1 Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Liurary The Publication Committee of the Grolier Club certifies that this copy is one of an edition of three hundred and twelve copies on hand-made paper, and three copies on vellum, the printing of which was completed in the month of January, 1894. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/facsimileoflawsaOOnewy LAWS AND ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR THEIR MAJESTIES PROVINCE OF NEW-YORK FACSIMILE OF THE LAWS AND ACTS OF THE General &flemblg for tljetr iftflajefttes i&robmce of jE>eto=f)orfi ETC., ETC. At New -York Printed and Sold by IV illiam Bradford, Printer to their Majefties King William & Queen Mary, 1694 TOGETHER WITH AN HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION, NOTES ON THE LAWS, AND APPENDICES, BY ROBERT LUDLOW FOWLER COUNSELLOR-AT-LAW THE GROLIER CLUB OF NEW-YORK MDCCCXCIV Copyright, 1894, by the Grolier Club. TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Publication of Bradford Laws, page i. Early Laws of New- York, ti. Title of the Aborigines, Hi. Dispute about Title, iv. Common Law of Colony, v. River Maziritius, vi. Dutch Char- ters, vii. Population, viii. Claims of the Dutch, ix. Pretensions of the E?iglish, x. Diplomatic Intercourse, xi. The " Eendracht" Matter, xii. Boundaries of New Netherland, xiii. Dispute over Boundary, xiv. Boundary Question, xv. Nahire of Settlements, xvi. Dutch Jurisprudence, xvii. Roomsch-Hollandsche Recht, xviii. Law of New Netherland, xix. West India Company, xx. Judicial Establishment, xxi. New Netherland Constitution, xxii. Town Courts of the Dutch, xxiii. Executive of New Netherland, xxiv. William Kieft, Director-General, xxv. Peter Stuyvesant, Direc- tor- General, xxvi. City of New A msterdam, xxvii. Burgher- Recht, x xviii. Schout and Schepens, xxix. Land Law of New Netherland, xxx. Dutch Pahvons, xxxi. Rensselaerswyck, xxxii. Dutch Stib-Eiefs, xxxiii. Jus Patronatus, xxxiv. Land Tenures, xxxv. Dutch Transports, xxxvi. Intestate Succession, xxxvii. Nahire of Settlements, xxxviii. English Aggression, Dtike of York's Patent, xl. New -York, xli. Actual Conditions in 1664, xlii. CHAPTER II. The Introductio?i of English Laws, xliii. Jus Coronce, xliv. Conquered Province, xlv. Common Law of England, xlvi. Gov- ernor Richard Nicolls, xlvii. Duke of York's Patent, xlviii. Ar- ticles of Surrender, xlix. Proprietary Government, I. The Lord Proprietor, li. Substitution of English Law, Hi. Organization of Government, liii. Hempstead Meeting, liv. New Code, Iv. Dukes Laws, Ivi. Treaty of Breda, Ivii. Dutch Interregnum, Iviii. Jus Postliminii, lix. Treaty of Westminster, Ix. Governor Edmund A ndros, Ixi. Lietitenant A nthony Brockholes, Ixii. Rep- TABLE OF CONTENTS. resentation Demanded, Ixiii. British Plantations, Ixiv. Governor Thomas Dongan, Ixv. Accession of James II, Ixvi. "Charter of Liberty s," Ixvii. Dongan Assemblies, Ixviii. Consolidation, Ixix. English Revolution, Ixx. Governor Henry Sloughter, Ixxi. Par- liament, Ixxii. New Constitution, Ixxiii. Nature of the Govern- ment, Ixxiv. The Governor of the Province, Ixxv. Assembly of i6gi, Ixxvi. Personnel of the Assembly, Ixxvii. Resolution of 1 69 1, Ixxviii. Effect of the Resolution, Ixxix. Conflict of Opinion in New - York, Ixxx. Modern View of the Resolution, Ixxxi. Ex- amination of the Resolution, Ixxxii. Importance of the Resolution, Ixxxiii. Governor Benjamin Fletcher, Ixxxiv. First Public Printer, Ixxxv. William Bradford, Ixxxvi. The Laws of New - York, Ixxxvii. CHAPTER III. Publication of the First Compilation of the Laws of New - York, Ixxxviii. Condition of Jurisprtidence in New- York, Ixxxix. Laws of England in Force Here, xc. Law of Real Property in New -York, xci. Dutch Land Law Changed, xcii. Socage Tenure in New- York, xciii. Conveyancing in New- York, xciv. English Man- orial System Perpetuated, xcv. Statutes of Parliament, xcvi. What Statutes Extended Here, xcvii. Judicial Establishment in New- York, xcviii. Self -Government of New -York, xcix. Government of English Plantations, c. Laws of the New -York Assembly, ci. Record Depositories, cii. Parliamentary Procedure, ciii. Laws Operative until Disallowed, civ. Notes on the Laws contained in the facsimile cv Appendices: I. Orders in Council cxxxv II. Table of the Laws, Confirmed or Other- wise ; ; . ' ; : :<\ cxl III. List of Sessions ; and Table of Laws in the later Revisions cxliii IV. Material for a Biography and a Bibli- ography of Bradford cxlv Bibliographical Note cliii Announcement clxii FACSIMILE OF THE BRADFORD LAWS OF 1694. TABLE OF CASES CITED. Albany Fire Insurance Co. v. Bay (4 N. Y., 1, 24, 31, 32), pp. cxiii, cxv. Bartow v. Draper (5 Duer, N. Y. Superior Court Reports, 130, 142, 145), pp. xxxv, xcix. Bayard, Nicholas, Trial of (14 Howell's State Trials, 471), p. cv. Blackman v. Riley (138 N. Y., 318), pp. cxxxiii, cxxxiv. Brick's Estate (15 Abbott's Practice Reports, 12), p. cxxvii. Brookhaven, Trustees of, v. Strong (60 N. Y., 56, 68), pp. lxxxii, cxvi. Calvin's Case (7 Reports, 12), p. lxvi. Campbell v. Hall (Cowper, 204), p. xlv. Canal Commissioners v. People (5 Wendell, 423, 446), p. lx. Constantine v. Van Winkle (6 Hill, 177, 181), p. lxxxii. Cosby v. Van Dam (Pamphlets in N. Y. Hist. Soc Library and in State Library at Albany, N. Y.), pp. lxxxi, cxxxiv. Denton v. Jackson (2 Johnson's N. Y. Chancery Reports, 320, 324; 1 Hopkins, 288; 2 Wendell, 109), pp. xxiii, xcix, cviii. Duchy de Lancaster (Plowden, 212), p. lxvi. Dunham v. Williams (37 N. Y., 251 ; 36 Barbour, 136), pp. iv, xxxv, xcix. Fletcher v. Peck (6 Cranch, 87), p. xciii. Humbert v. Trinity Church (24 Wendell, 587, 624, 625, 626), pp. lx, lxxxii, cxii, cxiii, cxiv. Jackson ex dem. Woodruff v. Gilchrist (15 Johnson's Reports, 89, 109, 113), pp. lxxxii, cxiii. Jackson v. Hudson (3 Johnson's Reports, 383), p. xciii. Jackson v. Ingraham (4 Johnson's Reports, 163), p. xiv. Lessee of Levy v. M'Cartee (6 Peters, 102, 108, no), p. xcviii. Levy v. Levy (33 N. Y., 97, 107), p. iv. Martin v. Waddell (16 Peters, 367, 409), p. iv. Mitchel v. The United States (9 Peters, 711, 748), p. xliv. TABLE OF CASES CITED. Mortimer v. N. Y. Elevated R. R. Co. (6 N. Y. Supplement, 898), p. iv. Patten v. N. Y. Elevated R. R. Co. (3 Abbott's New Cases, 306, 322), p. cxxii. People v. Livingston (8 Barbour, 253, 276, 293), pp. xciii, cvii. People ex rel. McDonald v. Keeler, Sheriff (32 Hun, 563), p. civ. Penn v. Lord Baltimore (i Ves. Sr., 444, 451), pp. iv, xlv. Re Dublin University (Peckwell's Cases of Controverted Elec- tions, 43), p. lxxxiii. Re Kuyter & Melyn, pp. xxi, xxvi. Re Brick's Estate (15 Abbott's Practice Reports, 12), p. cxxvii. Smith v. Rentz (131 N. Y., 169, 175), p. xcix. Stockdale v. Hansard (9 Adolphus and Ellis, 1, 107, 108, 139), p. lxxxii. Story v. N. Y. Elevated R. R. Co. (3 Abbott's New Cases, 478, 489, 491), pp. xxxv, xcix, cxxii. The Banker's Case (Skinner, 601, 603), p. lxvi. The Lauderdale Peerage (17 Abbott's New Cases, 439; L. R. 10 Appeal Cases, 692), pp. lxxix, lxxxii. The People v. The Rector, etc., of Trinity Church et al. (22 N. Y., 44, 50), p. c. Town of Southampton v. Mecox Bay Oyster Co. (116 N. Y., 1, 7), P- I"- Van Giesen v. Bridgford (18 Hun, 73), pp. xxxv, xcix. Van Rensselaer v. Hayes (19 N. Y., 68), p. xcvi. Van Tienhoven, Schout, v. Willem Albertsen (i Record of Burgomasters of New Amsterdam, 238), p. xxiv. Van Winkle v. Constantine (10 N. Y., 422, 426, 428), pp. lxxxii, cxiii, cxv. White v. Boot (2 T. R., 274), p. lxxxiii. Woodruff v. Woodruff (52 N. Y., 53), p. li. THE LAWS AND ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR THEIR MAJESTIES PROVINCE OF NEW-YORK. HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER I. HE publication of the laws of the Province of New -York in the year 1694, by William Bradford, "Printer to their Majesties King William and Queen Mary," now serves to mark an epoch in the history of New-York ; for it not only introduced to this territory the art of printing, but made accessible for the first time to the people of the province laws by which they were to be governed. It is quite true that, long prior to that year, laws of both domestic and foreign origin had, under the proper sov- ereign authority, been promulgated in New- York ; but until Bradford's time they had existed only in manu- scripts deposited either with the village communities or at EARLY LAWS OF NEW-YORK. the seat of the local government. Hence the printing of the laws by Bradford not only augmented the political authority, but greatly conduced to the order and conve- nience of the people of New -York. Even now, after the lapse of two centuries since their original publication, these ancient laws possess no little significance to the student of institutions, while to the lawyer they have not infrequently a practical bearing on the contentions of pri- vate litigants. Between the institutions of the past and those of the present there is always a nexus, sometimes invisible, but still a nexus of some kind. Few institu- tions are more closely connected than the ancient and the modern laws of New- York. Yet many persons are apt to think that the laws of the former Province of New- York have no practical connection with the living problems of to-day. Such an opinion is not verifiable. Indeed, the more the subject is examined, the more we shall perceive the importance of the legal institutions established under the early sovereigns of this territory. Any complete survey of the jurisprudence or laws of the colonies of a European state demands the examination of both the juridical theories and the legislation related to the subject ; for, as has been well said, a colony is not a state — its government and institutions may be to some ex- tent autonomous, but they are essentially ab extra, not ab intra. So, before any real government may be established over a colony, the nature of the title of the sovereign to the soil must be determined by the law of nations. In that wonderful partition of the New World which followed the Columbian voyages, the great maritime powers proceeded upon principles still figuring in jurisprudence. But as in the fifteenth century the law of nations scarcely reached above the level which it had attained in Greece or Rome, ii TITLE OF THE ABORIGINES. the original claims of the Europeans to the territories of the New World were not always consistent in principle. Yet in one thing all agreed — that the aboriginal inhabi- tants had no conclusive title to the soil. The famous bull of Alexander VI., issued in 1493, soon after the return of Columbus, granting to Spain all lands west of a north and south line drawn a hundred leagues west of the Azores, was not conceded by England, France, or Holland to be a valid source of title. Even Spain did not found her pre- tensions solely on the papal grant, while the other powers agreed in the doctrine that discovery followed by actual and continued occupation alone conferred title. Thus a refinement of the Roman law relative to the acquisition of ownerless or derelict property (res nullius) by possession (occtipatio) was at last permitted to solve the partition of North America among the maritime states of Europe. I n Ancient the assertion that two factors — discovery and continued c.viii. occupation — must concur in order to give a valid title to American territory, no other power was more strenuous than England. " Praescriptio sine possessione haud valeat," asserted Queen Elizabeth in 1 580 ; and such assertion was never afterward modified in principle by the English au- thorities. When the European powers had thus agreed upon the elements which conferred title to American terri- tory, new difficulties arose in their application — difficulties which still lie at the root of many international compli- cations. These difficulties involve one of the gravest problems of jurisprudence — what constitutes legal pos- session ? If this far-reaching question still remains difficult to answer, how much more difficult was it when modern international law was in its infancy, or when England and Holland first laid claims to the territory now embracing New-York ? iii DISPUTE ABOUT TITLE. Mortimer v. N. Y. Elevated R. R. Co., 6 N. Y. Supplement, Levy v. Levy, 33 N. Y.,97, 107; Dun- ham v. Williams, 37 N. Y., 25 1 ; Penn v. Lord Baltimore, 1 Ves. Sr., 444, 451 ; but see Martin v. Waddell, 16 Peters, 367, 409. The ancient dispute about the original title to this terri- tory would possess little practical importance were it not for the fact that it lies at the base of several of the great presumptions of modern jurisprudence. Although the dis- pute was definitively settled by the august claimants them- selves in accordance with the usages of nations and in a manner which is no doubt binding on modern judicatories, the solution is so far-reaching in its consequences that even courts of first instance are occasionally induced at the present time to reexamine the titles of England and Holland to this territory and, as if the question were properly cognizable by courts of justice, to pass upon its merits in suits between private parties. Thus, in a case decided as late as the year 1889, the Superior Court of the City of New- York held that the Dutch — no doubt meaning the States-General of Holland — never had a valid title to their territory of New Netherland. But even if the question is within the province of judicial arbitrament, such decision may well be thought to conflict with other and more conclusive adjudications. The case cited, however, certainly possesses great interest, for it serves to show the importance which the modern lawyers still attach to the dispute in question. The reason of the present interest of the lawyers in this ancient contention is rendered more clear by a reference to the juridical results which are sometimes presumed to flow from the conflicting claims to this territory. If the English were originally its rightful sovereigns, then the Dutch law never obtained here, at least so as to entitle it, after the year 1664, to recognition under the principle of the law of Christian nations — that the law of the conquered remains in force until expressly abro- gated by the conqueror; or, in other words, if the States- General of Holland never had a title to the territory, valid IV COMMON LAW OF COLONY. by the law of nations, or recognized by the English gov- ernment, then the Dutch imperium was never rightfully exercised here, and its dominion had no international or legal consequence. At least such are some of the results which are sometimes deemed by lawyers to flow from the postulates and presumptions of jurisprudence. The importance of the dispute in question has been further enhanced by the literal interpretation sometimes ac- corded to the early English commentators who accounted for the presence of English law in the English colonial empire by a figure of speech. They affirmed that Eng- lish law obtained in those English colonies acquired by discovery, because it was carried thither by the colo- nists themselves, although it was said to obtain in those colonies acquired by conquest or cession only when im- posed by the legislation of the conqueror. This account generally corresponded with the presence or absence of a lex loci of English origin, and hence it was seized upon to account for phenomena then very little understood. It is no doubt the fact that the English common law has been set in force, in all those transmarine possessions of Eng- land where it exists, in some legislative mode only; but as such mode is not always apparent, the figurative account of the commentators has enabled the colonial courts to indulge in a presumption which, while it has answered all practical purposes, has nevertheless magnified the original sovereign title to the soil of an English colony to a posi- tion of undue importance; for it is equally the fact that the presence of the English common law in the Province of New-York may be explained without the necessity of resorting to figurative formulae of commentators, and without the necessity of even determining which had the better title to the province — England or Holland. RIVER MAURITIUS. Without presuming to pass judgment upon the merits of the ancient and high contention about the dominion over this territory, we may be permitted to outline such of the facts regarding it as are deemed illustrative of the primitive laws and jurisprudence of New-York. In the early part of the seventeenth century, the Dutch, by virtue of an assertion of prior discovery and occupation under the relating to rule denoted, claimed the entire territory lying between History of New France and Virginia, the sea-coasts of which were i, io, ii. ' said to be between the 40th and 45th degrees of latitude. In the year 1609, a ship of eighty tons burden, flying the Dutch flag, but under the command of Henry Hudson, an Englishman, first sailed up the great river now known by the navigator's name, but at first called the "Mauritius" by the Dutch. This ship, belonging to the Dutch East India Company, had been despatched on a voyage of discovery, and for the purpose of finding a shorter passage, by way of the northern seas, to China and Cathay. Verrazano, under a commission from the French king, had undoubt- edly touched at New- York Bay in the year 1524; but the French title lapsed by non-user, and not until about the year 161 4 was any formal occupation of the region adjoin- ing Hudson's River attempted. Then a trading-fort was built by the Dutch a little below the present city of Albany. On 11 October, 1614, the States-General by an octroi, or charter, granted to an Amsterdam company of merchants, who had already actively traded with the natives on the river Mauritius, the exclusive privilege to frequent for four voyages, within three years after 1 January, 1615, the newly discovered lands "situated in America between New France and Virginia, whereof the sea-coasts lie between the fortieth and forty-fifth degrees of latitude." This vague country was in this grant called vi DUTCH CHARTERS. for the first time New Netherland ; and annexed to the d oc . rei. grant was a map of the country involved — the so-called N?Y.,!fn. "figurative chart." At this time the French had already made good their title to Canada and Acadia, while the English had established themselves in Virginia, but south of latitude 40 . As yet, the latter had made no perma- nent settlement in New England, which they also claimed. Thus the Dutch might well regard the country described in the grant of 1614, as vacuum domicilium, or as theirs by the law of nations. The charter of 16 14 having expired on 1 January, 16 18, was not extended, and trade with the new country was in a manner thrown open until the close charter by the States- General to the Dutch West India Company, dated 3 June, 1 62 1, which provided that none of the inhabitants of the Netherlands might, without the consent of the company, sail to, or traffic in, the countries of America or the West Indies, and some other places specified in the charter. Until the English conquest in the year 1664, the Dutch West India Company exercised under this charter the local sovereignty over New Netherland, but in subordina- tion to the States-General. The organization of the new company met with some delay, and it was not until 1623 that its efforts were directed toward colonization; but in that year it despatched an expedition which planted small settlements at Fort Orange (now Albany), Manhattan Island, and Walloon's Cove. The settlers were at first few, and we know little of their affairs until 1626, excepting that they prospered greatly. In the years succeeding the first formal occupation of New Netherland, its population rapidly increased in numbers. By the year 1625, the Dutch colony on Manhattan Island numbered over two hundred persons, and in 1628 over two hundred and vii POPULATION. seventy, including men, women, and children. By 1643 this same colony had attained to between four and five hundred, while the colony at Beverswyck embraced about one hundred persons. In 1652 New Amsterdam, on Man- hattan Island, had a population of eight hundred, and in 1656 of one thousand ; while Staten Island had ninety farming colonists, and the colony at New Amstel, on the South River, about six hundred souls. In 1661 the " Five Dutch Towns" on Long Island comprised a considerable population, and that of New Amsterdam had attained to some fourteen hundred. But in 1664 the entire population of New Netherland did not, by the highest estimate of the statisticians, exceed ten thousand persons, living in some thirty scattered villages and towns, or else on flourishing farms or bouweries adjacent to them. Despite the paucity in numbers from 1623 to 1664, the occupation of the country by the Dutch, under a claim of title and under an organized government, was uninterrupted and continuous. During the same period, the population of the English in New England and Virginia had attained