public revenue," passed the thirteenth day of August, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three, be, and the same is hereby, repealed.

In the Senate Housc, the twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, and in the eighth year of the Independence of the United States of America.

JOHN LLOYD, President of the Senate.

HUGH RUTLEDGE, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

A. D. 1784.

AN ACT TO PREVENT THE spreading of CONTAGIOUS DISTEMPERS IN THIS No. 1219. STATE.

WHEREAS, it is proper to repeal all the laws of this State respecting Preamble. the spreading of contagious distempers, and to enact one law for that purpose, different from those hitherto enforced respecting the same:

7th, 1759, re

I. Be it therefore enacted, by the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Assembly met, and by the authority of the Act of March same, That an Act entitled "An Act for preventing as much as may be pealed. the spreading of malignant and contagious disorders in this Province, and' for repealing former Acts and paragraphs of Acts heretofore made for that purpose," passed the seventh day of April, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine; also, an Act entitled "An Act for reviving and amending the aforesaid Act," are hereby repealed.

come into port

11. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That no vessel coming into any harbor or port within this State, shall be suffered to No vessel to pass the respective forts or places appointed by the Governor and Council before being for examination of vessels coming into this State, nor shall any person be examined. suffered to land from any such vessel, before she shall be examined by some person to be appointed for that purpose, in manner as hereinafter mentioned; and every pilot, or other person, who shall bring, or attempt to bring, or cause to be brought, into any port of this State, any vessel or her crew, beyond the places appointed for the examination aforesaid, without being examined as aforesaid, shall forfeit and pay, the onehalf to the use of this State, and the other half to the use of such person as shall sue for the same, the sum of one hundred pounds sterling: Pro- Proviso. vided, nevertheless, that nothing herein contained shall extend to persons who may be shipwrecked.

Captains of

vessels.

III. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the commanding officer of the forts within the different harbors of this State, vessels to make appointed by the Legislature or Executive of this State, for bringing oath of the convessels to, for examination, or persons appointed for examination of such dition of their vessels, shall, before any person shall be permitted to pass such place where they are to be examined as aforesaid, cause the captain, or commanding officer of every such vessel, to declare on oath respecting the state and condition of such vessel, and the health of the place from whence she came, and of the health and condition of the crew of every such vessel, as well at the time of leaving her last port, as at the time of examination, before she shall be permitted to proceed into any such port within this State; and if any such commander of any such fort, or any such per

A. D. 1784.

infected vessels.

son so to be appointed for examination of any such vessel and her crew, as aforesaid, shall, upon examination of any such vessel and her crew, Commanders apprehend, or have reason to believe, that the plague or any infectious of forts to stop distemper (except the smallpox) shall be on board any such vessel, or that the crew are infected with the same, or that the place from whence she last came was infected with any such malignant disorder, the said commanding officer of such fort, or person appointed to examine such vessel and her crew, shall immediately stop such vessel from proceeding further into port, and prevent any of her crew from landing, until the pleasure of the Governor or Commander-in-chief of this State shall be known, who shall thereupon cause such vessel and her crew to be examined by an experienced physician, or two, and if deemed necessary, shall cause such vessel and her crew to perform such quarantine as shall be deemed by the said Governor or Commander-in-Chief most proper and requisite, to check or prevent any such distemper from spreading in this State.

sels performing

IV. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That all Masters of ves- and every vessel and crew which shall perform quarantine within this quarantine to State, shall, from time to time, during such quarantine, obey all and every obey the orders order respecting the victualling, purifying, and cleansing of such vessel, of the Governor and the intercourse of her crew with the inhabitants of this State, on the

landing of her crew, and such quarantine, as shall be given from time to time by the Governor or Commander-in-chief, in writing; and every person who shall offend or disobey any such order, shall, for every such of fence, be subject to the fine of five hundred pounds sterling, to be recovered in any court of record in this State, the one-half to the use of the State, and the other to such person as shall sue for the same.

V. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any perPenalty for go- son or persons shall go on board, or alongside of, any vessel, after ordered ing on board said vessels. to perform quarantine, without leave from the Governor or Commanderin-chief, and before such quarantine be ended, every such person so offending shall be obliged to remain on board such vessel, and perform such quarantine as the Governor or Commander-in-chief shall think proper, and be liable to a fine of five hundred pounds, to be recovered for the use of this State, in any court of record within the same.

Pilots to be

a day.

Proviso.

