Transfer

out of to

ing expen. ces of salvage, &c.

and reviewed; but, from the uncommon dampness of the season, the whole could not be hitherto finished: VII. Be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, notes to be That out of the tobacco so saved, or to be saved (a discharged particular account of which, and all expences of salbacco saved, vage, shall be rendered by the inspectors, and examafter deduct- ined and stated by the commissioners respectively) the several inspectors shall, in the first place, pay and discharge what shall be due and owing from them respectively upon outstanding transfer notes, and shall,`under the direction of the commissioners, without delay, sell and dispose of the remainder of the tobacco so to be saved, at public sale, of which fifteen days previous notice shall be given; and out of the money to be raised by such sale, shall pay and discharge the several demands for salvage and expences, so to be stated and settled, and pay the overplus to the treasurer aforesaid, for the use of the public, to be by him accounted for to the general assembly. And if, upon settlement of the said accounts, there shall appear to be a deficiency of the tobacco, so saved at any warehouse, to discharge the transfer notes thereof, the said commissioners shall certify the same to the treasurer, who is hereby impowered and required to pay the proprietors of transfer tobacco for such deficiency, according to the rates aforesaid.

the ware.

vered and accounted for.

VIII. And whereas it appears that considerable quan tities of tobacco were floated out of several of the warehouses down the rivers, and lodged on the plantations of different people; out of which, it is hoped, there may be considerable savings;

Tobacco IX. Be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, ated from That the said commissioners shall be, and they are houses how hereby authorized and impowered to call all and every to be disco person or persons, who may have possessed themselves of any tobacco floated from the said warehouses, except such as have become possessed thereof, under contracts with the inspectors, to a strict account for the same; and upon their refusing or unreasonably delaying to account for, and deliver up, to the said commissioners, all such of the said tobacco as they may have saved, upon their being allowed a reasonable salvage, which the said commissioners are impowered to settle and allow them, the said commissioners are hereby authorized and required, in the name of the treasurer of this colony, for the time being, for the use of the pub

fic, to commence and prosecute one or more suits, either in law or equity, as the case may require, for the better discovering and recovery of the said tobacco, or the value thereof.

To be re

X. And be it further enacted, That so much of the tobacco last mentioned, as may be saved and recover- viewed. ed, and has not already been re-inspected, the said commissioners are hereby impowered and required to have conveyed, with all convenient expedition, to the next or most convenient public warehouse, there to be reviewed and inspected, and then sold by the said commissioners, who shall pay the money to the treasurer for the use of the public.

XI. And whereas it is judged necessary that the present warehouses called Byrd's, Shockoe's, and Fal- Byrd's mouth, from the lowness of their situation, should be Shockoe's discontinued, and removed to some other places, more & Falmouth convenient and secure from the overflowing of the wa- from the ter by tides and freshes:

warehouses

lowness of their situa tion, being

the waters,

and remov

ed higher

XII. Be it therefore further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the tenth day of Octo- subject to ber next, the several inspections at the present ware- the overhouses called Byrd's, Shockoe's, and Falmouth, shall flowing of be, and the same are hereby discontinued; and that by tides and from and after the said tenth day of October, the said freshes, disinspections called Byrd's and Shockoe's, shall be re- continued; moved to, and established on, the lots commonly known by the names of James Buchanan's and Housling's up. tenements, in the town of Richmond, and the inspection called Falmouth, to a lot of ground, containing one acre, belonging to the reverend John Dixon, adjoining the town and the back line of a lot he sold to David Briggs, merchant; and that it shall and may be lawful for the courts of the counties of Henrico and King George, respectively, to order and direct the proprietors of the said lots and lands to erect, build, and compleatly finish, by or before the first day of October next, such and so many strong, close, and substantial houses, as shall be sufficient to contain, at least, at the said warehouse to be called Byrd's fourteen hundred hogsheads, at the warehouse to be called Shockoe's sixteen hundred hogsheads, and at the warehouse to be called Falmouth one thousand hogsheads, and the said courts shall previously take of the respective proprietors bonds, with sufficient securities, in reasonable penalties, payable to his majesty, his heirs, and successors, N 3-VOL. 8.

Commission

with conditions for the faithful building of such houses, And the said inspections, when removed, and the proprietors of the warehouses, when built, shall be under the same regulations and penalties as are prescribed by the laws now in force, respecting the present warehouses of Byrd's, Shockoe's and Falmouth; and moreover the several inspectors shall be intitled to and receive the same salaries.

XIII. And be it further enacted, That the said comers to exam- missioners, or any three, or more of them, shall enine and re- quire into the state and condition of the warehouses at port the condition of cer- Quantico, at the time the tobacco was damaged therein; and if they shall discover that the same were not in sufficient repair, that they examine into the cause thereof, and that they report the same to the next session of assembly.

tain warehouses.

Duties on carriages, &c. how to

be collected and accounted for.

