CHAP. II. 1798 hundreds of thorised and required, at their meeting on the first Tuesday in February next, to lay such additional sum on the quota of the county tax to be paid by the peoAdditional rate ple of the hundreds of Broad-creek and Little-creek to be laid on the in the said county, as will be sufficient to raise, in Broad-creek & each of those hundreds, the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars, clear of all delinquencies and charges of collection; which sum of money, or any part of it, as soon as it is paid into the Treasury of the said county, shall be liable for the orders of the said commissioners, or of any two of them. Little-creek. Allowance to the Sheriff and freeholders. SECT. 5. And be it further enacted, That there shall be paid, by the said commissioners, two dollars to the sheriff, and to each of the said freeholders the same sum, for every day's attendance on the business assigned them by this act; and the amount thereof shall be allowed the said commissioners, on the settlement of their accounts with the said Levy Court, out of the money herein before directed to be levied for the purpose aforesaid; and if any of the Commissoners herein appointed shall refuse to serve, die, or remove to any distance above ten miles from said shall be appoint- bridge, or be rendered incapable of acting before the When new ed and by whom. How the bridge, &c. when complet ed, shall be maintained. Power of the Levy-Court as to reparation. said bridge, roads, and causeways are completed, the commissioners of the Levy Court shall nominate and appoint, in writing, some other person or persons; which said person or persons, so appointed, are hereby empowered and authorised to act in the premises, as fully as if he or they had been appointed by this act. SECT. 6. And be it further enacted, That the said bridge, abutments, causeways, and roads, when they are completed, shall thereafter be maintained, repaired and kept up, at the joint expense of the hundreds of Broad-creek and Little-creek; and whenever any disputes arising between the overseers of the roads of the said hundreds, relating to the said bridge, abutments, roads, or causeways, cannot be adjusted, the commissioners of the Levy Court of the said county may, from time to time, confide the exclusive management of repairing the said bridge, abutments, roads, and causeways, to such person or persons as they may see proper, and under such regulations and restrictions as they may provide. Passed January 16, 1798. This section repealed by chap. cv. in 4th Vol. 299, where it is declared that the Bridge shall be a public Bridge, and repaired at the expence of Sussex County. СНАР. · II. 1798 CHAP. III. An ACT to prevent the erection of booths, or selling of spirituous or other liquors, in any county-town on the day of the annual election; and for other W purposes. 1798 THEREAS the practice of erecting booths, and Preamble. selling spirituous or other liquors, in the county towns in this State, on the day of the annual elections, is pernicious to the morals of the people, destructive of the freedom of election, and productive of riotous and disorderly behaviour, to the great disturbance of the peace of the State. Penalty for erecting booths, SECT. 1. BE it therefore enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met, That if any person or persons stalls, &c.or shall, on the first Tuesday of October of any year, or selling strong on the day next preceding or succeeding that day, set ty-towns on the liquors, in counup any booth, stall, or other convenience, for the sell- day of the annu ing of spirituous or other liquors, or shall, on the said al election. first Tuesday of October in any year, with or without such booth, stall, or other convenience, sell, or expose to sale, any wine, rum, brandy, whisky, perry, cyder, porter, beer, metheglin, mead, or other vinous, spirituous, or malt liquor, in any town in this State within which the annual election of members of the general assembly shall be holden, or at any place within two miles of the town or place in which such annual election shall be holden, he, she, or they, shall for every such offence, forfeit and pay to the State the sum of twenty dollars, to be recovered by indictment in the court of General quarter sessions of the peace and jail delivery in the county in which such offence shall be committed. Mode of reco very. CHAP. III. 1798 SECT. 2. Provided always, That this act shall not be construed to hinder any tavern-keeper, merchant, or other person, from selling liquors in their respective tavern-houses, stores, or other houses, in any such town or place, or within two miles thereof, on the said and merchants. first Tuesday of October, in the same manner as by law they are permitted to sell at other times. Proviso, as to tavern-keepers Justices of the peace and Con to attend at the County-town on the day of annual election; such booths, or stalls. SECT. 3. And for the more effectual suppression of booths, stalls, and other conveniencies for the selling, giving away, or otherwise disposing of spirituous or other liquor, in the said towns in this State, on the said first Tuesday in October, Be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That each and every Justice of the peace stables required and constable in the respective counties in this State, are hereby commanded and required to repair to the town or place in their counties respectively, in which the annual election of the members of the general assembly shall be holden, on the said first Tuesday of October, and there attend from ten o'clock in the forenoon to six o'clock in the afternoon of that day; and if it shall appear to any Justice of the Peace, upand to suppress on his own view, or upon the oath of any credible witness, (or upon his or her affirmation, he or she being conscientiously scrupulous of taking an oath) that any person or persons hath or have set up any booth, stall or convenience for the selling, giving away, or otherwise disposing of liquor, in any town or place in this State within which such annual election shall be holden, or within two miles of the town or place within which such annual election shall be holden, on the said first Tuesday of October, each and every such Justice is hereby authorised, required, and directed, to call to his aid and assistance all other Justices of the Peace, and all and every the constables, and other citizens of the county, and forthwith, together with such other Justices, and with the constables and other citizens, to prostrate, beat down, and remove all and every such booth, stall, and other convenience; and the said Justice shail make a record of such suppression in the following form of words, or in any other form to the like effect: Record of sup. pression. county, to wit; Be it remembered, that on this first Tuesday of October in the year in the town of (or within two miles of the place within which the annuat election is holden,) as the case may be, in pursuance of an act of the General Assembly in such case made and provided; which record shall be certified to the next Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, there to be filed amongst the records thereof. any 1798 If any Negro or Mulatto slave, servant, or apprentice, of pering within such town, be found sons not resid therein on the day of the elec tion, the master forfeit Two Dol or mistress shall lars. SECT. 4. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any Negro or Mulatto slave or slaves, or Negro or Mulatto servant, or apprentice, of any person or persons who does not or do not reside within the limits of the town, in which such annual election as aforesaid shall be holden, shall be found within the limits of such town on the first Tuesday of October in any year, the master or mistress of all and every such Negro or Mulatto slave or slaves, or servant, or apprentice, on conviction thereof before one Justice of the Peace of the county, either upon his own view, or upon the oath of any credible witness,(or upon his or her affirmation, he or she being conscientiously scrupulous of taking an oath) shall forfeit and pay to the State for every such Negro or Mulatto slave, servant, or apprentice, Two dollars, to be recovered with costs, by distress and sale of the master's or mistress' goods and chattels, by warrant under the hand and seal of the Justice before whom such conviction may be had: Provided nevertheless, That in Proviso. case of sickness, it shall be lawful for any master or mistress to send any Negro or Mulatto slave to any such town or place as aforesaid for necessaries for any sick person in his or her family, or to any physician for medical assistance, for the said slave there to remain for any space of time not exceeding one hour; such master or mistress giving such slave written orders for that purpose. And provided always, That in case any such Negro or Mulatto slave or slaves, servant or servants, apprentice or apprentices, shall go to any such town or place on the day aforesaid, without such written orders as aforesaid, that then and in such case, it shall and may be lawful for any Jus B Such slave, ser tice, to be also imprisoned vant, or appren. CHAP. III. 1798 such town,being found therein on the day of the election. tice to imprison him, her, or them, in the jail of the said county for any time not exceeding forty-eight hours; the costs of which said imprisonment shall be deducted from the forfeiture aforesaid. SECT. 5. And be it further enacted by the authority Penalty on free aforesaid, That if any free Negro or free Mulatto, who lattoes, not resi- does not reside within the limits of such town as ding within aforesaid, shall be found within the limits of such town on the first Tuesday of October in any year, every such free Negro or free Mulatto, on conviction thereof before any one Justice of the Peace of the county, either upon his own view, or upon the oath of any credible witness, (or affirmation, he or she being conscientiously scrupulous of taking an oath) shall forfeit and pay to the State Two dollars, to be recovered with costs as is directed in the fourth section of this act; and in case such offender shall not have goods and chattels, wherefrom the said forfeiture and costs may be made, then he or she shall be committed to the public jail of the county, there to remain till the same are fully paid and discharged: Provided nevertheless, That in case of sickness, it shall be lawful for any free Negro or free Mulatto to go to any such town or place for necessaries for any sick person in his or her family, or to any physician for medical assistance, and there to remain for any space of time not exceeding one hour. How recovered Proviso. How Negroes or SECT. 6. Be it enacted, That if any free Negro or Mulattoes resi- Mulatto, or Negro or Mulatto slave, residing within the ding therein, shall be punish- limits aforesaid, shall be guilty of any riotous or disored for disorder derly behaviour on the aforesaid first Tuesday of Octoly behaviour on ber, he or she shall, in the manner and by the authority that day. aforesaid, be imprisoned for the same for any length of time not exceeding twenty-four hours, and punished further for any offence or offences they may commit, in the same manner as the law directs in such cases. SECT. 7. And be it enacted, That the Justice of the Peace before whom any person shall be convicted, agreeably to the fifth or sixth sections of this act, shall make a record of such conviction in the following |