And lists of all patents.

be valued.

Allowances to county

ers.

of the land so conveyed, & if the purchaser or seller shall not before the said first day of May, have satisfied the said commissioners as to the just value of the land, the same shall be charged as land of the best quality in the said county; and in cases of land which may now be vacant, the register of the land office shall, and he is hereby required to transmit, on or before the first day of April, in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, to the commissioners of each county, a list of all grants issued from his office, or made out for vacancies within the said county, since the first day of January last, and in like manner before the first day of April in each succeeding year, of all grants issued or made out within the year preceding, to be by them valued and charged as aforesaid, for which valuation they shall be paid by the public, at the rate of two shillings and six pence for every hundred acres contained in the said grant; and in cases of partition, by will or inheritance, the same fee may be demanded from the person entitled to such partition as where the same is done by conveyance.

V. And whereas alienations or partitions may have Certain ali-, been made since the valuations of the present year, or enations and partitions to may be made before the first day of May next; Be it enacted, That the said county commissioners shall, and they are hereby authorised and required, to value all such alienations or partitions, and charge the owner with the tax arising from the same, together with the fees, in manner as heretofore is directed; and the said commissioners shall be entitled to receive from the commission- public, the sum of twelve pounds, for copying the book or list annually, to be delivered to the sheriff, and for delivering the same; and the sum of eight pounds for the return to the auditors-office, of such alterations or additions as may annually take place within the county; the fees chargeable to the public shall be paid by the treasurer on the auditors warrants at the time of making the annual return to the audiPenalties on tors-office as aforesaid. The said examiners failing to various offi- perform the services by this act required, shall forfeit and pay the sum of two thousand pounds each; the register of the land-office shall forfeit and pay, for every offence, the sum of fifty pounds; the county commissioners for every offence, the sum of two hundred pounds each; the clerk of the general court, or

cers, for ne

glect of du

of the county courts, the sum of fifty pounds each; and the justices of the several counties failing to make the appointments by this act required, shall forfeit and pay the sum of fifty pounds each: All which forfeitures shall be one half to the informer, the other half to the use of the county where the offences shall be committed, to be recovered by information, in any court of record, giving ten days previous notice.

VI. And be it enacted, That the valuation of lots in Rule as to the cities, boroughs or towns, shall (except where man- lots in town. ifest inequality may have taken place) stand and remain as they now are; and in cases where lots may be added to any city, borough or town, or where new towns may be established, or where alienations or partitions may take place, or where mistakes may have been made in former valuations, the county commissioners aforesaid shall be governed by the same rules and regulations as by this act are established with regard to land in like cases.

in examiners

VII. And be it further enacted, That in case of the Vacancies, death, disability or refusal to act of the examiners ap- how suppli pointed by this act, or either of them, it shall be lawful ed. for the governor. with advice of council, to fill up the vacancy occasioned thereby.

CHAP. XX.

An act to secure the estate of Maurice Wheeler to Lettice Wheeler his wi dow, and four children.

(Chapter CXV in original.]

Estate of

Wheeler.

I. Be it enacted by this present General Assembly, That the whole estate, both real and personal, of Mau- Maurice rice Wheeler, who was convicted of murder at the ses convicted of sion of the general court in October last, and executed murder, and accordingly, be, and the same is hereby vested in, Let- executed, tice Wheeler his widow, and four children, to be divi- vested in his VOLA XI

T

widow and children.

ded amongst them agreeable to the act of assembly for the distribution of intestates estates; subject, nevertheless, to the debts of the deceased.

[Chap.CXVI in original.]

ned by coun ty courts, &

a state of

mitted to the general assembly.

CHAP. XXI.

An act concerning Pensioners.

I. BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That the Pensioners courts of the several counties are hereby empowered to be exami- and required, in the months of April and May next, to enquire into the condition and state of the bodily ability of all pensioners, and persons receiving an antheir condi- nual allowance from the commonwealth in consideration transtion of wounds, and to report their proceedings to the next session of assembly. The county lieutenant, or commanding officer of every county, shall cause this act to be read to the militia at the general musters next after the passing of this act. All pensioners, or others, receiving such annual allowances, failing to attend, or in case of inability to represent by good proof to the said courts, a true state of their bodily ability as aforesaid, shall forfeit such pensions or allowances. The commanding officer, and the justices of every county, failing to perform their duty herein, shall each forteit and pay the sum of niity pounds, to be recovered with costs, by information, in any court of record, to the use of the informer.

CHAP. XXII.

An act to sell certain lands belonging to the estate of William Kennon, deceased, for the benefit of his children.

[Ch CXVII in original]

Kennon de

1. WHEREAS it is represented to this present gen- Certain lands eral assembly, that William Kennon, being in his life- belonging to time seized in fee of about two thousand two hundred the estate of acres of land, lying in the county of Charles City, and William dying so seized, leaving several daughters to whom the ceased, to be said lands descended as coheiresses: And whereas it sold for the is represented that the said daughters have not any benefit of slaves to work the said lands, and that the rents arising therefrom are not sufficient to support and maintain those daughters under age, and that it would be greatly for their benefit if the said lands were sold; and application being made for that purpose, as well by the daughters who are of age, as the guardians of those under age:

II. Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That the said tract of land of which the said William Kennon died seized, in the said county of Charles City, containing about two thousand two hundred acres, be, and the same is hereby vested in, John Tyler, William Randolph, and Benjamin Harrison (of Brandon) gentlemen, trustees, to be by them, or any two of them, sold at public auction, in such parcels or lots as they may judge best; the time and place of which sale, to be previously advertised in the Virginia Gazette two months. And the said trustees, or any two of them, are hereby empowered to convey the said lands to the purchaser, or purchasers, in fee simple; who shall thenceforth hold and enjoy the same, free from the claim of the daughters of the said William Kennon, or either of them, or their heirs, forever. And the said trustees, or any two of them, shall render an account of the sales of the said lands to the county court of Charles City, to be there recorded. And the money arising from such sales shall be paid in equal proportions, after deducting the expences of the sale, to those who are of age, and to the guardians of those who are under age,

his children.

to be by them placed out to interest, on good and suf ficient landed security, to be approved of by the court of the said county of Charles City. Saving to all persons and bodies politic or corporate, their heirs or successors, other than the daughters of the said William Kennon, or those claiming under them, all such right or title as they, or any of them, would have had in or to the said lands, had this act never been made.

[Ch. CXVIII in original.]

Slaves of

which Geo.

Kerr died possess d, & supposed to

Short, dec'd,

ter of the

said Kerr.

CHAP. XXIII.

An act to vest certain escheatable pro perty in the children of William Short, deceased.

I. WHEREAS it hath been represented to this present general assembly, that a certain George Kerr died intestate, possessed of several slaves, leaving two sons and one daughter, which said daughter hath since inbe escheated termarried with William Short, esq; of Surry county, to the com- and one of the said sons died also intestate, soon after monwealth, vested in the the death of his said father, and before any appraisechildren of ment or division of the said slaves took place, whereby, William and by the laws of this commonwealth, the said slaves became vested in the heir at law of the said George by the laugh Kerr, he being subject only to the payment of a proportion of their appraised value to his sister, the wife of the said William Short; and the said heir at law haying, previous to the commencement of this war, removed himself from this commonwealth, before any division or appraisement of the said slaves, to some part of the British dominions, and not having since returned, the said slaves have become escheatable to this commonwealth; and the said William Short is lately dead, aud by his last will and testament hath devised, that the said negroes shall be equally divided among all his children; his wife, the daughter of the said George Kerr, being also dead: