of the high court of chancery a copy of the proceedings in the suit, and a petition suggesting errour in the decree signed by some counsel attending the high court of chancery, and also lodging with the petition a bond executed by the appellant or his agent, and a surety or sureties with the like condition as is annexed to other appeal bonds and affidavits, or solemn affirmations, verifying the sufficiency of the sureties; and the clerk shall thereupon issue a summons against the appellee, requiring him to appear and answer the said petition and appeal, and shall also issue a supersedeas, if necessary, to enjoin from proceeding in execution of the decree, and the court shall and may hear and determine the appeal in the same manner as if the appeal had been entered at the time the decree was pronounced. | Appeals to High Court of Chancery, within one month after decree, as of right. |
| CHAP. VIII. | |||
| |||
| WHEREAS by an act of the general assembly, intituled "An act for establishing a town at the Warm Springs, in the county of Berkeley," it was among other things directed, that the purchasers of lots in the said town should within twelve months from the day of sale build upon each of the said lots a dwelling-house twelve feet square fit for habitation, and whereas it hath been represented to this present general assembly that the time limited for building upon and saving the said lots was of too short a period: | Further time allowed purchasers of lots in town of Bath to build thereon. | ||
| Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That the purchasers of lots in the said town shall be allowed until the first day of September one thousand seven hundred and seventy nine as a farther time to build upon and save the same, any thing in the said recited act to the contrary notwithstanding. | |||
| CHAP. IX. | |||
|
[Chan. Rev. p. 79.] | ||
| I. WHEREAS there are only two session of the general court held in the year, to wit, one in the month of March, the other in the month of October, so that persons committed to the publick jail for criminal offences are obliged to undergo a long and painful confinement before they can be brought to trial, which is contrary to justice, and the principles of the constitution. | Preamble. | ||
| II. Be it therefore enacted, That henceforth there shall be two other sessions of the general court held in | Two additional terms. |
| every year, to wit. one on the second Tuesday of June, and one other on the second Tuesday of December, at which sessions they shall hear and determine of all treasons, felonies, misdemeanors, and other pleas of the commonwealth cognizable before the said court at their sessions heretofore established, as well against those who shall be then in the publick jail as others, and of no other matters or causes whatsoever; and against such as shall be found guilty by the verdict of the petit jury, the said court shall proceed to judgment according to law, and award execution thereupon, saving to the governour his right of granting pardons to capital offenders, according to the laws or constitution of government, and shall discharge all others not so found guilty. | of general court, for criminal cases. |
| III. That it shall and may be lawful for the sheriff of the county of York, and for the sheriff of the county of James City, for the time being, upon writs to them directed by the clerk of the general court, which writs the said clerk is hereby empowered and required to issue six days at least before the holding such sessions, to summon each of them twelve good and lawful men, being freeholders of this commonwealth, to appear and attend at such sessions, which twenty four freeholders, or any sixteen thereof, shall be a grand jury to inquire of and present all treasons, felonies, and other criminal offences cognizable by the said court which shall have been committed or done in any county or counties within this commonwealth; and the said court, at their sessions aforesaid, shall have power to adjourn from day to day until all such criminals shall be tried, and shall in all cases, except in such as are herein otherwise directed, observe the same rules and regulations, in the trial of all such criminals, as are directed by an act intituled "An act for establishing a general court." | Grand juries for, how summoned. |
| IV. And whereas it is required by the above recited act, that every judge, before he enters upon the duties of his office, shall be in open court take and subscribe the oath of fidelity to the commonwealth, and also the oath of office: Be it enacted, That any judge may take the aforesaid oaths at either of the sessions by this act established, to be administered by the first justice who may be present, and may thereafter enter upon the duties of his office, in the same manner as if he had taken the said oaths at the session in March or October. | Judges may qualify at such additional terms. |
| CHAP. X. | |||
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[See October 1777, chap. xxii.] | ||
| WHEREAS an act of general assembly, intituled "An act for giving certain powers to the governour and council," passed in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy seven, will expire at the end of this present session of assembly, and it is necessary the same be continued: | Act giving certain powers to governour and council further continued. | ||
| Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That the same be continued and be in force, from and after the expiration thereof, until the end of the next session of general assembly, and no longer. | |||
| CHAP. XI. An act giving speedy remedy to the United States against Defaulters. |
[Chan. Rev. p. 79.] | ||
| I. WHEREAS divers persons receiving money of the United States of America for publick uses apply it to different purposes, and when called on refuse or neglect to repay the same, others enter into contracts for supplying the army and navy of the United States with provisions and other necessaries, and fail or refuse to comply therewith; and whereas, in like cases respecting this commonwealth in particular, speedy remedy was given by an act of general assembly passed in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy seven, intituled "An act to establish a mode for the speedy and summary recovery of such sums of money as are or may become due to the publick, and for enforcing all contracts entered into with government," and it is expedient that the same speedy remedy be given in like cases respecting the United States: | Preamble. |
