II. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That each of A.D. 1787. the said escheators, in every case where on their knowledge or belief, or

the information of another, that certain lands have been escheated to the Duties of the State by the death of the person last seised in fee simple, either in law or escheators. in fact, without leaving any person who can lawfully claim such lands, either by purchase or descent from such former proprietor, the escheator of the district where the lands lie, on such knowledge or information, or the order of any court of record, shall issue his notification of such supposed escheated lands to one of the judges of the court of common pleas, at least two months previous to the next meeting of the said court to be held in the circuit or district where such lands lie; and the judge or judges presiding at such court shall cause the jury (being first duly sworn) to proceed and make a true inquest of all such supposed escheated lands, which by the escheator shall be subjected to their investigation, and a true verdict make thereon; whereupon the judge or judges of the court aforesaid shall certify the same, under his or their hands and seals, to the escheator, who is hereby ordered and directed to record the same in a book to be kept by him for that purpose, and shall return the original within two months after the date thereof into the office of the court of common pleas, to be there filed and kept as a record of the said court.

Lands to be advertised, and

year, to be

III. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That on returning the inquest into the office of the court of common pleas, the clerk shall thereupon cause to be advertised in the State Gazette, the first week in no claimant every month, for six months, the particular description of the lands, the appearing in 1 name of the person last seised, and the supposed time of his or her death, escheated. together with the part of the world in which he or she was known or supposed to be born, and requiring his or her heirs, or others who may claim under him or her, to appear and make claim. And if no person shall appear and make title to the same lands, within twelve months after the expiration of the time prescribed for advertising the same, the clerk of the said court shall issue process, to be signed by one of the judges, to the escheator, pronouncing the said lands to be escheated and vested in this State, and directing him forthwith to sell and convey the same, according to law.

IV. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That as soon as escheated lands shall be vested as aforesaid in the State, the escheator Sales to be shall advertise the sales thereof in the State Gazette, and also in the most advertised. public places of the district in which the lands lie, giving six weeks public notice, on a credit of twelve months, payable in the general indents issued by this State to the public creditors, with lawful interest, payable in special indents or current money, and shall moreover take good and sufficient surety and a mortgage of the premises, before the title shall be altered or changed.

smaller tracts.

V. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That where the lands shall exceed six hundred acres, and can be divided into smaller Lands may be tracts with advantage to the State in the sale thereof, the escheator shall divided into cause the same to be divided in such manner as shall be most beneficial to the State; and the indents arising from such sale shall be forthwith paid into the public treasury whenever the same shall become due and recovered. Provided nevertheless, that if any person or persons shall ap- Proviso. pear within five years, and make good title to such lands, in the court of common pleas, on an issue tried, he, she or they shall forthwith receive adequate compensation.

VI. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That any per- Privileges of son or persons, without delay, shall be heard on a traverse, in the court of claimants. common pleas, on a petition setting forth his, her or their right, and the

A. D. 1787. said lands shall be committed to him, if he, she or they shall shew good evidence of his, her or their title, to hold until the right shall be found and discussed for the State and the claimant; such claimant finding sufficient security to prosecute his, her or their suit with effect and without delay, and to render to the State the yearly value of such lands, if the right be found for the State; and where no claimant shall appear to make title as aforesaid, the escheators shall rent out the escheated lands, if the same can be done with advantage to the State, until the process of escheat shall be concluded and the lands sold. Provided nevertheless, that if any suit for property supposed to be escheated shall be prosecuted by any escheator, and the jury before whom such trial shall be had shall think there is no probable cause, such jury are hereby authorised and required to assess and award to the party grieved such damages as they shall think proper.

Proviso.

Limitation.

Personal estate

is no heir, shall revert to the State.

VII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the State shall not be precluded by possession, grant, conveyance, or any other cause or title, from making inquest and sale of all such lands as have heretofore escheated to the State by the death of the person last seised thereof; any law, custom or usage to the contrary notwithstanding. Provided, that no lands claimed under grant, or under an actual possession for five years, prior to the fourth July, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six, shall be affected by this Act.

VIII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That where any monies or other personal estate shall be found in the hands of an to which there executor or administrator, being the property of any person heretofore deceased, or hereafter dying, and leaving no person entitled to claim, according to the statute of distribution, and without making disposition of the same, the escheator of the district where such chattels shall be found, or the attorney general, on behalf of the State shall and may sue for and recover, either at law or in equity, and pay the same into the treasury of this State; and the said treasurers for the time being shall advertise the same in the State Gazette, once in every month, for six months, in like manner as lands are herein before directed to be advertised, and if no person shall appear and make good title to such personal estate within two years thereafter, other than as executor or administrator, or their legal representatives, then such personal estate shall become vested in and applied to the use of this State.

