said Courts of subordinate jurisdiction, when lawfully appointed and commissioned, shall have, hold, exerciso and enjoy all the powers and authority which are given and granted to Justices of like Courts in any other county within this Commonwealth; and all the aforesaid Courts shall bear the same legal relation to each other, by process of every kind, as the like Courts do in the other counties of this Commonwealth.

And be it further enacted, That the methods and proceedings directed by law for choosing a County Treasurer and Register of Deeds, and the modes, forms and proceedings, known and practiced, in bringing forward and trying actions, causes, pleas or suits, and of originating and conducting legal process of every kind, whether civil or criminal, in the Judicial Courts established in the several counties in this Commonwealth, and for choosing Jurors to serve at said Courts, shall be observed, and put in practico within the said county of Norfolk: Provided that the choice of County Treasurer and Register of Deeds for said county of Norfolk, shall for the first time originate in the same manner as prescribed by law, whero vacancies happen in said offices by death or resignation.

And be it further enacted, That all writs, suits, and process, of every kind, which may, before the said twentieth day of June, be depending in any Court, including Probato Courts, within the county of Suffolk, shall be heard and tried, proceeded and determined upon in the county of Suffolk, in the same manner as they would have been if this Act had not been made.

And be it further enacted, That all deeds for the conveyance of real estates within the said county of Norfolk, which shall be executed prior to the establishment of a Registry of Deeds, and qualification of a Register within said county of Norfolk, may be recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds for the county of Suffolk, and shall have the same legal effect and operation as though they were recorded in the Registry of Deeds for the said county of Norfolk.

And be it further enacted, That the several towns and districts within the said county of Norfolk, shall pay their proportion of all county taxes already granted and assessed, in the same manner as they would havo dono if this Act had not been made; and shall be holden to pay their proportion of all debts that shall be owing by the county of Suffolk, on the said twentieth of June next, after the appropriation of the present outstanding taxes, and be entitled also to their proportion of all property belonging to said county of Suffolk, except in the county Court-House, Goal and Goal-House, and the land belonging thereto: And said county of Norfolk shall bo obliged to build and keep in repair all bridges within tho said county of Norfolk, which at this time are chargeable upon the county of Suffolk, and perform all other duties and obligations within their limits which the county of Suffolk are now obliged to perform.

And be it further enacted, That if it shall so happen that any person or persons shall be liable to be committed to prison within the said county of Norfolk, within two years from the passing of this Act, it shall be lawful to commit such person or persons by due process, to the common goal within the county of Suffolk; and all processes of law, and the powers of all Officers within said county of Norfolk, shall be as legal and binding for that purpose, as though the same goal was within the said county of Norfolk; and the keeper for said goal shall be liable for the safe keeping of all prisoners, so committed, in the same manner as though committed by due course of legal proceedings within the county of Suffolk; and all prisoners, so committed, shall be entitled to the same benefits and indulgencies as though committed within the said county of Norfolk; and all necessary expenses which shall arise in consequence of the commitment of any prisoners from the county of Norfolk, shall be defrayed by the same County.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, March 22d, 1793.

This bill having had three several readings, passed to be enacted.

DAVID COBB, Speaker.

IN SENATE, March 22d, 1793.

This bill having had two several readings, passed to be enacted.

By the Governor,

Approved March 26, 1793.

SAMUEL PHILLIPS, President.

JOHN HANCOCK.

The towns thus set off from Suffolk were Bellingham, Braintree, Brookline, Cohasset, Dedham, Dorchester, Dover (district), Foxborough, Franklin, Hingham, Hull, Medfield, Medway, Milton, Needham, Quincy, Randolph, Roxbury, Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, Weymouth, Wrentham.

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At the June session of the same year (1793, Chapter 9 of the Act passed June 20th), so much of the above Act of Incorporation as it respects the towns of Hingham and Hull, is hereby repealed and made null and void."

