or at any time after the Expiration of his said Office, on Motion of the Chairman of such Inferior Court, to give Judgment against such Sheriff for all the Money wherewith he shall or may be chargeable to the County, with Costs and thereupon to award Execution against the Goods and Chattels, Lands and Tenements, of such Sheriff; provided always, the Sheriff shall have Ten Days previous notice of such Motion.

XXI. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the Justices of each, and every County shall purchase, at the expence of the same, well bound Books, for keeping therein a fair Record, in which shall be, by the Clerk of such County Court, yearly, fairly stated, all Accounts relating to the Charge and Expence of all Monies collected and received for the Use of such County; as also an Account of the Number of Taxables in each District, as returned by the several Magistrates thereof; and an Account of all such Persons as shall be discovered to have failed to inlist within such District; and an Account of all the Masters, Mistresses, and Overseers, in each District, as returned by the several Constables of such County; under the Penalty of Twenty Pounds, Proclamation Money, to be recovered and applied as other Fines by this Act directed; for which said Services the Clerk shall be allowed by the Justices, out of the County Tax, all Sum or Sums of Money as they shall think adequate for such Services.

XXII. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That every Sheriff, and every Collector of Public Duties, shall, at his Settlement with the Treasurer of his District, deliver his Account, signed and proved, of all the Monies he hath received, payable to such Treasurer, for the Use of the Public; which Accounts such Treasurer shall produce as a Voucher for the Money by him received, in order to settle with the Assembly; under the Penalty of Five Hundred Pounds Proclamation Money; to be recovered and applied as other Fines by this Act directed.

XXIII. And whereas by the Laws now in Force, the Justices of every County Court, when they settle with their respective Sheriffs, are impowered to make the said Sheriffs an Allowance for such Persons as have no visible Estate, and an attested Copy of such Allowance or Settlement may be given in Evidence when such Sheriffs are sued by the Public Treasurer for the Public Taxes; which Power, in several instances, has been abused; For Remedy whereof; Be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That from and after the passing of this Act, no County Court shall make such Allowance for Insolvents, nor give any Certificate for the same, unless there shall be Five or more Justices in Court at making such Allowance, who shail all sign the Certificate for the same.

XXIV. And whereas the several Public, County, and Parish Taxes, are not directed to be paid at one and the same Time, whereby several Sheriffs, when they have distrained for said Taxes, have taken Fees for Distress on each Tax: For Remedy whereof, Be it Enacted, and it is hereby Enacted, That after the passing this Act, if any Person or Persons shall fail to pay the Public, County, and Parish Taxes on or before the Tenth Day of March, yearly, the Sheriff shall and may make Distress on such Person or Persons so failing as aforesaid for the whole amount of such Taxes in one Sum, for which Distress he shall and may take Two Shillings and Eight Pence, and no more; any Law, Usage or Custom, to the contrary, notwithstanding.

XXV. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the several Forfeitures and Penalties by this Act inflicted, for which no Method of Recovery or Application is hereinbefore directed, shall and may be recovered, with Costs, before any Jurisdiction having Cognizance thereof; one Half to the Use of the Prosecutor, and the Other Half to the Use of our

Sovereign Lord the King, for the Use of the County wherein such Penalty shall be incurred, and be applied by the Justices towards lessening the County Tax.

XXVI. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That all and every other Act and Acts, and every Clause and Article thereof, for so much as relates to any Matter or Thing within the Purview of this Act, from henceforth shall be repealed and made void.

CHAPTER III.

An Act for erecting the upper Part of Beaufort County into a County and Parish, by the Name of Pitt County, and St. Michael's Parish; and for adjourning the Court from the Court-House on the Land of Thomas Bonner, to the Court-House in Bath Town; and other Purposes therein mentioned.

I. Whereas the large extent of the County of Beaufort renders it grievous and burthensome to the Inhabitants thereof to attend the Courts, General Musters, and other Public Meetings appointed therein;

II. Be it therefore Enacted, by the Governor, Council, and Assembly, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the First Day of January next, the upper Part of the said County of Beaufort, beginning at the Line between the said County and Tyrrel, running South, South West to Cherry's Run, where the main Road crosses the said Run; thence down the said Run to Tranter's Creek; thence down the said Creek to Pamlico River; thence down the said River to the Fork Point, on the South side of the said River; thence up the Chocowinity Bay and Creek to the Head thereof; thence South. South West to the dividing Line of the said County and Craven; thence along the dividing Lines of Craven, Dobbs, Edgecomb, and Tyrrel; so that all that Part of Beaufort County to the Westward of Cherry Run, Chocowinity Bay and Creek, shall, and is hereby declared to be a separate County and Parish, and shall be called and known by the Name of Pitt County, and St. Michael's Parish, with all and every the Rights, Privileges, Benefits, and Advantages, whatsoever, which any other County or Parish within this Province can, shall, or may lawfully hold, use, or enjoy.

