A. D. 1783. AN ACT for incorporating the Calvinistic Church of French Protestants. (Passed March 12, 1783. See last volume.) No. 1166. AN ACT for establishing the Ferry therein mentioned. Νο. 1167. AN ORDINANCE FOR ENFRANCHISING A NEGRO WOMAN AND HER No. 1168. WHEREAS, a negro man named Antigua, a slave, lately belonging to Mr. John Harleston, deceased, was employed for the purposes of procu ring information of the enemy's movements and designs, by John Rutledge, Preamble. Esq. late Governor of this State; and whereas, the said negro man, Antigua, always executed the commissions with which he was entrusted with diligence and fidelity, and obtained very considerable and important information, from within the enemy's lines, frequently at the risk of his life; and whereas, it is but just and reasonable that the said negro man, Antigua, should receive some reward for the services which he has performed for the State; enfranchised. I. Be it therefore ordained, by the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Assembly met, and by the authority of the Ordained that same, That the said Antigua's wife, named Hagar, and her child, both Hagar and her lately belonging to Mr. John Smyth, shall, forever hereafter, be deemed child be forever and taken as free persons; and they shall be, and are hereby, enfranchised and forever delivered and discharged from the yoke of slavery, to all intents and purposes whatsoever; any law, usage or custom to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. ordinance. II. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That this ordi- This a public nance shall be deemed a public ordinance, and all courts in this State are to take notice of the same, without special pleading. In the Senate House, the twelfth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three, and in the seventh year of the independence of the United States of America. JOHN LLOYD, President of the Senate. HUGH RUTLEDGE, Speaker of the House of Representatives. AN ORDINANCE to oblige the male inhabitants, from sixteen to sixty No. 1169. years of age, residing in the upper districts of All Saints and Prince George's Parishes, on or near Waccamaw River, to work on and lay open the navigation of the said River; and for appointing Commissioners for carrying the said Ordinance into execution. (Passed March 12, 1783. See last volume.) VOL. IV.-69. A. D. 1793. No. 1170. AN ORDINANCE to divide the Judges' Fees in the Court of Com mon Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace, equally among all the Judges; and to prevent any Judge who may be hereafter appointed a Delegate to Congress, from receiving the emoluments of both offices. (Passed March 12, 1783: See last volume.) No. 1171. AN ORDINANCE FOR ASCERTAINING AND REGULATING THE OFFICE OF RECEIVER, AUDITOR AND ACCOUNTANT GENERAL OF THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES THEREIN MENTIONED. Preamble. Duty of the au WHEREAS, an ordinance passed the twenty-eighth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight, entitled "An Ordinance for appointing a Receiver, Auditor, and Accountant General of the public accounts," is found insufficient for settling and adjusting the same; I. Be it therefore ordained, by the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Assembly met, and by the authority of the same, That the auditor and accountant general shall, immediately upon ditor general. entering his office commence a new set of books for the public accounts, to be kept from the first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine, into which he shali proceed to transcribe the debts due to and from the State, dividing and arranging them under proper heads and charges by double entry; and all receipts and disbursements since the said first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine, and for the future, shall be in like manner carefully kept, and properly posted monthly. II. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the said Office hours. auditor shall keep his office open from nine to one o'clock, every day, Sundays excepted, to receive all accounts against the public, taking due care that those accounts be attested, (except when the nature of the case will not admit of it,) and certified by the proper officers, commissioners, or superintendents, each account to include such articles only as come properly under one head, in order that vouchers may be kept for different services. report to the General As sembly. III. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the said To examine all auditor shall carefully examine the accounts, and note at the bottom, or accounts, and on paper annexed to each account, all errors, impositions, and such observations as he may find requisite, and report the same to the General Assembly, if sitting, and during their recess to the Governor and Privy Council, once in two months, or oftener, if required, with an alphabetical list, that orders may issue on the treasury for payment. Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall entitle, or be construed to entitle, any public creditor to be paid his demand out of any such monies lodged in the public treasury as may be appropriated for special purposes; provided also, that if no monies should be in the treasury for payment of any such order, and such creditor to whom such order shall be given shall be inclined to receive a treasury indent for the sum so due, then and in such case the commissioners of the treasury, or either of them, may, and they are here Proviso. by authorized and required to, give to such creditor an indent for such sum to him due, bearing an interest of seven per cent. per annum. A. D. 1783. Auditor to sum monies since IV. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the said auditor is hereby authorized and required, by notice in writing, to summon mon all persons before him, in order to account and settle with, all and every person and who have repersons who have received any public monies, either out of the treasury ceived public or from any officer, civil or military, for the use of the public, since the first 1st June, 1775, day of June, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five; and every to account. such person and persons neglecting or refusing to appear and produce their accounts and vouchers, and settle the balances due, by immediate payment of the same into the treasury, the auditor, in such case, is hereby required to deliver the account of such balance to the State's attorney general, who shall forthwith proceed to a prosecution for the recovery thereof. V. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That his Excellency the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council, is hereby authorized and empowered to appoint one commis- District comsioner in each of the circuit districts of this State; which commis-missioners to be appointed. sioners, respectively, are empowered to receive and adjust all accounts against the public of this State, up to the first day of January last, and to arrange the same alphabetically, and number them, in the most orderly manner, together with the vouchers accompanying them, and return a schedule thereof, with such remarks on each account as may be thought necessary, into the auditor's office, who shall adjust and finally settle the same, with the remarks on each account hereinbefore directed; and that each commissioner, as aforesaid, on passing each and every account, shall give the proprietor a certificate of the following tenor, viz. "I do certify that I have received accounts and vouchers against the public from A. B., to the amount of which said accounts and vouchers I shall return to the auditor's office." VI. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That each of the said commissioners shall give public notice in writing, as soon as Pay of the may be, of the places and times at which they will attend to receive such commissioners. accounts; that they be allowed the sum of sixty dollars each per month for their services; and that no accounts shall be by any of them received, nor the salary of any of them continued, after the fifteenth day of August next. VII. And be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the said auditor What accounts shall audit and keep the public store accounts, the arsenal accounts, powder the Auditor receiver's accounts, and the accounts of all commissioners appointed or that shall keep. may be appointed for transacting any public business. VIII. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the Salary of the said receiver, auditor and accountant general, shall be allowed a salary of Auditor and one thousand six hundred dollars per annum, as a full compensation for his his clerk. services and all expenses incidental to his office; that he be allowed one standing clerk, with a salary of six hundred Mexican dollars per annum, and, upon business of emergency, the Governor and Privy Council may appoint one clerk extraordinary; provided, that no person who shall be Proviso. chosen to serve as auditor and accountant general, shall, hereafter, during his continuance in office, be eligible to serve or sit in either house of the legislature or in the privy council. IX. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the said district commissioners shail enquire into the several claims upon the public, Commissioners to enquire into in their respective districts, so as to obtain a sufficient knowledge of the claims against circumstances attending each case, for the purpose of giving every neces- the public. sary information to the auditor general, which the said commissioners shall be obliged to attend and give in person, when they present the sev A. D. 1783. eral accounts and vouchers by them collected, to the said auditor general, in order to their being audited and passed; and shall be allowed three dollars per day, not exceeding twenty days in the whole, for their expenses in attending to settle such accounts with the auditor. A former ordinance repealed. X. And be it further ordained, by the authority aforesaid, That the ordinance passed the twenty-eighth day of March, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight, entitled "An Ordinance for appointing a Receiver, Auditor and Accountant General of the public accounts," and every clause, matter and thing therein contained, shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed. In the Senate House, the twelfth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three, and in the seventh year of the independence of the United States of America. JOHN LLOYD, President of the Senate. HUGH RUTLEDGE, Speaker