AT A

ENBRAL ASSEMBLY,

BEGUN AND HELD

governor.

At the Capitol, in the City of Williams- Thomas Jefe burg, on Monday the third day of May, ferson, esq. in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine, and in the third year of the Commonwealth.

CHAP. I.t

An act to explain and amend the acts of General Assembly, providing a supply of money for publick exigen

cies.

WHEREAS many doubts have arisen among Preamble. the commissioners and assessors of the tax, on the construction of the act of general assembly passed in the year 1777, entitled "An Act for raising a supply of money for publick exigencies;" and also one other act passed in the year 1778, entitled "An Act to amend an act entitled An Act for raising a supply of money for publick exigencies;" some apprehending that they should value lands at the rates at which they would sell in gold and silver, and not what they would sell in paper bills of credit of this commonwealth or of Congress; others, that they should value them as they

* Patrick Henry, esq. was governor at the commencement of this session; but during its continuance, Thomas Jefferson, esq. was elected his successor.

None of the acts of this session are distinguished by chaptere in the original, nor are they separated by sections Such only as were published in the Chancellors' Revisal (edit. 1785) will be marked in this edition by sections, as they were in that. VOL. X.

B

would sell, were all or a great part of the lands within the commonwealth, or within a county to be offered to sale at one time, and not at the sum at which they would sell if exposed to sale in moderate quantities as happens in the ordinary course of things; and others, that as the legislature had by the latter act only trebled the tax laid in the former, they intended thereby that no more than three times as much money should be raised, and of course that the valuation of the present year should be the same as it was the last, without any regard to the rise in the price of property since that time, all which constructions are contrary to the intention of the said acts; and in consequence of such differences of construction, very great inequalities have arisen in the rates at which property of equal value has been assessed in different counties during the present year: Be it therefore enacted by the Geneers of tax, & ral Assembly, That forthwith on the receipt of this act, assessors to the commissioners of the tax for the several counties be convened and corporations shall call together their respective assessors, to meet at their courthouse at as short a day as may be in the present year, and in the subsequent years during the continuance of this act, at such time as by the said first mentioned act is directed, and being there assembled, the said assessors shall take an

Commission

tax.

Oath of com- oath or make affirmation as follows: "I do missioners of swear (or affirm) that I will when called on by the commissioners of the tax for my county, truly, candidly, and without reserve, declare the worth of the several kinds of lands within my county or corporation, as they would sell according to my opinion, if exposed to sale for ready money in paper bills of credit of this commonwealth or of Congress. So help me God." Which oath or affirmation may be administered by any one of the commissioners: The said commissioners shall then proceed to describe the lands of their county in so many general classes, not exceeding six as their different natures or kinds may require, and shall call on each assessor singly, to declare unTheir duty der the obligation of his oath or affirmation, what he in assessing lands, lots in thinks each several kind of the said land would sell towns, &c. for by the acre, if exposed to sale in moderate quantities according to the usual course of things for ready money, in paper bills of credit of this commonwealth or of Congress; which several opinions, together with

their own, they shall state in writing for each kind of
land separately, and shall add together the several
sums at which the same kind of land is rated by the
different commissioners and assessors, and then divide
the aggregate sum by the number of persons whose
opinions were stated, and shall take the quotient or
result, or such sum near thereto, as to avoid the diffi-
culty of fractions may be approved by a majority of
the said commissioners and assessors, as the average
price of such kind of land, and so shall proceed to de-
duce an average price for every other kind into which
they shall have classed the land of their county as be-
fore directed. But lots of land in towns, and ferry
landings, and mines of coal or metal, shall not be in-
cluded within any of the said general classes, but shall,
as well as mills and other extraordinary buildings, be
valued by the assessors within whose bounds they are,
as they would sell, if exposed to sale for ready money
in paper bills of credit of this commonwealth or of
Congress. The said assessors shall then instead of the
oath or affirmation appointed to be taken by the first
mentioned act, take the following oath or affirmation,
to be administered by any one of the commissioners.
"I
do swear (or affirm) that I will to the
best of my skill and judgment, in the several parcels sessors.
of land within the bounds of my assessment, estimate
the quantity of each kind thereof as classed or describe
ed by the commissioners of the tax for my county, that
I will assess the same at the legal pound rate accord-
ing to the average value of the same kind of lands set-
tled by the commissioners and assessors of my county;
that I will faithfully, justly, and impartially assess, the
pound rate imposed by law on all other property lia-
ble thereto within my hundred, according to the plain
meaning of the several acts of assembly under which I
act, as they appear to my judgment, that I will spare
none for favour or affection, and none aggrieve for ha-
tred, malice, or ill will, but in all things do my duty
of an assessor, honestly, impartially, and to the best
of my abilities. So help me God." And if any asses-
sor were not present at the said meeting, the said oath
last stated, shall be afterwards administered to him by
some one of the commissioners, or any justice of the
peace of his county or corporation; and before he shall
proceed to make his assessments, the said assessors

Oath of as

Poll-tax on

slaves.

