PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO AN ACT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY "The Laws of a country are necessarily connected with every thing be- longing to the people of it; so that a thorough knowledge of them, and of their progress would inform us of every thing that was most use- ful to be known about them; and one of the greatest imperfections of historians in general, is owing to their ignorance of law." 45183/8.1.30 tabre123 HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY WE JOHN M. MARTIN and ROBERT G. SCOTT, members of the Privy Council of the Commonwealth of Virginia, do hereby certify that the Laws contained in the Fifth volume of Hening's Statutes at Large, have been by us examined and compared with the originals from which they were taken, and have been found truly and accurately printed, except as to the list of Errata to the number of forty four at the end of the volume. Given under our hands and seals this 31st day of December, 1819. JOHN M. MARTIN, Scal. TO THE FIFTH VOLUME OF THE STATUTES AT LARGE. THE publication of this work, which had been suspended during the late war between the united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the United States of America, is now resumed, under the patronage of the Legislature. The lapse of every year evinced more clearly its importance. Almost every day were the unpublished sessions acts consulted, by some individual, whose rights depended on a statute no where else to be found. An enlightened legislature, at the last session, having gone through a revision of the laws, now in force, at once perceived that the work was not complete, until the sessions acts, from which these laws were originally taken, were also published. This was essential, not only to a correct exposition of the public laws, by being enabled to trace the reasons, on which they were founded, but for the quieting of private rights, and the preservation of authentic documents in our early history. By an arrangement with the editor, and sole proprietor of the Sessions acts of which the STATUTES AT LARGE are composed, the copy-right is exclusively vested in the state. The impression is limited to one thousand copies; eight hundred of which are taken by the Commonwealth, and two hundred reserved by the editor, for the purpose of supplying his original subscribers. After distributing to public officers, a certain proportion of those subscribed for by the state, the remaining copies will be disposed of on public account, under the direction of the Executive. Under the act of the fifth of February, 1808, the number of copies subscribed for by the state was so small, and consequently the impression so limited, as not to afford the editor any prospect of a just remuneration for the immense labour bestowed and expenses incurred, in collecting the original materials. He therefore authorised Mr. Samuel Pleasants, the then printer to the commonwealth, to publish three hundred and fifty copies, for a certain stipulated sum; the editor retaining the copy-right, and all the materials to himself. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th volumes had been published, when the interruptions produced by the war, and the death of Mr. Pleasants, with the sale of his printing establishment, and the abandonment of the business by his representatives, suspended the further progress of the work. The strong terms in which its prosecusion was recommended, by the committee of revision, in their report to the legislature, at the session of 1817, aided by the correct views of its importance, taken by the members of that body, gave rise to the act of the 10th of March, 1819, which is prefixed to this volume. If the publication had progressed, as was originally contemplated, the work would, by this time, have been nearly completed. As so much delay has unavoidably ensued, the editor will endeavour, by the most unremitted exertions, to fill up the chasm which has been produced. The fifth and sixth volumes will be published during the present year, and the seventh put to press. At the meeting of the legislature, in 1820, he expects to present them with a volume containing the laws of the revolution. In this volume, the revised acts of 1748 commence; the operation of which was suspended until the tenth of June 1751. They were first published, as enacted by the colonial assembly, in the edition of 1752, without waiting for the royal assent. But the king, as announced by a proclamation of the governor of the eighth of April 1752, having repealed ten of the acts of 1748, their titles are published at the end of the volume, with a notification that they are so repealed. From hence it may be infered that, the printing of the edition of 1752, had too far progressed before a notification of the repeal of these acts was received, to omit them in their proper places. The proclamation, at large, is inserted at the end of this volume.* This exercise of the roy. al prerogative was received with great sensibility by the legis lature of Virginia, and its constitutionality strongly questioned; as may be perceived by the joint representation of the Governor, Council, and Burgesses, to the King, published in a note to chapter II of the acts of 1748, declaring slaves to be personal estate, &c.t In this representation, the reasons and necessity of enacting these laws are pressed with great weight, and the propriety of the veto exercised by the king repelled with equal firmThe repeal of these acts, together with the incorrect manner in which the edition of 1752 had been printed, without doubt, ness. |