Churchwa dens. to appoint two or more intelligent honest freeholders of every precinct, to see such processioning performed, and to take and return to the vestry an account of every persons land they shall procession, and of the persons present at the same, and what lands in their precincts they shall fail to procession, and the particular reasons of such failure: a copy of which order shall be delivered by the clerk of every court respectively, to the church wardens of every parish within his county, within fifteen days after the making thereof; and the church wardens shall cause a vestry to be summoned, to meet within one month after the receipt of such order, at which vestry the same shall be exactly and punctually obeyed in every particular; and Vestries. thereupon notice shall be given by the churchwardens, at their parish church, at least three Sundays next before the same is to be performed, of the persons and times so appointed by the vestry, for processioning in every several precinct, as aforesaid, and the vestry shall also cause the accounts returned by the freeholders, as aforesaid, to be registred in particular books to be kept for that purpose, by the clerk of the vestry; and to prevent mistakes or omissions in any such register, the churchwardens shall examine the same, in presence of the vestry, and compare the register with the original returns, at the next vestry that shall be held after such return made, from time to time, and shall certify the same under their hands in every register so by them examined and compared: And that no person may pretend ignorance, the vestries are also to direct what precinct or precincts in their parish respectively every particular freeholder thereof shall attend, and perform the processioning as aforesaid: And where any parish shall lie in several counties, the order of each county court shall be delivered, as aforesaid, to the churchwardens of such parish, and shall also be obeyed by the vestry in manner before directed: And if any county court shall, at any time hereafter, fail to make such order, as aforesaid, Penalties on failure by the every justice of the peace of such county shall forfeit and pay one thousand pounds of tobacco; and if any vestry shall fail to obey and execute such order, every member of such vestry shall forfeit and pay two hundred pounds of tobacco, and every church warden fail- Churchwaring in his duty by this act required, shall forfeit and court. Vestry. court. How to be Clerk of the pay five hundred pounds of tobacco; and if any county court clerk shall fail in his duty, as aforesaid, he shall forfeit and pay one thousand pounds of tobacco: One moiety of which several forfeitures shall be to récovered & our sovereign lord the king, his heirs and successors, appropriated for and towards the better support of this goverment and the contingent charges thereof, and the other moiety to the informer; to be recovered with costs, by action of debt or information in any court of record wherein such forfeiture shall be cognizable; and if a Penalty on the persons ny other person, not having lawful excuse, shall fail appointed to to perform his duty as is herein before required, every procession. person so failing shall forfeit and pay five hundred pounds of tobacco; to be recovered with costs, by the churchwarden or churchwardens of the parish where. in such failure shall be, by action of debt or information, in any county court, and applied towards purchasing ornaments for the church of such parish. How recoverable. of absence, LV. Provided always, That in any suit or infor Butjustcause mation brought against a justice of peace, vestryman, or disability, or churchwarden, for any breach of this act, where the may be plea- defendant shall give sufficient evidence to the court, ded in bar where such suit or information shall be depending, Bounds processioned 3 never be al times, shall tered. that he was necessarily absent, or that being present, he offered to do his duty pursuant to this act, in such case the suit or information, as to such defendant, shall be dismissed. LVI. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That all and every processioning the bounds of any persons land, at three several times heretofore made according to the directions of the laws then in force, or hereafter to be made pursuant to this present act, shall be held, and is hereby declared to be, sufficient to settle such bounds, so as the same may never afterwards Former pro- be altered; and that every processioning, made in pursuance of the said former laws, in manner thereby prescribed, shall be held, and is hereby declared to be one of the three times of processioning by this act held to be sufficient. cessions confirm❜d. LVII. And for preventing the inconvenience and dam age which may arise by any persons refusing to suffer Rules in con- their lands to be processioned. troversies a- LVIII. Be it further enacted, by the authority a bout bounds, foresaid, That when any controversy shall hereafter where per sons refuseto happen between persons whose lands lie contiguous, about their respective bounds, and the owner or own- suffer their ers of such lands shall refuse to suffer the same to be lands to be processionprocessioned, in such case the freeholders appointed as ed. aforesaid, shall within ten days after such refusal, certify the same under their hands, to the churchwardens of the parish wherein such lands shall lie, who shall return such certificate to the court from which the order for processioning issued, at their next sitting, and such court shall thereupon order their surveyor, with a jury, to lay out the bounds in dispute, at the charge of the party against whom the right to such bounds shall be determined, and to return such survey to the next court after the same shall be made, which return shall be recorded, and a copy thereof sent by the county court clerk, within fifteen days after such return, to the church-wardens of the parish where the lands lie, and shall be by them