The several counties be furnished by each continental army shall direct. and corporations of this commonwealth (except the Number to county of Illinois and the counties within the territory lately in dispute, between this commonwealth and the state of Pennsylvania) except the county of Monongalia, shall furnish within fifty days after their militia shall have been laid off into divisions (including such of the militia as have been consigned over to the regular service for any term not exceeding eight months) as herein after directed, the following numbers of men respectively, to wit. The county of Accomack seventy four men, the county of Albemarle fifty six men, the county of Amelia sixty nine men, the county of Amherst fifty five men, the county of Augusta eighty men, the county of Bedford ninety four men, the county of Berkely sixty eight men, the county of Botetourt forty eight men, the county of Brunswick including the county of Greensville seventy four men, the county of Buckingham thirty eight men, the county of Caroline fifty nine men, the county of Charles City nineteen men, the county of Charlotte forty men, the county of Chesterfield fifty two men, the county of Cumberland thirty men, the county of Culpeper one hundred and six men, the county of Dinwiddie forty six men, the county of Elizabeth City ten men, the county of Essex thirty nine men, the county of Fairfax forty nine men, the county of Fauquier sixty nine men, the county of Fluvannah eighteen men, the county of Frederick seventy three men, the county of Gloucester fifty two men, the county of Goochland thirty four men, the county of Green Brier thirty four men, the county of Halifax seventy men, the county of Hampshire sixty three men, the county of Hanover sixty one men, the county of Henrico thirty eight men, the county of Henry forty nine men, the county of James City twelve men, the county of Isle of Wight forty men, the county of Jefferson twenty four men, the county of Fayette eighteen men, the county of Lincoln forty nine men, the county of King & Queen thirty five men, the county of King George twenty six men, the county of King William twenty nine men, the county of Lancaster fourteen men,, the county of Loudoun one hundred and seventeen men, the county of Louisa forty three men, the county of Lunenburg thirty eight men, the county of Mecklenburg sixty men, the county of Middlesex fourteen men, the county of Monongalia south of Ma son's and Dixon's line being extended to the Ohio thirty men, the county of Montgomery thirty eight men, the county of Nansemond forty six men, the county of New Kent twenty five men, the county of Norfolk fifty six men, the county of Northampton thirty one inen, the county of Northumberland forty three men, the county of Orange thirty seven men, the county of Pittsylvania forty five men, the county of Powhatan twenty two men, the county of Prince Edward thirty four men, the county of Prince George twenty six men, the county of Princess Anne thirty seven men, the county of Prince William forty eight men, the county of Richmond thirty two men, the county of Rockbridge thirty eight men, the county of Rockingham forty nine men, the county of Shenandoah fifty seven men, the county of Southampton fifty two men, the county of Spotsylvania forty two men, the county of Stafford forty five men, the county of Surry twenty four men, the county of Sussex forty two men, the county of Warwick seven men, the county of Westmoreland thirty men, the county of Washington forty three men, the county of York fourteen men, and the city of Williamsburg nine men. And in order to raise an ade quate bounty for the purpose of enlisting the said men upon the most just and equal terms; Be it farther enacts ed, That all persons within this commonwealth, shall be compelled and are hereby required to pay two per centum on all property taxed in specie, under the act intituled "An act for calling in and redeeming the money now in circulation and for emitting and funding new bills of credit according to the resolutions of congress of the eighteenth of March last," which said two per centum shall be paid either in specie, in the new bills of credit emitted under the resolutions of congress of the eighteenth of March last, in any other paper money current in this state at the rate of forty for one, in crop tobacco inspected since the first day of April last at the rate of seventy pounds of the last mentioned currency per hundred, or in good merchantable hemp at the rate of three hundred pounds of the like currency per hundred; provided that shch hemp be previously delivered to a commissary appointed by virtue of an act intituled "An act for laying a tax payable in certain enumerated commodities," who shall give a certificate for the same, expressing the weight thereof and the name of the proprietor; and the commissioners of the tax are hereby empowered to dispose of such hemp for the best price that can be obtained, so that it be not less than the rate aforesaid; and they shall transmit to the governour within twenty days after the day of draft, all such certificates and tobacco notes which remain undisposed of, and in no other alternative or certificates whatsoever. ? lected. And that the said tax or bounty may be collected in Taxes, when the most expeditious manner, It is farther enacted, and how col. That the commissioners of the tax in each county shall be furnished by the executive with a copy of this act as soon as may be, and shall immediately upon the receipt thereof, give directions either to an assessor or to some other person within each hundred to collect the same, which collector shall proceed immediately so to do, and if any person liable to the said tax shall not within fifteen days after having received notice of the amount of his tax discharge the same, the said collector shall have power to distrain for it in the like manner as is done for the other taxes; the said collector shall within forty days after his appointment, account for and pay to the said commissioners, or such of them as are not county lieutenants or commanding officers of the militia, all