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or occupier of a mill, who shall not well and suffi- Punishment ciently grind as aforesaid, or not in due turn, or take if he offends or exact more toll, shall for every such offence, forfeit and pay fifteen shillings to the party injured, recoverable with costs before a justice of peace, of the county where such offence shall be committed: and where the miller shall be an imported servant, or slave, he shall where a serupon the first conviction, for such offence, receive thir- vant or ty lashes, and upon a second conviction forty lashes on his bare back, well laid on, in lieu of the forfeiture aforesaid; but upon a third conviction, his master or owner shall be liable to pay fifteen shillings, and so for every such offence, by such servant or slave afterwards committed: Provided always, That every own- Privileg. of er or occupier of a mill may grind his, or her own mills. grain at any time.

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X. And that every owner or occupier of a mill shall Sealed meakeep therein sealed measures, of half bushel, and peck, sures shall be kept in and a toll dish sealed, and shall measure all grain by every mill strike measure, under penalty of paying fifteen shil- under a pen lings, for every such failure, recoverable with costs, alty. by the informer, before a justice of peace, of the county wherein such mill shall be; and if the miller be a slave, or servant, his master or owner shall be liable to the penalty, or if the owner of such mill shall not live within the same county, nor have any known attorney therein, the appearance of such servant or slave, before the justice to whom such complaint shall be made, shall be sufficient for him to proceed against the master or owner; but if he or she, his or her known attorney, lives in the county, his or her appearance shall be required.

XI. And be it further enacted, by the authority afore- Who may said, That no owner or occupier of a mill shall keep not keep any hogs at his or her mill, except in inclosures, un- hogs at large less such owner or occupier shall have fifty acres of at his mill. land at the least, adjoining to such mill; and if any hogs, belonging to the owner or occupier of such mill, shall be found running at large, it shall and may be lawful for the proprietors of the land adjoining to such mill, to kill, or cause to be killed or destroyed, all such hogs.

XII. And be it further enacted by the authority afore- Repealing said, That all and every other act and acts, clause clause and clauses, heretofore made, for or concerning any

f Commencement of this act.

matter or thing within the purview of this act, shall be, and are hereby repealed.

XIII. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That this act shall commence and be in force from and immediately after the tenth day of June, which shall be in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty one.

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CHAP. XXVII.

An Act for appointing public store houses, and ascertaining the prices of storage.

I. BE it enacted by the Lieutenant Governor, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, of appointing public and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, warehouses That the respective courts of every county, lying upand landings. on any river or creek within this colony, may, upon

application to them made, order and appoint such place or places, within their respective jurisdictions, as to them appear necessary and convenient for the landing, shipping off, and transportation of goods and merchandizes, to be hereafter held and accounted public landings, and where a store house or ware houses are not already erected at, or convenient to such landings, the court shall order such house or houses to be forthwith erected and built, by the respective proprictors of the land, at his and their own expence, for the commodious reception, safe keeping, and convenient shipping off, or transportation of all goods and merchandizes whatsoever, brought thither by land or water; and such houses so built, or already erected, shall thereafter be held and accounted public store rouses, and all and every other place and places, house and houses, heretofore used for the same purposes, shall thereupon be discontinued, and no longer reputed or held as public store houses, or landings; and that a copy of every such order shall be by the sheriff delivered to the respective proprietors of the land, so appointed, his or her attorney, or agent, or left at his or their usual place of abode, and the day

and place of serving the same, shall also, by the said sheriff, be returned to the next succeeding court held Proprietor for his county, and recorded; and where good and con- of the land venient store houses shall not be already built at any shall build, place so appointed, the proprietor thereof shall, with- within in twelve months after such order made, cause such months. house or houses to be erected and kept.

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II. And be it further enacted, by the authority afore- Further prosaid, That if any owner or owners of ceedings house now any where the built, and used for a public store house, or the owner proprietor or owners of any land, appointed by any of the said refuses to county courts for a place whereon to build a public let or build. store house, his, her, or their guardian, or guardians, attorney, or attorneys, shall refuse to suffer, or let such house be made use of, for the purpose aforesaid, or to build a good and convenient store house on the place, appointed by such county court, for the same to be built on, within one year after the time of such appointment made, that then and in such case, upon the petition of some freeholder or freeholders, of the County where the said house is, or land lies, it shall be lawful for such county court, and they are hereby required to order and appoint, three or more good and lawful men of their county, upon their oaths, to value and appraise the said house so appointed, together with half an acre of land next adjoining thereto, or to value and appraise half an acre of land, so appointed for a place whereon to build a store house: which valuation shall be returned to the said court, and there recorded, and thereupon it shall and may be lawful for the said court, to give liberty to any person to build or keep a store house thereon, and he, upon his paying down the valuation money, or lawfully tendering the same to the owner, shall be, and is hereby declared to be seised in the said house, and half acre of land, or in the said half acre, to him and his heirs for ever: upon condition, that he, his heirs and assigns, keep and maintain upon the said half acre of Conditions of holding a land, such a convenient store house as the said county public storecourt shall, from time to time, direct and appoint, or house and otherwise the said half acre of land to revert to the for- land. mer proprietor thereof, his heirs and assigns, or to such other person as will build and maintain a sufficient store house thereon: Provided always, that the house so to be appointed, from time to time, by such county court, be not a dwelling house, or any out house,

