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 difficulty 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 deduce an average price for every other kind into which they shall have classed the land of their county as before directed. But lots of land in towns, and ferry landings, and mines of coal or metal, shall not be included 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 described by the commissioners of the tax for my county, that I will assess the same at the legal pound rate according to the average value of the same kind of lands settled 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 liable 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 hatred, 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 assessor 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

glaves.

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 proportion 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 become 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 mulatto 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 person 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.

Distress for

dertake col

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 able. 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 propercommissioners to the sheriffs, shall be the fifteenth day ty, when deof August; for making distress by the sheriffs on de- livered. 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, sing 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 security 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;

ved of office.

What paper

money re.

ceivable in

taxes.

and clerk en

creased.

Surplus of

proceeds of sale, for tax

es, how disposed of

and the treasurer for the time being is also authorized and directed to receive the same in payment from the several sheriffs or collectors aforesaid; Instead of the Allowance to allowance of ten shillings by the day by the said commission- former acts to the commissioners of the tax, and to ers, assessors their clerk, they shall be entitled to the sum of thirty shillings each by the day, for their future services. And instead of the allowance by the same acts to the assessors, it shall be lawful for the commissioners to give them any sum not exceeding thirty pounds each, for their services this present year. And to prevent inconveniencies in case of distress, levied for any of the taxes imposed by this act, It is hereby enacted, That where such distress shall be made, and a sale in consequence thereof, the surplus after paying the tax, if any remain in the hands of the sheriff or collector, and the proprietor will not receive it upon tender to him, shall be accounted for, and paid by the officer making such distress, into the hands of the commissioners of the county for the time being, who shall pay the same over to their successours, to be applied in discharge (as far as such surplus will extend) of the taxes which may become due from the same person in the next or any succeeding year; but such surplus shall be paid to the proprietor of the property if he will receive the same, and if the officer making such distress, shall neglect to tender the surplus to the proprietor of the effects, or pay the same over to the commissioners (in case of refusal by such proprietor) such officer shall forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred pounds for his deFines, how fault. The fine or penalty incurred by this act, in any appropria- instance, shall be one half to the informer, or him who will sue for the same, the other half to the commonwealth, to be recovered by action of debt in any court of record. And be it farther enacted, That so much of an act of general assembly, entitled "An Act for raising a supply of money for publick exigencies;" and of one other act, entitled "An Act to amend an act entitled An Act for raising a supply of money for publick exigencies," as comes within the purview of this act, is, and stands hereby repealed. And that this act shall be in force during the continuance of the said first mentioned act, and no longer.

ted.

Part of forpraled.

mer acts re

Vacancies, how suppli

BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That a Board of board of trade shall be constituted, to consist of three trade how persons not exercising commerce on private account, to constituted. be chosen by joint ballot of both houses of assembly at the first session of every assembly, and to continue in office until the next choice shall be made; but any member may be removed within that time by joint vote of both houses, and thereupon, as also on the death, resignation, or refusal to act of any member, they shall proceed to choose another in his stead, or if such death, resignation, or refusal, happen during the recess of assembly, the governour and council may how appoint some person to act in the said office until the end of the next session of assembly; the members having in some court of record, or before some judge or justice thereof, given assurance of fidelity to the commonwealth, and taken the following oath: "I A. B. do solemnly promise and swear, that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly perform the duty of my office of a member of the board of trade, according to the best of my skill and judgment. So help me God." Any two of them may proceed to business.

ed.

Oath of members.

Duty, and

board.

The duty of the said board shall be to see to the procuring by importation or otherwise, all military powers of stores, clothing, accoutrements, utensils, materials, and necessaries, which shall be required by the governour, with the advice of the council, for the publick use, or for the use of the officers, soldiers, sailors and marines, raised under the laws of this commonwealth; taking care to send for such additional quantities as may provide against disappointments, happening by capture or otherwise; to procure salt, and cards for manufacturing cotton and wool, and distribute the same properly among the people of this commonwealth, at such prices only, as will reimburse the publick; where cargoes shall contain a considerable proportion of the articles before mentioned, together with others not wanting for the publick use, and the same can only be bought by wholesale, or may be so