| II. Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That where, in any case, a remedy is by the said act given to this commonwealth or any of its agents or contractors, in a like case, the same remedy shall be given to the United States, their agents and contractors; and where, by the said act such proceedings are directed to be instituted by the treasurer, in the name of the governour for the time being, in a like case respecting the United States, the proceeding shall be instituted by their deputy paymaster general within this commonwealth, and in the name of the president of congress for the time being. | Same remedy given to United States, their agents and contractors, against publick defaulters, as to this state. | |
| CHAP. XII. | ||
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| WHEREAS a certain Josiah Philips, labourer, of the parish of Lynhaven and county of Princess Anne, together with divers others inhabitants of the counties of Princess Anne and Norfolk, and citizens of this commonwealth, contrary to their fidelity, associating and confederating together, have levied war against this commonwealth within the same, committing murders, burning houses, wasting farms, and doing other acts of hostility in the said counties of Princess Anne and Norfolk, and still continue to exercise the same enormities on the good people of this commonwealth; and whereas the delays which would attend the proceeding to outlaw the said offenders, according to the usual forms and procedures of the courts of law, would leave the said good people for a long time exposed to murder and devastation: | Josiah Philips of Princess Anne, and others his associates, attainted, unless they surrender themselves, within a limited time. | |
| Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That if the said Josiah Philips, his associates and confederates, shall not, on or before the last day of June in this present year, render themselves to the governour, or to some member of the privy council, judge of the general court, justice of the peace, or commissioned officer of |
| the regular troops, navy, or militia of this commonwealth, in order to their trials for the treasons, murders, and other felonies by them committed, that then such of them, the said Josiah Philips, his associates and confederates, as shall not so render him or themselves, shall stand and be convicted and attainted of high treason, and shall suffer the pains of death, and incur all forfeitures, penalties and disabilities, prescribed by the law against those convicted and attainted of high treason; and that execution of this sentence of attainder shall be done by order of the general court, to be entered so soon as may be conveniently after notice that of the said offenders are in custody of the keeper of the publick jail. And if any person committed to the custody of the keeper of the publick jail, as an associate or confederate of the said Josiah Philips, shall alledge that he hath not been of his associates or confederates at any time after the first day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy seven, at which time the said murders and devastations were begun, a petit jury shall be summoned and charged, according to the forms of the law, to try, in presence of the said court, the fact so alledged; and if it be found against the defendant, execution of this act shall be done as before directed. | |
| And that the good people of this commonwealth may not in the meantime be subject to the unrestrained hostilities of the said insurgents, Be it farther enacted, That from and after the passing of this act it shall be lawful for any person, with or without orders, to pursue and slay the said Josiah Philips, and any others who have been of his associates or confederates at any time after the said first day of July aforesaid, and shall not have previously rendered him or themselves to any of the officers civil or military before described, or otherwise to take and deliver them to justice, to be dealt with according to law. | |
| Provided, That the person so slain be in arms at the time, or endeavouring to escape being taken. |
| CHAP. XIII. | ||
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| WHEREAS by an act of the last session of the general assembly, intituled "An act for forming several new counties, and reforming the boundaries of two others, " part of the county and parish of Augusta was added to the county and parish of Hampshire, but no surveyor was appointed to by said act to run the boundary line: | Surveyor of Augusta to run the boundary between that county and Hampshire. | |
| Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That the surveyor of the county of Augusta shall, on or before the first day of July next, run the line in manner directed by the said act, at the equal expense of the counties of Rockingham and Hampshire, to be levied by their respective courts. | ||
| CHAP. XIV. | ||
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| WHEREAS an act of general assembly, passed in May one thousand seven hundred and seventy seven, intituled "An act for the more regular laying off the borough of Norfolk," and an act intituled "An act for appointing commissioners to inquire into and ascertain the losses sustained by the late inhabitants of the borough of Norfolk," which were continued and amended by an act of assembly the last session, expired at | Acts for more regularly laying off the borough of Norfolk, and ascertaining losses by the burning thereof, further continued. |
| the commencement of this present session of assembly, and it is thought necessary the said several acts should be revived and continued: | |
| Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That the several acts be, and they are hereby revived, and shall continue and be in force until the next session of assembly. | |
| And be it farther enacted, That Willis Riddick, William Cowper, Miles King, John Driver, John Cary, Henry Riddick, and Worlich Westwood, or any three of them, be, and they are hereby appointed commissioners for the purposes mentioned in the said recited acts. | |
| The said commissioners are moreover empowered and directed to inquire into the value of certain mills and houses in the county of Norfolk, the property of Robert Tucker, destroyed by order of convention, and report the value of the same, and by whom and at what period they were destroyed. | Value of property of Robert Tucker, in Norfolk, destroyed by order of convention, to be ascertained. |
| CHAP. XV. An act to increase the allowance to the members of the General Assembly. | |
| WHEREAS the former allowance to the members of the general assembly is at this time very inadequate to their necessary expenses, Be it enacted, That every member of the general assembly shall be paid out of the publick money, by the treasurer of this commonwealth, the sum of twenty shillings for each day he shall serve in general assembly, together with the like wages for his coming and returning to and from such general assembly, also all ferriages. | Wages of members of assembly encreased. |