Provisos.

Rates of storage.

fice, or building, to a dwelling house contiguous and belonging, or appertaining, and that the half acre of land, so appointed for building a store house thereon, be not, at the time of such appointment, the garden, orchard, or court yard, to any dwelling house belonging or appertaining.

Provided also, That where any store houses shall be built by such other person as aforesaid, and the first proprietor of the land shall desire to have the same again, such proprietor, on payment of so much money, as shall be sufficient to reimburse the said purchaser, the principal money expended for the purchase of the land, and the building such store houses, with lawful interest, shall be restored to his former estate, in the land whercon such store houses shall be built.

Provided also, That the proprietor of such half acre, appointed for building a store house, having no land. adjacent, shall keep no hogs or other stock upon the said half acre, but what shall be constantly kept within a sufficient fence, upon the said half acre, on penalty of paying five shillings current money, for every head of horses, mares, cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, shoats, or pigs to him belonging, that shall at any time be found at large upon any of the adjacent lands, to be paid to the owner of such lands, and cognizable by a justice of peace of the county where the trespass shall be committed.

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III. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That every such public store house so appointed shall be constantly kept, and maintained by the proprietor thereof, for the receiving tobacco, and other goods and merchandizes, and that there shall be paid and satisfied to such proprietor, by the owner or owners of such goods lodged therein, for the storage thereof, the rates and prices following: For every hogshead of tobacco, brought to any store house above the falls of any river, eight pence; for every cask, containing sixty gallons or upwards, and every bale or parcel of the like or greater bulk, twelve pence for the first day, or three months, and one penny for every month afterwards; and for every cask under sixty gallons, and every bale or parcel of less bulk than a sixty gallon cask, six pence, and one penny respectively, as aforesaid; for salt, or grain, not pack'd in cask, after the rate of one penny per bushel,

and so proportionably for a lesser or greater quantity, for the first day or three months, and one farthing for every month afterwards; and for every bar or pig of iron, one half penny; and every parcel of salt, or grain, brought loose and unpacked, shall be kept in separate heaps or parcels, unmixed with any other, and the whole thereof shall be delivered as received: And if

Allowances

it shall have really lost any of its quantity, by melt- for shrinking, or by rats, or other unavoidable accidents, the age. owner of such goods shall bear the loss, unless it exceed five per cent, if taken out within three months, and if it lie longer, one per cent. per month afterwards, not exceeding ten per cent. in the whole: which said several rates of storage shall be paid, and satisfied, before removal or delivery of the goods; but no storage shall be demandable for goods lodged in any other than a public store house, appointed in pursuance of this act: And if any person not being propri- Penalty upetor or keeper of such public store house, shall pre- on taking sume to demand or receive any storage whatsoever, storage for or other reward, for goods landed or lodged within in a public goodsexcept one mile of a public store house, and on the same.side store-house. of the river or creek, every person so offending, shall forfeit and pay five pounds current money, for every such offence, to the informer, recoverable with costs, by action of debt or information, in any county court of this dominion.

IV. And be it further enacted by the authority afore- Store-house said, That every proprietor of a public store house, keeper anwho shall refuse to take in any tobacco, goods, or swerable for merchandizes, brought to such house, shall be liable goods lost or damaged. to satisfy and pay, to the party injured, all damages by him or her sustained thereby, and shall also be liable to the action at the common law, for damages. happening to goods in his, or her custody, or which shall be lost out of such store house, for want of due care: And that the owner or keeper of every store house shall, at the time of receiving any goods or And shall give merchandizes, give a receipt in writing, to the person receipt of or persons delivering the same, wherein shall be par- the particu ticularly mentioned, the marks, numbers, and condi- keep a book tion, of the several sorts of goods by him, or her re- of entries. ceived; which receipt shall be fairly entered in a book to be kept for that purpose, by the owner or keeper of every store house: And if he, or she shall fail to make a fair entry as aforesaid, 'or shall refuse to give refusal.

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