caused to be registred, in the vestry book of their parish. LIX. And that if such lands shall happen to lie in Where the two or more counties, then certificate as aforesaid shall lands lie in be returned to the court of each of the said counties, two or mone counties. and the court of that county in which the beginning of such controverted bounds shall lie, shall order their surveyor, with a jury of their county, to survey the whole bounds in dispute, and the sheriff of each county wherein the same shall lie, to attend the surveyor, in their respective counties; and such survey shall be made, returned, recorded, and registred, in the manner and at the charge of the party aforesaid; and that all and every survey and surveys, so as aforesaid made and registred, shall be held, deemed, and taken to be a sufficient processioning of such lands, to all intents and purposes, as if the same had been done by and with the consent of the owner thereof. LX. And that every justice of peace, churchwarden, Penalties county court clerk, or other person, failing in his duty, as herein before required, and not having lawful excuse shall be liable to forfeit and pay the respective penalties herein before mentioned and laid on them, or any of them; to be recovered in the manner and to the uses aforesaid. LXI. Provided always, That the processioning and version or resettlement of the bounds of lands, held by any tenant mainder,may within six for life only, shall not bar or conclude the heir in re- years after Heir in re tenant for the death of version, or remainder, but such heir may at any time, within six years after the death of such tenant, controvert the bounds, as if no processioning or settlement had been made. life, controvert the bounds. And also per sons under legal disabilities. Penalties for unlawful dce. LXII. And that the processioning & settling the bounds of lands belonging to any person then being within the age of one and twenty years, feme covert, non compos mentis, imprisoned, or not resident within this colony, shall not be conclusive to such person or persons, until six years after their respective incapacities or disabilities shall be removed or determined. LXII. And be it further enacted, by the authority hunting, fish- aforesaid, That if any person or persons shall at any ing, or fowl- time shoot, hunt, or range, upon the lands or tenements, ing. or fish, or fowl, in any crecks or waters, included with20s for everyffence to in the bounds of any other person or persons, without the informer. licence first obtained of the owner of such lands, eveWhat shall ry such offender shall forfeit and pay twenty shillings be good evifor every such offence; to be recovered with costs beWhere the fore any justice of peace of the county where the of ower of the fence shall be committed, by the informer to his own land prose- use; in which information the confession of the party accused, or the oath of one credible, witness, shall be convict the sufficient evidence; and where the owner of the land offender, but shall prosecute for any unlawful shooting, hunting, the penalty ranging, fishing, or fowling within his bounds, the oath of such owner shall be sufficient evidence to convict the offender; but in that case the penalty shall be paid to the churchwardens of the parish wherein the offender resides, to the use of their parish; and moreover every such offender shall be liable to the action of the party grieved, at the common law, for his or her damages. cutes, his oath shall shall be to the parish. The offender alse liable to act on at the LXIV. And that if any person shall be the third Common law. time convicted of any such offence, as aforesaid, the Upon a third Justice of peace before whom such conviction shall conviction, the offender, be, over and above, giving judgment for the aforesaid bes des pay- forfeiture, shall require such offender to enter into reing the pen-cognizance, with one or more sufficient sureties, to our alty, shall be bound to the sovereign lord the king, his heirs and successors, in the bel aviour. penalty of ten pounds current money, for his good beOrcommit haviour, during one whole year from thence next following, or in case of refusal so to do, shall commit him such offence, to the common goal, there to remain until he give aftersecurity such security, or until the expiration of one month, ted Conviction of viour. and if after such surety given, such offender shall be given, shall Convicted of shooting, hunting, ranging, fishing, or be a breach fowling, unlawfully as aforesaid, within the time in his of the beha recognizance limited, such offence shall be a breach of the good behaviour, and the penalty of his recognizance shall be forfeited, to the king, for the use of the parish wherein such conviction shall be. Everyperson present at LXV. And that whosoever shall use any fire-hunting, or the killing of any deer by such means, every any fire hunperson present at such fire-hunting, shall forfeit and ting forfeits pay twenty shillings for every such offence, to the in- 20s. former; to be recovered in the like manner, and upon such evidence, and to the same use or uses, as the before recited offences of unlawful shooting, hunting, ranging, fishing, or fowling, are directed to be recovered and applied: And if any Indian be found fire- If an Indian, hunting, as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the owner his gun may of the land where he shall be so found, or his or her overseer, to seisé and take away the gun of such Indian, and the same to keep to his own use. be seised. clause. LXVI. And be it further enacted, by the authority a- Repealing foresaid, That all and every other act and acts, clause and clauses heretofore made, for or concerning any matter or thing within the purview of this act, shall be and are hereby repealed. Provided always, That the execution of this act This act sus shall be suspended, until his majesty's approbation pended 'til thereof first had and obtained. approved by his majesty. |