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His oath.

A. D.1759. shall be returned to serve as a member of the said Assembly, before he be admitted to sit as such, shall, and is hereby enjoined to, take a corporal oath in the form following: "I, A. B., do swear that I am a free-born subject of the Kingdom of Great Britain or of the dominions thereunto belonging, or a foreign person naturalized by Act of Parliament of Great Britain, (as the case may be,) and that I have attained the age of twentyone years, do profess the protestant religion, and have been resident in this Province for one year at some time before the date of the writ in virtue whereof I am elected, and that I have in this Province, truly and bona fide, to and for my own use and benefit, a settled plantation or freehold estate of five hundred acres of land and twenty slaves, over and above what I owe, or to the value of one thousand pounds proclamation money, in houses, buildings, town lots or other lands in this Province, over and above what I owe, (as the case may be,) and that my said plantation and slaves or houses, buildings, town lots or other lands, (as the case may be,) are situate and being in the parish of —, in the county of the said Province, or in the several parishes of county of or in the several counties of

Oath may be administered

by justices of the peace.

Church wardens or over

to attend the elections and make return within ten days to the master in

first days of

the said Province," (as the case may be.)

and

and

in

in the

within

V. And it is hereby enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said oath shall be respectively administered, from and after the determination of the present General Assembly, by any of his Majesty's justices assigned to keep the peace within the said Province, who shall be thereafter returned to serve as a member of the General Assembly.

VI. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That all and every church warden or church wardens, or person or persons having the execution and return of any writ of election of members to serve in the seers of election House of Assembly, shall attend for that purpose at the time and place of election by such writ directed, and shall on or before the day that any future Assembly shall be called to meet, and within ten days after any election made by virtue of any new writ, (unless prevented by sickness, and in such case by some person or persons by him or them appointed for chancery, and that purpose,) make return of the same to the master in chancery, to be attend the two by him filed, and shall within the two first days of the meeting of the the meeting of House of Assembly, after such return made as aforesaid, attend the said the Assembly. House with the master in chancery, (who is hereby directed to attend accordingly with the said return,) and shall then produce and leave with the clerk of the said House a list of the persons who voted at such election; and all and every church warden or church wardens, or person or persons appointed to execute and return any writ of election, who shall neglect or rePenalty on neg. lect or refusal fuse to attend the execution of any such writ, or who shall wilfully and knowto perform the ingly admit or take the ballot of any person not duly qualified according to this Act, or refuse to admit or take the ballot of any person who is duly qualified, or shall after any ballot has been given open, or suffer to be opened, any piece of paper containing the name of any person for whom any ballot is given, before the election is finally closed, and then only in the presence of the candidate or candidates, or of one of the electors at least who have ballotted at such election, or shall make any undue return, or shall act contrary to the directions and true intent and meaning of this Act, or of the Act intitled "An Act to ascertain the manner and form of electing members to represent the inhabitants of this Province in the Commons House of Assembly, and to appoint who shall be deemed and adjudged capable of choosing or being chosen members of the said House," passed the 21st day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and twenty-one, shall for each and every such offence for

duties or make due return.

feit and incur the penalty of fifty pounds proclamation money, a moiety of A. D. 1759. which sum, as well as of all other penalties and forfeitures imposed by the said Acts, shall be to his Majesty, to be disposed of by the General Assem- Penalty, £50 bly of this Province, and the other moiety to him or them that shall sue proclamation for the same, to be recovered by action of debt, bill, plaint or information, recovered by in any court of record in this Province, together with full costs of suit, qui tam action. wherein no essoign, protection, priviledge, wager of law, or stay of pros

ecution, shall be allowed.

money to be

VII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the third, sixth, eighth, ninth, twelfth, thirteenth and twentieth paragraphs or clauses Parts of a forof the Act herein before mentioned, entitled "An Act to ascertain the mer Act manner and form of electing members to represent the inhabitants of this repealed. Province," &c.; and also an Act entitled "An Additional Act to an Act of the General Assembly of this Province entitled an Act for enlarging the qualifications of the electors as well as of the persons to be elected to serve as members of the General Assembly of this Province," passed the Other Acts twelfth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred repealed. and forty-seven, and every matter and thing in the said clauses or paragraphs and additional Act, and every or any of them contained-be, from and after the determination of the present General Assembly, absolutely repealed and vacated, to all intents and purposes whatsoever.

B. SMITH, Speaker.

In the Council Chamber, the 7th day of April, 1759.

Assented to: WILLIAM HENRY LYTTELTON.