to greatly superior numbers. Even in 1645, New England, although settled contemporaneously with New Netherland, contained more than fifty thousand English, while the English settle- ments south of the Delaware by 1660 held probably as many more subjects of England. It was natural, therefore, that the English should feel some practical regret at the intervening Dutch colonies on the Hudson and Delaware rivers and their confluents. But up to the year 1630, the English settlers made no encroachments on the territory Regents' Reports claimed by the Dutch. During the entire history of New New-York Netherland, the greater part of the population actually lived and Penn- sylvania either on Long Island, or on the shores of Hudson's River, Boundary, 176,403. Newark Bay (Achter Cul), and the lower Mohawk. While viii CLAIMS OF THE DUTCH. it is generally conceded by jurists that the discovery and subsequent settlement at the embouchure of a river pene- trating far inland give the right of occupancy and ulti- mately of sovereignty to the whole country drained by that river, yet international complications usually arise concerning the extent of the territory thus occupied and acquired. The case of New Netherland presents no ex- ception to the usual course of events. Although the ori- ginal right of the Netherlands to the territory of New Netherland may not be altogether free from difficulties, there can be little doubt that for all juridical purposes it soon ripened into a title valid by prescription, or valid by virtue of the subsequent course of conduct upon the part of England; for, however irregular a title by settlement CoLHist N. Y., II of a new country may originally be, it is often perfected 324. by enjoyment through a reasonable lapse of time. The Dutch asserted in substance that the claims of the English to the territory called New Netherland were neither self-consistent nor in conformity with the law of nations. The English title was based both on the dis- coveries of the Cabots, under Henry VII., and on actual occupation. It will be recalled that such original occupa- tion consisted of the settlements in Virginia in the year 1584, and immediately following the year 1607; and in New England in 1607, and again in 1620. The title by virtue of the discovery of Sebastian Cabot, who merely sailed along the coast of America as far south as 38 , was controverted. That he ever touched at any point south of 44 40' has been denied. Indeed, whether such a voyage as this could afford in itself a sufficient basis for a title by discovery, might well be questioned. Thus the States- General, while conceding the validity of the English title to the American territories actually occupied by the latter, ix PRETENSIONS OF THE ENGLISH. Doc 'irt denied their right to the territory embraced in New Neth- n. y., ii, erland by virtue of either discovery or occupation. It was said that the original settlements of the English were at too widely separated points of the sea-coast to carry a title to the intervening territory of New Neth- erland. So the States-General, conceding to the English the utmost limits of territory consistent with either of the Doc. reL English settlements, claimed for themselves a jurisdiction Sly.,? extending to the head waters of the streams settled by 564! 29 °'' Dutch subjects. The conflicting pretensions of the Eng- lish were, however, as early as 1606, made apparent by the terms of the patents to the different companies of English adventurers in those regions. The dispute between the nations therefore resolved itself into one concerning the legal effect of the widely scattered English settlements, and had it not been for an indisputable doctrine of in- ternational law, — that an actual settlement, followed by tacit acquiescence on the part of the nation claiming by discovery, bars its claim to disturb the settlement, — the title of the States-General to New Netherland would for later juridical purposes have been involved, perhaps, in greater uncertainty than it was. The controversy seems to have been solved, therefore, by the law relating to an acquisition acquired by actual settlement, followed by acquiescence, rather than by that branch of the law of nations relating to acquisition by discovery, or even to Doc.«i. acquisition by occupancy — the terms occupation and set- n. V., i, tlement denoting contrasted conceptions of the jurists. 486; 11, r J id., 324. While the acquiescence of the English for half a century was in connection with other matters sufficient by the law of nations to determine the Dutch title, it was in all probability quite insufficient, when standing alone, to bar the English claim. Thus it was that the forcible X DIPLOMATIC INTERCOURSE. subjection of the Dutch dominion here by the English in 1664 was excused by the latter with some degree of plausibility, although the title of the English to this province finally rested on a formal cession by the States- General, thus preserving the treaty rights of Dutch sub- jects, including the integrity of the status of the Dutch antenati of the province. The diplomatic intercourse concerning the opposed claims to New Netherland, carried on by the respective authori- ties of the two nations, is not obscure, and may be readily outlined. In the year 1609, the Netherlands had become an independent power, having completely escaped from even the hegemony of Spain by the ending of the forty years' war. Consequently at the time of Hudson's dis- covery and the subsequent occupation of New Netherland by the Dutch, the States-General was entitled to be re- garded as the equal of England in the family of nations. The correspondence shows that in the year 162 1 the Eng- lish ambassador at The Hague was directed to represent to the States-General that the Dutch settlements in New Netherland were in conflict with the right of the King of England, who, jure pritncz occupationis, had good and sufficient title thereto. The representation was accord- CoL Hist N. Y., Ill ingly made by the ambassador, who claimed that the tran- 6/7,8. quil and plenary possession of the whole country, north of Virginia, was vested by patent in several private persons, subjects of the King of England, whose title was not to be contradicted. A formal demand was made that the Dutch trade and occupation of this country be prohibited. No ScCj formal reply to these demands appears in the Holland however, documents, but it is apparent from the course of subse- cohHist. quent events that the English claim was resisted from its so, s8. inception. At least the Dutch went steadily on with their xi THE "EENDRACHT" MATTER. project of colonization. In 1632 a Dutch ship, the "Een- dracht," clearing from New Netherland and driven into the English port of Plymouth by stress of weather, was attached, at the suit of the council of New England, for illegally trading within the dominions of the King of Eng- land. This incident had marked significance, for the am- bassadors of the States-General presented at once to King Doc. rei. Charles I. of England a remonstrance which prematurely Col. Hist. n. y.,i, 56. placed the Dutch title to the new country alone upon the theory of a purchase from the Indians. To this remon- Doc. rei. strance the English returned a ready answer denying that Col. Hist. n. y.,i, 58. the Indians were "possessores bonce fiaei of those coun- tries, so as to be able to dispose of them either by sale or donation, their residences being unsettled and uncertain, and only being in common." They answered further, "It can not be proved de facto, that all the nations of said country had contracted with them at the said pretended sale." The English title was in the same instrument expressly justified further " by first discovery, occupation and the possession which they have taken thereof." 1 The precise nature of the rejoinder by the Dutch authorities is not now known, but we are enabled from the correspon- dence between the West India Company and the States- General to ascertain that it was based upon the inadequate nature of the English occupation already indicated, and the complete nature of the Dutch settlements, as well as upon the express reservation of a neutral zone between the 38th and 41st degrees of N. latitude contained in the English 1 This part of the English answer is as fol- the above reasons, the true and legitimate lows: " But, moreover, the right his Majes- proprietors thereof in those parts, where ty's subjects have in that country, is justified their Lordships, the States, had not of them- by first discovery, occupation and the pos- selves and did not assume, such pretension, session which they have taken thereof, and and had not granted any patent thereof to by the concessions and letters patents they their subjects, to give them any power or title have had from our Sovereigns, who were, for thereunto." (Doc. rei. Col. Hist. N. Y.,I, 58.) xii BOUNDARIES OF NEW NETHERLAND. charter of 1606 to the London Company. The Dutch continuing to press for the release of the vessel, it was finally accorded, "saving and without any prejudice to his Majesty's rights." Thus the correspondence left the matter much where it had before stood, excepting that it carried the English claim down to the year 1632, and yet necessarily it carried the Dutch remonstrance down to the same period. Meanwhile the Dutch were in possession of the territory. The boundaries of the territory claimed by the Dutch were never precisely defined — a fact which naturally led in the end to other encroachments upon their established jurisdiction. The octroi of 16 14, it will be remembered, described the country as situated "in America between New France and Virginia, whereof the sea-coasts lie between the 40th and 45th degrees of latitude, as can be seen by a figurative map hereunto annexed." The condi- tion of the cartography of that day, as well as the inade- quate surveys then made, render incomplete what is now assumed to be the chart in question. In the correspon- dence relating to the ship "Eendracht," in 1632, the West India Company distinctly claimed the sea-coast from the 39th to the 41st degrees of north latitude only, or that land within which the English had not, up to that time, as the Dutch asserted, undertaken any plantation, and which was defined as a neutral zone in the charter granted by King James I. to the London Company in the year 1606. The eastern boundary of New Netherland was always indeter- minate, while the western boundary was never attempted; it lay, indeed, in terra incognita. The southern boundary of New Netherland was so placed as to include the mouth of the Delaware, or South, River. On the north it extended to the French territory, the limits of which were long Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., I, Si, 52. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., I, 559-575- See Regents' Report on the Boundaries of the State of N. Y., I, 7- Xlll DISPUTE OVER BOUNDARY. Jackson v. Ingraham, 4 Johnson's Reports, 163. Trumbull's Colonial Records of Connecticut. doubtful. In brief, it included the territories of the States of New- York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and part of Maryland; and, in addition, the country drained by the Connecticut River, which was discovered by Adriaen Block in 1614, and called by him the "Versch," or "Fresh Water," River. Thus, as is usual in new countries, the rivers furnished the natural boundaries of the primitive colonies. The dispute concerning the eastern boundary of New Netherland is significant because it enables us to ascertain how the colonial authorities treated it. The official acts of the subordinates of government, when performed on the spot, are not wholly without significance in the law of nations, which proceeds from moral rather than from tech- nical reasons. The Dutch, in the year 1632, supplemented their title by discovery by a purchase of the title of the Pequods to the Connecticut country. At a later day the English authorities procured the regularity of such Indian grant to the Dutch to be impeached by other Indians. Prior to this grant, the English had attempted to patent the same territory, and the Indian title was probably only a counterstroke of the Dutch in the strife for possession evidently about to ensue. While the Dutch at first enjoyed a valuable trade on the Connecticut River, they never established there those signs of dominion which were evident on the Hudson and the Delaware rivers. Consequently after 1635 the English colonists marched westward from Massachusetts, crossed the Connecticut River, and little by little encroached on the Dutch terri- tory, both of the mainland and of Long Island. In 1639 the English colonists maltreated and drove off the Dutch garrison on the Connecticut River, but in the following year the authorities of New Netherland made a firm stand XIV BOUNDARY QUESTION. at the mouth of the Norwalk River, where they erected the standard of the States-General, thus intending to preserve what now embraces Westchester County. Step by step westward the encroachments of the English continued, the Dutch all the while feebly resisting and asserting their title paramount. Finally, at Hartford, Connecticut, on 19 Sep- tember, 1650, the commissioners of the united English colonies and the delegates of the Director-General of New Laws and Netherland delimited the eastern frontier of New Nether- ofNew"** land by a convention which seems to have been condition- 215, 455 ; Doc. rcl. ally approved by the States-General. By the terms of this CoL Hist. N. Y., XIV, treaty, the eastern boundary of New Netherland began at a 342. point on the west side of Greenwich Bay about four miles from Stamford, running thence northerly for twenty miles. The further projection of the eastern line was reserved for future action ; but it was not in any event to run within ten miles of the Hudson River. Long Island was bisected, and only that part lying to the westward of a line run from the westernmost part of Oyster Bay straight to the sea was retained by New Netherland. Thus this treaty dimin- ished the territory originally claimed by the Dutch. Only three years prior to this event, Director Stuyvesant had distinctly claimed for his government all the land lying col. Hist.^ between the Connecticut and the Delaware rivers. Un- 39- fortunately, the treaty of Hartford, though long acquiesced in by the English government, was never formally ratified by them. Yet it was virtually ratified in 1662, and the Doc. rcl English claim to New Netherland was then extinguished coi/mst. . . N. Y., II, by the law of nations, even if we disregard the recognition 325. accorded by Cromwell in the treaty of 1654. The boundary question was incidental to the settlement of a new country by different European powers. The southern boundary of New Netherland on the Delaware, XV NATURE OF SETTLEMENTS. or South, River, also troubled the Dutch authorities. The first colony appears to have been planted there by the Dutch feTcoi' in 1623. Later on, and in the year 1633, a fort is said to xiu passim, have been begun by them at the mouth of the river ; but it was not fully completed until ten years later. As the border English were opposed to the Dutch occupation, they occasionally made irregular sorties. In the year 1635, the fort, being then vacant, was occupied by a small party of English, until one of the Dutch West India Company's ships was sent against them. The vessel brought the marauders to Manhattan, whence they were shipped to Virginia. Thus matters stood when the Royal Swedish South Company planted a small colony on the west bank of Delaware Bay, which was for a time known as New Sweden. For some years following this latter in- cident, there was a clash of authority on the South River — English, Swedes, and Dutch participating; but in 1655 the Swedish claims were forcibly extinguished by an armed expedition on the part of the Dutch, and the Swedish residents were required to take the oath of allegiance to the States-General. The West India Company ceded part of the region in 1657 t0 tne city °f °^ Amsterdam, which planted small colonies there. Several years later, Lord Baltimore, under his English grant, laid claim to the South River country; the Dutch, however, maintained their juris- diction over it until all their rights on the mainland of North America were finally ceded to England under the articles of capitulation and the subsequent treaty of Breda — the effect of which on the laws of New- York will be hereafter considered. Having outlined the nature of the Dutch settlements and the extent of the dominion enjoyed by them for some dec- ades, it remains to consider briefly the institutions estab- XVI DUTCH JURISPRUDENCE. lished here under the Dutch sovereignty. To a considerable extent they complement and explain those early laws of New-York which were subsequently enacted by the Eng- lish authorities. In any consideration of the Dutch in- stitutions, we must not fail to remember the nature of the social conditions of so feeble a colony, scattered over an area of country now containing millions of people, but then barely ten thousand in all. When the Dutch reign ended, in 1664, the New Netherlanders mainly resided in two sec- tions, the one adjacent to the Hudson River, the other to the Delaware. The city of New Amsterdam, on Manhat- tan Island, contained in all but fifteen hundred souls; and of the residue of the population of New Netherland, a large majority resided at no great distance by water from New Amsterdam. The simple occupations and needs of such a colony as was New Netherland up to the year 1664, required only the most rudimentary administration of gov- ernment ; and yet here, as in all the colonies of a cultivated and civilized state, the ultimate norm, or standard of colonial jurisprudence and government, was that of the land from which the governing authority emanated. Now, when New Netherland was under Dutch rule, the jurisprudence of Holland had already attained to the highest celebrity: Grotius, Vinnius, Van Leeuwen, Huber, Donellus, besides many other jurists, had made the names of the universities of Leyden and Utrecht so renowned, that Holland was then justly regarded as the one true fountain of the civil law. With Grotius, indeed, began the theory of modern govern- ment — a government founded on the will of the people. While the civil law formed the basis of the jurispru- dence of Holland, at least after the founding of the Uni- versity of Leyden in 1575, yet it was in course of time so modified by the ancient feudal laws, statutes, and usages 2 xvii ROOMSCH-HOLLANDSCHE RECHT. of Holland as to acquire a name of its own — "Roomsch- Hollandsche Recht"; or, the Roman-Dutch Law. While the Roman-Dutch Law supplied the common law of the people of New Netherland, it did not complete the entire system of law in force here under the Dutch — a fact which naturally leads to a brief consideration of the actual government and law of New Netherland. In this connec- tion it will be recalled that in the year 1621 the States- General had incorporated the Dutch West India Company, in order that the remoter trade of the Atlantic might be carried on by a strong organization under governmental supervision, and not by irresponsible private adventurers. To the company were delegated extensive powers of gov- ernment. It could make contracts, engagements, and alliances with the princes and natives of the countries comprised in the grant; build forts; maintain armies and navies; make war and peace; appoint and discharge gov- ernors, officers of justice, and other public officials neces- sary for the conservation of the places, and for the keep- ing of good order, police, and justice there. All oaths of allegiance were, however, to be taken to the States- General as well as to the company. The States-General reserved the approval of all governors-in-chief, and of their instructions, as well as the right to commission them. The company was to advance the peopling of the new countries ; but this object was manifestly quite subordi- nate to the main chartered privileges of privateering and exploiting the Dutch commerce. The governing body of the company consisted of an assembly, or college, of nine- teen delegates chosen out of the five separate chambers, or branches, of the company established for convenience in the different cities of the United Netherlands. Of these chambers, that at Amsterdam was the chief, and to its xviii LAW OF NEW NETHERLAND. management the affairs of New Netherland were intrusted. The West India Company was modeled after the East India Company. Each of the chambers was a separate society, with members, directors, and vessels of its own. These chambers were constituted much like the societes en commandite. Around a small knot of responsible members with a capital of from 4000 to 6000 florins (^333 to ^"500), there was a large number of anonymous share- holders. From time to time the company received additional