month of October next (first giving twenty days previous notice thereof) proceed to elect five freeholders, resident in their said counties, to serve for three years, and be known by the name of Overseers of the Poor; in which election the said sheriffs shall observe the same rules, regulations, and rights of suffrage as were formerly used in the election of vestrymen; saying and reserving to the church now, and at all times hereafter, every right, title, or claim appertained thereto, as formerly reserved by an act entitled "An act for exempting the different societies of dissenters from contributing to the support and maintenance of the church of England, as by law established, and its ministers, and for other purposes therein mentioned.”

corporate, &

and duties of

II. And be it farther enacted, That the overseers of To be a bo the poor, so to be chosen, or a majority of them, hav- dy politic & ing first taken an oath in their respective counties, well succeed to and truly to execute the duties of their office, as well the powers as the oath of fidelity to the state, shall be deemed a vestries and body politick and corporate, to sue and be sued, and church warbe invested with all the powers, and subject to the same dens. penalties that the vestries or churchwardens formerly were liable to, and vested with, before the passing of this act. And in case of the death, resignation, removal, or refusal to act of any such overseer or overseers, the court of the county shall appoint some other person or persons in the room of such who shall so die, resign, remove, or refuse to act, who having taken the oaths as before directed, shall continue in office until the next general election of overseers. Twenty days Vacancies, before the October court, triannually, the sheriffs of how supplithe said counties respectively, shall in like manner give notice to the freeholders and housekeepers of each county, to meet at the courthouse, on the first day of the succeeding court, for the election of overseers of the poor, to act for other three years, and so from time to time, that a perpetual succession of such overseers may be kept up by triennial elections.

III. And be it farther enacted, That the courts of the aforesaid counties shall direct their orders to the overseers of the poor to be elected by this act, in the same manner as they were formerly directed to the different vestries and churchwardens.

IV. And be it farther enacted, That if any sheriff
shall fail or neglect to discharge his duty as is herein
VOL. X.
M 2

ed.

Elections,

how made.

Penalty on glecting to

sheriffs ne

have elections triennially..

Former ves

tries to ac、

before directed, he shall forfeit and pay five hundred pounds, to be recovered by action of debt, bill, plaint, or information, in any court of record in this commonwealth, one half to the informer, the other half to the use of the poor of the county in which such failure or neglect shall happen.

V. And be it farther enacted, That the present vestries of the counties aforesaid shall, on or before the count with first day of February next, make up and settle their accounts with the overseers of the poor of their respective counties, of all monies or tobacco by them levied or disbursed in virtue of the said office.

overseers.

CHAP. XXIII.

[Chan. Rev. An act to revive and amend an act p. 129.] entitled An act for the inspection of pork, beef, flour, tar, pitch, and turpentine.

Act for in

flour. tar,

I. WHEREAS the act of assembly passed in the spection of year one thousand seven hundred and seventy six enpork, beef, titled "An act for the inspection of pork, beef, flour, pitch, and tar, pitch, and turpentine," expired on the twenty sixth turpentine, day of June last; and it is expedient and necessary revived and that the same should be revived and amended: Be it amended.

therefore enacted, That the act entitled "An act for the inspection of pork, beef, flour, tar, pitch, and turpentine," be revived and shall continue and be in force from and after the end of the present session of assembly, for and during the term of two years, and from thence to the end of the next session of assembly. And the several inspectors to be appointed in virtue of the said recited act, shall receive the following fees instead of those established by the same, to wit: For every Fecs altered barrel of pork or beef inspected and stamped, twenty shillings; for every barrel of tar, pitch, or turpentine, one dollar; for every barrel of flour containing two hundred and twenty pounds nett, or less, five shillings,

and in proportion for every cask of greater weight, and no more, to be paid down by the owner.

tered.

II. And be it farther enacted, That all the penalties Penalties aland forfeitures to be incurred by the said recited act for failure or neglect of duty, shall be forty times as much as the respective sums of money specified in the said act, and shall be sued for and recovered in the same manner and applied to the same uses as therein directed.

CHAP. XXIV.

