[4 Bush 306]
An ACT to erect and establish Courts in the several Counties of the this Colony for the Trial of small Causes, and to repeal the former Act for that Purpose.
WHEREAS an Act, entitled, An Act to erect and establish Courts in the several Counties of this Colony for the Trial of small Causes, has, by many Years Experience, been found very beneficial to the Inhabitants of this Colony; and it being near expiring by its own Limitation,
[§1] Be it therefore Enacted by the Governor, Council and General Assembly now met and assembled, and it is hereby Enacted by the Authority of the same, That all Actions of Debt and other Demands for and under the real Value of Six Pounds, Money according to the Proclamations of the late Queen Anne, except such Actions as are herein after excepted, shall, from and after the Publication ofc this Act, be and are hereby made cognizable before any one Justice of the Peace of any of the Counties, Cities, or Towns-Corporate within this Colony, in the County, City or Town-Corporate, in which the Defendant shall be or reside: . . . . .
[§4] And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That in every Action that shall hereafter be brought in this Colony by Virtue of this Act, when the real Debt or Demand exceeds the Sum of Forty Shillings, Money aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful for either of the Parties to the Suit, if on Summons, on the Day of Appearance mentioned in the Summons, and, if on Warrant, upon the Defendants Appearance before the Justice, to demand a Jury; and upon such Demand, the said Justice is hereby required and commanded to issue a Venire to the Constable of any of the Towns, Districts or Precincts of the said County, commanding him to bring, or cause to come at such certain Time and Place as shall be in the Venire expressed, six good and lawful Men of the County, being Freeholders, to whom legal Challenges by either Party shall be allowed, and the Constable directed to summon others forthwith, in Lieu of those legally challenged, to which six Men, approved of by the Justice, he shall administer an Oath or Affirmation in the Words following, videlicet;
YOU shall well and truly try this Matter in Difference between AB Plaintiff, and CD Defendant, and a true Verdict give according to Evidence.
And after the six Persons have taken the Oath or Affirmation aforesaid, they shall sit together and hear the several Proofs and Allegations of the Parties, which shall be delivered in Publick in their Presence; after which they shall kept together in some convenient private Place without Meat, Drink, Fire or Lodging, till they all agree upon a Verdict, which shall be given in to the said Justice, who is hereby required to give Judgment agreeable to such Verdict, and to award Execution in the Manner herein after directed.
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[§9] Provided always, That in every Cause wherein a Jury of six Men give a Verdict as aforesaid, there shall be no Appeal allowed; but it is the true Intent and Meaning of this Act, that the Judgment given upon such Verdict, shall be final to all Intents and Purposes.
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[Wilson's Acts, Appendix, page 8, Number V]
An ACT to prevent the Subjects of this State from going into, or coming out of, the Enemy's Lines, without Permissions or Passports, and for other Purposes therein mentioned.
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6. And be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful to and for any Detachment or Guard of the regular Forces of the United States, or of the Militia of this State, and to and for any Person or Persons whomsoever, to seize and secure any Provisions, Goods, Wares or Merchandize, attempted to be carried or conveyed into, or brought from within the Lines or Encampments, or any Place in the Possession of the Subjects or Troops of the King of Great-Britain, otherwise than is herein before allowed, together with the Boats, Carriages, Teams or Horses so carrying or conveying the same, and also the Person or Persons in whose Possession they may be, and him, her or them to take before any Justice of the Peace of the County wherein he, she or they may be apprehended; which Justice is hereby directed and required to hear the Allegations and Defences of the Parties, with the Evidence produced in Support thereof, and to give Judgment accordingly; and if Judgment shall go against the Defendant or Defendants, the Goods or Effects so as aforesaid found in his, her or their Possession, shall be forfeited to and for the Use of the Person or Persons who seized the same; but if Judgment shall go against the Plaintiff, the said Goods or Effects shall be restored to the Owner, or Person from whom they were taken, and the Costs shall be paid by the Plaintiff. Provided always, That it shall and may be lawful for either of the Parties to the Trial to demand a Jury; and upon such Demand the said Justice is hereby required to grant the same, and to proceed in all other Respects as in the like Case in the Act, intitled, An Act to erect and establish Courts in the several Counties in this Colony for the Trial of small Causes, and to repeal the former Act for that Purpose, passed the eleventh Day of February, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-five, is directed; and on the Verdict of the Jury being taken, shall give Judgment agreeably thereto.
7. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That all Goods and Effects so seized and forefeited as aforesaid, shall be disposed of at publick Sale, and after deducting the Costs in every Instance, the Residue shall be divided among the Persons so seizing the same, in Proportion to their Pay, if on military Duty, and if not, then to each an equal Share.
[Wilson's Acts, Appendix, page 11, Number VI]
An ACT to explain and amend an Act,intitled, An Act to prevent the Subjects of this State from going into, or coming out of, the Enemy's Lines, without Permissions or Passports, and for other Purposes therein mentioned.
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5. And be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That each and every Person in whose Possession and Provisions, Goods, Wares or Merchandize, may be seized as aforesaid, shall, besides such Provisions, Goods, Wares and Merchandize, forfeit to the Amount of the Value thereof, to be recovered in an Action of Debt by any Person who will sue for the same in any Court where such Suit may be cognizable, one Half to the Use of the Prosecutor, and the other to the Use of the State.
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[Wilson's Acts, Appendix, page 13, Number VII]
A Supplement to the ACT, intitled, An Act to explain and amend an Act,intitled, An Act to prevent the Subjects of this State from going into, or coming out of, the Enemy's Lines, without Permissions or Passports, and for other Purposes therein mentioned.
WHEREAS the Act, intitled, An Act to prevent the Subjects of this State from going into, or coming out of, the Enemy's Lines, without Permissions or Passports, and for other Purposes therein mentioned; and the Act, intitled, An Act to explain and amend an Act,intitled, An Act to prevent the Subjects of this State from going into, or coming out of, the Enemy's Lines, without Permissions or Passports, and for other Purposes therein mentioned, are found inadequate, and are supposed to be evaded by Persons seizing Goods, Wares or Merchandize, brought out of the Enemy's Lines by their Procurement, and obtaining Condemnation of such Goods and Effects to their own Benefit, without making it appear by whom or by what Means such Goods, Wares or Merchandize, were brought out of the Enemy's Lines into this State, or in whose Possession such Goods, Wares and Merchandize, were taken: And whereas Causes of considerable Value may, by Virtue of this or the before recited Acts, be prosecuted before a Justice of the Peace, wherein it may be prudent to have the Judgment of a greater Number than six Jurors;
Sect. 1. Be it therefore Enacted by the Council and General Assembly of this State, and it is hereby Enacted by the Authority of the same, That in all Causes hereafter to be prosecuted before any Justice of the Peace, by Virtue of this or either of the said recited Acts, it shall and may be lawful for either of the Parties in such Suit to demand a Jury of twelve Men, which Jury such Justice is hereby empowered to grant, and to issue a Venire accordingly.
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4. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That on the Condemnation of any Goods or Effects by Virtue of this or the before recited Acts, where the Person, in whose Custody such Goods were found, shall be seized and delivered to the Magistrate applied to for Condemnation, the said Magistrate shall commit such Person to the Sheriff of the County, to be kept in safe and secure Custody, until Process is issued against such Person at the Suit of the State for the Penalty mentioned in the fifth Section of the last recited Act, unless such Person shall give Bond with sufficient Security to the Justice that he will enter his Appearance to an Action to be commenced against him at the Suit of the State for such Penalty, and satisfy the Judgment of the Court on the Determination of such Suit; and the Person to whom such Condemnation shall be made shall, within three Days after the Sale of the Goods so condemned, return to the Justice, before whom such Condemnation was had, a true Account of the Amount of the Sales thereof, and make Oath to the same before such Justice; and the Justice shall, within three Days after the Receipt of such Account of Sales, if above Fifty Pounds, transmit a Copy thereof, and a Return of the Name of the Person in whose Custody the same was taken, to the Clerk of the County, who is hereby authorized and required, on Receipt of such Return from the Justice, to issue a Process in Debt at the Suit of the State against the Person, in whose Custody the Goods were seized, for the Penalty mentioned in the fifth Section of the last mentioned Act; and such Return of the Amount of Sales, sworn to as aforesaid, is hereby declared to be Evidence on the Trial: And the Attorney-General, or Person prosecuting the Pleas of the State, is hereby authorized and directed to carry on the Prosecution of every such Actionl and, upon the Receipt of the Sum recovered thereby, to pay the same to the Collector of the County where recovered for the Use of the State, and also transmit an Account of the Money, so recovered and paid, to the Treasurer of this State. . . . .
5. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That in every Case where any Goods, Wares or Merchandize, or other Articles, shall be seized by Virtue of the before recited Acts or this Act, coming from within the Enemy's Lines into this State, or being within the Borders of the State adjoining the Enemy's Lines, and passing from thence into or through this State, and prosecuted for Condemnation, the Burden of the Proof on the Trial shall lie upon the Defendant; any Law, Usage or Custom, to the Contrary notwithstanding.
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[page 121]
CHAP. LIII
An ACT declaring the Effect of the Reversal of Judgments of of Justices of the Peace in Prosecutions for the Forfeiture of Goods, Wares and Merchandize, as being brought from within the Enemy's Lines, for Error in the Proceedings, and to enable the Supreme Court to award new Trials in such Causes.
WHEREAS Causes to a very considerable Value are now frequently brought to trial before, and determined by, a single Justice of the Peace in a summary Manner, by Virtue of the Act, intitled, An Act to prevent the Subjects of this State from going into, and coming out of, the Enemy's Lines, without Permissions or Passports, and for other Purposes therein mentioned, and the supplementary Acts thereto: AND WHEREAS some of the Justices before whom such Trials are had, commit Errors in the Determination of them in Matters of Form, whereby the Judgment is reversed on Certiorari, and the Cause lost without any Default of the Party, although the Merits are in his Favour; For Remedy whereof,
Be it Enacted by the Council and General Assembly of this State, and it is hereby Enacted by the Authority of the same, That in all such Causes where the Judgment of the Justice shall be reversed in the Supreme Court on Certiorari for Informality of Proceedings, or any other Cause not essential to the Merits of the Suit, such Judgment of Reversal shall only affect the Parties with respect to the Costs of Suit; and it shall and may be lawful for the Supreme Court on such Reversal to award a new Trial on the Merits in the Court below where the Cause was originally determined; any Law, Usage or Custom to the Contrary notwithstanding.
[page 11]
CHAP. V
An ACT more effectually to prevent the Inhabitants of this State from trading with the Enemy, or going within their Lines, and for other Purposes therein mentioned.
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13. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful for any Detachment or Guard of regular Forces of the United States, of the Militia or Troops of this State, and for any Person or Persons whomsoever, to seize and secure any Provision, Goods, Wares or Merchandize attempted to be carried or conveyed into or brought from within the Lines or Encampments, or any Place in the Possession of the Subjects or Troops of the King of Great-Britain, after the passing of this Act, without Permission first obtained as aforesaid, together with the Boats, Carriages, Teams or Horses so carrying or conveying the same, and also the Person or or Persons in whose Possession they may be, and him, her or them to take before any Justice of the Peace of the County wherein he, she or they may be apprehended; which Justice is hereby directed and required to hear the Allegations and Defences of the Parties, with the Evidence produced in Support thereof, and to give Judgment accordingly; and if Judgment shall go against the Defendant or Defendants, the Goods or Effects so as aforesaid found in his, her or their Possession, shall be forfeited to and for the Use of the Person or Persons who seized the same; but if Judgment shall go against the Plaintiff, the said Goods or Effects shall be restored to the Owner or Person from they were taken, and the Costs shall be paid by the Plaintiff: Provided always, That is shall and may be lawful for either of the Parties to the Trial to demand a Jury of twelve Men, and upon such Demand the said Justice is hereby required to grant the same, and to proceed in all other Respects as in the like Case in the Act, intitled, An Act to erect and establish Courts in the several Counties in this Colony for the Trial of small Causes, and to repeal the former Act for that Purpose, passed the eleventh Day of February, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-five, is directed; and on the Verdict of the Jury being taken, shall give Judgment agreeably thereto.
14,And be it further Enacted, That all Goods and Effects so seized and forefeited as aforesaid, shall be disposed of at publick Sale, and after deducting the Costs, in every Instance to be taxed by the Justice, the Residue shall be divided among the Persons so seizing the same, in Proportion to their Pay, if on Military Duty, and if not, then to each an equal Share.
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