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. CHAP. XIX. An Act directing the duty of Surveyors of Land. I. BE it enacted, by the Lieutenant Governor, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, Surveyors That a'l and every person and persons, who now is, and their as or are surveyors of land in any county of this colony, sistants shall or assistant to such surveyor, shall, within three and security. give bond months after the commencement of this act, and every person thereafter to be appointed surveyor or assistant, shall, before his entering upon the execution of such trust or office, in the court of that county whereof he is, or shall be appointed surveyor, or assistant, enter into bond with two sufficient sureties, to our sovereign lord the king, his heirs and successors, in the sum of five hundred pounds current money, for the true and faithful execution and performance of his office, and shall also then there make oath, and swear, And be That he will truly and faithfully, to the best of his sworn. knowledge and power, discharge and execute his trust, office, and employment;' which bond and oath the justices of every county court respectively are hereby authorized and required to cause to be entered into, administered, and recorded: And if any surveyor or assistant, shall presume to execute his office, after the commencement of this act, before such bond Otherwise and oath by him entered into and taken, be shall not their probe entitled to demand or receive any fee for the ceedings same; void. and every survey, and other matter or thing, so by him done under colour of his office, shall be illegal and void. II. And be it further enacted by the authority afore- Rules in ensaid, That when any person shall offer to enter with tries for land. any surveyor, within this colony, for any quantity of land, not before granted by patent, if the surveyor shall refuse to enter the same, pretending it to have E-Vol. 6. been before entered by some other person, in such case, the surveyor shall produce his book of entries to the person offering to enter, and shew him the said entry, and also give an attested copy thereof, if re-. quired; the person demanding the same, paying for such copy, the fee of two shillings and six pence, and no more: And if any surveyor shall refuse to produce his said book, to any person requiring the same, so as such demand be made at the surveyor's house, or any other place where his book of entries is; or shall refuse to give a copy of any entry, or to enter any land when required, where such entry shall be agreeable to, and not interfering with the orders of the governor in council, relating to the taking up and paPenalty on tenting of lands; or shall refuse upon reasonable notice to him given, to survey and lay out any lands, for any person legally requiring the same, and which may do their du- lawfully be done; every surveyor so refusing shall forfeit and pay to the party grieved, for his or her own use, twenty pounds current money, for every such refusal. surveyors refusing to ty. How a sur veyor may enter land III. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any surveyor, or assistant, shall enter for himself. for lands, either in his own name, or in the name of any other person or persons in his behalf, or for his use, such entry shall be made before a justice of the peace, (not being an assistant) of the county where the lands lie, which entry the said justice shall return to the next court, there to be recorded: And every entry, or survey thereupon made, by or for any surveyor or assistant, after the passing of this act, in any other manner than is herein before directed, shall be illegal and void, and any other person may enter, survey, and sue forth a patent for the same land. cial cases. IV. And be it further enacted by the authority aforeRules in spe said, That where any entry hath been or shall be made, for less than four hundred acres of land, and before surveying the same, the person or persons, by or for whom such entry was or shall be made, shall duly enter for more land, adjoining thereto, not exceeding in the whole four hundred acres, the surveyor shall not be entitled to any larger fee for the survey thereof, than if the whole quantity had been entered for at first: And where lands to be surveyed shall lie in two counties, or districts, such land shall be surveyed by the surveyor of that county, or district, wherein the greatest part lies: And where it shall happen that the title or bounds of any tract of land, lying in two counties, or districts, shall be in controversy, so as to occasion a survey thereof by direction of the court wherein such controversy shall be depending, altho' the surveyors of both counties, or districts, shall attend such survey, yet they shall not be entitled to demand or receive any more, than as if the service had been done by one surveyor only: And if any assistant-surveyor shall presume to make, or take surveyor any entry or entries, for any person or persons what- may not soever, he shall, for every such offence, forfeit and make or take pay five pounds current money, to the informer, recoverable in any court of record of this dominion, wherein the same shall be cognizable, by action of debt or information; and moreover such offence shall be deemed a forfeiture of the bond of such assistant. Assistant any entry. V. And to prevent disputes about the priority of entries for land, and for the greater conveniency of the people, in repairing from time to time to the surveyors of their respective counties, or districts, to make entrics for unpatented lands, Be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That there shall be but one surveyor, with whom entries for lands shall be made, In what for each of the several counties of Brunswick, Amelia, counties the Orange, Albemarle, Augusta, and Louisa; and such thereof shall surveyor, and all and every surveyor and surveyors reside. of the county of Lunenburg, shall be resident in such county, or district respectively, whereof he