How to take inquests,

Traverse,

monstrans de droit, peti

tion of right.

No

shall be returned and empannelled by the sheriff of the county, and shall suffer every person to give evidence openly in their presence to such inquest; and the said inquisition so taken, shall be by indentures, to be made between the said escheator and them of the inquest, whereof the counterpart, sealed by the escheator, shall remain in the possession of the first person that shall be sworn in the said jury, and by him shall be returned to the court of the same county, there to be recorded; and the other part, sealed by the jurors, shall by the escheator be sent into the general court within two months after the inquest taken; and if it be found for the commonwealth, and there be any man that will make claim to the lands, he shall there be heard without delay on a traverse to the office, monstrans de droit, or petition of right; and the said lands or tenements shall be committed to him if he shew good evidence of his right and title, to hold until the right shall be found and discussed for the commonwealth, or for the party finding sufficient surety to prosecute his suit with effect, and to render and pay. to the commonwealth the yearly value of the lands, if the right be discussed for the commonwealth. lands or tenements seized into the hands of the commonwealth, upon such inquests taken before escheators, shall be in any wise granted, nor to farm let to any if it be not to him or them which claim as is aforebefore gran said, till the same inquests and verdicts be fully returned into the general court, nor within twelve months after the same return, but shall entirely and continually remain in the hands of the escheators, who shall answer to the commonwealth the issues and profits yearly coming of the said lands and tenements, without doing waste or destruction. If no person within the twelve months before mentioned make claim to the lands or tenements so seized, or claim being so made, if it be found and discussed for the commonwealth, the clerk of the general court shall, within two months thereafter, certify to the escheator of the county wherein the lands lie, that no claim hath been made, or that being made, it hath been discussed for the com Escheated monwealth; which escheator shall thereupon proceed lands when to make sale of the land for the benefit of the commonwealth, to him who will give the most, after one month's publick notice of the time and place of doing the same;

How long

lands to re

main in hands of escheator

ted.

Duty of clerk of ge

neral court to certify to escheator,

gold.

lands es

secured.

and shall certify the purchaser and price to the register of the land office, who on receiving a certificate that such price hath been paid into the treasury, shall have a grant executed to the purchaser in such manner as by law directed in the case of unappropriated lands. Where any person holds lands or tenements Particularinfor term of years, or hath any rent, common office fee, terests in or other profit, apprehender* of any estate of freehold, cheated,how or for years, or otherwise out of such lands or tenements, which shall not be found in such office or inquisition, such person shall hold and enjoy his lease, interest, rent, common office fee, and profit, apprehender in manner as if no such office or inquisition had been found, or as if such lease, interest, rent, common office, or profit, apprehender hath been found in such inquisition. Also if one person or more be found heir Remedy in by office or inquisition in one county, and another Cases of inconsistent, person be found heir to the same person in another or untrue incounty; or if any person be untruly found lunatick, quests. ideot, or dead; or where it shall be untruly found that any person attainted of treason or felony is seized of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, at the time of such treason or felony committed, or any ime after, whereunto any other person hath any just title or interest of any estate of freehold, the person grieved by such office or inquisition, may have his traverse or monstrans de droit to the same, without being driven to any petition of right, and proceed to trial therein, and have like remedy and restitution upon his title found or judged for him therein, as in other cases of traverse upon untrue inquisition found,

*So in the original, and Chan. Rev. but it is a mistake. It should be "apprender,” as in the Revised Billi of 1779.

governor;

Councillors,

CHAP. XLVI.

An act giving salaries to certain officers of government.

BE it enacted, That the several officers herein after mentioned shall, for their respective services, be entitled to the following salaries, to be paid out of the publich treasury in quarterly payments, after the same shall have been audited according to law.

