XXVII. That if any person acting under the authority of this Act shall be sued for anything done in pursuance of this Act, the defendant may plead the general issue, and give this Act and the special matter in evidence under that plea. No. 1. Act 9 Vic. c. 10. XXVIII. That every word in this Act importing the singular number only, shall extend and be applied to several persons and things as well as one person or thing, and bodies corporate as well as individuals; and every word importing the plural number shall extend and be applied to one person or thing as well as several persons and things; and every word importing the masculine gender only shall extend and be applied to a female as well as a male. XXIX. That so much of an Act passed in the forty-third year of Repeals 43 G. 3. the reign of King George the Third, entitled, "An Act for the better establishing and collecting Her Majesty's Quit Rents," as regulates the manner in which arrears of quit rents shall be levied for, shall be, and the same is hereby repealed. XXX. That this Act shall commence and take effect upon Her Majesty's assent thereto being notified in the colony, and not a lot (or tract) of land situate in the island of which lot (or tract) was originally granted, by letters patent, under the Great Seal of the colony, bearing date the A.D. day of to C. D. (or is part of a lot or tract originally granted, &c.) and has the boundaries following, that is to say: (here insert boundaries) as appears by a plat hereunto annexed, drawn by the Surveyor-General of Lands, and dated the day of A. D. 18 E. F. SCHEDULE B. This Indenture, made the 18 in pursuance of an Act passed in the ninth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, entitled (here insert title of this Act), between E. F., Receiver-General of Quit Rents (or Receiver-General and Treasurer, as the case may be), of the one part, and G. H., of the island of Esquire (or Surveyor-General of Lands for the said islands, as the case may be), of the other part. A.D. 18 Whereas, in and by an order of the Supreme Court of the Turks and Caicos Islands, made the day of the land hereinafter mentioned and described, and hereby intended to be conveyed, was directed to be sold for non-payment of certain quit rents due thereon; and whereas, in obedience to the said order, and in conformity with the provisions of the before-mentioned Act of * Her Majesty's assent was given to this Act by Order in Council, dated 26th September, 1846, and notified in the Colony on the 10th November, 1846. No. 1. Act 9 Vic. c. 10. Assembly, the said land was, on the day of, last past, put up at public auction at an upset price of £ E. F. CLASS IV. No. 1. Act 4 W. 4, c. 2. PREAMBLE. Adjacent proprietors to assist in erecting division walls, &c. Penalty for refusal. WALLS AND FENCES. No. 1.-4 Wm. 4, ch. 2. An Act for regulating the Making and Repairing of Division Walls or Fences in the several Islands therein mentioned. (Nov. 12th, 1833.) HEREAS it is necessary that provision should be made for enforcing the making and repairing of division or partition walls or fences; May it, &c., That it shall and may be lawful for the proprietor or proprietors, or any other person in possession, by authority of the proprietor or proprietors of any tract or tracts of land, to require the proprietor or proprietors of any adjacent tract or tracts of land, or his, her, or their tenant, agent, attorney, or other person or persons in possession of the same, to assist in a fair and equitable proportion to make or repair division walls or fences between such tracts of land. II. That if any such proprietor or proprietors, or his, her, or their tenant, attorney, or other person or persons in possession, as aforesaid, shall neglect or refuse to comply with such requisition, it shall and may be lawful for any Justice of the Peace for the district, upon application to him made for that purpose, to grant a warrant precept, directed to any three indifferent freeholders of the district, commanding them to view the premises, and to make a report, in writing, to such Justice respecting the property of such wall or fence, and what kind of wall or fence will be most proper for the situation of the premises, or what repairs will be necessary, if there be an old insufficient wall or fence; which report having been made, it shall and may be lawful for the person or persons c. 2. who shall have made such requisition and application to proceed No. 1. under the order of such Justice, in laying out, making or repairing Act 4 W. 4, such walls or fences, agreeably to the report of such freeholders; and when the same shall be completed, the same freeholders, or any other indifferent freeholders of the district, shall, in like manner, be summoned to fix the price of the same, and to consider and make a report, in writing, to such Justice, respecting the particular convenience which such wall or fence may be of to the parties respectively; and if the same should be found more advantageous to one party than to the other, then, that such freeholders shall apportion the expenses thereof accordingly; and if either of the parties shall neglect or refuse to pay his, her, or their proportion of such price or expense, it shall and may be lawful for the Justice to grant a warrant for levying the same by distress and sale of the defaulter's good and chattels, in the same manner as goods are liable to be distrained according to law, for the rent of lands or tenements in arrear and unpaid. Six pounds, old currency, penalty for non-attendance III. That if any freeholder so summoned to attend shall neglect or refuse so to do, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of six pounds, unless he shall assign a reasonable excuse, upon oath, for such neglect, to the satisfaction of the said Justice or Commissioner, of freeholders. which penalty shall be recovered before the said Justice, or any other of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace; and it shall and may be lawful for the said Justice, or such other Justices, as aforesaid, to cause the same to be levied and made by public sale of the goods and chattels of the said offender by warrant of distress, addressed to any bailiff or constable, or other person or persons in such warrant to be specially therein named, and thereby appointed for the execution of the same. IV. Persons sued for anything done, in pursuance of this Act, may plead the general issue, and give the special matter in evidence; and, on verdict for defendant, or nonsuit of plaintiff entitled to treble costs. V. Duration, ten years.* Duration. No. 2. No. 2.-2 Vic. ch. 10. An Act to extend the provisions of 4 Wm. 4, ch. 2, to certain other Islands within this Government. (Feb. Act 2 Vic. 14th, 1839.) out-islands where there c. 10. HAT from and after the passing hereof, and for and during the 4 W. 4, c. 2, every of the islands and districts of this Government, in which no provision has already been by law made, for the regulation of boundary walls or fences; all and sundry the provisions contained in the before-recited Act of the Fourth William the Fourth, chapter two, and every matter and thing therein contained, shall have the full force and effect of law; and all powers exercised thereunder shall be as valid, to all intents and purposes, as if each of the said islands or districts had in the said Act been respectively named, anything in the said Act contained to the contrary notwithstanding.* * By 7 Vic. c. 12, passed on the 9th January, 1844, these Acts are continued in force for ten years from that day, and from thence to the end of the then next Session of Assembly. By Ordinance No. 2 of 1857, these Acts are in force for five years from 6th November, 1857. may be no provision by law regulating boundary walls. No. 1. Act 10 Vic. c. 5. Lot of Land on which Parsonage-house is erected vested in Trustees. Duty of Jus tices. CLASS V. SALE OF PARSONAGE-HOUSE, GRAND CAY. No. 1.-10 Vic. ch. 5. An Act to authorize the Sale of the Parsonage- HEREAS it is expedient that the parsonage-house and II. And be it enacted, That the said Samuel Rowlett Ricketts and John James McIntosh, Esquires, or the resident Stipendiary and Police Magistrate, as aforesaid, for the time being, shall and they are hereby authorized and required, as soon as conveniently may be after the passing of this Act, to offer the said land and premises for sale, and the same to sell at public or private sale, and on such terms and conditions as may be approved of by the governor or officer administering the government of these islands for the time being. And upon such sale, to make, execute, and deliver a good and sufficient conveyance to the purchaser or purchasers thereof, which conveyance shall vest in such purchaser or purchasers, his, her, or their heirs and assigns for ever, an indefeasible estate in fee simple in and to the said land and premises: Provided always, that the consideration money for which the said premises shall be so sold shall, when due, be paid to the ReceiverGeneral and Treasurer of these islands or other proper Receiver, who is hereby authorized and required to receive the same or any part thereof, as the same shall become due and payable, and apply the same to the support of Her Majesty's Government within the Bahama Islands. III. Repealed by Ordinance No. 7 of 1855. H PART VI. CLASS I.-BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS. CLASS II.-LAWS RELATING TO THE CLERGY OF THE CHURCH OF CLASS III.-WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. CLASS IV.-POORHOUSE AND HOSPITAL. CLASS V.-EDUCATION. WE CLASS I BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS. pro No. 1. Act 1 Vic. c. 4. PREAMBLE. No. 1.-1 Vic. ch. 4. An Act to declare the Validity of certain Marriages solemnized within the Bahama Islands, and to vide for the Registering thereof. (Oct. 31st, 1837.) HEREAS many marriages have been celebrated in the Bahama Islands by Justices of the Peace and by acknowledged religious teachers; And whereas, in the absence of any direct provision by law for the recognition of such marriages, or in consequence of some alleged information or irregularities in the same, questions touching the validity of such marriages have been entertained, whereby the minds of the parties are disquieted, and the interests of a large portion of the inhabitants of these islands are seriously affected; and it is therefore expedient, for the purpose of allaying all such disquietudes, to declare the validity of all such marriages; May it, &c., That all marriages which have taken place Certain Marand been solemnized by some Justice of the Peace, or some riages declared known religious teacher within the Bahama Islands, shall remain, valid. and be held, and are declared as good and valid in law as if they had been celebrated by persons competent to perform that ceremony, that is, by priests in Holy Orders; and that every such Justice of the Peace or religious teacher aforesaid, having solemnized any such marriage, and all other persons concerned, shall be held to be indemnified; and they and each of them is, and are, hereby declared to be indemnified, free and exonerated from all censure, ecclesiastical or civil, for and in respect of the same. II. And whereas disputes may arise in relation to such mar- Disputes to be riages between the parties interested therein, and to provide for the referred to summary settlement thereof; Be it, &c., That it shall and may be Ordinary. lawful for any one or more of such parties to refer any such disputes to the Ordinary of these Islands, who shall, in each case, determine according to his own discretion, whether the ceremony which may have taken place was or was not such as might reasonably be regarded in the light of a marriage contract: Provided always, That nothing in this Act contained shall affect, or be construed to annul, or impair any marriage actually celebrated by a minister of the |