of the House of Representatives. No. 1172. AN ACT for continuance of Process and Judicial Proceedings in this State. (Passed March 16, 1783. See last volume.) No. 1173. AN ACT FOR REGULATING TRIALS IN COURTS OF JUSTICE IN THIS STATE, Preamble. Judges can BETWEEN SUBJECTS OF FOREIGN NATIONS IN ALLIANCE OR NEUTRALITY WITH THE UNITED STATES, AND THE CITIZENS THEREOF; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES THEREIN MENTIONED. WHEREAS, it is conducive to the happiness and commercial interests of this State, and to that friendly intercourse which the citizens thereof wish to cultivate with foreign nations, that alien friends residing within the limits of this government, should enjoy the security and protection of our laws on principles of justice and impartiality: I. Be it enacted, by the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Assembly met, and by the authority of the same, That it shall and may be lawful for the judges of this State, or any one of them, hold a special and they are hereby required, upon the petition in writing of any alien term of the friend, and upon oath made by such person that he intends to depart this court upon the State within the space of twenty days after preferring such petition, to sons wishing to hold a special court of common pleas for hearing, trying, and determining leave the State. all causes wherein such alien shall or may be concerned or interested; and petition of per the said special court shall sit de die in diem, until such cause or causes shall be tried and finally determined; and the said court is hereby authorized to make such summary rules and orders in such causes, as shall be agreeable to justice, and may tend to expedite such causes, notwithstanding the writ or other process shall or may be made returnable at any day that is to come after the time appointed for the holding the said special court; and no judgment given in any such cause shall be arrested or stayed for or by reason of any discontinuance or miscontinuance whatsoever: Provided, that all persons that are parties to any such cause or suit have due and convenient notice of such rules and orders as aforesaid, and have reasonable and convenient time allowed them to do and transact all matters that are necessary and allowable by law to defend their respective suits. A. D. 1783. eigners. II. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That in all manner of trials and inquests hereafter to be had, whether civil or criminal, in In all cases where foreignwhich any of the subjects of foreign nations, either in alliance or neutral- ers are parties, ity with the United States, may be party or parties, be they merchants or one-half of the others, in any court of record of this State, one-half the jury shall be jury to be foraliens, if so many aliens or foreigners can be found in the place where such trials shall be had, and the other half of such jury shall be citizens, drawn agreeable to the jury law, subject to the challenge or exception of the alien party as usual, And in order that a full number of aliens may appear in such cases to sit on the trial, the judges, or any one of them, are hereby authorized, after drawing the jurors for any of the said courts, also to issue a venire de medietate linguee to the sheriff, who shall summon eighteen subjects of the nation of such alien, if they may be had, or the subjects of any other nation (except subjects of Great Britain during the war) to appear and serve as jurors on the trial of any such cause, and on refusal or neglect to appear and serve, shall be liable to the same penalties to which a citizen is subject in case of a like neglect or refusal; and of the foreigners so summoned and appearing, six shall be drawn by lot, by a child under ten years of age, as directed by the jury law, which six foreigners, together with the six citizens, shall form a jury to sit on any such trial; and in case a sufficient number of such aliens shall not appear, or they are excepted to after appearing, the court may award a tales de circumstantibus, for as many as shall be wanting. In the Senate House, the sixteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three, and in the seventh year of the independence of the United States of America. JOHN LLOYD, President of the Senate. HUGH RUTLEDGE, Speaker of the House of Representatives. AN ACT FOR PROCURING RECRUITS FOR THE CONTINENTAL LINE OF THIS No. 1174. STATE. cruits. I. Be it enacted, by the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Assembly met, and by the authority of the same, Bounty to reThat every ablebodied recruit between the age of sixteen and forty-five years, who shall enlist to serve in the continental line of this State for the term of three years, and shall be approved by one of the officers, who shall be appointed by order of the continental General of this State to inspect recruits, shall be entitled to, and shall receive as a bounty for such enlistment, the sum of ten guineas: Provided, nevertheless, that no sailor or British deserter shall be entitled to such bounty. II. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That any person, and all persons, who shall procure any recruits to enlist for the said Sum to be paid term in the said service, shall be entitled to, and shall receive on the said for each recruit |