III. And for the due Administration of Justice within the said County, Be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That after the said First Day of January, a Court for the said County of Beaufort be constantly held by the Justices thereof at the Court House in Bath Town upon the Days and Times by Law appointed for holding Courts in Beaufort County; any Law, Usage or Custom, to the contrary, notwithstanding.

IV. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That John Hardy, John Simpson, William Spier, George May, and Isaac Buck, are hereby appointed Commissioners; and they, or the majority of them, are hereby required within Six Months after the passing of this Act, to agree and contract with Work men for the building and erecting a suitable Court House, Prison, Pillory, and Stocks, for the Use of the said County of Pitt, on the Land of Mr. John Hardy, on the South Side of Tar River, near the Chapel known by the Name of Hardy's Chapel.

V. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That a Poll-Tax of Two Shillings, Proclamation Money, shall be levied on each Taxable Person within the said County of Pitt for Two Years; which Tax shall, on or before the Tenth Day of June, which shall be in the Year of our Lord One

Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty One, and Sixty Two, be paid to the Sheriff of the said County.

VI. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That all Persons in the said County neglecting to pay the said Tax, until the Tenth Day of March in each of the aforesaid Years, to the Sheriff as aforesaid, shall be liable thereafter to the same Distress as for Non-Payment of other Taxes; and the Sheriff of the said County Shall, and is hereby required and directed, on or before the Tenth Day of June in each Year, to account upon Oath, and pay to the said Commissioners, the Survivor or Survivors or the Majority of them, the Money which by Virtue of this Act he hath received, after deducting Six per Cent. for collecting the same, under the Penalty of Two Hundred Pounds, Proclamation Money, to be recovered by the sid Commissioners, the Survivors or Survivor of them, by Action of Debt, with Costs, in the Superior Court in the District to which the said County belongs. VII. Provided nevertheless, That if the Money so to be collected and paid by the Sheriff of the County of Pitt, to the aforesaid Commissioners, shall amount to more than the Sum by them contracted to be paid for the erecting the said Buildings, they shall account for and pay the Overplus thereof to the Justices of the said Inferior Court of Pitt, which by them shall be applied towards defraying the Contingent Charges of the said County.

VIII. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That a Court for the County of Pitt shall be held Quarterly on the last Tuesdays in the Months of February, May, August and November, which said Court shall be held by a Commission to the Justices, in the same Manner, and under the same Rules and Restrictions and shall have and exercise the same Power and Jurisdiction, as prescribed for other Inferior Courts of Pleas and Quarter Sessions within this Province.

IX. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the Justice to be appointed by the Inferior Courts of Pleas and Quarter Sessions for the said County of Pitt shall, and they are hereby authorized and impowered to hold a Court for the said County of Pitt on the Days before mentioned, at the House of Mr. John Hardy, until there shall be a Court House built for the said County; at which Time the said Justices are hereby required to adjourn the said Court from the House of the said John Hardy, to the Court House to be built for the said County.

X. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to debar the Sheriff of the aforesaid County of Beaufort, as the same now stands undivided, to make Distress for any Taxes, Levies, Fees, or other Dues, that are now, or shall be due from the Inhabitants of the said County for the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty, or before, but that he may make Distress in the same manner as by Law the said Sheriff could or might have done if the said County had remained undivided: And the said Levies, Fees, and other Dues, shall be collected and accounted for in the same Manner as if this Act had never been made; any Thing herein contained, to the contrary, notwithstanding.

XI. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That after the said First Day of January the said County of Pitt shall be, continue, and remain Part of the District of the Superior Court of Pleas and Grand Session to be held for the Counties of Craven, Carteret, Beaufort, Hyde, and Dobbs; and the Justices of the Court of the said Counties of Beaufort, and Pitt shall, and they are hereby directed, before such Superior Court, to nominate six Freeholders to serve as Grand and Petit Jurors at such Superior Court a

List of which Jurors, so nominated, shall be delivered by the Clerks of each of the said Counties to the Sheriff, who shall, and is hereby required to summons the Persons so nominated to serve as Jurymen at the Superior Court; And in Case any of the Jurymen shall, when nominated and summoned as aforesaid, fail to appear at the said Superior Court, they shall be under the same Rules, Fines, and Regulations, as other Jurymen are by Virtue of one Act of Assembly, passed in New Bern in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty, intituled, An Act directing the Method of appointing Jurymen in all Causes criminal and civil; and the Sheriff of the said County of Pitt shall, from Time to Time, account for and pay to the Public Treasurer for the Southern District of this Province for the Time being, all Public Levies by him collected, or wherewith he shall stand chargeable, in the same Manner, and under the like Pains and Penalties as other Sheriffs of the said District.

