co, to make use of one or more of their prizes, for the re-packing, prizing, or making heavier, such tobacco, without fee or reward; and if there shall be several hogsheads of tobacco, belonging to several owners, to be picked, re packed, or prized, at any public warehouse, the owner or other person bringing the same, whose tobacco shall be first viewed and refused, or found light, shall be first permitted and allowed to make use of such prize or prizes, for the purposes aforesaid; and Penalty for no inspector shall take or convert to his own use, or taking and using drafts, otherwise dispose of, any draughts or samples of transfer or crop tobacco, but the same, if fit to pass, shall be put into the hogshead or bulk out of which it was drawn, under the penalty of forfeiting twenty shillings for every draught so taken away and not returned as aforesaid contrary to the directions of this act, to be recovered by the informer, one moiety to his own use, and the other moiety to the use of the proprietor of such tobacco, before any justice of the peace of the county wherein such offence shall be committed. And all inspectors, if required, shall alter the mark and number of any hogshead of re-prized tobacco for which they have before given a receipt; and for preventing confusion and mistakes shall keep a waste book, in which shall be entered the marks and numbers of all hogsheads of tobacco received by them, and another book, in which shall be entered the marks, numbers, and weights thereof, when the same shall be delivered out Inspectors by them; and all inspectors, when required, shall be to prize light obliged to prize any light hogshead of tobacco under crop tobacco one thousand pounds, so as to make it up the weight on request. one thousand pounds nett, but shall receive the same To give fee upon such hogshead as for transfer tobacco. And notes in the where any tobacco shall be brought to the warehouse name of the by the overseer of the owner thereof, the inspectors owner, not shall give receipts in the name of the owner and not of the overseer the overseer. XXXIX. And be it enacted, That the inspectors of To give re. ceipts for to- tobacco at the several warehouses within this state, bacco when shall, immediately on the delivery of every hogshead brought. of tobacco at the warehouse whereof they are inspectors, give a receipt for such tobacco, if required by the proprietor or person bringing the same to the said warehouses, expressing therein that the same is for uninspected tobacco; every inspector refusing so to do shall forfeit and pay to the owner of such tobacco the sum of twenty shillings. Penalties, XL. And be it further enacted, That all the penalties and forfeitures in this act contained, and not here- how to be in before particularly appropriated, shall be one moie- recovered and applied. ty to the commonwealth, to be applied towards defrayingthe charges of the execution of this act, and the other hall for the person who shall inform & sue for the same, & shall be recovered, with costs, by action of debt or information, in any court of record within this state, where the penalty or forfeiture exceeds twenty five shillings or two hundred pounds of tobacco; & where the same does not exceed those sums, before any justice of the peace for the county where the offence shall be committed. Masters of to bail. XLI. And whereas recoveries and forfeitures inflicted by this act are liable to be evaded by masters or vessels sued commanders and skippers of vessels and other persons may be ruled leaving this state, before any action or suit brought for such recovery can be determined: For remedy thereof, Be it enacted, That upon the appearance of the defendant in any action or suit brought against any master, commander, or skipper, of any vessel, or any other person, for a breach of this act, where the plaintiff shall move that the defendant may be held to special bail, the court may, if they see cause, rule him to give special bail accordingly, or commit him in custody of the sheriff until such bail be given; any law, custom, or usage, to the contrary notwithstanding. vived and XLII. And whereas the act of assembly passed in The act of October, one thousand seven hundred and seventy- Oct. 1778, eight, for reviving several public ware-houses for the ch. 10, reinspection of tobacco, hath expired, and it is necessary continued the same should be revived and continued; Be it there- till Septem fore enacted, That the said recited act shall be and is ber. hereby revived and continued until the last day of September next, except so much thereof as makes it felony for any person or persons to forge, counterfeit, alter, or erase, any inspector or inspectors receipt or stamp; and in lieu thereof so much of this act as inflicts the punishment on persons guilty of the offences aforesaid, or either of them, is hereby declared to be in force from the passing of the same. Exception XLIII. And whereas the several amendatory acts Other subof assembly for the inspection of tobaccco, passed sub-sequen acts sequent to the aforesaid act, of one thousand seven same time. continued to Inspectors hundred and seventy-eight, will expire at the end of this session of assembly, and it is expedient the same should be further continued; Be it therefore enacted, That all and every act or acts, passed as aforesaid, shall continue and be in force until the last day of September next, and