IX. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That nothing Further time herein contained shall prejudice the rights of individuals having legal title, and who may be under the disabilities of infancy, coverture, lunacy, or beyond the limits of the United States, until three years after such disabilities shall be removed.

allowed to minors, femme coverts, &c.

cent.

X. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said Escheators to escheators shall, each of them, as a compensation for his trouble, cost and receive 24 per charges in the discharge of his duty, be entitled to receive the commission of two and an half per cent. out of all monies or indents which in virtue of this Act shall be paid by the said several escheators respectively into the treasury; and where any person or persons shall appear and make title to lands or personal estate, after office found by the jury, the court shall have power to assess such reasonable costs and charges as the escheator hath sustained in promoting the claim of the State, except in cases where he has already received his commissions.

Penalty on neglect.

XI. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if the escheators, or any of them, shall fail to do his or their duty, as this Act directs, on behalf of the State, and any loss or damage shall accrue to the State by his or their misconduct and fraudulent practices, the offender or

offenders shall be responsible for all such loss or damage, and the court of A. D. 1787. common pleas shall have power and authority to order a prosecution in the name of the State; and the jury shall try the fact, and assess the damages and costs; and upon conviction, such escheator or escheators shall be incapable forever thereafter from holding any place of trust or profit within this State.

XII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That every part of this Act, and the mode therein prescribed for recovering and ap- Operation of propriating real or personal property heretofore escheated to this State, this Act. and to become hereafter fully vested by the verdict of a jury as aforesaid, shall be pursued and observed where any person shall hereafter die without heir, or shall forfeit his lands by conviction of treason, or otherwise become divested thereof by operation of law, without leaving any legal representative; any law, usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding.

felons.

XIII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That no property shall be vested in the State, or any inquisition had by the eschea- Estates of tor, where any person or persons shall have committed or may commit any felony against the State; but that the said property shall descend to, and be vested in, the representatives of such person or persons; any law, usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding.

entitled to pos

XIV. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to vest in the State the property Heirs of of which any person died possessed, interested in, or entitled to, where the half blood such person has left any relation of the half blood, but the same shall be, session. and is hereby, vested in such person of the half blood; and where lands have come by descent or purchase to a female, and such lands have passed, or may hereafter by occupancy pass, to the husband and his descendants, or others claiming under him or them, in default of heirs on the side of such female, they shall not be subject to the operation of this law.

ous to 26th

XV. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That no lands shall be sold under or by virtue of this Act, previous to the twenty-sixth Lands not to be sold previ day of March, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, where, on the inquisition, the right of inheritance shall appear to be in an alien; nor shall March, 1791. any thing in this Act contained be construed to extend to contravene any treaty or agreement that is or may be entered into between the United States of America and any foreign prince, state, or potenate, on the subject of descents and inheritances.

XVI. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That no No member of the Legislature member of either branch of the Legislature shall be capable of holding or to be an escheaexercising the office of escheator.

tor.

allowed to pur

XVII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That no escheator shall, directly or indirectly, either by himself or any person whomsoever, purchase, or be concerned with any person or persons in Escheators not purchasing, any escheated lands, without being subject and liable to the chase escheatpayment of five thousand pounds; to be sued for and recovered in any ed estates. court of record, one half for the benefit of the informer who shall sue for and recover the same, and the other half to be applied to the use of the State; and the said escheator shall also be rendered incapable of holding or exercising any office of trust or emolument therein.

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

JOHN LLOYD, President of the Senate.

JOHN J. PRINGLE, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
VOL. V.-7.

A. D. 1787.

No. 1382.

AN ACT TO ALTER THE NAME OF THE TOWN OF NINETY-SIX.

1. Be it enacted, by the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives, now met and sitting in General Assembly, and by the authority of the same, That from and immediately after the passing of this Act, the town heretofore called by the name of Ninety-Six shall be known and called to Cambridge. by the name of Cambridge, and no other; any law, usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding.

Name of the town altered

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

JOHN LLOYD, President of the Senate.

JOHN J. PRINGLE, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

No. 1383. AN ACT DECLARING THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE INQUIRERS, ASSESSORS, AND COLLECTORS OF THE TAXES, AND OTHER PERSONS

Oath of asseslectors.

notice of their

CONCERNED THEREIN.