VI. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That when paid a guinea any pilot or pilots shall go on board any vessel that shall be obliged to perform quarantine by virtue of this Act, the master or commander of such vessel shall be obliged to pay unto such, all and every pilot or pilots, his executors or administrators, the sum of one guinea for each day such pilot shall perform quarantine on board any such vessel, in recompense for the loss of time to such pilot or pilots: Provided, always, that if it be made appear by the oath of two credible witnesses, that any such pilot or pilots was or were warned by the commander of the vessel so liable to perform quarantine, before any pilot or pilots entered on board any such vessel, that the plague, or any such distemper for which such vessel may be liable to perform quarantine, is on board such vessel, or that such pilot or pilots omitted to inquire concerning the health of such vessel or her crew, that in such case any such pilot or pilots shall not be entitled to receive any recompense for any quarantine he or they may be obliged to perform on board any such vessel.

the Mediterra

VII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That no vesVessels from sel whatever, coming into this State from any part of the Mediterranean nean to perform sea, or the Levant, or any other place where the plague is frequent or apt quarantine. to prevail, shall be suffered to pass the places appointed, or to be appointed,

1

for examination of vessels coming into this State, into any port within this A.D.1784. State, where the captain or commanding officer of any such vessel does not produce on oath, well authenticated, to such person or persons appointed to examine such vessel, (and from the proper persons empowered to give the same, from the port where such vessel last came,) a proper bill of health, setting forth the number of persons on board such vessel, and the state and condition of health they were in at the time of leaving such port; but that every such vessel and her crew so coming from the Mediterranean, or any part of the Levant, or such place where the plague is frequent, or apt to prevail as aforesaid, shall be ordered by the Governor or Commander-in-chief of this State for the time being, either to depart this State, or perform such quarantine as they shall deem and judge most proper and consistent with the health and safety of the inhabitants of this State; that no vessel coming from any of the places aforesaid, shall be suffered to pass the places appointed for examination as aforesaid, until a particular report be made by the person appointed to examine any such vessel, to the Governor or Commander-in-chief.

forts to

VIII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the Governor and Privy Council are hereby empowered and required to cause Pest-house and a pest-house and proper warehouses to be erected on Sullivan's island, and be erected. on some island adjacent to each trading port in this State, for the purposes mentioned in this Act, and to erect a small fort in each harbor of this State, and appoint proper persons to command the same, for stopping and examining of vessels coming into any such port as aforesaid, and to draw on the treasury for the expense of the same: Provided, nevertheless, that any person appointed to the command of Fort Johnson, by the Legislature of this State, shall hold such appointment according to the tenor thereof, any thing in this Act to the contrary notwithstanding.

the Levant to

landed if ne

IX. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That every vessel coming into this State with or without a bill of health, from any Vessels from of the Levant or the Mediterranean, or any place where the plague perform 40 days part is frequent, shall be obliged to perform a quarantine of at least forty days; quarantine, and and in all cases where any vessel is obliged to perform quarantine by this their cargoes Act, and the Governor or Commander-in-chief shall deem it necessary to cessary. cause the cargo of such vessel to be landed to be aired, (as may be sometimes necessary in cargoes of cottons or woollens, brought from the Mediterranean or Levant, or places which carry on a trade thereto,) that every part and parcel of such cargo shall be landed in the warehouse erected, or to be erected, for such port where such vessel shall arrive, and severally taken to pieces and aired by the crew of such vessel, under the inspection of the person appointed to keep the pest-house for such port, and shall not be suffered to be put on board such vessel again, and brought and landed in any other part of this State, for such time as the Governor or Commander-in-chief shall judge proper.

forfeit £1000.

X. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That every commander of a vessel coming into this State, who shall give a false bill Captains and doctors giving of health, and every doctor examining by order of the Governor or Com- a false bill of mander-in-chief as aforesaid any such vessel who shall wilfully give a false health, shall certificate of the health of such vessel or her crew, shall forfeit and pay the sum of one thousand pounds sterling, one-half to the use of this State, and the other half to the use of the person informing or suing for the same; and that no person incurring a forfeiture under this Act, or sued for the same, shall be allowed any essoign, imparlance, or wager, or protection of law and that any person who shall be sued for any thing done, or to be VOL. IV.-78.

A. D. 1784. done, under the authority of this law, may plead the general issue, and give this law and the special matter in evidence.

In the Senate House, the twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, and in the eighth 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. 1220.

AN ACT to establish a Ferry over Savannah river, opposite Augusta. (Passed March 26, 1784. See last volume.)

No. 1221.

Proprietors and authors of

books to have

the sole right of printing for 14 years.

AN ACT FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF ARTS AND SCIENCES.

I. Be it enacted, by the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the State aforesaid, now met and sitting in General Assembly, and by the authority of the same, That from and after the first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, the author of any book or books already printed, who hath not transferred to any other the copy or copies of such book or books, share or shares thereof, or the bookseller or booksellers, printer or printers, or other person or persons who hath or have purchased or acquired the copy or copies of any book or books, in order to print or reprint the same, shall have the sole right and liberty of printing such book and books, for the term of fourteen years, to commence from the said first day of January, and no longer; and that the author of any book or books already composed, and not pritited and published, or that shall hereafter be composed, and his assignee or assigns, shall have the sole liberty of printing and reprinting such book and books, for the said term of fourteen years, to commence from the day of the first publishing the same, and no longer; and that if any other bookseller, printer, or other person whatsoever, from and after the first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, within the times granted and limited by this Act as aforesaid, shall print, reprint, or import, or cause to be printed, reprinted, or imported, any such book or books, without the consent of the proprietor or proprietors thereof, first had and obtained in writing, signed in the presence of two or more credible witnesses, or knowing the same to be so printed or reprinted without the consent of the proprietors, shall sell, publish, or expose to sale, or cause to be sold, published, or exposed to sale, any such book or books, without such consent first had and obtained as aforesaid, then such offender or offenders shall forfeit such book or books, and all and every sheet or sheets being part of such book or books, to the proprietor or proprietors of the copy thereof, who shall forthwith cense from the damask and make waste paper of them; and further, that every such of fender or offenders shall forfeit one shilling for every sheet which shall be found in his, her, or their custody, either printed or printing, published or exposed to sale, contrary to the true intent and meaning of this Act, the

Penalty for printing books

without a li

author.

one moiety thereof to the State, and the other moiety thereof to any person or persons that shall sue for the same, to be recovered in any court of record of the said State, by action of debt, bill, plaint, or information, in which no wager of law, essoign, privilege, or protection, or more than one imparlance, shall be allowed.

A. D. 1784.

ed in the secre

II. And whereas, many persons may, through ignorance, offend against this Act, unless some provision be made whereby the property in every Titles of books such book as is intended by this Act to be secured to the proprietor or to be registerproprietors thereof, may be ascertained, as likewise the consent of such pro- tary of the prietor or proprietors, for the printing or reprinting of such book or books, State's office. may from time to time be known: Be it therefore further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that nothing in this Act contained shall be construed to extend to subject any bookseller, printer, or other person whatsoever, to the forfeitures or penalties therein mentioned, for or by reason of the printing or reprinting of any book or books, without such consent as aforesaid, unless the title to the copy of such book or books hereafter published, shall, before such publication, be entered in the register book, to be provided for that purpose by the secretary of the State; which register book shall at all times be kept at the secretary's office; and unless such consent of the proprietor or proprietors be in like manner entered as aforesaid; for every of which several entries, four shillings and eight pence sterling shall be paid, and no more; which said register book may at all office hours be resorted to and inspected by any bookseller, printer, or other person, for the purposes before mentioned, without any fee or reward; and the secretary shall, when and as often as thereunto required, give a certificate under his hand, of such entry or entries, and for every such certificate may take a fee not exceeding two shillings and four pence: Provided, that nothing in Proviso. this Act contained do extend, or shall be construed to extend, to prohibit the importation, vending, or selling of any books in Greek, Latin, or any other foreign language, printed beyond the seas; any thing in this Act contained, to the contrary notwithstanding.

Books not to be

sold at unreasonable prices.

III. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that whenever any such author or proprietor of such book or pamphlet, shall neglect to furnish the public with sufficient editions thereof, or shall sell the same at a price unreasonable and beyond what may be adjudged a sufficient compensation for his labor, time, expenses and risk of sale, the judges of the court of common pleas in this State, on complaint made thereof to them in writing, are hereby authorized, empowered, and directed to summon such author or proprietor to appear before the next court of common pleas, to be holden in the district where such author or proprietor dwells, if a resident in this State, if not, in the district where such complainant resides, and the said court are hereby authorized and required to inquire into the justice of the said complaint; and if the same be found true, to take sufficient recognizance and security of such author or proprietor, conditioned that he shall within such reasonable time as the said court shall direct, publish and offer for sale in this State a sufficient number of copies of such book or pamphlet, at such reasonable price as the said court shall, on due consideration, affix; and if such author or proprietor shall, before said court, neglect or refuse to give such security as aforesaid, the said court are hereby authorized and empowered to give to such complainant a full and ample license to reprint and publish such book or pamphlet, in such numbers, and for such term, as said court shall judge just and reasonable: Pro- Proviso. vided, such complainant shall give sufficient security before said court, to afford such reprinted edition at such reasonable price as the said court shall thereto affix.