XII. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That all Causes, Pleas, Writs, Actions, Suits, Plaints, Process, Precepts, Recognizances, Indictments, Presentments, and other Matters and Things in the said Inferior Court of Beaufort Depending, from and immediately after the First Day of January next, shall stand adjourned and continued from the Court House on the Land of Thomas Bonner to the Court House in Bath Town; and all appearances and Returns of Process shall be made on the Day by Law appointed for holding the said Court to the said Court House; and all suitors and Witnesses bound to appear thereat, in the same Manner as if the said Court had not been removed to the Court house in Bath Town from the Court House on the Land of Thomas Bonner: And all subsequent Process which shall or may Issue on any Action already commenced, and not determined, in the Inferior Court of Beaufort shall be directed to, and executed by the Sheriff of Beaufort County, to the End and final Determination of such Causes; any Law, Usage or Custom, to the contrary notwithstanding.

XIII. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the Freeholders of the County of Pitt, as the same shall stand divided from the County of Beaufort, shall, and are hereby impowered and required, to meet at the House of Mr. John Hardy, on Easter Monday next after the passing of this Act, then and there to choose and elect Twelve Freeholders to serve as Vestrymen; and the Freeholders of the County of Beaufort, as the same shall stand divided, shall, and are hereby impowered and required, to meet at the Court House in Bath Town on Easter Monday next after the passing of this Act, then and there to choose and elect Twelve Freeholders to serve as Vestrymen; which Vestries, when so Chosen, shall be under the same Rules and Restrictions as other Vestries in other Parishes are.

XIV. And for establishing roads and ferries and for the better regulation of the County of Pitt; Be it enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That one Act of Assembly of this Province, made and passed in the year of our Lord one Thousand Seven Hundred and Fifty Six, intituled, An Act for establishing Public Roads and Ferries, and for the better regulation of the same in the several Counties, and every Clause and Article therein, shall extend to the said County of Pitt, and be in full force within the same to all Intents and Purposes as if the said County had been particularly mentioned in the said Act.

XV. Provided always, That nothing herein contained shall be construed, deemed or taken, to alter or derogate from the Rights and Royal Prerogatives of his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, of granting Letters of Incorporation to the said County of Pitt, ordering, appointing, and directing the Election of a Member or Members to represent them in Assembly, and

of granting Markets and Fairs to be kept and held in the Counties of Beaufort and Pitt respectively; but that the said Rights and Prerogatives shall and may at all Times hereafter, be exercised therein by his said Majesty, his Heirs and Successors in as full and ample Manner, to all Intents and Purposes, as if this Act had never been made.

CHAPTER IV.

An Act to impower the Inhabitants of several Parishes within this Province, that have no legal Vestry within their respective Parishes, to meet and elect Vestries.

(Printed in Private Acts, post.)

CHAPTER V.

An Act for altering the Times of holding the Inferior Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions in the County of Chowan. (Printed in Private Acts, post.)

CHAPTER VI.

An Act to amend an Act, intituled, An Act for the Relief of such Persons as have suffered or may suffer, by not having had their Deeds and Mesne Conveyances proved and registered within the Time heretofore appointed for such Purposes, and to prevent Disputes and Law Suits concerning Lands.

I. Whereas by the aforesaid Act any Person or Persons having Deeds or Mesne Conveyances within this Province were to register the same within Eighteen Months after passing the said Law, and many Persons through want of knowing the said Law, have neglected to have their Deeds or Mesne Conveyances registered according to the Purport thereof; For Remedy whereof,

II. We pray it may be Enacted, And be it Enacted, by the Governor, Council, and Assembly, and by the Authority of the same, That all Deeds and Mesne Conveyances of Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, not already registered, acknowledged or proved, shall and may, within Eighteen Months after the passing of this Act be acknowledged by the Grantor, their Agents or Attornies or proved by one or more of the subscribing Witnesses to the same; and tendered and delivered to the Registers of the Counties where such lands, Tenements, and hereditaments, respectively lie; and all Deeds and Mesne Conveyances whatsoever, which shall be acknowledged or proved according to the Directions of this Act, and also such as have been heretofore, recorded by the Clerk; or Registered by the Register of any Precinct or County wherein the Lands or Tenements mentioned in the same lie or are situate, though not within one Year after the Date of the respective Conveyances, shall be good and valid in Law, and shall enure and take effect as fully and effectually, to the Use and Behoof of the Grantee, their Heirs and Assigns, and those claiming under them, as if such Deeds and Conveyances were acknowledged, or proved and registered, agreeable to the Direction of any Act of Assembly heretofore made.

III. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That every Sheriff within this Province shall, on the second Day of Every Inferior Court of the County whereof he is Sheriff, read this Act at the Door of the Court House, immediately after the sitting of the Court.