I. Be it enacted, That every assessor and collector appointed by any tax Act which may hereafter be passed for raising supplies for the support of Government of this State, shall, before he enters upon the execution of his said office, take the following oath before some justice of the peace: "I, A B, do solemnly promise and swear that I will, to the best of my knowledge, skill and judgment, ascertain the several qualities of the lands lying and being within the where I am appointed asses

sor,

and where no return of the qualities of the same shall have been made; and that I will not, for any fee or reward, favor, partiality, selfinterest, malice or hatred, in favor of or against any person or persons whatsoever, assign any other quality to such lands than in truth and good conscience they shall appear to me to deserve; and that I will impartially assess all other property and professions by law directed to be so assessed, to the best of my judgment, according to the true intent and meaning thereof. So help me God." And if any assessor shall presume to execute the said office without having taken the said oath, such assessor shall forfeit and pay the sum of fifty pounds, to be recovered by any person who shall inform and sue for the same, by action of debt, in the court of common pleas.

II. That the inquirers, assessors and collectors of the parishes of St. Philip Inquirers to and St. Michael, or any one or more of them, are hereby ordered and directed, give previous on or before the first Monday in September next, and on or before the first intention to call Monday in September of each and every year thereafter, to go once to the on the inhabit- several houses of the inhabitants of the said parishes, of which they shall give ants to make previous notice in the Gazette three weeks before they shall go to the said houses, and inquire into and take an account of all the real estates, and particularly in what parts of the said parishes the lands are situated, and of the slaves and other taxable property of the inhabitants, which they shall be possessed of, interested in or entitled unto, in their own right

returns.

or in the right of any other person whatsoever; and the inquirers in the A. D. 1788. other parishes and counties shall fix on some convenient places to receive returns and payments, of which places they shall give at least three weeks public notice at three several times and three several public places; and that no person be obliged to attend them at more than fifteen miles distance from his house.

III. That the assessors respectively appointed in the parishes of St. Philip and St. Michael, shall complete their calculations of the value of Assessors to estates in the said parishes on or before the first day of November, and calculations. within seven days after they shall cause a duplicate thereof to be posted

at the Exchange at Charleston, for ten days, of which they shall give previous notice in the Gazette.

make return of their property

IV. That all persons living within this State who are possessed of any lands, slaves or carriages (wagons, carts and drays excepted-lands whereon Persons to any churches or other buildings for divine worship or free schools are erected and built, and all slaves appurtenant to or going with said churches and lands, on oath. and all monies appropriated for charitable uses, always excepted,) either in their own right or in the right of any other person or persons who are liable to pay any other tax by virtue of any law, shall return a particular account thereof in writing to the inquirers, at such time and place as the said inquirers, or any of them, shall appoint for the doing thereof, so that the same be done on or before the first Monday in October next, and on or before the first Monday in October of each and every year thereafter, which shall contain an enumeration of each lot of land, with the dimensions of and improvements thereon, and of his lands, with a particular account of the situation, quantity and quality of the same, and also the number of slaves, and the number of wheels of every taxable carriage belonging to the person making the returns, which shall be attested in the words following: "I, A B, do swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that the account Oath. which I now give in is a just and true account of the quantity and quality of the lands, slaves and carriages, as are directed to be taxed by law, which I am possessed of, interested in or entitled unto, either in my own right or in the right of any other person or persons whatsoever, as guardian, executor, attorney, agent or trustee, or in any other manner whatever, according to the best of my knowledge and belief; and that I will give a just and true answer, according to the best of my knowledge, to all questions that may be asked me touching the same; and this I declare without any equivocation or mental reservation whatsoever: So help me God.” Which oath or affirmation the several inquirers and collectors appointed by this Act are hereby duly authorised, enjoined and required to adminisWhich returns shall be made to the inquirers and collectors for the parish or county respectively where the person making the return lives the greatest part of the year.

ter.

V. That where inquirers receive returns of lands without specification of the parish or county in which they lie, or of lands lying in the parish or county of which the person who receives the return is the assessor, and the qualities of which are unknown to the person making the return, the inquirers who receive such returns shall, in both cases, value the lands so returned at not less than one shilling nor more than six pounds per acre, according to the best information they can get of the quality and situation of the lands so

returned.

Ratio fixed in case of impro

per returns.

VI. That every person who shall have reason to believe he or she is overrated, or whose attorney or attornies shall have reason to believe he or she Persons overrated may is overrated, by such assessors, shall, at the time of payment of his or her tax, swear off the be allowed to swear off so much as he, she or they, or his or their attorney overplus.