no longer. XLIV. And be it further enacted, That all acts & proindemnified. ceedings of the inspectors, made and done in pursuance of the directions of the said recited act, or any or either of them, shall, notwithstanding the expiration thereof, be held and deemed good and valid in law. And all such inspectors are hereby exonerated and discharged of and from all costs, damages, pains, and penalties, by them incurred or to be incurred, for any thing by them done in pursuance of the said acts by reason of the expiration thereof. Warehouses to be dis continued, October 1, 1785, of the inspection tax does not pay the sala XLV. And be it further enacted, That in case any of the ware-houses herein before named shall not after the first day of October next, and before the first day of October one thousand seven hundred and eighty-five, receive a sufficient quantity of tobacco to pay the inspectors salaries and rents of the ware-houses, the ries and rent inspection of tobacco at such ware-houses respectively shall be thenceforth discontinued, unless the same shall be supported at private expense. Provided, That this clause shall not extend to the discontinuance at one time of two or more ware-houses which may be in the same county, or county next adjacent, but in such cases, that ware-house shall be discontinued to which the smallest quantity of tobacco may be brought in the years aforesaid. Exception. Commence. ment of this act. XLVI. And be it enacted, That the public printer shall furnish one copy of this act to the inspectors at each of the ware-houses herein mentioned; and also to each of the naval-officers within this state. This act shall commence and be in force from and after the first day of October next, and not sooner, except such parts as is declared to be in force from the passing thereof. Inspectors XLVII. And be it further enacted, That the acting exempt from inspectors of tobacco at the several ware-houses be, militia duty and they are hereby exempt from militia duty, except in case of actual invasion or insurrection. CHAP. XI. [Chap. CLV An act to amend the act for appro- p. 200.1 priating the public revenue. See May, 1782, ch. 2. I. WHEREAS the general assembly of this com- Preamble. monwealth did, during the last session, pass an act, intituled, "An act to amend and reduce the several This Act 27. June 1783 by Sandhy 28. Ju 1753 one act;" which act hath been amended by an act passed the present session of assembly, intituled "An act to amend an act to amend and reduce the several acts of assembly for ascertaining certain taxes and duties, and for establishing a permanent revenue, into one act." And whereas the operation of the said acts, as well as the present circumstances of this state, render Jr. H. qu it necessary that the act intituled "An act for appro 93.96. priating the public revenue," should be amended: Be it therefore enacted, That all the revenue arising under Land tax ap II. And be it further enacted, That the money aris- Slave tax. ing from the tax on slaves, shall be applied towards the payment of this state's debt due to the army, agreeable to the directions of an act, intituled "An act to establish permanent and adequate funds for the redemption of the certificates granted the officers and soldiers for their arrears of pay and depreciation;" and also that the money arising from the said tax, shall be applied towards making good to congress any deficiency which may arise in this state's quota of interest due on the debts of the United States, so as to make good to congress the annual sum of four hundred thousand dollars. III. And to prevent all doubts respecting the apportionment of the said slave tax, Be it enacted, That the treasurer shall, as the same may be paid into the pubfic treasury, apply one half of the money so paid towards the discharge of the aforesaid debt due to the army, if so much shall be requisite to make good the annual claim of the army, agreeable to the aforesaid act, intituled "An act to establish permanent and adequate funds for the redemption of the certificates granted to the officers and soldiers for their arrears of pay and depreciation;" and the other half of the tax on slaves, as the same may be paid into the treasury, shall be applied towards making good any deficiency which may arise to make good this state's quota of the interest of the debt due by the United States, so as to make up annually the aforesaid sum of four hundred thousand dollars; and if the said revenue arising from the tax on slaves shall exceed the sams requisite to compleat such payments to the army and to congress, such overplus or excess shall be applied towards the payment of any debts, either foreign or domestic, due by this state, for the payment whereof no other provision hath been or shall be made by law; such payments to be made by the treasurer, agreeable to order of the executive, who shall direct the payment of the same to such public creditors as in their opinion have the most pressing and meritorious demands against the public for the same. IV. And be it further enacted, That all the revenue arising from the tax on free male tithables, and all taxable property included in the said revenue law, and not before appropriated, shall be applied as follows: Five-tenths thereof to the support of civil government; one-tenth towards the payment of the debts due on the military fund; one-tenth thereof to the payment of mili |