powers from the States-General. The superior administration of the local government of New Nether- land was vested in a director and council, who, under the restrictions imposed by the charter and its amendments, and the instructions and the ordinances of the company, possessed subordinate judicial, legislative, and executive powers. The exercise of the judicial power was subject to an appellate jurisdiction vested in the Amsterdam chamber of the company, as it had the particular charge of New Netherland. The general supervision of the government of New Netherland was lodged in the board, or assembly, of nineteen delegates, briefly termed the "Assembly of the XIX.," and already mentioned. At first the supreme law of New Netherland was the will of the company, as expressed in instructions to the governors and declared in the ordinances of the company. Unfortunately, these ordinances, with the other archives of the Dutch West India Company, were sold for waste paper at public auction in the year 1821, by the order of the government of the Netherlands. Had it not been for such sale, this commonwealth would, in 184 1 , have obtained a complete copy of all the laws of New Netherland, some of which are now irrevocably lost Such of the Dutch ordinances as were transmitted here, and as have been Asher's In- troduction, Amsterdam, 1854, XVIII. General Introduction to Doc. rel- Col. Hist. N. Y., I, XXV. xix WEST INDIA COMPANY. preserved in the office of the Secretary of State of New- York, may be consulted in the collection compiled and translated by Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan. But this collection is far from complete, many of the Dutch records of the provincial epoch having been carried off by the English and lost long before Dr. O'Callaghan became the State archivist. Those of the ordinances which remain, though chiefly relating to matters of police and the mode of justice, possess a considerable interest, and explain to some extent anomalies of the succeeding laws of the province under the English. It is quite apparent, from the general tenor of the known ordinances, that the statute law thus established in New Netherland by the company conformed to the rationale of the jurisprudence of Holland. In the absence of any statutory regulation, the Roman- Dutch Law furnished the rule in New Netherland. Even the statutes of the company were not to be contrary to, but as far as possible in conformity with, the laws of the Fatherland. This was a natural limitation on any delega- tion of the powers of government over Dutch subjects. The words of the charter of the Dutch West India Com- pany required the commission of the governor-in-chief to be given by the States-General, and his instructions to be approved by them. From these instruments were derived the powers of colonial government, which must, by the natural limitations on the powers of the States- General themselves, have been conformed to the law of the Fatherland. That the jurisprudence of Holland was then a very enlightened system, any one may perceive from the familiar commentaries of Van Leeuwen, which were pub- lished in the Dutch tongue in the year 1678. In most Dutch colonies, these commentaries, together with the Introduction of Grotius and the Institutes of Van der JUDICIAL ESTABLISHMENT. Linden, still, in our own day, comprise the great body of the common law. So by contrasting the Dutch system of the seventeenth century with the state of the contem- porary English common law, we are now enabled to per- ceive the enlightened nature of the first jurisprudence established here by Europeans. The favorable impres- sion which we thus gather of the first common law of these parts, will be corroborated by a study of the Dutch ordinances and documents. By their provisions, equal doc. rei. justice was to be administered here in all civil and crimi- n^y 1 ? 1 ? nal matters, whether of strangers, natives, or inhabitants. 123/405.' That the historic liberality of the Fatherland toward strangers was continued here under Dutch rule, we have abundant evidence in the records; for even when the English were oppressively encroaching on the Dutch territory, a large number of their countrymen actually lived in peace and safety in New Netherland, under the protecting authority of wise and equal Dutch laws. The judicial establishment of New Netherland was such as was suited to the exigencies of so slender a population. At first the only court appears to have been that of the Director-General and Council on Manhattan Island, but at a later day other courts were established elsewhere. The court of the Director and Council, besides having a general jurisdiction, acted as a Prerogative, or Surrogate's, Court, and also as a Court of Admiralty. It no doubt proceeded according to the commission and instructions to the Director-General. Whether appeals from the judgments of this court lay to the States-General is in doubt. In the year 1653, the States-General resolved, on the opinion of the Attorneys-General of Holland, that such appeals would not lie directly to the States-General. Yet, at an earlier ord. of day, in the case of Kuyter and Melyn, who had been treated 147. 2* xxi NEW NETHERLAND CONSTITUTION in a very arbitrary manner by Director Stuyvesant, the States-General issued a mandamus requiring the latter Doc rel and his associates to show cause at The Hague why the n?y judgment of the Director's Court should not be reversed. Jos! 35 '' After long deliberation, the judgment below was reversed. But this case was so exceptional and extraordinary that CoLHfat even the Prince of Orange interfered. In other matters N. Y. I . . 351. ' ' we find the superintending authority of the States-General exercised with sufficient frequency to warrant the suppo- sition that an appellate power was reserved by them in proper cases. There was, however, a very distinct right to review the judgments of the Director and Council of New Netherland vested in the Amsterdam chamber of the West India Company. As the actions of the latter body were always subject to the general laws, institutions, and procedure of the State creating the company, under whose authority alone it existed, the security of the colonists was not neglected by the States-General. The court of the Director-General and Council of New Netherland, at a later stage of its existence, exercised an appellate juris- diction over the other courts established in the different settlements, and for this purpose was convened weekly in Fort Amsterdam. As the general or local business of this court increased, it was found necessary to relieve it some- Laws and ord. of what, and in 1647 a Court of Arbitration was erected for N. Neth., ' 75- the convenience of the inhabitants of New Amsterdam. The latter court disappeared with the incorporation of New Amsterdam as a city in 1653. An attentive consid- eration of the structure and of the nature of the court of the Director-General and Council will show that it was such a court as is usually found in the primitive stages of colonial governments, where the Governor and Council possess not only judicial but executive and legislative xxii TOWN COURTS OF THE DUTCH. powers. It is only as colonies develop that these powers pass through separate channels. As the Dutch peopled their territory, town courts of first instance were established from time to time. It is a suggestive fact that the first town court erected by the Dutch was one for the benefit of the English residents of Hempstead, Long Island, a place then within New Netherland. In 1644 Director Kieft granted land to Robert Fordham, John Stickland, and other persons of English origin, then in allegiance to the States-General, with corporate powers including the right to nominate magistrates for the governor's selection, and to establish laws by ordinances with the consent of the inhabitants. The town court of Hempstead had an extensive jurisdic- tion, civil and criminal, but the right of appeal to the court of the Director-General at New Amsterdam was reserved. So extraordinary a grant of self-government at this early period was intended to placate the border English, who were then within the jurisdiction of the Dutch, and in allegiance to the States-General. This grant, indeed, was pursuant to a Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions which had been granted in 1641 to the English residents of New Netherland. By the latter charter, the many English resident in New Netherland might have their own magistracy and other privileges, provided they took the oath of allegiance to the Noble Lords, States-General, and the West India Company. Other town courts were erected subsequently for the convenience of the other settlements of New Netherland ; that of Gravesend was erected in 1645, and that of Breuckelen in 1646. Flushing had such a court in 1648. In 1652, Beverswyck (Albany) was severed from the colony of Rensselaerswyck, and a separate court was erected at Fort Orange, with juris- See Chancellor Kent's opinion, Denton v. Jackson, 2 Johnson's N. Y. Chancery Reports, 324. Laws and Ord. of N. Neth.,42. Laws and Ord. of N. Neth.,27. Laws and Ord. of N. Neth., 53, 5»- xxni EXECUTIVE OF NEW NETHERLAND. Laws and Ord. of N.Neth.,X. Record of Burgo- masters and Schepens of New Amsterdam, in Van Tienhoven, Schout, v. Willem Albertsen, I. 238, 18 Aug., 1653. diction over the first-named settlement. This was the only court on the Hudson River, north of Manhattan Island, before 1661. In the same year (1652), a bench of justice was granted to Middleburgh (now Newtown, Long Island), and in 1654 the towns of Amersfoordt (Flat- lands) and Midwout (Flatbush) were allowed a joint court, which sat at the latter place three quarters, and in the former town one quarter, of the year, until March, 1661, when each town obtained a separate bench. In March, 1656, Westchester and Jamaica, then called Rustdorp, were each permitted to elect magistrates "on the same footing and with the same privileges as Middleburgh, Breuckelen, Midwout, and Amesfoort." A town court was granted to Haerlem in 1660; to Bushwyck, Wiltwyck (now Kingston), Bergen, and New Utrecht, in 1661; and to Staten Island in 1664. Most of the burgher courts were organized upon a simpler basis than that of New Amsterdam, — not possessing burgomasters, but only a schout and two or more schepens, or, in some cases, com- missioners. These officers were at first appointed by the Director and Council for a term of one year, but after some time the outgoing officials were permitted to name a double number of candidates, from whom their successors were selected. The administration of the village courts was to conform to the customs of the city of Amsterdam as nearly as the circumstances of this country would permit. The chief executive power over New Netherland was never vested in persons of either exalted station or of the highest order of ability — the colony was too distant, the remuneration too scanty, and the life too exacting, to at- tract such persons. In the year 1626, Peter Minuit was commissioned Director-General of New Netherland. To assist him was appointed a council of five persons, who XXIV WILLIAM KIEFT, DIRECTOR-GENERAL. with the Director were invested with all local, legislative, judicial, and executive powers, subject to the supervision and appellate jurisdiction of the Amsterdam chamber of the company. The sentences of the court were enforced by an officer called the schout-fiscal, who also acted as the public prosecutor, combining the duties of sheriff, attorney-general, and collector of the port. In Holland these duties were divided between the schout, or sheriff, and the fiscal, or attorney-general; but in New Amster- dam the schout-fiscal did the duty of both court officers, col. Hist. N Y XP The official records of the colony, during the administra- 262, 388. tion of Minuit and his successor, van Twiller, are lost, so that little is known about their mode of administering justice. In 1638, William Kieft arrived with a commis- sion as Director-General, and from the time of his arrival the records are unbroken. He was intrusted with great power, and used it shamefully. His instruction required that he should have a council. He appointed one member to sit with him in the board, and gave him one vote, reserving two for himself. Under Kieft, the Director- General and Council composed the only judicial tribunal, and exercised both civil and criminal jurisdiction. By his instructions an appeal was to be permitted from their judgments to the home government, but by a judicious system of fines and imprisonment, he put an end to this annoying practice. Kieft continued as Director-General of New Netherland for about eight years, and in that time nearly reduced the prosperous colony to ruin. Finally, upon a petition of the inhabitants, showing the evils aris- ing from his misgovernment, the company issued orders for his recall, and appointed Peter Stuyvesant to take his place. Associated with Stuyvesant were a vice-director and a schout-fiscal, who, with the Director-General, XXV PETER STUYVESANT, DIRECTOR-GENERAL. composed the Council. Upon this council were conferred full judicial powers, but with the qualification that when the schout-fiscal should prosecute for the government, either in criminal or civil cases, the military commandant should take his place upon the bench, and that in criminal prosecutions there should be added to the court two capable persons from the commonalty of the district in CoLHist which the crime was committed. The administration of N. Y. I tix. ' ' Stuyvesant, which was the last under Dutch rule, contin- ued for seventeen years, During almost the entire period, a struggle was carried on in the colony between the power of the company, represented by the Director, and the people, insisting upon their inherent right of self-govern- ment. Shortly after Stuyvesant's arrival, he seems to have organized a distinct court of justice for the colony, by the appointment of the Vice-Director as presiding judge. This tribunal, which was simply an organized court of the Director and Council, had power to decide all cases, civil and criminal; but the Director required that his opinion should be asked in important matters, and re- served the right to preside in person whenever he saw fit. Directly after the organization of the court, the case of Kuyter and Melyn, before noticed, came before it, and had a very important effect upon the future of the colony. These men, who had been prominent in obtaining the recall of Director Kieft, were prosecuted by order of the new Director for seditious libel in drawing the petition for Kieft's removal, and for disrespectful conduct toward the ex-Director. Their case coming on for trial, Stuyvesant was in favor of sentencing one to death, and of imposing a heavy fine upon the other. They were, however, fined and banished. Going to Holland, they appealed to the States-General, although the Director had told them, in xxvi CITY OF NEW AMSTERDAM. the bombastic and figurative language of the time, that he would have them hanged on the highest tree in New Netherland if he supposed that they would be guilty of rI^n.y. such contempt of his authority. The States-General, who coifecdo?,' always seemed disposed to protect the colonists, reversed ni, 5 ^?' the sentence, and dealt the first blow at the arbitrary power of the Director. The Director-General and Council had, prior to the incorporation of New Amsterdam, also admin- istered the municipal affairs in Manhattan, which belonged in fee to the West India Company. This they did in a spirited but irregular fashion. It could hardly be ex- pected that a mercantile monopoly could prove a safe repository of governmental powers. That the admin- istration was, under the circumstances, so orderly and beneficent, reflects great credit on the jurisprudence and institutions of the Fatherland. As the population of New Netherland increased, it was found necessary to establish a municipal government for the Dutch on Manhattan Island, the seat of the executive residence and the chief entrepot of the entire region round about. By 1652, when the population had increased to some eight hundred or more, the village of New Am- sterdam, at the southern extremity of the island, desired a municipal government, in conformity with the institu- tions of Holland, where burgher rights and privileges were much esteemed and played an important role in the general polity of the country. The West India Com- pany at first opposed the grant of these privileges as inconsistent with their own prerogative. But the colo- nists being pertinacious, the company finally instructed Stuyvesant in 1653 to permit the establishment on Man- hattan Island of a burgher government after the model of the free cities of Holland. "Stuyvesant accordingly xxvii BURGHER-RECHT. issued a proclamation on the feast of Candlemas, ap- pointing Arendt van Hattem and Martin Kregier, burgo- masters, and Paulus Leendertsen van der Grist, Maxi- milian van Gheel, Allard Anthony, Willem Beeckman, and Pieter Wolfertsen van Couwenhoven, schepens, of the city of New Amsterdam. Cornelis van Tienhoven, the company's fiscal, was made schout of the city, and Jacob Kip was appointed secretary to the municipal government. A few days afterward, the burgomasters and schepens met together, and gave notice that they would hold their ordinary meetings every Monday morning at nine o'clock, ' in the building hitherto called the City Tavern, and now named the Stadt Huys or City Hall.' Stuyvesant, whose attention had been so much given to the municipal affairs of the capital, often attended these meetings in person. Record-books were then commenced, and a solemn form Broadhead's of prayer was adopted, with which the proceedings of the Sestateof court were to be opened. The island of Manhattan had at New-York 1,548. last formally become the city of New Amsterdam." The municipality of New Amsterdam, as established in 1653, resembled that of its more ancient namesake in Holland, being vested in burgomasters and schepens who, with the schout-nscal, composed the court of magistrates as well as the executive government of the city. The burgo- masters acted as orphan-masters, or surrogates, until 1655. In the year 1657 the citizens of New Amsterdam were, at their own request, allowed the Dutch municipal and trad- ing privileges of "burgher-recht," and they were divided, according to quality, into great and small burghers; the latter class might purchase the higher honor for a trifling sum. After a custom of the Fatherland, the great burghers enjoyed the monopoly of certain municipal offices, as well as exemptions from many onerous civic duties. Com- bined, the rights of the burghers constituted the freedom xxviii SCHOUT AND SCHEPENS. of the city. Much sentiment has been written deprecating the introduction of this invidious and aristocratic distinc- tion. In sober point of fact, it was a mere matter of police, and of no great political or social consequence. It was most anxiously sought by the inhabitants themselves, in order that they might be better protected against foreign competition in trade. 1 Burgher-right confined the Ord. of ..... . . N. Neth trading privileges to such as were citizens of New Am- 301. sterdam. The citizens of New Amsterdam were finally allowed to elect a schout (or sheriff), two burgomasters, and five schepens. These officers were to form a munici- pal court of justice, subject to the right of appeal to the Supreme Court of the province. However, Stuyvesant departed from his somewhat ambiguous instructions, and, instead of permitting the people to elect their officers, appointed them himself. A few days thereafter, on 5 February, 1653, the newly appointed burgomasters and schepens came together and organized their court. This tribunal, known as the Court of Burgomasters and Sche- pens, continued during the remainder of the Dutch rule. Its name under the English was changed to that of the Mayor's Court, and at a later day to the Court of Common Pleas of the City and County of New-York, which, as it now exists, is the lineal descendant of the old Dutch court. The Court of Burgomasters and Schepens had at first original jurisdiction of all civil cases which arose in the city of New Amsterdam, and a few years afterward full criminal jurisdiction, except in cases of murder. It acted also as a Court of Admiralty and as a Probate Court. 2 1 See "Burghers and Freemen of New Amsterdam and New- York " (Collections of N. Y. Hist. Society, XVIII), for a full account of both burgher-rights. 2 For a full and interesting account of the procedure and history of the ancient munici- pal court of New- York city, see the History of the Court of Common Pleas for the City and County of New- York, by Judge Charles P. Daly; Preface to E. D. Smith's N. Y. Common Pleas Reports, I. xxix LAND LAW OF NEW NETHERLAND. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., I, 58. Grotius, Introduction to Dutch Jurispru- dence, passim. See Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., I, 37, 56, 84, and Vols. XIII, XIV of the same series, passim; Duke of York's Book of Laws, Harrisburg, Penn., edition of 1878, p. 418; "Charter of Freedoms and Exemp- tions," sec. xxvi ; Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., II, 557; Laws and Ord. of N. Neth., 9. Droit des Gens, L. II, 86. Other municipal governments were from time to time granted by the Directors to the other settlements of New Netherland. Any outline of the institutions established here by the Dutch would be incomplete without a reference to the land law of the colony. The theory announced by the English in 1632, that the Indians were not "flossessores bonce fidei" of the lands of America so as to be able to dispose of them either by sale or donation, was not consistent with the more enlightened character of the Dutch jurisprudence. Con- sequently the Dutch always proceeded upon the theory that their title to New Netherland was wholly derivative. In every instance both the West India Company and the other Dutch subjects of New Netherland purchased from the Indian inhabitants the lands wanted by the Dutch for occupation. The archives of New-York are full of trans- actions of this character. Thus the island of Manhattan was purchased from the Indians for sixty guilders (about twenty-four dollars), and thus Kiliaen van Rensselaer's agent, Krol, purchased the vast region adjacent to Fort Orange, on the upper Hudson. In this way, the celebrated question of the publicist Vattel, — "Whether a nation may lawfully take possession of some part of a vast country in which there are none but erratic nations, whose scanty population is incapable of occupying the whole?" — was so answered by the Dutch as to avoid all moral diffi- culties. About 1629, in order to fulfil the clause of their charter requiring them to advance the peopling of un- settled parts, the Dutch West India Company, with the assent of the States-General, determined to encourage in New Netherland private colonies, the masters, or patroons, of which were to be vested with seigniorial government within their respective colonies. It was thought that these XXX DUTCH PATROONS. seigniorial privileges would attract the capital as well as the personal interest of the more ambitious mercantile mem- bers of the company ; for seigniorial estates in Holland were highly esteemed and very ancient. In furtherance of this motive, the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions was promulgated, whereby any member of the company, 1 who should, within four years after notice to the company, undertake to plant "a colonie " of fifty persons upward of fifteen years old, out of the limits of the island of Man- hattan, — which was reserved to the company, — should, within his colony, possess certain powers and privileges prescribed in the charter and familiar to the seigniories of Holland. In addition, they were to have certain trading Laws and privileges, then far more valuable; but the fur trade was N^Nefh-.G; excepted until after the year 1639. By a liberal amend- coi/mst. N Y I ment to the charter of 1629, adopted in the year 1640, 150. ' whoever conveyed five persons above fifteen years of age was to be acknowledged " Master," or " Colonist," and have one hundred morgens of land (Rhineland measure) wherever he pleased to select. Under the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, seven colonies, or patroon- ships, were founded in New Netherland. The Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions did not, however, forbid the occupation of land by individuals, who might continue to preempt as much as they could improve, but subject to the approbation of the Director-General and Council of New Netherland. With but two exceptions, and these by the accident of superior situation, the patroons were unsuccessful in found- ing in New Netherland estates of any permanence. They 1 Laws and Ordinances of New Nether- lands to plant such colonies. (Doc. rel. land. This provision was amended in 1640 Col. Hist. N. Y., I, 119.) so as to allow any inhabitant of the Nether- xxxi RENSSELAERSWYCK. were at war with the spirit of individualism characteristic of new countries, and in 1659 the company decided to cS'His't. tolerate no more such ventures. Of all the "colonies" N Y xin,i2i. thus attempted by private persons, that of van Rensse- laer, in the valley of the upper Hudson, and that of van der Donck, at Yonkers, alone survived the English con- quest of 1664. The others perished long before Rens- selaerswyck was converted into an English manor of im- portance in any consideration of the colonial land tenures of New-York. Rensselaerswyck was the result of a part- nership venture, but the shares of the other associates ulti- mately devolved on the members of the van Rensselaer family who established themselves in the new country. The later history of this manor is one of decadence and of prolonged strife with the inconsistent institutions of the new country. Prior to the English conquest of 1664, the "Colonie of Rensselaerswyck" was already a flourishing settlement. The estate and privileges conferred on the patroons were not of the ancient feudal type, but resembled those in Holland, then called "good feuds," or seigniories which had been so modernized as to prevent harsh inci- dents, escheats, and reversions to the lord of the manor. The Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions simply con- ferred upon the patroons the powers then incidental to a common Dutch sub-fief, without any title of nobility attached. In their "colonies," the patroons, as seigniors, exercised subordinate legal jurisdiction. In person, or by deputy, in the Courts Baron, they pronounced judgments for civil injuries or crimes; but by law their judgments in cases involving at one time fifty, and afterward one hundred, guilders, or inflicting infamy, were subject to the review of the Director-General and Council at Fort Amsterdam, the executive residence. xxxii DUTCH SUB-FIEFS. While there is some evidence that the patroons desired to augment their jurisdiction over their own colonies, jure majestatis, as successors to the Indian chieftains whose powers they claimed to have acquired by purchase, the coLtKst seigniorial system of the Dutch was at that time an ex- 84,86. tremely moderate system, and there is no reason to sup- pose that it was oppressive when transplanted to this country. The Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions dis- tinctly granted to those patroons who desired it venia testandi, or the power of disposing of their fiefs by will. The lands within the colonies of the patroons were de- clared allodial, although certain duties of service were usually reserved in leases. Soon after the colonies of the patroons had been founded, disputes arose under the sei- gniorial law of Holland concerning the character of the fiefs of the patroons, in the course of which it is apparent c°l Skt. that the latter did not desire to recognize the West India 84,8o' ; e. f. Company as their lord paramount. For this reason the " Origin and very interesting claim was made that the patroons had Manors m succeeded to the sovereignty of the "Indian lords" who 52.* had made the original grants to the patroons. The West India Company held the entire province 1 as a fief, and asserted its claim to be considered the superior lord of the whole of New Netherland, including Rensselaerswyck, although at first the patroon of Rensselaerswyck at- Doc. rel. tempted to defeat the appellate jurisdiction of the High n. y.,i,' • 1 4 2 3- 5 2 3~4> Court at New Amsterdam, but without success. Within xiv, id., Rensselaerswyck, farms seem usually to have been let 387' to the Dutch colonists, reserving to the patroon one tenth of the farm produce as rent; other conditions proper to the new settlement were prescribed. The sub-fiefs of the lit was called a province because the company was invested with the arms of a count. (Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., I, 262.) t, xxxiii JUS PATRONATUS. patroons of New Netherland were " devolvable by death as well to females as to males." The main and essential difference between the lands of New Netherland, without and within the colonies of the patroons, related to the ju- risdiction of the patroon's court. This court had subor- dinate jurisdiction over the colonists living on the lands of the patroon, just as other manor courts, in countries where the manorial system survived. But while Rens- selaerswyck was still in embryo, it ceased to be a Dutch feud, and became an English manor by virtue of a grant from the new lord proprietor. The feudal tenures of both the mother-countries — Holland and England — hav- ing been reformed before the foundation of manors in New-York, the manorial system introduced by the Dutch was not a harsh one, while it operated as an induce- ment to persons of capital to colonize a distant and wild country. The pretensions of the patroons were kept within strict bounds by the West India Company, and the colonists within the patroonships were, by the law, regarded as free inhabitants of New Netherland. Al- though the lands within the patroons' domains were declared allodial, the jurisdiction of a perpetual hereditary fief remained in the patroons. This title " patroon " was not one of nobility. It was derived from the civil law, where the original patronus simply indicated a patrician. The jus patronatus of the Roman law was taken by the Dutch as a convenient guide for their own system, in which the patroon corresponded with the French sei- gnieur or the English lord of the manor. As the Dutch patroons enjoyed certain jurisdiction, "high, low, or mid- dle," and might preserve the peace within their manors, it was evidently thought that the transfer of this system to America, and the erection into patroonships of those xxxiv LAND TENURES. independent colonies which were distant from the actual settlements of the West India Company, might afford a convenient system for policing and colonizing New Netherland. The error was soon detected, and the erec- tion of patroonships was finally discontinued by the West India Company. The other settled parts of New Netherland, outside of the patroonships, were primarily vested in the company, having been acquired by it either by grants from the In- dians or as derelicts. By the company portions of these lands were granted to the colonists, sometimes in the name of the States-General, the Prince of Orange, and the man- agers of the West India Company, and at others in that of the local director of the West India Company, but on condition that the grantees acknowledge the com- pany as patroon. The common Dutch deed, sometimes called a transport, which followed the ground brief, was the usual form of conveyance employed in New Netherland. Unfortunately the technical writers on the jurisprudence of New-York do not treat the early land law with as much precision as it has been treated in the other Anglo-Dutch colonies acquired by England through the means of cessions or treaties. And yet this matter at the present day in New- York is one not only of great in- terest, but in many cases originally held under Dutch ground briefs and transports, it is of considerable practical importance to the successors in title. The nature of the Dutch West India Company's estate appears to have been treated by the Dutch jurists as a seigniorial feud, or a fief of nobility, but one depending altogether on the charter of the latter company from the States-General. This theory was consistent not only with the grant to the company of the arms of a count, but also with the grant of jurisdiction, "cum Hoffman's Estate, etc., of the Corpora- tion of New- York, I. 98 ; Dunham v. Williams, 37, N. Y. Reports, 251; Bartow v. Draper, 5 Duer, N. Y. Superior Court Reports, 130, 142; Stoiy v. N. Y. Ele- vated R. R. Co., 3 Abb, N. C, 489; Van Giesen, v. Bridgford, 18 Hun 73. XXXV DUTCH TRANSPORTS. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., XIV, 10. Laws and Ord. of N. Neth., 114. Hoffman's Estate, etc., of the Cor- poration of New- York, I,98,99>329- annexa jurisdictione" and the oath of allegiance required by the company to itself. In accordance with this theory the company might, by the contemporary law of Holland, alienate its property, but not in seigniorial tenure. The grants to the patroons, it will be recalled, had been spe- cially authorized by the Charter of Freedoms and Ex- emptions, which primarily regulated the land tenures of the Dutch and exempted the colonists for ten years from the date of settlement from all taxes or other contributions to the government. Thereafter the colonists were obliged to pay to the company one tenth of all the yearly produce of the land and a couple of capons for a house and garden. Under this charter, which operated as a general authority from the States-General, the grantees of the company pos- sessed their holdings in "full property," and therefore might dispose of the same to whomsoever they pleased, without the necessity of applying to the company, as superior lord, and either by way of absolute conveyance, by lease, or emphyteusis, or by hypothec, or mortgage. The company, however, seems to have regulated the execution to some extent of such deeds. All types of the instruments men- tioned, then familiar to the lawyers of Holland, are to be found among the land documents of the Dutch period, and in a form quite in accordance with the principles of the reformed feudal law. Although the Dutch took up small portions only of the country, in several parts, notably in the old city of New- York, much of the land was originally conveyed by means of Dutch ground briefs and trans- ports, and the legal qualities of the estates under them have necessarily attracted the attention of law-writers, but whether in a manner quite consistent with the subsequent laws enacted by the English authorities should be con- sidered. XXXVl INTESTATE SUCCESSION. Other particulars of the jurisprudence of New Nether- land may be gleaned from the documents and the archives relating to the Dutch period of our history. Intestate succession, or inheritances ab intestato, were regulated by the Aasdom's-recht 1 peculiar to Amsterdam, Leyden, and many other cities and districts in Holland, and not by the Schependom's-recht, peculiar to South Holland. These laws were different in origin and principle. By the former law, observed here, the next of blood inherited, whereas by Schependom's-recht the property reverted to the source from whence it came. With that tolerance and liberality then peculiar to the civilization of the Netherlands, the English inhabitants of New Netherland were permitted to hold real estate here, make settlements of their own, and to dispose of their property by will at pleasure, although the law of New Netherland regulated their successions ab ord. of N. Neth. intestato. The law relative to wills in force here under 467. the Dutch also conformed to the law of the Fatherland, as may be readily perceived by an examination of the records of the Dutch epoch ; so the domestic relations, such as the ord. of , . .... . , , - . N. Neth., institution of marriage, the incidents of the law of real, or 152. immovable, property, including servitudes, and, in short, the entire range of private law when not modified by the statutes of the company, were governed by the law of Holland. Yet the exigencies of a frontier life, among so small and so diffused a population as that of the Dutch in New Netherland, demanded very little actual law. The chief settlements on the mainland were only trading-posts, clustering around some stockade or fort; and beyond these mantelets stretched a few outlying and rough farms. 1 Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., I, 620. (It also governed intestate succession to feuds within the province.) %* xxxvii NATURE OF SETTLEMENTS. The seaport of New Amsterdam was a mere hamlet and fort, and the houses within its precincts extended only to the north wall — the present line of Wall street. A little beyond the wall lay the virgin forest, almost unbroken until it reached the village of Nieuw Haerlem. Without the wall and on the wild shores of the North and the East rivers were several isolated farm-houses, at wide intervals apart. In the year 1664, with the exception of Nieuw Haerlem and the Governor's farm, or bouwery, which was nearly midway on the woodland road to Nieuw Haerlem, there were very few habitations outside the fort on the entire island of Manhattan. On Long Island the Dutch villages and the farming communities lived in a greater natural security, and the stockades usual elsewhere were notably absent. On the Delaware the settlements, still more distant and wild, were of the same general character. It is evident that neither the Dutch village communities nor the traders and the sailors of the seaports could require much actual law, excepting that of the police correctionnelle . Yet whenever the law of New Netherland was invoked it moved on the lines and according to the theories indicated. It is to be regarded, therefore, not as a possible system, but as an actual one, well worthy of intelligent considera- tion, although it was destined soon to disappear. By the year 1662 the settlements of New Netherland began to prosper, though they had long languished in comparison with those of the border colonies of England. The increasing prosperity of New Netherland was quickly noticed by the English, and particularly by their ambas- sador at The Hague, Sir George Downing, a native of New England and one of the early graduates of Har- vard College. After the year 1660 the English colonies had carried on with New Netherland an extensive but xxxviii ENGLISH AGGRESSION. surreptitious trade intended to circumvent the British Acts of Trade and Navigation, prohibiting all commerce between the English colonies and any foreign dominion. By shipping to New Amsterdam their tobacco and pro- duce, the English colonies were enabled to carry on Coi. Hist. & J . N. Y.,111. a virtual foreign trade in Dutch bottoms. The English 44. 47- Council of Foreign Plantations soon learned that New Netherland enabled the American colonies of England to defeat the act of 1660. Thus public attention was 11., c . 18. again called in England very pointedly to the dormant claim to New Netherland. When the extinction of the Dutch colony was at last determined on, nothing was more simple than to revive the English pretensions to the Hudson and the Delaware rivers. Unfortunately the Dutch West India Company was then bankrupt, while its political opponents ruled the United Provinces and refused Asher's in- to press vigorously upon the English government the ^ ductlon ' company's claim to New Netherland. In this situation of affairs the house of Stuart deemed that the time to put down the Dutch power in New Netherland had arrived. Although England and Hol- land were then at peace, on 12-22 March, 1664, King Charles II. granted to his brother the Duke of York and Albany a patent for "All that part of the maineland of New England beginning at a certain place called or known by the name of St. Croix next adjoining to New Scotland in America and from thence extending along the Sea Coast unto a certain place called Petuaquine or Pemaquid and so up the river thereof to the furthest head of the same as it tendeth Northwards and extending from thence to the River Kinebequi and so Upwards by the Shortest course to the River Canada Northward. And also all that Island or Islands commonly called by the several name or names xxxix duke of york's patent. of Matowacks or Long Island situate lying and being towards the West of Cape Cod and the Narrow Higan- setts abutting upon the main land between the two Rivers there called or known by the several names of Connecticut and Hudsons River together also with the said River called Hudsons River and all the Land from the West side of Connecticut to the East side of Delaware Bay and also all those several Islands called or known by the Names of CoLHis't Martin's Vinyard and Nantukes otherwise Nantuckett." N. Y., II, 295. "' This grant included all the territory occupied and governed by the Dutch for more than half a century. That the West India Company had no formal patent from the States- General for the territory in question had long been made a Doc. rel. coi. Hist, point of by the English, and the specific grant to the Duke 332. ' was intended not only to supply this legal vacuum, but to justify the patentee in the contemplated course of spoliation and conquest, and so enable the crown to do indirectly what could not be justified directly by the law of nations. Armed with this patent and the viceregal authority it contained, the Duke of York as Lord High Admiral of England quickly sent an armed expedition under the command of Colonel Richard Nicolls to subdue the Dutch of New Netherland. At the same time Colonel Nicolls, Sir Robert Carre, George Cartwright, and Samuel Maverick were despatched by the King as his commis- sioners, ostensibly to visit the colony of Massachusetts, but with private instructions to reduce " the Dutch in or CoLHis't. neare Long Island, or anywhere within y e limitts of our f 2 . Y '' ni ' owne dominions to an entire obedience to our government." Long Island being first subdued, on 27 August, 1664 (old style), the city of New Amsterdam, the capital of New col Hist. Netherland, surrendered to the English under formal and 250. ' ' regular articles of capitulation, the terms and legal effect xl NEW-YORK. of which will be noticed hereafter. In September follow- r Doc. rel. ing, Fort Orange surrendered, and a little later the Dela- coi. Hist. & ' & ' n. y.,iii, ware country capitulated under separate articles. New 6 9- n- Amsterdam was immediately named New-York, and Fort Orange, Albany. Colonel Nicolls now proceeded to estab- lish a civil government by virtue of his commission and the Duke of York's patent. To the country west of the Doc. rel. Hudson River he gave the name of Albania, and to Long coi. Hist. Island that of Yorkshire. The entire province was called 105. New-York. When the changed condition of affairs was Doc. rel. communicated to Holland, the States-General made a coi. Hist. N. Y., II, formal but vain demand for restitution from England. 