| And whereas the laws heretofore made have not fixed the number of travelling days to some counties, Be it enacted, That the members of all such counties shall receive one day's wages for every thirty miles in travelling to and from the said general assembly, besides ferriages, to be paid by the treasurer as aforesaid. | Travelling expenses. |
| So much of every act and ordinance as is contrary to this act is hereby repealed. | |
| Provided always, That this act shall continue and be in force until the end of the next session of assembly, and no longer. | |
| CHAP. XVI. An act establishing a Clerkship of Foreign Correspondence. |
[Chan. Rev. p. 80.] |
| I. WHEREAS it is necessary for the governour and council to be provided with a person learned in the modern languages for assisting them in a communication with foreign states, and that a competent salary for such person should be provided by law: | Preamble. |
| II. Be it therefore enacted, That a clerkship of foreign correspondence be henceforth established, under the direction and controul of the governour and council, who shall from time to time, at their will, appoint such person to the said office as they shall find worthy of confidence, and qualified to perform the duties thereof, and remove him in like manner at their will. Such clerk having taken before them an oath of fidelity to the commonwealth, and of secrecy in all cases where he shall be specially charged with secrecy, may enter on the exercise of his office, and shall receive for his trouble a yearly salary of two hundred pounds, to be paid by the treasurer in quarterly payments, on warrant from the auditors, who are hereby required to enter such warrants in account against such person. | Clerkship of foreign correspondence established. |
| CHAP. XVII. | ||
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| WHEREAS by an act of the last session of general assembly, intituled "An act for raising a supply of money for publick exigencies," the several county courts were required to take bonds, with sufficient sureties, of their respective sheriffs, in the penalty of three thousand pounds, for the faithful collection and accounting for all the taxes thereby imposed, which sum in many counties will be less than the amount of the taxes to be collected in the same counties: | Preamble. | |
| Be it therefore enacted, That the bonds heretofore taken under direction of the said act shall be cancelled, and in lieu thereof others shall be taken, according to the directions of the said act; save only, that the penalty of every such bond shall be equal at least to what may be the whole amount of the said taxes, in the judgment of the court of the county, using the best means in their power to inform themselves of such amount. | Penalties of sheriffs' bonds encreased. | |
| And whereas the court of Hustings for the city of Williamsburg were not authorised by the said act to take bond with sufficient sureties from the collector for the true and faithful collection and accounting for the money arising from all duties and taxes thereby imposed on the inhabitants of the said city, Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That the court of Hustings shall, at their court to be held in the months of June or July in the present year, and in the six following years, in the months of April and May, take bond with sufficient sureties of the serjeant of the city, in the penalty of three thousand pounds, payable to the treasurer to the commonwealth for the time being, for the use of the commonwealth, with condition for the true and faithful collection and accounting for all the duties and taxes imposed by the above recited act, and paying the money for which he shall be accountable according to the said act; and if the serjeant shall refuse or fail to give such surety, the court shall appoint some other person to collect the said taxes, and take the like bond and surety of him, which bond shall be recorded in the | Court of Hustings of Williamsburg to take bond of their serjeant. |
| court, and an attested copy thereof transmitted by the clerk without delay to the publick treasurer, which shall be admitted as evidence in any suit or proceeding founded thereon. | ||
| CHAP. XVIII. | ||
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| WHEREAS by an act of general assembly passed in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy six, intituled "An act for exempting the different societies of dissenters, and for other purposes therein mentioned," reciting, that by the exemptions allowed dissenters it might be too burthensome in some parishes to the members of the established church if they should still be compelled to support the clergy by certain fixed salaries, and that it was judged best that this should be done for the present by voluntary contributions, it was enacted, that so much of an act of the general assembly made in the twenty second year of the reign of king George the second, intituled "An act for the support of the clergy, and for the regular collecting and paying the parish levies," or any other act as provided salaries for the ministers, and authorised the vestries to levy the same, except in the cases in the same act of one thousand seven hundred and seventy six before directed, should be suspended until the end of the then next session of assembly, which said act was farther suspended by several other acts until the end of this present session of assembly, and it is reasonable that the same suspension should be farther continued: | Salaries of clergy of Church of England further suspended. | |
| Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That so much of the said acts, as was so suspended by the above recited act of one thousand seven hundred and seventy six, shall be farther suspended until the end of the next session of assembly. |
| CHAP. XIX. | ||
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| BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That the commissioners of the navy shall have full power and authority, from time to time, to vary the rates of pilotage, and to regulate the fees of all pilots within this commonwealth, according to the exigencies of times; and the said commissioners of the navy shall enter any alterations of such fees on their journals, and deliver, or cause to be delivered, an attested copy thereof to each acting pilot within this state, who shall constantly carry the same with him when in the execution of his office, and show the same to the master of any ship or vessel when he shall receive his fees. And if any such pilot shall refuse to produce such dopy, he shall forfeit ant pay twenty pounds to any person who shall sue for the same. | Commissioners of navy authorised to vary rates of pilotage. | |
| This act shall be in force from and after the passing thereof to the end of the next session of assembly, and no longer. |
| Pages 420-443
| Pages 471-482
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