is survey surveyors or, during the time he shall continue in office, on pen- Penalty, 106 alty of forfeiting ten pounds current money, for every per month: month he shall reside out of the same, one moiety of which shall be to the king, his heirs and successors, for the better support of this government, and the contingent charges thereof, and the other moiety to the informer. veys, enter VI. And be it further enacted by the authority afore- Surveyor's said, That every surveyor, making a survey of land, duty, in making surshall see the same plainly bounded, by natural bounds, or marked trees, and, within five months after sur- ing plots, vey, shall deliver to his employer a plot and certifi- &c. cate thereof, and shall also enter, or cause to be entered, in a book well bound, to be ordered and provided by the court of his county, at the county charge, a true, correct, and fair copy and plot of every survey by him male, during his continuance in office, within Penalty in case of kil ure. two months after making the same, and certify the name or names of the person or persons for whom any survey is made, the true quantity of land therein contained, the parish or place where it lies, the rivers, creeks, and water courses, and the true boundaries, natural or artificial, and the plantations or lands next adjoining; and also, shall annually, in the month of June, return a true and perfect list of all surveys by him made, to his county court clerk's office, to be recorded, upon penalty of forfeiting, for every default in any of the premises, two thousand pounds of tobacco, one half to the king, his heirs and successors, for and towards the better support of this government, and the contingent charges thereof, and the other half to the informer: And every county court respectively is hereby declared to have full power and authority, at any time when they think fit, to appoint two or more capable persons of their county, to view and examine their surveyor's book of surveys, and to report to them how the same is kept: And upon the death the records. or removal of any surveyor, to retake his book of sur‣ veys, and cause the same to be preserved among the county records, or delivered to the next surveyor, as in their discretion they think best. County courts may order their surveyor's book to be inspected. And preser. ved among No survey without carriers. VII. And be it further enacted, by the authority sworn chain aforesaid, That no survey shall be made without chaincarriers, to be paid by the party demanding the survey, and sworn, To measure justly and exactly, to the best of their knowledge, and to deliver a true ac⚫ count thereof to the surveyor;' which oath every sur veyor is hereby impowered and required to adminis Notice of surveying must be gi ven. ter. VIII. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, 'That all entries for land, legally made, shall stand good, until notice given by the surveyor in writing, publickly affixed at the court-house of his county, on two successive court days, and where the party claiming lives in another county, then in like manner in that county also, that he is ready to proEntries of ceed to the survey thereof: And if the party claiming, persons not his heirs or assigns, shall not, within one month after attending such notice, attend the surveyor, with all necessaries month after for making such survey; and give him timely warnnotice, void. ing thereof, the entry or entries, claimed by such party, shall be void, as if such entry had never been made, within one sue a plot or IX. And for preventing hasty and surreptitious Surveyor grants, and avoiding controversies and expensive law- shall not issuits, Be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, copy, to any That no surveyor shall at any time issue or deliver but the ownany certificate, copy, or plot of land by him surveyed, er. except only to the person or persons for whom the same was surveyed, or to his, her, or their order; unless such person or persons shall refuse to pay the survey- Exceptions. or's fees for making such survey, to be proved by the Exceptions. sheriff's return, upon the surveyor's account delivered him to collect, that the party has no effects in his bailiwick, whereupon he can levy the same, or, unless such party shall have legally forfeited his, or her right to the land entered for, to be proved by an authentic copy of the order of council, declaring such forfeiture, produced to the surveyor: And if any surveyor shall presume to issue any certificate, copy, or plot, as aforesaid, to any other than the person or persons entitled thereto, every surveyor so offending Penalty. shall forfeit and pay to the party injured, his, or her legal representatives or assigns, five hundred pounds of tobacco, for every hundred acres of land contained in the survey, whereof a certificate, copy, or plot, shall be so issued, or shall be liable to the action of the party injured, at the common law, for his, or her damages at the election of such party. void. X. And be it further enacted by the authority afore- Money secusaid, That no surveyor, for any fees due to him by rities ior survirtue of his office, shall presume to take directly or veyor's fees indirectly, in his own name, or in the name of any other person in trust for him, any obligation, specialty, note, or other security, from any person whatsoever, for the payment of any sum or sums of money, in lieu of such fees; and that all speciaities, notes, or securities, taken contrary to this act, shall be void, and no action or suit shall be maintained thereon: And if any action or suit shall be brought upon such specialty, note, or security, the defendant may plead this act in bar thereof, and the plaintiff shall join issue upon such plea, and upon trial thereof the onus probandi, as to the consideration for which such specialty, note, or security was given, shall lie upon the plain tiff. XI. And be it further enacted, by the authority How the peaforesaid, That all the several penalties and forfeit- nalties may |