275-294. But not until 22 February, 1665, did King Charles II. formally declare war against the States- General. During the entire war New Netherland remained in possession of the English, and by an uti possidetis clause of the treaty of peace signed at Breda, 31 July, 1667, it was formally ceded to the English crown. This formal cession was the only substantial advantage England derived from the entire war. At the time when dominion over New Netherland was transferred to the English crown, the principles of repre- sentative government had no place in the colonial estab- lishment of the Dutch West India Company. The burgo- masters and schepens of New Amsterdam after the year 1658 had been permitted to nominate a double number of persons from whom the new magistrates might be chosen by the Director, and the same practice obtained in the villages of the province ; but the condition of the settle- ments, the lack of easy communication between them, as well as the poverty and the occupations of the few scat- tered inhabitants, struggling to subdue the powers of the wilderness, made impracticable any more advanced type xli ACTUAL CONDITIONS IN 1664. of government than that introduced by the West India Company. When we read the history of New Nether- land the very language itself is apt to mislead, for the reader's mind conjures up from it ideas usually associ- ated with a mighty state, and he forgets that the settle- ments and the government of the Dutch in New Nether- land were in the year 1664 in a most rudimentary condition — one suitable to a feeble colony situated at the extremity of the then known world. Yet as the early laws and institutions of New Netherland had important ulterior consequences, they possess a potential signifi- cance in jurisprudence far in excess of their real value. Under the English rule the people of Dutch descent flourished greatly, and from their many sterling qualities of race and temperament they were at all times an in- fluential element of the population of the Province of New-York. xlii CHAPTER II. HE introduction of English laws into the Province of New-York by the Duke's gov- ernment was very gradual. For some time after the conquest naturally there was in force here, as in other conquered countries, a personal, as contradistinguished from a territorial, law. The con- querors and the conquered lived together, and both pre- served their separate manners and laws to some extent until the work of organizing the province on the basis of the Duke's patent was gradually completed. Intuition alone would affirm that the subsidence of the Dutch law must have been as gradual as the evidence demonstrates that it was. We well know that the English did not exterminate the original Dutch settlers nor at once pro- xliii JUS CORONA. Lieut. -Gov. Colden's Letters on Smith's History ; N. Y. Hist. Society's Collections for 1868, p. 183. Mitchel v. U. S., 9 Peters, 711, 748. hibit the exercise of their laws and customs. Nor did the conqueror flagrantly violate the articles of surrender solemnly made with the subdued authorities. On the con- trary, these articles seem to have been given for a long period an unusual force and obligation. Step by step, and in an orderly manner, the Duke's agents incorpo- rated the Dutch into an English political community, or one whose inspiration was drawn from the manners, the customs, and the laws of England. Necessarily, at a late period, a few of the institutions of the original European settlers are to be found grafted, as it were, on the law of the Province of New- York. Unfortunately, through the neglect or the indifference of the State authorities, much of the material which would enable us to portray accu- rately the growth of the early legal institutions of New- York has been permitted to fall into a poor condition. Assuming that the land occupied by the Dutch was rightfully vested in the crown of England, the power of King Charles II. to grant the patent of 1664 to the Duke of York could not be denied on the ground that the law was then obscure. At an early stage of English colonial development, the extent of the right of the kings of Eng- land to the newly found lands of America was fully con- sidered by jurists. At first the King was regarded as seized of all unsettled colonial lands, as of his own demesne, but afterward as seized in jure coronce, and thenceforth alienations thereof were secundum jus coronce. Had King Charles II. been rightfully seized of the lands possessed by the Dutch, his power to grant this patent to the Duke of York could not have been questioned as the prerogative then stood; but the fact that the patent of 1664 was made before the King's conquest or possession of New Netherland, raised doubts as to the validity of the xliv t CONQUERED PROVINCE. Duke's first parchment title to the province, and was to some extent a reason for the procurement of a new patent in 1674, in nearly the same terms as those of the old. Both of these patents conformed to the theories of the law advisers of the crown, and were closely associated with certain historical instances. They were not inventions of the lawyers themselves. In the time of the earlier Stuarts, the English crown agents had found precedents for the erection of proprietary governments in America, either in the old English counties palatine, which enjoyed a quasi- independent but subordinate government, or else in the remnant of the duchy of Normandy remaining under the jurisdiction of the English kings — the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, and Sark. These latter countries were out of the realm, — that is, beyond the borders of England: "ex- tra quatuor maria," as it was called, — and consequently they were thought by the formalists of the time to present a closer analogy to the American possessions than even the counties palatine of England. Thus it was that, as in the case of the Channel Islands, appeals of last resort from all the colonies originally lay to the King or to the King in council, and not to the ordinary courts of England. The right of King Charles II. to delegate so extensive a legislative power as that contained in the Duke of York's patent, is justified also by the theory that the political status of New-York was that of a conquered province. It was undoubtedly so regarded by the chief law-officers of the crown. There was in England at that time a con- siderable body of law sometimes known as crown law, or the law relating to the prerogatives of the crown. When a country was acquired by conquest or treaty, the King possessed an exclusive prerogative power over it, and might entirely change or model anew the whole or part of xlv Campbell v. Hall, Cowper, 204 ; S. O, 20 Howell's State Trials, 239 ; Perm v. Lord Baltimore, 1 Ves. Sr., 444, 451- COMMON LAW OF ENGLAND. chitty's its laws and political forms of government, and might dves° ga govern it by regulations framed by himself. As, however, crown, a country conquered by British arms became a dominion 29. of the King in right of his crown, it was finally said in England to be necessarily subject to the legislature of Great Britain. The King might preclude himself from the exercise of his prerogative legislative authority in the first Chitty's . 111 1 Preroga- instance over a conquered or ceded country by promising tives of the to vest it in an assembly of the inhabitants, or by any Crown, m , 30- other measure of a similar nature. This we have seen that he did by his grant to the Duke of York. Had New- York been regarded by the crown lawyers as a country acquired by England by right of discovery and occupation under the law of nations, the entire course of legislation and administration of this province by the crown must have been essentially different from what it was. Much confusion on this subject has been created by a desire to account for the introduction of the English common law in New- York by a presumption of the early jurists, — it being thought by many, in deference to the text of the early English commentators on colonial law, that the mode in which the English common law was in- troduced into countries acquired by England by discovery and occupation, was quite different from the mode adopted in the case of countries acquired by conquest or by cession. But a careful analysis of the laws of the different colonies of England undoubtedly demonstrates that the English Stoke's constitu- common law was set in force by some equivalent of legis- Brltish lation in all the transmarine possessions of England where 30. it obtains ; so that in reality the manner in which such countries have been acquired by England makes no real difference in the end. The early English cases did not pretend that the English law was in force in those unin- xlvi GOVERNOR RICHARD NICOLLS. habited countries discovered and settled by the English ; but the law of nature, as it was called, was said to ob- tain there. Later commentators, however, invented the theory that the common law was ipso facto in force, over- looking the fact that whenever a colonial government, even of the roughest kind, was established, the English authorities prescribed, in some formal manner, the extent to which English laws should there have what may be termed an extra-territorial operation. In the case of New- York we are enabled to ascertain the precise mode in which law of English original was introduced. Here there is no room for either the presumptions or the theories of jurists to the contrary. In all proprietary establishments the powers of the chief ministers of government were usually determined by their respective commissions and instructions from the pro- prietor, whose grant in turn furnished the criterion of the political authority. Richard Nicolls, the first deputy gov- ernor, brought with him both of these instruments, but the precise tenor of his instructions from the Duke can at present be ascertained only from declarations as to their contents. 1 Under his commission Colonel Nicolls was enabled to execute all the powers granted to the Duke of York by the patent from King Charles II. The com- mission was virtually a letter of attorney from the lord proprietor. By the terms of his patent, the Duke, his " heirs, Deputies, Agents, Commissioners and Assigns had full and absolute power and authority to correct, punish, pardon, govern and rule all " the King's subjects Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., II, 252, 415; Clarendon Papers, N. Y. Hist. Society's Collections for 1869, p. 119; N. Y. Patents. I, 1 16, 1 18. 1 The practice of retaining in their own custody many instruments of this character prevailed to a great extent among the earlier colonial governors. (General Introduction, Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., XXXI, XXXII.) For instance, Lord Cornbury's commission and instructions were but recently found with difficulty ; they are, however, now in the Library of the New- York Historical Society. xlvii duke of york's patent. "who may from time to time adventure themselves into any the parts or places" granted, "or that shall or do at any time hereafter inhabit within the same, according to such Laws, Orders, Ordinances, Directions and Instruments" as the Duke or his assigns should establish. "And in defect thereof in cases of necessity according to the good discretions of his Deputies, Commissioners, Officers or Assigns respectively as well in all causes and matters Capital and Criminal as civil both marine and others So always as the said Statutes Ordinances and proceed- ings be not contrary to but as near as conveniently may be agreeable to the Laws, Statutes & Government of this Our Realm of England And saving and reserving to us Our Heirs and Successors the receiving, hearing and de- termining of the Appeal and Appeals of all or any Person or Persons of in or belonging to the territories or Islands aforesaid in or touching any Judgment or Sentence to be there made or given. . . . And also to make, ordain and establish all manner of Orders, Laws, directions, in- structions, forms and Ceremonies of Government and Magistracy fit and necessary for and Concerning the Government of the territories and Islands aforesaid so always as the same be not contrary to the laws and coi. Hist. statutes of this Our Realm of England but as near as may N. Y. II, 296,297/ be agreeable thereunto." From the language just given the nature of the powers intrusted to Governor Nicolls may be readily perceived. As the law of England stood, even before the remedial statutes enacted in the reigns of William III. and subsequent sovereigns, an infraction by a Br°idfh SSS colonial governor of any delegated power of government i, e 2i7 men s ' might be redressed at the King's Bar in Westminster. The political authority of the English over the Dutch of New Netherland was at the outset limited by the terms xlviii ARTICLES OF SURRENDER. of the capitulation. Conditions of surrender are by the law of nations within the province of military commanders, and do not ordinarily require the sanction of their respec- tive sovereigns. By the articles of capitulation in question the Dutch then in New Netherland were guaranteed certain permanent rights : such as liberty of conscience in divine worship and church discipline; the protection of church property; the enjoyment of their own customs concerning their inheritances ; the safe preservation of public records relative to inheritances or to the church ; the retention of the Dutch magistrates until time of new elections, and then the choice of new ones, provided such were in allegiance to the King of England ; contracts made prior to the capitulation were to be determined by Dutch law only, and no judgment previously rendered might be disturbed except by the States-General ; all denizens were to enjoy their property and dispose of the same at pleasure. The benefit of these articles was not con- fined to the inhabitants of the city of New Amsterdam and the adjacent communities, but extended to those of Long Island and the settlements on the upper Hudson. The country about the Delaware was separately surrendered, but on like terms. In so far as the Dutch antenati were concerned, these articles at first formed the fundamental law of the province. Whether the privileges thus guaran- teed extended to those Dutch subjects who might by the terms of the articles thereafter freely come and settle in the province, or to the postnati of Dutch descent, was never decided by the courts of the period. Many of the Dutch inhabitants refused an invitation of the new English Governor to take the proposed oath of allegiance to his sovereign, until he had declared in writing " that the articles of surrender are not in the least broken by any 4 xlix R. L. of N. Y., II, 1813, Ap- pendix, I. Charter and Laws of the Prov- ince of Pennsyl- vania, 446. Chitty's Preroga- tives of the Crown, 29; Sir John Randolph ; Smith's History of New-York, London edition, 1757, P- 248. PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENT. H. B. Daw- son's "Sons of Liberty in New- York," pp. 14-16; Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 74- Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 176. Chalmers's Colonial Opinions, 745. 747- Coke's Institutes, IV, 204. words or expressions in the said oath." With this under- standing, many of the principal citizens then took the oath. Yet such a declaration could be only explanatory of the arti- cles. The precise effect of the naturalization, or of a trans- fer of allegiance, upon the articles of capitulation, remained a question for the courts; for the Governor's declaration was probably in law a mere sponsion. After the cession of the province under the Treaty of Breda, the only redress for a breach of the articles of capitulation was vested in the new sovereign, and no longer in the States-General. Excepting in so far as they were limited by the articles of surrender, the powers of the new government estab- lished under the Duke of York were those incidental to governments termed proprietary by the later English jurists. In granting the first patent to his brother, the grantor, King Charles II., feigned to assume that he was owner of the entire territory of New Netherland as of other crown lands in America. This assumption added no validity or force to the English claim to the soil, but it was very helpful in aiding the crown to establish in ad- vance a civil government for the country when it should be subdued as contemplated. In England, even under the Stuarts, the forms of law were generally observed, and theoretically the grant to the Duke of York was made to conform outwardly to the law regulating the prerogative in cases of grants of crown lands. By the terms of the patent the Duke was created lord proprietor of the new province, and was to hold the same as a fief of the crown. He was invested with all the regalities and subordinate powers of legislation which formerly belonged to the owners of counties palatine in England. He could estab- lish courts and make new laws, not contrary to, but agree- able to, the laws, statutes, and government of England; but 1 THE LORD PROPRIETOR. the hearing of appeals was expressly reserved to the crown. The powers of the lord proprietor depended alto- gether on the terms of the patent. In this connection it should not be forgotten that the powers of government thus conferred on the lord proprietor by the royal patent reflected the existing state of the prerogative in England. It has been well said that "the conflict between James and Coke, Bacon's theory of the prerogative, Charles' effort to substitute the personal will of Charles Stuart for the legal will of the King of England, are all matters which touch not remotely upon the problems of actual law." Therefore it is that the modern lawyers' conception of the validity of the ancient legislation of the crown or its delegates is often quite at variance with that entertained by the gentle- men of the robe in the seventeenth century. This nat- urally gives rise to an interesting but wholly modern question : how far such ancient legislation of the lord pro- prietor of New- York is to be considered as valid, after the prerogative power to enact it, though once affirmed, has been constructively declared invalid by later adjudications? A precisely similar question arises concerning the legal effect of those things which are done on the faith of an act of the State or the Federal legislature, afterward declared by the courts to be void under the written Constitution of the United States. Prior to the English Revolution the question indicated was not, however, a living one in juris- prudence, and all the legislation of the Duke of York as lord proprietor of the Province of New- York, when not contrary to his patent, was assumed to be intra vires his regalities. The only exception to this assumption oc- curred in reference to the lord proprietor's power to levy customs dues on imports ; this exception will be noticed in historical order. li Blackstone's Commen taries, I, 109 ; Clark's Summary of Colonial Law, 21. Dicey's Law of the Con- stitution, 17, 59- See note to 17 Abbott's New Cases, 492. Holland's Elements of Jurispru- dence, note 4, p. 58, 3d edition ; London Law Quarterly, I, 312, 313 ; Woodruff v. Woodruff, 52,N.Y.,53. SUBSTITUTION OF ENGLISH LAW. Letter to Lord Chancellor Clarendon, 30 July, 1665; N.Y. Hist. Society's Collections for 1869, p. 76. Town of Southamp- ton v. Mecox Bay Oyster Co., 116 N. Y.,1,7. After Colonel Nicolls, the Duke's deputy