monies, tobacco notes, and certificates for hemp, to be by him received under this act, deducting thereout three per cent. on the amount of his collection, which shall be allowed him for his trouble. So much of the money thus received by the said commissioners as will be sufficient to discharge in their county the bounties hereafter expressed, shall be by them paid to the several recruits on the day of draft, and the balance transmitted to the treasurer of this commonwealth within twenty days after such draft; and if the tax to be raised in any county shall be insufficient to discharge the bounties due to the recruits raised in the county, the commissioners shall on the said day of draft, distribute the money as far as it will go ainong the several recruits and drafts, in proportion to the bounties hereby allowed to each, and they shall moreover state to the treasurer an account of the men raised in their county, distinguishing between those who enlist voluntarily for the war or for three years, and those who are drafted, and draw on him for VOL. X. R 2 A Mode of recruiting men for three years or the war. the balance due to the several divisions, which money shall be paid to the first man named on each division, so as to make up the full bounty hereafter allowed. The said commissioners shall take bond of each collector in double the amount of the money to be by him collected, for the faithful discharge of his duty, and if he should fail to account for and pay the money at the day appointed, the commissioners are hereby empowered and required to distrain on him for the amount of the same, in like manner as he may distrain on others. If the commissioners should fail to pay the money af ter they have received it, the commanding officer of the militia shall, on previous notice being given, obtain a judgment against them on motion for the amount of the said tax, either in the court of their county or in the general court, and they shall moreover for this or any other neglect of duty, be subject to the penalty of fifty thousand pounds of tobacco each. If any col lector shall refuse to act when appointed, or shall in any other manner neglect his duty as herein defined, he shall forfeit and pay fifteen thousand pounds of tobacco. And be it farther enacted, That the county lieutenant or commanding officer of each county or corporation within this commonwealth, except as is before excepted, shall immediately after the receipt of this act, summon the field officers of his county or corporation, the four senior magistrates, not being field officers, and the commissioners of the tax, to meet at such place as he shall appoint, within ten days after due notice to them given; which said field officers, magistrates, or a majority of those attending, having first taken an oath, to be administered by the senior magistrate then present to the other members, and by some one of the others to him, to do equal and impartial justice to the best of their judgment therein, shall, with the assistance of the captains or commanding officers of the several militia companies, who shall also be summoned to attend with their rolls, distinguishing carefully thereon, invalids, those persons who may be under eighteen years of age, those who may have come within the district of his company to reside, and also those who may have removed or died since the delivery of his last list to the lieutenant of the county; all which informations shall be given on oath, proceed to lay off and divide the militia, including all the commissioned and noncommissioned officers under the age of fifty years, into as many divisions as the number of men required by this act shall make necessary, taking care to number each division, which the commissioners shall keep a copy of; and that each division shall, taken collectively, possess as nearly as may be an equal share of property, to be averaged according to the said assessment in specie, all men who have been adjudged to serve six months in the army, in consequence of delinquencies on the late invasion, and those who may have taken paroles of the enemy on the late invasion, not being taken in arins, shall be included in the said divisions, and drafted with the rest; and any division may get a recruit out of such six months men, or any eight months men then in service; the divisions thus constituted may appoint some one of their body to recruit a man to serve in the continental army during the war, or for the term of three years. And in order to en- Additional courage enlistments, the sum of twelve thousand dol- bounties. lars shall be paid by the commissioners of the county to each recruit for the war, and the sum of eight thousand dollars to each recruit for three years, provided the above tax shall produce so much in their county, and if it shall prove deficient, the said division may compound therefor with their recruit, and the balance shall be repaid them as soon as the commissioners shall And draw it from the treasury as before directed. Land bounty; 300 each recruit, and also all our soldiers now in service acres to solthat have already enlisted, or who may hereafter en- diers who list by the said first day of April next to serve during ed, or shall the and who shall continue to serve faithfully to enlist, and the end thereof, shall then receive a healthy sound ne- serve to the gro, between the ages of ten and thirty years, or sixty end of the pounds in gold or silver, at the option of the soldier in lieu thereof, to be paid for, or procured by equal assessment on property; and moreover be entitled to three hundred acres of land, in lieu of all such boun. ties given by any former laws.* Provided, that no war, * On the subject of land-bounties, see the note to page 161 of this volume, in which a reference to this act was omitted. The provisions of this act, which grants 300 acres of land to soldiers who had enlisted or should enlist for the war, and who should serve to the end thereof, instead of 200, as by the former act of October 1779, (ante p. 160) have been entirely overlook. ed, in practice. The reason is very obvious: those who were have enlist war. |