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At the same session, Chapter 12 of the Acts provides that, whereas, in the Act dividing the County of Suffolk and establishing the County of Norfolk, no provision is made for the choice of Grand Jurors to serve at the Court of General Sessions of the Peace in the several Counties of Suffolk and Norfolk, the present year, ,""the Clerk of the Court of the General Sessions of the Peace, in the said counties, be, and hereby are authorized respectively to make out their warrants to the Constables of the several towns in their respective counties, or, to so many of them as the Court shall order, requiring them, severally, to assemble the freeholders and inhabitants of their respective towns, qualified to vote for Representatives, to choose, by ballot, one or more good and lawful man, or men, in each town, as the Court shall direct, of like qualifications and of good moral character, as is already required by 'An Act regulating the appointment and services of Grand Jurors,' to appear at the Court of General Sessions of the Peace, next to be holden within the said counties respectively, and there to serve on the Grand Jury at every Court of General Sessions of the Peace, throughout the remainder of the present year, and until another Grand Jury shall be chosen, impanelled and sworn in their room, and the Constables shall notify the persons so chosen four days before the sitting of the Court, and their duty shall be the same as is already declared and designated in the before-mentioned Act regulating the appointment and services of Grand Jurors.""

June 29, 1798, an act was passed by the Legislature establishing an additional term of the Supreme Judicial Court for the County of Norfolk, on the 1st Tuesday of February, annually.

March 3, 1802, an act was passed by the Legislature establishing an additional term of the Court of Common Pleas for the County of Norfolk, on the 1st Tuesday of January, annually, in addition to the terms already established.

COURTS OF COMMON PLEAS AND OF GENERAL SESSIONS OF THE PEACE.

July 3, 1782 (Chap. 12), an act was passed by the Legislature establishing a Court of Common Pleas in each county of the State, to be held by four substantial, discreet and learned persons, each of whom should be an inhabitant of the county wherein he should be appointed, to be commissioned by the Governor, and to have cognizance of all civil actions of the value of more than forty shillings.

July 3, 1782 (Chap. 15), an act was also passed establishing a Court of General Sessions of the Peace, to be held by the Justices of each county, "who are hereby empowered to hear and determine all matters relative to the Conservation of the Peace and the punishment of such offences as are cognizable by them at Common Law."

Feb. 27, 1787 (Chap. 15), an act was passed, the provisions of which gave to the Court of General Sessions of the Peace similar powers with those now held and exercised by County Commissioners.

The first session of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace was held at Dedham, on the last Tuesday of September, 1793, at which Nathaniel Ames, of Dedham, was appointed Clerk. Deacon Isaac Bullard, of Dedham, was chosen Treasurer of the county for the remainder of the year, and, upon examining the votes returned to said court, it appeared that Capt. Eliphalet Pond, of Dedham, was elected Register of Deeds by a large majority. Hon. Ebenezer Thayer, Esq., of Braintree, who had been appointed Sheriff by the Governor, nominated his bondsmen, who were approved. At the end of the record of this meeting occurs this statement: "John Jones, Esq., of Dover, President of this session." The next record is as follows:

"Norfolk, ss. January 7, 1794. Court of General Sessions of the Peace for said County, held at Dedham by adjournment from the first Tuesday in November last. Opened first in the old meeting-house, but, by reason of coldness, immediately adjourned to the sign of the Law Book, and there opened again."

The business of this session seems to have been the apportionment of the county tax, decision upon road matters, the issuing of licenses to victuallers, and the trial of offenders charged with gaming, slander and larceny. Deacon Isaac Bullard was also in open court sworn into office as the Treasurer of the county. By the records of the Executive Council it appears, that on July 2, 1793, Samuel Niles, Esq., of Braintree, Richard Cranch, Esq., of Quincy, William Heath, Esq., of Roxbury, and Stephen Metcalf, Esq., of Bellingham, were appointed Justices of the Court of Common Pleas for the County of Norfolk. No notice of the declination of either of these gentlemen appears on the records of either the Court or the Council, but on the 3d of September of the same year, Nathaniel Ames, Esq., of Dedham, John Read, Esq., of Roxbury, and Ebenezer Warren, Esq., of Foxborough, were appointed Justices, and Edward H. Robbins, Esq., of Milton, and Solomon Lovell, Esq., of Weymouth, Special Justices of the Court of Common Pleas. September 24th following, James Endicott, Esq., of Stoughton, was appointed Justice of the Court of Common Pleas.