governor, had overthrown the Dutch power in New Netherland, he en- tered immediately upon the task of establishing the gov- ernment delegated by King Charles II. to the Duke of York. The task was not an easy one, for the new Gov- ernor found the Dutch already possessed of legal institu- tions of their own; but the substitution of the English law for that of the Dutch was rendered more easy by the very little actual law then required by the few inhabitants of so new and so vast a country, as well as by the similarity necessarily existing between the old and the new types of government; for both were governments ab extra, de- signed for persons in that colonial status established by the consensus of the seventeenth century. Besides, there were already many English in the province, some of them possessing on Long Island settlements, or distinct villages, and the right of enacting their own town regulations. These inhabitants naturally welcomed the law of their own race. The poverty and the sturdy independence of the settlers somewhat embarrassed Colonel Nicolls in the work assigned to him of establishing the English author- ity and laws. The first step of Colonel Nicolls toward the organiza- tion of civil government in the conquered province was directed toward the portion already inhabited by the Eng- lish. For this purpose Long Island, Staten Island, and Westchester County, the more English sections of the province, were erected into a shire, called Yorkshire, which, like Yorkshire in England, was divided into three distinct portions termed "ridings." The Governor and Council were to appoint a high sheriff for the shire, and a high constable as deputy sheriff for each riding; also justices of the peace, to continue in office during the Gov- lii ORGANIZATION OF GOVERNMENT. ernor's pleasure. The justices were to hold courts of ses- sions in each riding three times every year, in which the Governor or any of his Council might preside ; and in their absence the senior justice presided. The president of the court charged the jury on the law, and pronounced the sentence. Once in each year the justices of the peace and the high sheriff were to sit at New- York city with the Governor and his Council in the Court of As- sizes. The nature of the latter court has been somewhat debated. It has been thought to have been a continua- tion of the old court of the Dutch Director-General and Council. But similarity is often mistaken for identity. The Court of Assizes afterward regulated by the Duke's Laws was at first simply the general court of the province, invested with such convenient powers as Colonel Nicolls under his instructions chose to confer on it. When more thoroughly organized subject to the Governor's negative, it had the "power of making, altering and abolishing any Coi/mst. Laws in this government." Any more highly organized iss. legislative body could hardly be expected at that stage of the province. Unfortunately, the records of this court have never been published, although they throw much light on the methods by which particular institutes of the English law were established in the place of the former laws of the Dutch. The next step taken by the Governor was to summon delegates elected by the freeholders of the districts where the English were in the ascendant, to a convention to be held at Hempstead on the last day of February, 1664. At this convention Colonel Nicolls proposed a scheme of taxes which was met by a general objection, not unprecedented, and by the plea in substance that taxes ought to be levied by consent of the governed. This fundamental principle a* liii HEMPSTEAD MEETING. Clarendon Papers, N. Y. Hist. Society's Collections for 1869, p. 119. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 104. Collections for the year 1809. of a constitutional government already gave signs of tak- ing root in the wilderness. This meeting is chiefly impor- tant because here the Deputy Governor first promulgated a body of English laws of very great interest to the juris- prudence and the history of the State. Their caption shows that they were collected from the laws of the other English colonies, 1 which were adapted to the exigencies of the proprietary government. 2 Colonel Nicolls, in Novem- ber, 1665, requested the Duke of York to have these laws printed in England, but the request was neglected. The laws promulgated at Hempstead, together with their amendments made at a Court of Assizes held in New- York in September and October of 1665, and again in 1666, were first printed by the New- York Historical Society. In printing this edition the manuscript laws in the office of the town clerk of East Hampton were used by the Society. The State of Pennsylvania in 1879 also printed the Duke's Laws originally transmitted for the use of the settlements on the Delaware in 1676. The laws established at Hempstead owed their force and validity entirely to the Duke's patent from the crown. They were in no sense the action of a constituted representative as- sembly, although the amendments mentioned were regu- larly enacted at the general court of the province — the 1 " Lawes establisht by the Authority of his Majesties Letters patents, granted to his Royal Highness James Duke of Yorke and Albany; Bearing Date the 12th Day of March in the Sixteenth year of the Raigne of our Sovereigne Lord Kinge Charles the Second." " Digested into one Volume for the publicke use of the Terri- toryes in America under the Government of his Royal Highnesse." "Collected out of the Severall Laws now in force in his Majesties American Colonyes and Planta- tions." "Published March the 1st Anno Domini 1664 at a General meeting at Hemsted upon Longe Island by virtue of a Commission from his Royal Highness James Duke of Yorke and Albany given to Colonel Richard Nicolls Deputy Gov- erneur, bearing date the Second day of Aprill 1664." 2 "The code was evidently the work of Nicolls himself, assisted by his secretary, who was a lawyer, and perhaps by other members of the Court of Assizes." John Russell Bartlett, in "Historical Magazine," VIII, 211. liv NEW CODE. Court of Assizes, which Governor Nicolls invested with the supreme legislative power. These first examples of English laws were known in the province as the " Duke's Laws." They are, however, sometimes called " Nicolls's Code," and the title "Duke's Laws" then refers to the code and amendments finally established in 1674. These laws, never authentically printed by the English, were very soon deposited in manuscript form in the several offices of the town clerks of Yorkshire. The original laws, long kept in the office of the colonial secretary, are now in the State Library at Albany. They are approved by H. R. H. the Lord Proprietor, and certified by his private secretary. There is another volume in England, which was in the office of the Lords of Trade as late as the year 1768. For a time the operation of this code was confined to the English portion of the province, and it was not promulgated in the Dutch parts of the province. It went into effect on the Delaware River, with some exceptions peculiar to Long Island, only in September, 1676, and among the Dutch villages at Esopus on the Hudson three years earlier. In the city of New- York the Duke's Laws were not introduced until they were established generally by the Duke's instructions in the year 1674. Until these laws were so established, there is abundant evidence in the local records that the former laws of New Netherland were recognized under the established principle of the English common law, that the laws of conquered or ceded Chris- tian countries remain in force until abrogated by the con- queror. Long subsequent to the year 1674, many of the principles and the forms of procedure peculiar to the Dutch law continued to be recognized and followed in the mayor's court of the city of New-York. It is beyond the natural limitations of this Introduction lv Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N.Y., III, 188. C. 120, Laws of 1881. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., VIII, 81. Charter of the Province of Pennsyl- vania; Duke of York's Book of Laws, p. 445. Appendix ; Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., XII, 561 ; id., XIII, 471. Daly's Account of the Judicial Organiza- tion of the State, XL. duke's laws. to do more than outline the scope of Nicolls's Code, or the n. y. Hist. Duke's Laws. While they were modeled on the laws of coSeSons the other colonies, they were less democratic, and were for ^86 9 , m tended by their author to revive "the memory of old England." The various provisions were arranged alpha- betically as in the New England codes. Having regard to the fact that the English in the province were then sub- ject to no settled legal system, the code introduced a body of law relating to matters both of substance and procedure in a manner quite adequate to the slender needs of so hardy and frugal a population. The Duke's Laws were very precise in their directions to the new magistrates concerning the proper forms of judicial business. The classification of actions into " Debts, Accompts, Slanders, Trespasse and Actions of the Case " indicated that the procedure prescribed was that recognized by the common law of England, and to that extent they may be said to have introduced necessarily the civil procedure and the ter- minology of the common law into the province. They like- wise embodied a criminal code defining most crimes and their punishments. Cases not provided for were to be remitted to the next Court of Assizes, where punishment was to be awarded according to the discretion of the bench, and not contrary to the known laws of England. In this way we perceive that the criminal law of England was introduced here to some extent by a positive edict CoL Hist of no uncertain sound. Yet the part of the Duke's Laws N Y XII 621. ' relative to criminals was more humane than the con- temporary law of England. The Laws provided that all writs should run in the King's name, not in that of the proprietor. No sheriff or other officer might execute any writ on the Sabbath day, or upon "the day of humiliation for the Death of the late King of Blessed memory," ex- lvi TREATY OF BREDA. cepting in cases of escape, riot, or felony. The essentials of a code of procedure were contained in the laws, and forms for the opening of court were prescribed. Trials by jury and appeals were regulated. Under the many titles of the code we find a good body of substantive law, which, while sometimes inartificial when judged by the standard of jurisprudence familiar to the older coun- tries of Europe, was well adapted to the early settle- ments. Whether all the provisions of the Duke's Laws, though approved by him, were valid by the limitations of his patent, is a question never yet determined by any com- petent tribunal, although suggested in at least one case. But such an inquiry is beyond the purpose of this Intro- duction, which must necessarily treat the laws as historical facts only. The original English occupation of the province by force of arms terminated with the Treaty of Breda, signed 21-31 July, 1667. By the third article of this instrument the English remained in possession of New- York in ex- change for Surinam, which the Dutch in turn had taken from the English. This retention of conquests always prevailed under the rule uti possidetis, unless otherwise stipulated in the treaty of peace. Thus the forcible pos- session of the English had at last ripened into a title valid by the law of nations, and the status of the province became clearly that of a ceded country, or one where the law hitherto imposed by the conquered sovereign re- mained in full force until it was expressly abrogated by the conqueror. The Treaty of Breda had no effect upon the rights which the conquered inhabitants had acquired by virtue of the articles of capitulation. Immediately after this treaty, Governor Nicolls was recalled, and Colonel Francis Lovelace was appointed his successor, and took lvii DUTCH INTERREGNUM. possession of the government in the year 1668. Colonel Lovelace was not new to America. One of those English soldiers of fortune, not few in number, who had a taste for travel and adventure, he had visited Long Island and Virginia as early as 1650, and he evidently regarded the New World as a proper theater for the exercise of his talents. The Duke's commission to Colonel Lovelace, which formed the temporary constitution of the ceded province, did not differ from that of his predecessor, ex- cepting that Colonel Lovelace was directed to make no alteration in the laws of the government settled before his arrival. He brought with him the formal confirmation by the lord proprietor of the English laws established by Colonel Nicolls. During the armed occupation, and prior to the Treaty of Breda, the English had already substituted a considerable portion of their own law, which was somewhat irregularly applied in the different districts of the province. In course of time the new laws, however, became general in application ; but not until after Colonel Lovelace's day, and, indeed, not until subsequent to the Treaty of West- minster, which closed the subsequent war waged by Charles II. and Louis XIV. against the United Provinces. In the course of the latter conflict, which began 17 March, 1672, the Dutch conquered New- York on 30 July, 1673, and again occupied the country for the space of fifteen months. They affixed the name of New Netherland to the province ; a civil governor was temporarily designated by their naval commanders, and the city of New- York was rechristened New Orange. During this occupation in so far as possible the Dutch restored their own laws and authority throughout the entire province ; but they were of very brief duration. By the sixth article of the Treaty of lviii JUS POSTLIMINII. Westminster, signed 9-19 February, 1674, the province was again surrendered by the Dutch to the King of England. The States-General now requested the King to allow the inhabitants of New Netherland "the enjoy- ment of their lands, bouweries, and all their goods and rights which they possess in that country ; all with the same right, privilege and freedom as the inhabitants above Coi. Hist i-i • , N. Y., 11, mentioned enjoyed previous to the aforesaid war." The 545- King assured the Dutch ambassador that he should issue Doc. reL the necessary order to effect their request. The legal N?Y.,ilfs48. consequence of the prior oath of allegiance taken by the Dutch citizens in the year 1664 was not, however, dis- coLHis't. cussed, and must have remained as before the war. Major ?66 Y '' 11 ' Edmund Andros, the first governor appointed by the Duke after the restoration of the province, in conformity with his instructions "issued a proclamation on 9 November, 1674," declaring "that all former grants, priviledges and concessions and all estates legally possessed by any under • t Doc rcl his Royal Highness before the late Dutch government" coi. Hist. N. Y III were thereby confirmed. This proclamation accorded with 227. the principle of the law of nations that when a conquered country is recaptured, the rights of the inhabitants under charters previously granted by the conqueror revive and are restored jure ftostliminii, the intervening conquest operating merely as an abeyance or as a suspension of rights. It in no way detracted from the effect which the naturalization had on the articles of 1664. This is demon- strated by the nature of the answers returned by Governor Andros to the proposals sent to him on the part of the Dutch when the city of New-York was formally delivered up pursuant to the Treaty of Westminster. These an- swers were far from reinstating in their integrity the jJ°Y. H in articles of 1664, although the Dutch were distinctly allowed 73 ' lix TREATY OF WESTMINSTER. Van Schaack's Laws of New- York, If 83, 975 Sed vid. cases infra. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., II, 738, 739, 740. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., V, 495- N. Y. Hist. Society's Collections for 1868, P- 183; Humbert v. Trinity Church, 24 Wen- dell, 624; Canal Commis- sioners v. People, 5 id., 446. Learning and Spicer's Grants, 47. to retain the discipline of their national church and their customs concerning the division of their inheritances for those who desired it. In these two particulars the articles seem to have been observed in the province as long as they were invoked by the Dutch antenati. The observance of the other articles of capitulation soon oc- casioned a conflict between the Governor and the Dutch inhabitants of New- York, who finally invoked the moral aid of the States-General for the infraction of the arti- cles. A subsequent and final naturalization of all the Dutch then inhabiting the colony, by an act of the first Assembly, held in 1683, appears, however, to have avoided further conflict. Yet the extent to which the articles of capitulation remained in force after the naturalization of the Dutch and the Treaty of Westminster has always been controverted. When the Dutch had been naturalized, and there were no longer conquered or conquerors, the stipulations between the vanquished and the victorious necessarily ceased to be applied, or even applicable. The better opinion is that the only permanent clauses of the articles related to the discipline of the Dutch Church and to the course of inheritances among the Dutch antenati. The probate records disclose that not a few of the Dutch availed themselves of the privileges accorded down to a late date in the eighteenth century. By the Treaty of Westminster, the right of the English crown to the province was again determined by a distinct cession ; and in order to set at rest the title of the Duke of York, Charles II. in 1674 granted him a new patent em- bracing the same territory as before. The new patent is in almost the same language as that of 1664. The crown lawyers professed to think that such new grant was neces- sary because the law of postliminy did not, on account of lx GOVERNOR EDMUND ANDROS. original defects, operate to restore the province to the former lord proprietor. By others the real reason for the re-grant was sought in the Duke's supposed desire to regain possession of the land between the Hudson River and the Delaware Bay, which he had conveyed to Lord Berkeley of Stratton and Sir George Carteret in June, 1664, before the original conquest from the Dutch. But as the Duke, after his second patent, again granted the territory then known as East Jersey to Carteret and his heirs, with the same rights and privileges as before, a better reason for the second patent to the Duke of York may be found in the original defects in the King's own title to New Netherland. When, in 1674, the Dutch finally ceded the territory, the King acquired an indisputable title, and the second patent undoubtedly conferred by the law of England a good estate on the Duke of York, the nature of which has been already considered. Major Edmund Andros, the first governor after the res- toration of the province, was not without experience in his station, having served with credit as an officer in Barba- does. He was, moreover, acquainted with the Dutch lan- guage. His commission was similar in form to those of cof" Hist, his predecessors. By the express instructions from the ^' 5 Y '' 111 proprietor he was not to molest the Dutch inhabitants who had participated in the late overthrow of the English. He was to give all manner of encouragement to planters of all nations, but expressly to Englishmen, to settle in the province, providing them with escheated or confis- cated lands. Justice was to be administered with all pos- sible equality without regard to Dutch or English in their private concerns. Religious liberty was enjoined. Such laws, rules, and orders as were established by the prede- lxi LIEUTENANT ANTHONY BROCKHOLES. cessors of Andros, Colonels Nicolls and Lovelace, were again to be put into execution, and not to be varied from coh Hist, except upon emergent necessity and with the advice of the 2i8, 226. ' Governor's Council. If any such alteration was made, it was only "temporary for a year" ; and if not confirmed by the Duke within a year, was to be void. The courts of justice already established were to be continued. The limitations of the patent to the proprietor and these instructions Doc. rel. . . . . coi. Hist, formed the political constitution of the province under n. y., in, * r 216. Andros. His first proclamation conformed to his 111- J?