XIV. And whereas the duties already imposed for paying the ordinary demands of the several public creditors are found insufficient to relieve the unhappy sufferers on the present occasion, and experience hath evinced, that the tax on legal process, ordinary licences, and wheel carriages, and a tax or duty on tobacco exported, are easy to the people, and not so burthensome as a poll-tax:

XV. Be it therefore further enacted, That from and after the twenty-fifth day of October next, there shall be levied, and paid by the proprietor thereof, to our sovereign lord the king, his heirs and successors, on or before the tenth day of April, yearly, a tax or duty of twenty shillings for every coach, chariot, or other four wheel carriage (except waggons) and ten shillings for every chair or two wheel chaise; and that every such owner or proprietor, at the time he delivers in a list of his tithables to the justice appointed to take the same yearly, shall deliver a list of each and every such carriage, under the like penalty, and to be recovered in the same manner, as is directed by the act of assembly in the case of concealing tithables; which said duty shall be collected by the sheriff from each respective person within his county, who hath inlisted, or ought, under the act now in force, to have inlisted, or shall hereafter inlist, such wheel carriages; and in case of non-payment, the said sheriff may levy the same by distress, in like manner as he is by law directed to distrain for levies and other public dues. And every such sheriff shall, on or before the twenty-fifth day of Octo

ber, yearly, account with upon oath, and pay to the treasurer for the time being, appointed by, or pursuant to, an act of the general assembly, the several sums by him received, deducting five per centum for his trouble in collecting and paying the same. And the courts of each county shall, at the time of swearing a grand jury for such county, in the month of November, yearly, particularly give it in charge to such jury to enquire who have failed to deliver in lists of their carriages as aforesaid; and, upon presentment of any grand jury for such offence, it shall be lawful for the said court to order a summons to issue for the offender to appear at the next court, to answer such presentment, and shall not admit of any exception or pleading to the form or manner thereof, but shall proceed to trial without the formality of a jury, aud give judgment therein according to the very right of the cause; and if the party summoned fails to appear, the court may give judgment for the penalty for such offence, according to law: Also New taxe 2 duty of twenty shillings for every ordinary licence, to be paid by the person obtaining the same, to the clerk of the court, before such licence shall be granted: Also two shillings and six pence for every original writ or writs, in any action or suit at common law, and subpoena or subpoenas, in any suit in chancery, in the general court, and for every summons, on any petition for lapsed land, and for every caveat entered in the secretary's office, and one shilling and three pence. for every such writ or subpoena in the county, or other inferior court, to be paid by the plaintiff in such suit to the clerk of the court, before such process shall be issued or caveat entered, and taxed in the bill of costs, and, together with the duties on ordinary licences, shall be accounted for on oath, and paid by such clerk to the treasurer, appointed as aforesaid, in the months of April and October, yearly, deducting after the rate of five per centum for his trouble in receiving, accounting for, and paying the same: Also a further tax or duty of three shillings for every hogshead of tobacco passed and delivered out of the several warehouses in this colony, to be shipped after the said twenty-fifth day of October next, to be paid by the owner or proprietor thereof, which said duty the several inspectors, at the said warehouses, are hereby required to receive from such owners or proprietors, before they deliver the tobacco out of their respective warehouses, and shall ac

Persons who had failed to

inlist their carriages, how they may avoid

count for, upon oath, and pay the same to the said. treasurer, on or before the tenth day of November, yearly, deducting five per centum for their trouble in collecting and paying the same.

XVI. And whereas several persons, from a misconstruction of the laws now in force, may have omitted to give in lists of their wheel carriages, with their tithables, in the month of June last, and may thereby be unwarily subjected to the penalties inflicted by the law for such neglect: Be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that the several persons who have failed to give in such lists, shall, on or before the first day of January next, deliver to the clerk of their respective counties, a true list of all such wheel carriages as are hereby taxed, of the penalty, which they were possessed on the said tenth day of June last, and on delivery of such lists, such persons shall be and they are hereby exempted and discharged from all penalties which they may have incurred for not delivering in such lists in due time, and the said clerk shall forthwith deliver such lists to the sheriff of his county, who is hereby empowered and required to collect and account for the taxes on the said carriages, in the same manner as if they had been listed at the proper time.

Inspectors

to give se curity for

the tobacco duty.

Proceeding against sher. iff, &c. failing to acconnt for duties.

Treasurer to. acconnt;

XVII. And be it further enacted, That the several inspectors shall, in their respective county courts, on or before the twenty-fifth day of October next, give bond, with sufficient securities, in reasonable penalties, payable to his majesty, his heirs, and successors, with condition for the due collection and payment of the said duties on tobacco, and that every inspector, hereafter to be appointed, shall, before he enters upon the execution of his office, give like bond and security.

XVIII. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That if any sheriff, clerk, or inspector, shall refuse or neglect to account for and pay the duties, according to the directions of this act, it shall and may be lawful for the general court, or the court of the county where such sheriff, clerk, or inspector resides, upon a motion, to give judgment against them and their securities, respectively, for all such duties so by them severally received, and thereon to award execution, provided that ten days previous notice be given of such motion.

XIX. And be it further enacted, That the said treasurer shall account with the general assembly for all the monies that shall come to his hands by virtue of this act,