brand he shall record with the clerk of the county where his horses, cattle, or hogs are, if not already recorded; and that he shall brand all horses with the said brand, from eighteen months old and upwards, and ear mark all his hogs, from six months old and upwards, with the said ear mark; and ear mark or brand all his cattle, from twelve months old and upwards, with the said ear mark or brand and if any dispute shall arise about any ear mark or brand, the same shall be decided by the book of the clerk of the county court where such cattle, horses, or hogs are.

When any person shall buy any neat cattle from another, or come to the same by gift, will, or any other lawful means, that then and in such case, the person who has gained the same by any of the ways aforesaid, shall, within eight months brand the aforesaid neat cattle with his own proper brand in the presence of two creditable witnesses; a certificate of which shall be signed by the said witnesses.

If any strange cattle shall go into the cowpen of any person in this state, the owner of that cowpen, if he resides there, or the overseer or manager where the owner does not reside, shall be obliged to give public notice thereof, by affixing a note of the flesh marks and ear marks and brand of all such strange cattle as shall be at his pen at the church doors of the county where the said cowpen is, or where there is no church, at the court house door, in one month after such cattle shall come to his pen, under the penalty of twelve shillings for every beast that he shall neglect to give such notice of; to be recovered in the same manner, and to the same use, as the fine last mentioned.

If any negro, Indian, or mulatto slave shall kill any horse, cattle, or hog, belonging to any person whatsoever, without the consent of the owner or owners thereof, or shall steal, misbrand, or mismark any horse, cattle, or hog, such slave or slaves shall, for the first offence, suffer both his ears to be cut off, and be publicly whipped, at the discretion of the justices and freeholders before whom he or she shall be tried; and for the second offence, shall suffer death and the trial and conviction of the said slave or slaves, shall be in such manher as is prescribed by an act of assembly, entitled "An Act concerning Servants and Slaves."

It shall not be lawful for any person who is not an inhabitant of this state, to fix any cowpen or settle or range any stock or number of cattle in this state; nor shall any inhabitaut, on any account whatever, take charge of or receive under his or her care or custody, in order to range or raise stock,

from any number of cattle belonging to an inhabitant of any other state, or wherein a resident of any other state hath any share or interest, unless such owner or keeper shall be legally possessed, in his or her own right, of a sufficient quantity of land for feeding the said cattle on, allowing one hundred acres of land for every ten head of cattle: and that the owner or keeper of such cattle shall record in the inferior court of the county where he or she intends to range cattle, the number of acres he or she is legally possessed of, and whether it is by patent, will, deed, or otherwise, with the date of such patent, will, deed, or other instrument; and on any trial for a breach of the law, such record shall be deemed good evidence against the owner or keeper of cattle, as to the number of acres such person possesses: and if any person contrary to law shall presume to range, or keep a larger number of such cattle than ten head to every hundred acres of land he, she, or they shall be legally possessed of as aforesaid, and so in proportion; all the cattle exceeding that proportion shall be forfeited and sold by the sheriff of the county where in the said cattle were ranged or kept, on legal proof made to the inferior court of the same county, by any freeholder thereof! the said freeholder giving the owner or keeper of the said cattle five days previous notice, that at the next interior court to be held for the said county, he intends to lodge a complaint against such person for ranging or keeping a greater number of cattle than he is by law entitled to range or keep in the said county; and on proof of serving of the said notice personally or by having a copy of the same left at the place of such person's residence, the said inferior court shall, without delay, proceed to hear the complaint in a summary way, without the solemnity of a jury, and determine according to evidence and the right of the matter before them: and if judgment pass for the complainant, the clerk shall forthwith issue an order to the sheriff for the sale of all such cattle, agreeably to the judgment; which sheriff shall, without delay, either by himself or deputy execute the command of the said order and return the money to the next court; one-third part thereof to be paid to the complainant, one-third part thereof to be paid to the justices for the use of the poor, and the remaining third part to be paid to the owner of the cattle, if called for within twelve months, otherwise to be applied towards the contingent charges of the county.

No person or persons whatever, shall drive any cattle into this state, without having with him or them a certificate or certificates, under the hand and seal of a justice or justices

of the peace of the county where the cattle were severally and respectively purchased or brought; setting forth, that oath had been duly made by the respective owners that such cattle at the time of the purchase or removal, were sound and free from any distemper or infection; and that no distemper or infection were known to be among cattle at that time within five miles of the place whence they came; and shall likewise mention the mark and brands of the said cattle.