AN ACT TO SUPPLY THE DEfects in evideNCE WHERE ORIGINAL WILLS No. 886. THE PROCEEDINGS UPON QUES

CANNOT BE PRODUCED, AND TO MAKE

TIONS ARISING UPON SUCH WILLS MORE EASY AND EFFECTUAL; AND
FOR REPEALING SO MUCH OF THE SECOND CLAUSE OF AN ACT FOR
MAKING MORE EFFECTUAL LAST WILLS AND TESTAMENTS, AS CON-
TRADICTS OR REPEALS THE NINTH CLAUSE OF THE ACT AGAINST
BASTARDY.

WHEREAS, by an Act passed in the year one thousand seven hundred and twelve, an Act made in the twenty-ninth year of the reign of King Preamble. Charles the Second, entitled "An Act for prevention of Frauds and Perjuries," was made of force in this Province; and whereas, by an Act of Parliament of Great Britain, made in the twenty-fifth year of his present Reference to Majesty's reign, entitled "An Act for avoiding and putting an end to cer- Act of 25 Geo. 2, for avoiding tain doubts and questions relating to the attestation of wills and codicils and putting an concerning real estates, in that part of Great Britain called England, and end to certain doubis, &c. in his Majesty's Colonies and Plantations in America," the said Act and every clause, matter and thing therein contained, is made to extend to such of the said Colonies where the said Act of the twenty-ninth of King Charles the Second has been received for law, and is to have the same force and effect in the construction of, or for the avoiding of doubts upon the said Act of the twenty-ninth of King Charles the Second, in the said Colonies as in England; but whereas, it may frequently happen that persons having real estates in this Province may depart this life in Great Britain or elsewhere, out of this Province, leaving wills made agreeable to the

A. D. 1759. said Acts, which said wills are exhibited and proved in the prerogative or other ecclesiastical court, or some other court or office, where the same are afterwards deposited, and remain in the said courts or offices, from whence copies only can be procured; and whereas, by the practice of the courts of law, original wills are required to be produced in evidence in all cases where a title to land is derived under any such、 wills, but it is impossible to obtain such original wills from any of the said courts or offices where the same may be deposited, in order to be produced at any trial at law here; and whereas, no provision is made by either of the said Acts, or by any Act of Assembly of this Province, to supply the defects in evidence where the said original wills cannot be produced: For remedy whereof, we pray his most sacred Majesty that it may be enacted,

The authenti

cated probate of a will duly

filed in any competent

able in evi

Province.

I. And be it enacted, by his Excellency William Henry Lyttelton, Esq., Captain General and Governor-in-chief in and over his Majesty's Province of South Carolina, by and with the advice and consent of his Majesty's Council and the Commons House of Assembly of the said Province, and by the authority of the same, That where any person having a real estate in this Province shall, by his last will, make any devise thereof, or of any part thereof, and the said will shall be exhibited, proved and deposited, in any prerogative or ecclesiastical court, or other court or office out of this ecclesiastical Province that has the probate and custody of wills, it shall and may court, is receiv- be lawful to and for any person or persons, having occasion to shew dence in the the contents of such will to manifest his title to any real estate claimed courts of this under such will, upon any trial in any court of law or equity, to produce the probate of such will, under the seal of the said court or office where the same was granted, or a copy of such will, attested to be a true copy by the known officer who has the care and custody of such will, (of which attestation, and of his being the known officer who has the care and custody of such will, oath shall be made by two credible witnesses, before the mayor or chief officer of any city, borough or town corporate, or before the Governor or Commander-in-chief of any of his Majesty's Plantations, or before any sworn notary public, and attested by them respectively under their respective public seals); which said probate or copy, so proved and attested as aforesaid, shall be deemed and held to be as good and sufficient evidence in any court of law or equity in this Province as if the said original will had been produced; and the judges of any such court respectively, are hereby authorized and required to admit the same accordingly : Provided always, that no probate or copy of any original will, deposited in the Secretary's office, or remaining in the custody or power of the devisee, or of any other person in this Province, shall be admitted as evidence in any court of law or equity, where a title to any real estate derived under such will shall come in question, or otherwise, or in any other manner made use of than the same might have been by the practice of the said courts, before the passing of this Act.

Mode of authenticating the same.

But not to exclude testi

mony as to the validity of the will itself.

II. Provided nevertheless, That in cases where the heir at law of the testator shall question the validity of any will deposited in any of the said courts, he shall not be concluded by any such probate or copy, but may, upon filing his bill, and when the cause is at issue, be at liberty to examine the witnesses to the execution of such will, or to any other matter, to prove either the insanity of the testator, or any fraud or imposition upon him; and the depositions taken in such cause may be made use of upon any trial at law, or upon any issue directed out of the court of chancery, Bill to perpetu- whether the testator devisavit vel non. Provided also, that the person or ate testimony. persons claiming under such will may be at liberty to bring a bill to perpetuate the testimony of the witnesses to the said will, and may apply to

the court to have the copy of the said will attested and approved as afore- A. D. 1759. said, or returned, under a commission for that purpose, entered as of record amongst the proceedings of the said court.