The first session of this Court was held at Dedham, September 24th, 1793, at which were present Hon. Stephen Metcalf and Ebenezer Warren and James Endicott, Esquires, Nathaniel Ames being Clerk of the Court. Daniel Perry, of Medfield, was appointed Special Justice of the Court February 25, 1794.

May 27, 1799, Edward H. Robbins, of Milton, was appointed Chief Justice, and Oliver Everett, of Dorchester, and Horatio Townsend, of Medfield, Special Justices of the Court of Common Pleas; and September 26, 1800, Oliver Everett was recommissioned a Justice. July 5, 1802, Daniel Perry was reappointed as a Justice, and Samuel Haven, of Dedham, a Special Justice; and May 24, 1803, Moses Everett, of Dorchester, and Samuel Bass, of Randolph, were appointed Special Justices.

June 15, 1804, Samuel Haven, of Dedham, was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. January 29, 1805, Moses Everett, of Dorchester, was reappointed Justice, and David S. Greenough, of Roxbury, was appointed Special Justice. February 6, 1806, Thomas Williams, of Roxbury, was appointed Special

Justice, and May 10th, of the same year, Thomas Greenleaf, of Quincy, was also appointed Special Justice.

June 19, 1807 (Chap. 11), the Legislature passed an act in addition to an act entitled "An Act establishing Courts of General Sessions of the Peace," passed the 3d day of July, 1782, the first section of which provided that from and after the first of September following, "the Courts of General Sessions of the Peace, in the several counties, shall be holden by one Chief or First Justice, and by so many associate justices as shall be hereafter mentioned, and no more, to be designated and appointed by the Governor, with the advice of the Council, who shall issue commissions to them for that purpose, accordingly, instead of the same being holden by the Justices of the Peace of each county; the justices so appointed to meet in their several counties at the several times and places that now are, or hereafter may be, established by law for the holding of the several Courts of the General Sessions of the Peace."

"for the County of

Section two provided for the number of Associate Justices Norfolk, four." Section three provided that Justices should "have all the powers and perform all the duties that the Courts of General Sessions of the Peace now have, or perform in and by the act to which this is an addition, provided, always, that the justices shall not be appointed, or serve on any committee for the laying out, altering or discontinuing any road or highway." Section four provided that Justices should receive $3 per day, each, for actual attendance, and $2 for every ten miles' travel, or in that proportion for longer or shorter travel, to be paid out of the county treasury.

In accordance with the provisions of this law, the Governor, on the 3d of July, 1807, appointed Ebenezer Seaver, of Roxbury, Chief Justice, and William Aspinwall, of Brookline, John Ellis, of Medway. Joseph Bemis, of Canton, and Samuel Day, of Wrentham, Justices of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace for the County of Norfolk. August 22, of the same year, William Aspinwall resigned and Nathaniel Ruggles, of Roxbury, was appointed in his place.

June 19, 1809 (Chap. 17), the Legislature passed an act transferring the powers and duties of the Court of Sessions of the Peace to the Court of Common Pleas.