Every person or persons who shall drive any cattle into this state without such certificate or certificates as aforesaid, shall forfeit and pay for every steer, bull, cow, calf, or heifer, respectively, for which he shall have no certificate, the sum of forty shillings; to be recovered by a warrant before any justice of the peace of the county where such cattle shall then be, and be levied on the body, goods, and chattels of the delinquent or delinquents, for the use of the county and every person driving cattle as aforesaid, is hereby required and directed to produce a certificate or certificates as aforesaid at the request of any person, a resident in the county wherein such cattle are; and upon his refusal so to do, on complaint thereof made to any justice of the peace in the said county, such jus tice is hereby empowered and directed to issue a warrant to bring such drover or drovers before him; who for every such refusal, shall forfeit and pay the sum of twenty shillings; and till the same is paid the said justice shall commit the offender to the jail of the county, or issue an execution against his goods and chattels, as such justice thinks most expedient; which forfeiture shall be applied to the use of the county, and accounted for at the next inferior court.

In case any cattle hereafter shall be suspected to have any distemper, any two justices of the peace and one freeholder are hereby empowered and directed to enquire into the same; and on due proof thereof made, shall make such order therein as may best tend to prevent the infection spreading.

No person whatever shall hereafter drive any cattle into this state between the first day of April and the first day of November in every year, from either of the states of South Carolina or Georgia, under the penalty of forty shillings for each and every head of cattle brought into this state contrary to the meaning of this act, to be recovered before any jurisdiction having cognizance thereof, by any person suing for the same, one-half to his own use, and the other half to the use of the state.

No person shall hereafter drive any cattle from those parts of this state where the soil is sandy and the natural produce

tions or growth of timber is the long leaf pine, into or through any of the highland parts of the state, where the soil or growth of timber is of a different kind, between the first day of April and the first day of November in every year, under the penalty of forty shillings for each and every head of cattle so driven, to be recovered and applied as before mentioned; nor shall any person hereafter within the said time drive any cattle from the highland parts of this state, into those parts where the long-leaf pine is the natural growth and production, under the like penalties, to be recovered and applied as aforesaid.

No person or persons shall hereafter drive any cattle from any part of the state through any other part thereof, without first obtaining or carrying with him or them a certificate or certificates, under the hands and seals of two justices of the peace of the county where such cattle were severally and respectively purchased or collected from range, accompanied with an affidavit or affidavits of the owner or owners of said cattle, setting forth the place or places where said cattle were purchased or had ranged as aforesaid, and describing therein the nature of the soil and growth of the timber on such place or places, and also that said cattle were at the time of purchase or removal sound and free from any infectious distemper. And if any justice shall grant such certificate, without an affidavit of the owner or owners as aforesaid, it shall be deemed a misdemeanor in office.

CERTIORARI.

A certiorari is a writ issuing from the superior courts directed in the name of the state to the judges or officers of inferior courts, commanding them to certify or to return the records of a cause depending before them to the superior court; to the end the party may have the more sure and speedy justice.

This is frequently done, to consider and determine the va lidity of indictments and the proceedings thereon, and to quash or confirm them as there is cause; or where it is surmised that a partial or insufficient trial will probably be had in the court below, in order to have the defendant tried in the supe rior court.

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As a matter of right the court will grant it for the state, but may either grant or deny it at their discretion to the de

fendant.

It will not be granted after conviction, but for some special cause as where the justices are doubtful what judgment to give; nor will it generally be granted at the instance of the defendant, to remove an indictment for any great misdemeanor, where that would tend to discourage the prosecution; nor after issue joined, or confession of the fact in the court below.

It lies in all judicial proceedings, in which a writ of error will not lie; and it is a consequence of all inferior jurisdictions erected by act of assembly, to have their proceedings returnable into the superior court; and consequently to justices of the peace, even in such cases which they are empowered by act of assembly finally to hear and determine; for the superintendency of that court is not taken away except by express words.

Such writ, when issued and delivered to an inferior court for removing any record or other proceedings, as well upon indictment as otherwise, supersedes the jurisdiction of such inferior court, and makes all subsequent proceedings therein entirely erroneous and illegal; unless the superior court remands the record to the court below, to be there tried and determined.

CHAMPERTY.

Champerty is a bargain with plaintiff or defendant, to divide the thing sued for between them, if they prevail at law; whereupon the champertor is to carry on the party's suit at his own expense.

This offence is punishable at the common law by fine and imprisonment. 2 Inst. 208. Wood 433.

And by statute it is enacted, that no one shall sell or purchase any pretended right or title to land, unless the seller hath received the profits thereof for one whole year before such grant, or hath been in actual possession of the land, or of all the reversion or remainder; on pain that both purchaser and seller shall each forfeit the value of such lands to the state and the prosecutor.

See Arrest.