An act to repeal an act establishing board of war, and one other act establishing a board of trade, and authorizing the governour and council to appoint a commissioner of the navy, a commissioner of the war office, and a commercial agent.

Acts esta

blishing a

board of war and a board

FOR the purpose of introducing economy into all the various departments of government, and for conducting the publick business with the greatest expedition, Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That the of trade react entitled "An act establishing a board of trade, and pealed. one other act establishing a board of war," be and the same are hereby repealed; and it shall and may be lawful for the governour with the advice of council, to demand and receive from the commissioners of the board of war and of the board of trade, all the records, papers, vouchers, and other documents which shall belong to the commonwealth, and which have been heretofore in the custody or keeping of the said boards, and upon receipt thereof, to grant all and every of the commissioners such full and proper acquittances or indemnifications for, or on account of their transactions 'during their continuance in office as shall seem just and reasonable, and to dispose of such records and

the navy, &

papers, in such manner as they shall think proper. And that the business which was heretofore conducted

by the boards of war and trade, may be executed with Commercial the greatest expedition, Be it enacted, That a com agent, commercial agent, a commissioner of the navy, and a com→→ missioner of missioner of the war office, be appointed by the govercommission, nour with advice of council. The said officers shall er of the war be under the controul and direction of the governour office to be and council, and discharge the several duties which appointed. shall be by the executive adjudged to appertain to their respective offices, to whom they shall from time to time be amenable for their good conduct, and by whose direction they shall act in their several func tions.

Further time allowed to

pay taxes, in certain enu

called the

specific tax.

CHAP. XXV.

An act to give farther time to delin

pay their

quent counties to
their specific
tax, and for other purposes.

WHEREAS by an act of assembly entitled “ An act for laying a tax, payable in certain enumerated commodities," every tithable within this commonwealth is merated chargeable with certain specifick commodities, payacommodities ble on or before the thirty first day of March last, which act not having been promulgated, the courts of several counties had not timely notice to appoint commissioners and commissaries within the time prescribed by law; and in other counties where commissioners and' commissaries have been appointed, the inclemency of the season and other unavoidable causes hath occasioned the said tax to be partially collected, for remedy whereof, Be it enacted, That every delinquent of the tax, due on or before the thirty first day of March last, shall, on or before the first day of October next, pay or deliver to the commissary of their respective districts the specifick commodities due as aforesaid, which, being paid, the said commissary's receipt shall

be a discharge, otherwise the commissioners shall im-
mediately assess the value of such commodities due,
and direct their respective sheriffs to proceed to col-
lecting as by the aforesaid act is directed. And be it
farther enacted, That the commissioners who shall be
chosen in the months of August, September, or Octo-
ber next, by the before-mentioned act, shall have pow
er, and they are hereby directed to carry this present
act into execution. And be it farther enacted, That
the commissioners and commissaries appointed, or to
be appointed to receive the tax aforesaid, shall make
an allowance of six per centum for all crop tobacco
which they shall receive by virtue of this, or of the said
recited act, to the person or persons paying the same.

298

CHAP. XXVI.

An act for establishing the town of
Louisville at the falls of Ohio, and
one other town in the county of
Rockingham.

Towns of

Ohio, in Ken

county of

WHEREAS sundry inhabitants of the county of Kentuckey have, at great expense and hazard, settled Louisville, themselves upon certain lands at the falls of Ohio, said at falls of to be the property of John Connally, and have laid off tucky couna considerable part thereof into half acre lots for a ty, and of town, and having settled thereon, have preferred peti- Harrisontions to this general assembly to establish the said burg, in town, Be it therefore enacted, That one thousand acres Rockingham of land, being the forfeited property of the said John established. Connally, adjoining to the lands of John Campbell and Taylor, be, and the same is hereby vested in John Todd, jun. Stephen Trigg, George Slaughter, John Floyd, William Pope, George Meriwether, Andrew Hines, James Sullivan, and Marshem Brashiers, gentlemen, trustees, to be by them, or any four of them laid off into lots of an kalf acre each, with convenient streets and publick lots, which shall be, and