June 21, 1811 (Chap. 33), an act was passed establishing Circuit Courts of Common Pleas within this Commonwealth, the first section of which divided the State (except Dukes and Nantucket) into six circuits - the counties of Norfolk, Plymouth, Bristol and Barnstable to be one circuit, and to be called the southern Circuit. Section two provided that courts should be held in the several circuits, at such times and places as "are now by law appointed for holding the Courts of Common Pleas; to consist of one Chief Justice and two Associate Justices, who shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction of all civil actions arising within their respective circuits (excepting only such actions wherein the Supreme Judicial Court, or where Justices of the Peace now have original jurisdiction), and shall also have jurisdiction of all such offences, crimes and misdemeanors, as before the passing of this act were cognizable by the respective Courts of Common Pleas, and also appellate jurisdiction of all civil actions and all crimes, etc., where an appeal may now, by law, be made from the decisions of Justices of the Peace." Or this new Court, Thomas Boylston Adams, of Quincy, was appointed Chief

Justice, and Jairus Ware, of Wrentham, and Nahum Mitchell, of Bridgewater, Associate Justices.

June 25, 1811 (Chap. 81), an act was passed re-establishing the Court of General Sessions of the Peace, section first of which provided that "from and after the first of September next an act passed June 19, 1809, is repealed, and all acts before in force relative to the Court of Sessions revived." Section 3 of the act provided for the appointment of one Chief Justice, and not exceeding four and not less than two other persons as Justices. September 3, 1811, the judges of the former Court, viz., Ebenezer Seaver, of Roxbury, Chief Justice, and John Ellis, of Medway, Joseph Bemis, of Canton, Samuel Day, of Wrentham, and Nathaniel Ruggles, of Roxbury, were reappointed.

Feb. 28, 1814 (Chap. 197), the Legislature passed an act transferring the powers and duties of the Court of Sessions to the Circuit Court of Common Pleas, section first of which provided "that from and after the first day of June next the act entitled 'An Act to establish the Court of Sessions,' passed June 25, 1811, be, and the same is hereby, repealed, except so far as it relates to the Counties of Suffolk, Nantucket and Dukes." Section 4 of the act provided that the Governor appoint "two discreet persons, being freeholders within each county, who shall be Session Justices of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas in their respective counties."

June 11, 1814, Ebenezer Warren, of Foxborough, and Samuel Bass, of Randolph, were appointed Session Justices. August 21, 1816, Joseph Heath, of Roxbury, and November 21 of the same year, Samuel Swett, of Dedham, were appointed Session Justices.

Feb. 20, 1819 (Chap. 120), an act was passed establishing Courts of Sessions, and repealing the act of Feb. 28, 1814. The act provided for one Justice and two Associate Justices. June 16, 1819, Jairus Ware, of Wrentham, was appointed Justice, and Ebenezer Warren, of Foxborough, and Samuel Swett, of Dedham, Associate Justices.

The act (Chap. 79) passed Feb. 15, 1821, establishing a Court of Common Pleas for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, superseded and abolished the Circuit Court of Common Pleas for Norfolk County.

Feb. 26, 1822 (Chap. 51), an act was passed increasing the number and extending the powers of Justices of the Courts of Sessions, and providing for the appointment of two Special Justices for every Court of Sessions. April 16, 1822, Jairus Ware, of Wrentham, was appointed Chief Justice, and Daniel Adams, of Medfield, and Samuel P. Loud, of Dorchester, were appointed Associate Justices.

March 4, 1826 (Chap. 171), an act was passed in addition to "An act directing the method of laying out highways; " the Governor to appoint five Commissioners of Highways. July 12, 1826, Ebenezer Seaver, of Roxbury (Chairman), Christopher Webb, of Weymouth, John Endicott, of Dedham, Lewis Fisher, of Franklin, and Nathaniel Tucker, of Milton, were appointed Commissioners of Highways for Norfolk County.

Sept. 1, 1826, Jairus Ware, of Wrentham, having been elected Clerk of the Courts of Norfolk County, resigned his position as Chief Justice of the Court of Sessions for Norfolk County, and Daniel Adams, of Medfield, was promoted to that office; and William Ellis, of Dedham, was made Associate Justice, the other being Samuel P. Loud, of Dorchester.