III. And whereas, by an Act passed the ninth day of April, one thousand seven hundred and thirty-four, entitled "An Act for making more effectual last wills and testaments," all persons having any estate in fee simple, or any such estate in coparcenary, jointenancy, or tenancy in common, in any lands, tenements, rents, services, or other hereditaments in possession or reversion, may give, dispose, will or devise to any person or persons, (except bodies politic or corporate) by last will and testament, in writing, executed according to the twenty-ninth of Charles the Second, for preventing frauds and perjuries, at their own free will and pleasure; and whereas, it will tend to encourage a lewd and vicious course of life to permit such devises to be made in favour of illegitimate children, to the prejudice and disinherison of lawful issue; Be it therefore further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That so much of the second clause in the said Act as contradicts or repeals the ninth clause of the Act against Bastardy, passed the seventeenth day of September, one thousand seven hundred and three, be from henceforth repealed and made void.

BENJAMIN SMITH, Speaker.

In the Council Chamber, the 7th day of April, 1759.

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AN ACT to allow a further time to the Assessors and Collectors for the No. 887. Parishes of St. Philip and St. Michael, for carrying into execution an Act of the General Assembly of this Province entitled "An Act for raising and granting to his Majesty the sum of £166,438 14 71, and applying £8,069 3 6, being the surplus of taxes, and balance of a fund in the public treasury, making together £174,507 18 14, to defray the charges of this Government, from the 25th day of March, 1757, to the 24th day of March, 1758, and for other services therein mentioned.

(Passed April 7, 1759. See last volume.)

AN ACT for raising and granting to his Majesty the sum of ninety-seven No. 888. thousand three hundred and sixty pounds fourteen shillings and four pence half penny, and applying eighteen thousand one hundred and nine pounds twelve shillings and five pence, being the surplus of taxes and balance of several funds in the public treasury, making together one hundred and fifteen thousand four hundred and seventy pounds six shillings and nine pence half-penny, to defray the charges of this Government from the twenty-fifth day of March, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-eight, to the thirty-first day of December, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-eight, inclusive, and for other services therein mentioned.

(Passed April 7, 1759. Omitted.)

A. D. 1760.

No. 889. AN ORDINANCE to authorize the impressing, regulating the hire, and ascertaining the value of waggons, carts, horses, and drivers, to be employed in his Majesty's service.

(Passed April 19, 1760. The original not now to be found.)

No. 890. AN ORDINANCE TO APPOINT JAMES REID, Esq. POWDER Receiver OF THIS PROVINCE.

WHEREAS, Robert Brewton, Esq., late Powder Receiver of this Province, is dead, and it is necessary that some proper person should be appointed to the said office, in his room,

I. Be it therefore ordained, by the Honorable William Bull, Esquire, Lieutenant Governor, by and with the advice and consent of his Majesty's Council, and the Commons House of Assembly of this Province, and by the authority of the same, That James Reid, Esq., be, and he is hereby appointed and declared, Powder Receiver of the said Province, to all intents and purposes whatsoever.

B. SMITH, Speaker.

In the Council Chamber, the 16th day of May, 1760.

Assented to:

WILLIAM BULL.

No. 891. AN ACT TO ENFORCE A DUE SUBORDINATION

Preamble.

ITARY

AND OBSERVANCE OF MIL

DISCIPLINE AMONG THE FORCES EMPLOYED IN THE SERVICE OF THIS PROVINCE.

WHEREAS, this Province has raised, and provided for the raising and paying, a number of forces to act against the Cherokee Indians, who have committed various murders upon his Majesty's subjects of this and the neighbouring Provinces; and whereas, the not preserving a due subordination and regular discipline among the said forces, would disappoint and be destructive of the service for which they are intended; and forasmuch as all officers and soldiers mustered and in pay in America, are, by an Act of Parliament passed in Great Britain, at all times and in all places when joined or acting in conjunction with his Majesty's British forces, already made liable to martial law and discipline, in like manner as the British forces are, but no provision is as yet made or any rule established by which the forces raised or to be raised in this Province shall be regulated and governed when they act independently or detached, and not in conjunction with his Majesty's British forces: Therefore, to prevent the inconveniencies which may arise from not observing an exact discipline, and to prevent any mutiny and sedition in, or desertion from, the said service, and that speedy punishment may be inflicted, which the usual forms of law will not allow,

I. Be it enacted, by the Honorable William Bull, Esq., Lieutenant Governor, by and with the advice and consent of his Majesty's Council,

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