Tax on money.

Tax on to. bacco ex

ported.

shall then proceed to the assessment of their hundred; in the course of which, if they shall differ in opinion as to the value of any parcel of land, or of other property, the medium between their two opinions shall be taken as the true value. And the same inequalities having arisen in the assessment of slaves in the several counties, and it being supposed that the assessment on this kind of property may be rendered much more equal by way of poll-tax, so settled, as to bear the pro portion of one and a half per cent, to their average value.

Be it farther enacted, That a tax of five pounds per poll shall be paid for all negro and mulatto servants and slaves; but where any slave, through old age or bodily infirmity, shall be incapable of labour, and be come a charge to the owner, the commissioners shall have power upon satisfactory proof thereof made to them, to allow and discount to such owner the said tax upon such slave; this discount to be made before delivery of the estimate to the sheriff who is to collect the tax: And if any person possessed of such slave or mu latto servant, shall wilfully conceal the same from the assessors, so as to avoid paying the tax required by this act, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of fifty. pounds. And as doubts have arisen upon the construction of the last of the said two acts, whether it was intended that the tax of thirty shillings for every hundred pounds in possession on the first day of May, was intended to be paid for the present year, or not to begin till the next. It is therefore enacted, That the said tax shall be paid for the monies of which any per son shall be in possession at sunrise, on the twentieth day of July next, and at sunrise on the first day of March, in each of the five next succeeding years; but that no tax shall be paid on the continental bills of credit of May the 20th, 1777, and April the 11th, 1778, whose currency was stopped before the first day of May last by resolution of Congress.

And whereas, in conformity to the eleventh and twelfth articles of the treaty of commerce between his most Christian Majesty the king of France, and the United States of America, all tobaccoes exported for the use of any of the West India islands, belonging to his most Christian Majesty, were, by the said last recited act, exempted from any duty or impost laid thereon

able.

Distress for

by the first recited act, and the said 11th and 12th articles have, by mutual consent, been rescinded: Be it therefore enacted, That a tax of thirty shillings per hogshead on all tobacco exported, be paid down to the inspector before shipping the same, to be by him paid to the treasurer for the time being, on or before the twenty fifth of October in each year, during the con- Assessments tinuance of this act. The times in the present year when returnfor the return of the assessments by the assessors to the commissioners, shall be on or before the last day of Appeals, July; for hearing appeals by the commissioners, shall when heard. be from the said last day of July, to the fourteenth day Lists of taxof August; for the delivery of the list of taxes by the able proper. commissioners to the sheriffs, shall be the fifteenth day ty, when deof August; for making distress by the sheriffs on delivered. fault of payment of the taxes, shall be the fifteenth day taxes, when. of September in any time after, but in every subse- Sheriff refu quent year during the continuance of the present act, dertake colsing to unshall be the same as directed by the said first mention- lection, ipso ed act. If any sheriff shall refuse to undertake the col- fucto depri lection of the taxes, or shall refuse or fail to give se- ved of office, curity for the due discharge of his duty therein, he shall stand ipso facto, deprived of his office, and the court shall likewise proceed to a new recommendation, and the person commissioned, in consequence of such recommendation, as soon as he shall have received his commission, shall have authority to proceed to the collection and appoint deputies to aid him therein, giving security as required by law, at the next court to be held for his county; and where it shall so happen, that payment hath been made to any sheriff in consequence of any assessment made in pursuance of the act of general assembly, for raising a supply for the current year, such sheriff shall account for the same with the person making such payment, and shall apply the same towards discharging the tax to be paid by this act, so far as such payment will extend, or return the overplus as the case may be.

And be it farther enacted, That the sheriffs or other collectors, be authorized and directed to receive in pay ment for all or any of the taxes imposed by this act, the receipts given by the continental agent for paper currency of the emissions of May the 20th, 1777, and of April the 11th, 1778, and which have been taken out of circulation by a resolution of general congress;

What paper

money re

ceivable in

taxes.