Salaries of To the governour or chief magistrate of this commonwealth the sum of four thousand five hundred pounds per annum. To the members of the privy council the sum of seven thousand two hundred pounds per annum, to be divided amongst them, agreeable to their attendance on the duties of their office. To the treasurer of this commonwealth the sum of three thousand pounds per annum. To each auditor of publick accounts the sum of fifteen hundred pounds per annum, Members of To the members of the board of war the sum of fifteen

Treasurer,
Auditors,

board of war, hundred pounds per annum, each. To the members

Of trade,

Judges,

of the board of trade the sum of two thousand pounds per annum each. To the judges of the high court of chancery, he general court, and the court of admiralty, each for their services, in their respective offices, as well as in the court of appeals the sum of twelve hundred pounds per annum. To the attorney general the sun of twelve hundred pounds per annum: the clerks of the board of war and trade each, the sum Clerks of of eight hundred pounds per annum. To the clerk of and trade. the privy council the sum of eight hundred pounds

Attorney general.

board of war

courts au

per annum.

To

Judges of The judges of the superiour courts shall make such superior allowances from time to time to their respective offithorised to cers, as they shall think reasonable, taking into acmake allow- count the time past for which no allowance hath been ances to made by the assembly, which allowances when made, their officers and audited, shall be paid by the treasurer out of any publick money in his hands.

· An act to displace the trustees of the town of Staunton, and for other purposes therein mentioned.

town of Staunton displaced:

How others

To repair

streets, and construct aqueducts.

BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That the Trustees of present trustees for the town of Staunton in the county of Augusta, are hereby displaced; and the sheriff of the said county shall on the tenth day of August next, proceed to take a poll for electing five trustees for the said town in manner directed by an act entitled "An elected. act to empower the freeholders of the several towns not incorporated, to supply the vacancies of the trustees and directors thereof;" the trustees so elected shall Their pow have all the powers given by the several acts of assem- ers. bly for establishing the town of Staunton and appointing trustees, heretofore passed, and shall also have power, from time to time, as they may see occasion, to contract with any person or persons for repairing the streets of the said town, and constructing and fixing proper aqueducts for conveying water to the several inhabitants thereof, in such manner and places as they may judge most convenient and necessary. The said trustees or the major part of them, shall moreover have taxes on the power to levy and assess annually on the freeholders inhabitants. and inhabitants of the said town, to enable them to comply with such contracts, a tax not exceeding twenty four shillings for every tithable person, and to appoint one or more collector or collectors of the said tax. If any person on whom such tax shall be assessed, shall neglect or refuse to pay the same at the collected. time appointed for the payment thereof, it shall be lawful for such collector to levy the same by distress and sale of such delinquent's goods, in the same manner as is directed by law in case of the non-payment

To assess

How taxes

of publick and county levies. The collector of the Collector to said tax, before he undertakes the same, shall give bond give bond. and security in a reasonable penalty, payable to the trustees for the due collection and payment thereof, and in case of failure shall be liable in the same manner as the collectors of the county and parish levies are by law made liable. The trustees or either of

tion of taxes

them neglecting or refusing to apply the said taxes, Penalty for when collected, to the purposes aforesaid, shall forfeit misapplica and the sum of five hundred pounds to the informpay er, to be recovered with costs in any court of record upon motion, provided he or they have ten days previous notice thereof in writing. It shall not be lawHogs not to ful for any person or persons inhabitants of the said run at large town, owners of any swine, to suffer the same to go at

in town.

Proviso.

large in the limits thereof: And if any swine belonging to an inhabitant of the said town shall after the first day of December next, be found running or going at large within the said limits, it shall be lawful for any person whatever to kill and destroy every such swine. Provided that such person shall not convert any such swine to his or her own use, but shall leave the same where it shall be so killed, and give immediate notice to the owner thereof, if known, and if not, then such person shall immediately inform the next justice of the peace, who may order the same to the use of any poor person or persons he shall think fit: Nothing herein contained shall be deemed or taken to hinder any person or persons from driving any swine to or through the said town, or limits thereof, in order to sell the same, or in their removal from one plantation to another.

Certain persons authorised to convey to John Fox certain entailedland sold by trustees as the

CHAP. XLVIII.

An act empowering certain persons to convey the land whereof Sarah the wife of John Rootes was seized, to the purchaser in fee simple.

WHEREAS by an act of general assembly entitled "An act to dock the entail of five hundred and fifty acres of land, in the county of Gloucester, whereestate of Sa of Sarah the wife of John Rootes, gentleman, is seizrah, the wife ed, and for vesting the same in trustees for the purposes therein mentioned," it was, amongst other things,

of John Rootes.