°, c \ r T el - structions, and reestablished the former courts erected by Col. Hist. ' J n. y., in, Colonel Nicolls. The Duke's Laws now for the first time 227. became generally operative, and it was soon evident that the laws and the other institutions of the conqueror would speedily displace those established by the Dutch. Before indicating the nature of the legislation which accomplished this change, it may be well to outline the events contribut- ing to the result, which was no doubt materially aided by the influx of settlers from England and the neighboring English colonies. In 1678, Governor Andros made to the Privy Council a report of the condition of the province, coi? Hist, which furnishes an authentic account of the political con- 260^'' ll ' stitution. It appears that the village courts, the Courts of Sessions, and the General Court of Assizes, as regu- lated by the Duke's Laws, were fully established in the province. Doc. rel. In the event of the death or absence of Andros, the N°Y.,'iri, Duke of York directed that the government of the prov- 219, 220, 283! ince should devolve on Lieutenant Anthony Brockholes. In 1680, Andros was recalled to England, and at the succeeding New Year, Brockholes took charge of the government. The rates established by the proprietor's instructions for the customs-duties at the port of New- lxii REPRESENTATION DEMANDED. York had expired by express limitation in November, 1680, and Brockholes found himself involved in a dispute with the merchants, who refused to pay any further duties. The collector, Dyer, who undertook to continue the collec- tion of the imposts, was indicted and arraigned before the Court of Assizes on a charge of high treason. Question- ing the jurisdiction of the court, he was shipped to Eng- land, — a spirited proceeding which brought the entire constitution of the province to the direct attention of the law-officers of the crown, and did much to establish the government of the province on a different and better footing. The council of the Duke of York in England doubted the lord proprietor's power to impose customs- duties at all. In the mean time the inhabitants of New- York were clamoring for a legislative assembly. A grand jury presented the want of this body as a grievance, and the Court of Assizes appointed the high sheriff of York- shire to draw a petition to the Duke requesting general assemblies in the province. The Duke of York, perceiv- ing that no revenue could be drawn from the province unless some concession was made, is said to have been at a loss whether to sell the province or to follow the advice of William Penn and grant an assembly. He finally adopted the latter course, and in a letter to Brockholes at New- York announced his intention of establishing such a form of government in New- York as should have all the advan- tages and privileges enjoyed by his Majesty's other plan- tations in America, "particularly in y e chooseing of an assembly." This promise was soon to be kept. From this incident the people readily learned that written in- structions to the governors were important instruments in the government of this province, and so before Inde- pendence the nature and the obligations of written con- lxiii Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 217, 246. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 289. Wood's History of Long Island, 99. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 317- BRITISH PLANTATIONS. stitutions of government became familiar to the people of all the American colonies. The political organization of the Province of New-York did not spring into being; it was, until the reign of William and Mary, of gradual development. The con- stitutions of all the British plantations were at first ten- tative, or rather they were a growth nurtured by the law-officers of the crown, who were the draftsmen of the various instruments delegating the powers of government to the colonial officials. The deliberations of the several boards or councils in England successively charged with the administration of the colonies were always guided by those trained in the principles of English law, and we may detect in the action of these bodies a reflection of the contemporary legal and political notions of the English, particularly the formalism of the common law and the ex- tent of the fluctuating prerogative power then in vogue. Prior to the accession of the Duke of York to the throne, his own council and law-officers were consulted in the affairs of this province, while the general supervision and management of the other colonies were intrusted by royal commissions to a standing council for foreign plantations. On 21 December, 1674, King Charles II. revoked the prior commission, and directed that their books and papers be de- livered to the clerk of the Privy Council. When the Duke of York ascended the throne as King James II., 6 Feb- ruary, 1685, the Province of New- York having devolved on the crown, the committee of the Privy Council managed its affairs, and so continued to do until the establishment of the " Board of Trade," 15 May, 1696. But the first Legisla- tive Assembly of New-York convened while the province was still governed by the Duke of York as lord proprietor under the authority of the royal patents already mentioned. Ixiv GOVERNOR THOMAS DONGAN. For the purpose of executing the legislative reform which the lord proprietor had announced in his letter to Brockholes, Colonel Thomas Dongan was commissioned Governor of New- York 30 September, 1682, with authority to perform and execute "all and every the powers" granted cof m to the Duke of York by the patents from King Charles II. f 2 8 Y " This gentleman, who shared the religious sympathies of his master, belonged to an Irish family of distinction, and subsequently succeeded to the honors of the Earls of Limerick; he is generally conceded to have been one of the ablest of the colonial governors of New- York. The coESi instructions to Colonel Dongan directed him, with all con- 331. venient speed after his arrival, to issue writs in the Duke's name for the election by the freeholders of the province of a general assembly to meet in the city of New-York. The representatives accordingly elected met for the first time on 17 October, 1683, at Fort James, in the city of New-York. This is the first instance of a representative government in New-York, and its importance cannot be overestimated; for it assured to the people of New-York that rich legacy of parliamentary power and procedure which was the best product of English civilization. The first Assembly at its inaugural session passed fifteen acts, the titles of which, and the dates of their approval by the Governor, are given in the "Historical Introduction to the p . x ii. Journal of the Legislative Council of New- York," a treatise which must necessarily be consulted in any comprehen- sive examination of the legislation of New-York in the seventeenth century. The laws of the first session, after their formal promulgation in front of the City Hall in New-York, were forwarded to England for the proprie- tor's approval and confirmation ; meanwhile they were good and binding. In October, 1684, at the second ses- 5 lxv ACCESSION OF JAMES II. Historical Introduction to the Jour- nal of the Legislative Council, I, p. xii. Calvin'scase, 7 Reports, 12 ; Skinner, 603; Plow- den, 212 ; Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 359. 36o. Blackstone's Commen- taries, I, 109. sion of the first Assembly, thirty-one acts, or bills, received the assent of the Governor. Vacancies having already occurred in several of the electoral precincts, writs were issued for new elections ; but before they were executed, the Duke of York succeeded to the throne, King Charles II. having died on 6 February, 1685. It was now suggested that the demise of the crown dissolved the Assembly ; and as it was the opinion of the Governor's Council that it was expedient to dissolve the Assembly by proclamation, and to issue writs for a new assembly to meet on the first Mon- day of October, 1685, Governor Dongan, on 13 August of that year, proclaimed the dissolution of the Assembly. The legal effect of the accession of the Duke of York to the English throne was to merge his estate in the prov- ince in the crown; or, in legal parlance, he stood seized thereof in jure corona. The province was no longer vested in him in his own right, but in some manner it was an- nexed to the crown ; ' as the franchises, liberties, and ju- risdiction thereof, when they came to be in the hands of him that had the crown and jurisdiction royal, were ex- tinguished by the common law.' With the accession of James, the Province of New-York entered on a third phase of its political organization. Its government became that incident to the other crown provinces of England, and its constitution no longer depended on the royal patent to the Duke of York, but was largely determined by that branch of the common law of England relative to the prerogatives of the crown. According to the later English jurists, it was now to be denned as a provincial establish- ment, the constitution of which depended on the respective commissions issued by the crown to the governors, and the instructions which usually accompanied the commis- sions. These commissions, and even the instructions to lxvi "CHARTER OF LIBERTYS." the governors, were not, however, purely arbitrary, but were subject to certain rules of law. It was entirely com- petent for the crown to vest the legislative power over a crown province in a legislative assembly, and when such a grant was once made, the better opinion was that it could not be taken away: the inhabitants, being enfranchised, ought not to be arbitrarily disenfranchised. This doctrine was especially true of a province derived through con- quest or cession; for, by the law of England, the King might preclude himself from the exercise of his legislative authority over a conquered or ceded country by vesting the power in the inhabitants themselves. The first act, the celebrated "Charter of Liberty s," was passed by the Assembly of 1683 with a view of reaping, if possible, the benefit of this principle ; and it contained a clause de- signed to vest the legislative power in the "Governor, Councell, and representatives now in general assembly Doc rcl mett and assembled." But the charter was ultimately dis- coi. Hist. N Y III allowed by the new sovereign, although before his acces- 357, 370. sion he had, as lord proprietor, contemplated confirming it with some amendments of his own, and indeed, as so amended, had signed and sealed it for transmission. Before it was sent to New- York, King Charles II. expired, and the change in the status of the province altered the deter- mination. Whether the allowance by the lord proprie- tor would have made a representative government here irrevocable, was consequently never determined. In August, 1685, Dongan, of his own motion, again issued writs of election, but this time in the name of King James II., for an assembly to be held at the city of New- York on 20 October, 1685. The assembly thus elected passed six acts of minor importance which received the assent of the Governor. It then adjourned to 25 Sep- lxvii DONGAN ASSEMBLIES. tember, 1686; but before that date it was further pro- rogued by proclamation until 25 March, 1686-87. Before the time appointed for the meeting, the King issued a new commission and instructions to the Governor, which de- prived the people of all share in the legislative power ; and on 20 January, 1686-87, Dongan proclaimed the assembly dissolved. The acts of the "Dongan Assemblies," as they are called, have never yet been printed, although they throw considerable light on the introduction in the province of various institutes of the English law. The original bills assented to by Governor Dongan were long kept in the office of the secretary of the province, and are now in the State Library at Albany. At the present time a Statutory c. 125 Revision Committee, appointed under an act of the State N.Y. Laws rr of 1891. legislature, enacted 2 April, 1891, is understood to be en- gaged in the work of preparing them for publication. 1 If their labor shall be consummated, these ancient laws will then be printed for the first time more than two centuries after their enactment — a somewhat tardy acknowledgment of the importance attached to them by the bar both of the province and of the State; for the beginning of the legisla- tion of a great commonwealth, as it affords the basis of the later jurisprudence, cannot be without interest to either the student of institutions or the professional legislator. The demise of the crown occasioned by the death of 1 It is to be hoped that this commission will faithfully complete the task of the late Dr. George H. Moore, who patiently in- vestigated the condition of the early laws of New-York, although he never received sufficient encouragement to enable him to publish any of the results of his self-imposed task. He had proposed to embrace in his first volume the "Statutes at Large of New- York from 1664 to 1 69 1," and in the sub- sequent volumes to supply some fourteen hundred laws remaining unprinted, but regularly passed by the Assembly between the years 1691 and 1775. Prior to the estab- lishment of a printing-press in the province under a license from the executive in 1693, the acts of Assembly were usually enrolled in the office of the provincial secretary, and copies of them were sent to the offices of the various county clerks and recorded so as to give them publicity. lxviii CONSOLIDATION. King Charles II. caused a new and fuller commission to d oc . re i. be issued to Governor Dongan under the sign manual n. y., ni, 377- of King James II.; it was accompanied by the usual set of instructions. These instruments, expressing the royal coi'iSt. prerogative, essentially altered the late exercise of the " ' legislative power over the province, vesting it wholly in the Governor with the advice and consent of his Council, but with the customary proviso that the laws and ordi- nances thus enacted were to be, as near as conveniently might be, agreeable to the laws and statutes of England. Consequently, between December, 1686, and May, 1688, the few laws promulgated were enacted wholly by the Gov- ernor and Council. The assembly had ceased to exist, but the laws, statutes, and ordinances previously enacted by it were continued in full force by the express direction of JJf"^ the King. N°Y.,m, o 370. In the year 1688 an attempt to consolidate the govern- ment of the northern colonies was made by James II. ; and Sir Edmund Andros, formerly the Governor of New- York, was made Captain-General over the united colo- nies of Massachusetts Bay, New Plymouth, Connecticut, Doc rcl and Rhode Island, as well as over the provinces of Maine, col. Hist N. Y , III, New Hampshire, New- York, and East and West Jersey. 537. "' The legislative power over the new dominion was vested in the Governor-in-chief by and with the consent of the major part of his Council. Dongan was recalled from New- York and directed to resign his government to Sir coLiSt. N Y III, Edmund Andros. The last law enacted in New- York by 55 o. '■ Governor Dongan and the Council was assented to on 2 August, 1688. The annexation to New England proved extremely unpopular in New-York, according to the mani- gJ-^J- festations of even the Lieutenant-Governor, Nicholson, n.y.,hi, 576. who was left in charge of this province; and the Revo- 5* lxix ENGLISH REVOLUTION. lution, with the flight of James II., put a speedy end to the confederation : the separate territorial governments of America were already too firmly established to be readily overthrown by edicts of the house of Stuart, even though this policy was for a time after the Revolution approved by William III. The Convention Parliament having resolved by the Declaration of Rights that William and Mary, Prince and Princess of Orange, should be declared King and Queen of England during their joint lives, but with the adminis- trative power in the King, and having likewise settled the crown on the posterity of Mary, and then on that of Anne, Douglass's New- York with the other crown plantations passed to the British „ . e settle- new sovereigns. Crown provinces, as concomitantia 01 382" Doc. the crown, pursued the line of devolution prescribed for Hist.N.Y., 1,377,380. the crown. The legal effect of the English Revolution was analogous to the demise of the crown; its preroga- tives remained as before, but the right of the new sover- eigns to exercise them was deduced from the convention of 1688. The Revolution, so peacefully effected in Eng- land, was the occasion of disorder in New-York. Jacob Leisler, a captain of one of the train-bands, taking advan- tage of the official delay in proclaiming the new sover- eigns, usurped the government in their name and in the Protestant interest, notwithstanding that on 19 Feb- Doc. rei. ruary, 1688-89, by an order of the Privy Council in Eng- n°y. H iii, land, all the Protestant officials commissioned by James 572,596, 11 W ere regularly continued in office. On 20 February, 1690, Leisler, apparently ignorant of the disallowance of the "Charter of Libertys" of 1683, issued writs under it to the several counties for the election of an assembly, which accordingly met at the city of New- York on 24 April, 1690. Every county except Suffolk chose repre- lxx GOVERNOR HENRY SLOUGHTER. sentatives. This irregular body held two sessions, one in April and the other in October, and passed several acts which now figure in the legislation of the province as his- torical curiosities only, their illegality being generally al- lowed. Upon the arrival of Governor Sloughter, bearing a commission from William and Mary, Leisler, with his son-in-law, was tried for high treason, convicted, and exe- cuted. The attainder of blood then incident to a convic- tion for treason was subsequently reversed by act of the English parliament, upon proceedings instituted to that end by Leisler's son, and several other persons. The beginning of the reign of William and Mary saw the government of the Province of New- York placed on a permanent footing. The royal commission issued to Governor Henry Sloughter, dated 4 January, 1690, con- tained a distinct grant of a legislative assembly. This grant could neither be retracted nor annulled; it was, by the limitation on the crown itself, permanent. At last repre- sentative government was established in New-York. The Governor, with the consent of the Council and the As- sembly, or the major part of them, was invested with full power and authority to make, constitute, and ordain laws, statutes, and ordinances for the good government of the province. But such laws were to be, as near as might be, agreeable to the laws and statutes of the kingdom of Eng- land. The laws so enacted were to be transmitted to England under the seal of New- York within three months, or sooner, after their passage, in order that they might receive the sovereign's approbation or disallowance. In case any of them were disallowed under the royal sign manual, or by order of the Privy Council, then they were to cease and be of none effect. Until disallowed, the acts of the Assembly were what were called temporary, or lxxi Doc. Hist. N.Y.,11, 355, 356 6-7 Wil- liam III., anno 1695 ; Doc. Hist. N.Y.,11, 435- Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 623. Chitty's Preroga- tives, 33. PARLIAMENT. Cf. 7 and 8 W. III,C. 22. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N.Y.,III, 687. Pownall's Adminis- tration of the Colonies, London, anno 1764, passim. probationary; but were presumptively in force within the province. As these probationary acts were subject to be called in question because repugnant to the laws of Eng- land, the theory of the subordination of the Assembly to the paramount constitution of the province was inculcated in the people of New -York long before the establish- ment of their independence of the crown. The commission, however, reserved to the Governor the power to erect, with the advice of the Council, courts of judicature in the prov- ince; but Colonel Sloughter's instructions negatived this grant, and directed him not to establish any courts not before established without special order from the King. Thus, in full conformity with the law of England regu- lating the prerogatives of the crown, the legislative power over New -York was ceded by the crown. The autonomy of New- York was not yet complete; it was subject to certain powers of paramount legislation over all the English plantations claimed by the parliament of England. The extent of these latter powers, fluctuating and always a matter of contention, was necessarily a po- litical question, and subject to no restrictions of positive law. The ultimate submission of this contention to the arbitrament of force was, in the logic of events, therefore inevitable. In the later political history of the colonies, had the English authorities heeded the views of an interesting figure in American politics, — Governor Thomas Pownall, who may well be termed the first American statesman, — the final conflict between the territorial and the imperial legislatures might have been indefinitely postponed, if not peaceably solved, upon rational plans consistent with auton- omy on the basis of a common kingship and independent legislatures. Although the legislative power in New- York was subject to an undefined limitation, the operation of lxxii NEW CONSTITUTION. the acts of the Assembly of New- York within its own proper jurisdiction was as absolute as the acts of the par- liament of England. Yet, unlike parliament, the Assembly of a crown province was regulated by the crown and the English common law. It owed its energy to the crown, and had no title to the prescriptive and independent ju- risdiction of parliament, which was omnipotent and regu- lated by the " lex et consuetudo parliamenti" only. Yet the jurisdiction of the Assembly of a crown province was quite different from that of an assembly in a proprietary govern- ment, the laws of which have been properly likened to the by-laws of a corporation for municipal or private purposes. In so far as New- York was concerned, the government constituted by the commission and instructions to Gov- ernor Sloughter reflected the extent of the English Revo- lution. The new constitution of the province contained distinctly less of the personal will of the sovereign and more of those principles which were embodied in the now reformed public law of England. Unfortunately, this im- provement ceased here with the erection of a permanent Legislative Assembly. The historical precedents made it extremely difficult for the crown lawyers of that day to apply the principles of the English Revolution in their full extent to the crown colonies. They soon began to have one law for the King's prerogative over the crown colo- nies and another for the King's prerogative when exer- cised in England; so that concurrently with the rise of liberty in England may be said to have begun a legal pro- cess of distinguishing the personal status of those subjects of the crown who resided in the colonies from that of those subjects resident in England. In the time of the Stuarts, the strictly feudal conceptions of the prerogative enter- tained by the kings of that dynasty at least prevented any lxxiii NATURE OF THE GOVERNMENT. such distinction : the King was the head of all his people, and the fountain of justice in all his dominions. Therefore, under the Stuarts the colonists shared only the general disadvantages of the King's subjects everywhere. The difference indicated as observable after the Revolution in the status of the King's subjects in the colonies and at home is in part then accounted for by the fact that the government of crown provinces was assumed to be of feudal origin, and this theory was not permitted to be af- fected by the Revolution in question. In the minds of the crown lawyers, the King remained paramount here when he had ceased to be paramount in England. This dis- tinction is pertinent to our subject only in so far as it is explanatory of the nature of the task which devolved upon the permanent Legislative Assembly established in New- York under William and Mary, the first of whose laws are contained in this volume. This body always insisted that the logic of the grant entitled it to maintain those princi- ples of public law which were illustrated and enforced in England by parliament. Consequently the whole period between 1691 and the War of Independence is a record of one long struggle between the Assembly of New-York and the various law-making and law-directing bodies in England. The laws of New- York now reproduced in this volume are therefore replete with interest not only because they serve to remind the reader of the introduction of print- ing in New- York, or the foundation of one phase of repre- sentative government, but because they mark one of the beginnings of that struggle which led ultimately to our independence of all external dictation and government. The final grant of a share in the government to the free- holders of the Province of New-York made the nature of the government in the province substantially as follows: lxxiv THE GOVERNOR OF THE PROVINCE. The immediate representative of the crown was the Gov- ernor, who, by virtue of his office and commission, was captain-general of the military forces in New- York. He was one of the constituent parts of the General Assembly, having power to veto all the laws of that body. He had the custody of the great seal of the province, and was ex- officio chancellor within his government. He possessed also an ecclesiastical jurisdiction as ordinary, and could collate to all benefices within the province. With the consent of the executive council, he might erect courts of judicature, and by himself appoint the judiciary and the other officers of government. He presided in the Court of Errors of the province, consisting of the Governor and Council ; and he was vice-admiral, and could erect courts of admiralty within his government. The executive had also a certain undefined power of legislating by ordinance, or proclamation, the extent of which was vague, and its See note origin and validity a matter of considerable dispute among fn/J 6 ' those who concerned themselves about the constitutional law of the province. The Legislative Assembly was now, however, the regularly constituted law-making body in the province. In imitation of the parliament of England, it was a bicameral institution, the upper house consisting of the members of the Governor's Council, twelve in num- ber, who were all freeholders and principal inhabitants of the province, designated in this instance by the King. coL*Hist. N Y III The lower house consisted of the representatives elected 685. " by the freeholders of the province, pursuant to writs of election issued in the name of the sovereign, signed with the great seal of the province, and attested by the Gov- ernor. Prior to the year 1736, it was the practice of the Governor of New- York to preside over the Council when it convened as the upper house of the legislature, and to Ixxv ASSEMBLY OF 1 69 1. Journal of the Legislative Council of N. Y., I, p. xxvi. Doc. rel. Col Hist. N.Y., III, 624. give the casting vote when he pleased. But this practice had no place in the constitution of the province: it was an irregularity condemned by the. law-officers of the crown when occasion brought it to the notice of the Lords of Trade in England. Under the royal commission and the instructions to Governor Sloughter, the legislature was intended to consist of three branches — the Governor, the Legislative Council, and the Assembly; but in practice prior to 1736, this canon of the constitution was violated. Yet, as the irregularity was an usurpation generally ac- quiesced in, it was never held to vitiate the legislation of the period. The Assembly might be adjourned, prorogued, or dissolved by the Governor. Governor Sloughter arrived in New-York on 19 March, 1 69 1, and on the day following the writs for the election of deputies to the Assembly were issued in conformity to his commission and instructions. Pursuant to the writs, the Assembly convened on 9 April, 1691, at the city of New- York. Part of the laws contained in the volume to which these chapters are merely introductory, were passed by the Assembly thus convened ; while the residue were enacted by the succeeding assemblies elected prior to 1694. When fully organized, the members of the Council com- posing the upper legislative house during the first session of the legislature were Joseph Dudley (soon to be made chief justice of the province), Frederick Philipse, Stephanus Van Cortlandt, Nicholas Bayard, William Smith, Thomas Willet, Gabriel Monviele, Chidley Brooke, and William Nicolls. To the lower house the sheriffs returned as the elected representatives for the city and county of New- York, James Graham, William Merrett, Jacobus Van Cortlandt, and Johannis Kipp; for the city and county of Albany, Dirck Wessells and Levinus Van Schaick; for the lxxvi PERSONNEL OF THE ASSEMBLY. county of Richmond, Elias Duksbury and John Dally; for Westchester County, John Pell; for Suffolk County, Henry Pierson and Matthew Howell; for Queens County, John Bound (or Bowne) and Nathaniel Pearsall; for Kings County, Nicholas Stillwell and John Poland; and for the counties of Ulster and Duchess, Henry Beekman and Thomas Garton. These counties had all been erected by an act of the first "Dongan Assembly," approved i No- vember, 1683. It will be observed that the lower house in 1 69 1 consisted of thirteen Englishmen, and four who may be accounted Dutchmen; in the upper house, a ma- jority were Englishmen : the process of Anglicizing the province was evidently very rapid. As soon as the As- sembly convened, the Council ordered that a warrant issue to the sheriff of Albany County to elect a burgess for the manor of Rensselaerswyck ; and Kiliaen van Rensselaer was added to the lower house. James Graham, who had been attorney-general of the province, was elected speaker. The representatives from Queens County, John Bowne and Nathaniel Pearsall, who were of the Quaker persua- sion, refused to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy designated by the act of parliament, although they were willing to sign the test; a warrant was accordingly issued to the sheriff of Queens County for a new election of depu- ties in their stead. So stood the personnel of the house at the first session in the year 1691. The sessions of the Council, composing the upper house, were held at the Fort, the executive residence in the city of New- York; while the representatives, for want of better accommodation, sat in the old "Stadt Huys," or City Hall, during the entire time embraced in the accompanying volume of laws. Reserving for the succeeding chapter the commentary on the laws enacted by this legislature and embodied in Ixxvii RESOLUTION OF 1 69 1. this volume, the reader's attention should now be directed to a singular resolution of the representatives who had convened in the city of New- York on 9 April, 1691 ; for it has perplexed the lawyers of New-York for many generations, and has given rise to interesting problems in jurisprudence. If legal effect be given to this resolution, all the statute law of New-York enacted anterior to the year 1691 was consigned to oblivion long before its ex- press repeal ; and the statute law of New-York may then be said to begin with the laws embraced in this present volume. The entire basis of the jurisprudence of New- York is therefore to some degree affected by the resolu- tion in question, which appears only in the journal of the lower house. The resolution is in these words : " Upon an Information brought into this House, by sev- eral Members of the House, declaring, That the several Laws made formerly by the General-Assembly, and his late Royal Highness James Duke of York, &c. And also the several Ordinances, or reputed Laws, made by the preceding Governors and Councils, for the Rule of their Majesties Subjects within this Province, are reported amongst the People, to be still in Force : "Resolved, Nemine Contradicente, That all the Laws con- sented to by the General Assembly, under James, Duke of York, and the Liberties and Privileges therein contained, granted to the People, and declared to be their Rights, not being observed, and not ratified and approved by his Royal Highness, nor the late King, are null, void, and of none Ef- fect. And also the several Ordinances made by the late journal of Governors and Councils, being' contrary to the constitution the New- , J York As- of England, and the Practice of the Government of their sembly, 24 April, 1691. Majesties other Plantations in America, are likewise null, void, and of none Effect nor Force within this Province." lxxviii EFFECT OF THE RESOLUTION. The journal of the Legislative Council discloses that this resolution was never presented to that body or acquiesced in by them. It stands on the minutes of the proceedings of the lower house, as if it were intended to be only a dec- laration or opinion of the house on a matter of law. Un- fortunately, the journal of the Assembly is not complete. The minutes of the sessions beginning April 20th and end- ing 29 April, 1692, are, with others of a later period, miss- ing. Since the establishment of our independence of the crown, the courts of New- York have from time to time considered the legal effect of this resolution ; but in no instance have the arguments of counsel been either very full or the case exhaustively presented. In the recent con- test in England concerning the succession to the Lau- derdale peerage, various American and English counsel attempted to have the legal effect of this resolution on the Duke's Laws and the acts of the "Dongan Assemblies" decided by an English tribunal ; but that contest ulti- mately turned on a technical point of evidence, and the effect of the resolution was not therefore decided. In the course of the hearing in the House of Lords, there was, however, an indistinct intimation that the resolution of the Assembly alone could not, under the principles of English law, be operative to repeal the statutes regularly passed under the authority of the Duke of York and by the so-called "Dongan Assemblies." This intimation ob- viously accorded with the views, in the last century, of the Colonial Office in England, in so far as we may judge from the following incident: On 9 July, 1768, the colonial secre- tary, Lord Hillsborough, requested the Governor of New- York to procure a printed collection of the Duke of York's Laws, stating that a manuscript copy was then in the office of the Lords of Trade. As this was some seventy-seven lxxix The Lauderdale Peerage, 17 Abbott's N. C, 439; L. R., 10 Appeal Cases, 692. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., VIII, CONFLICT OF OPINION IN NEW-YORK. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., IV, 1 154. History of the Province of New-York, London, anno 1757, P- 73- History of New-York, edition of 1829,1,101. years after the Assembly's resolution of 1691, it is perhaps fair to assume that the resolution itself was not deemed conclusive by the colonial authorities in England. At all events, Lord Hillsborough's request must have been pred- icated of an official consideration of the Duke's Laws as late as the year 1768. Long prior to 1768, but some years subsequent to 1691, Lord Cornbury, when Gover- nor here, refers to the Duke's Laws as if they were still recognized in the province. The conflict of opinion in New- York on the legal effect of the resolution in question is not confined to the present century. Early in the preceding century, William Smith, the well-known historian of this province, and a lawyer of prominence, stated that "all laws made here antecedent to" 1 69 1 "are disregarded both by the Legislature and the Courts of Law." Years subsequent, when a refugee in Can- ada, Judge Smith interpolated an amendment in his his- tory, by which he ascribed the Assembly's motive for the resolution to a desire on their part to avoid giving effect to an act passed under James, because it gave a perma- nent revenue to the crown. However accurate this after- thought of the historian may be, it has been doubted whether a single chamber of a bicameral legislature pos- sessed the power to repeal, by its mere resolution, all the laws regularly enacted under the patent of King Charles II. and under his successor James II. Such a power of repeal could not be inferred from the constitution then in force, or from any principle of the law of England which was bind- ing on the Privy Council when it exercised its supreme appellate jurisdiction over the province. To render such a resolution effective as a repeal, it should appear to have been concurred in by the upper house and approved by the Governor of the province : this it was not. Yet more lxxx MODERN VIEW OF THE RESOLUTION. finality might be attributed to the opinion of the historian were his statement uniformly acquiesced in by his contem- poraries. The weight of their opinion seems, however, the other way, and undoubtedly coincided with the consti- tution then in force. For example, Lieutenant-Governor Colden, a most competent authority, soon after the appear- ance of Smith's history, distinctly challenged this state- ment by the historian. He properly remarks that the acts of parliament during the reign of King James II. remained in force after the King's flight and deposition ; and inquires on what principle the acts of the New- York Assembly passed before the English Revolution could be summarily disregarded because of a mere resolution by the later As- sembly? This query is difficult to answer. So, Lewis Morris, long a chief justice of the province, in the course of the proceedings which arose out of the celebrated case of Cosby v. Van Dam (anno 1733-34), strongly entertained the opposite opinion. Coming down to this century, we find Smith's statement combated by such learned lawyers in the State as the Honorable Benjamin F. Butler, one of the revisers of the Statutes of New-York, and by Judge Murray Hoffman, a close student of the early institutions of New-York. 1 The view of the dissident authorities is somewhat aided by the action of the Assembly itself ; for it is to be observed that on several occasions after the year 1 69 1, bills to repeal all the acts passed in New- York prior to the "Happy Revolution" were regularly introduced in the house, though never passed by it. The Assembly evidently doubted the finality of the resolution in 1691. Since the establishment of the State government, the trend of judicial opinion has been rather in favor of Justice Chalmers's Political Annals of the Colonies S 8 5 . Colden's Letters on Smith's History, N.Y. Hist. Society's Collections for 1868, p. 191. Draft Peti- tion in Behalf of the Inhab- itants of New-York, Historical Magazine, (2d series), 1,69,75 ; see also Morris's opinion in the case of Cosby v. Van Dam ; Pamphlets, in N. Y. Hist. Soc. Lib. , and in the State Library at Albany, N.Y. Assembly Journal, I, 824. Hoffman's Treatise upon the Practice of the Court of Chancery, 1,17. 1 Butler's "Outline of the Constitutional History of New-York," 41; Hoffman's "Treatise upon the Practice of the Court of Chancery," I, 15. 6 lxxxi EXAMINATION OF THE RESOLUTION. Jackson ex dent. Woodruff v. Gilchrist, 15 Johnson's Reports, 89 ; Con- stantine v. VanWinkle, 6 Hill, 177, 181. Humbert v. Trinity Church, 24 Wendell, 587, 625; VanWinkle v. Constan- tine, 10 N.Y., 422, 426; but see Brookhaven v. Strong, 60 N. Y.,68. Hon. George Hoadly, in MS. anno- tations on the Reso- lution. Stockdale v. Hansard, 9 Adolphus and Ellis, 107, 108, 139- Smith's view, that the laws enacted in the Province of New-York prior to the English Revolution were not in force after the year 1691. Whether this inclination is based on accurate statements of fact or on a sufficiently critical examination of the archives of the provincial period of our government, has been considered doubtful. After this lapse of time the courts of the State are obviously unwilling to disturb their earlier conceptions, and they would seem to prefer to apply the maxim, " Communis error facitjus" rather than to revise their early conclusion. In the contest connected with the Lauderdale peerage, the opinion of the State courts was not, however, binding on the House of Lords, although its Committee for Privi- leges naturally attached great importance to the opinions of the high tribunals of the State of New-York. There is, no doubt, much force in the suggestion that a solemn declaration of the lower house of Assembly to the effect that a great political event entailed certain consequences on the laws of this province, is not to be lightly disre- garded by the courts two centuries later. This argument would have greater force were it supported by any proof that the declaration of the Assembly was acquiesced in by the King's Council — then the ultimate Court of Appeal for the province. There is, however, no such proof, and, by all the principles of the common law of England, the consent of the people of this province was not enough to constitute a repeal. Statutes regularly enacted are never repealed either by the resolution of a single chamber of a legislature of the Anglo-American type, or by non-user. Indeed, such a proposition has been expressly declared "to be abhorrent" to those first principles of legislative proceedings acknow- ledged by the English race the world over. Nor will the common law tolerate the repeal of an act of a legislature Ixxxii IMPORTANCE OF THE RESOLUTION. by mere non-user — so solemn is the effect of the act of a representative government. An act of such a legislature, even though it may have fallen into disuse, revives, when- ever invoked, as much as if it had been in viridi observantia. In this particular, the opposed doctrine of the civil law never prevailed either in England or its dependencies. In one case only in English law has a statute of parliament ever been considered as repealed by disuse, under the principle of the civil law, leges consensu omnium per desue- tudinem abrogantur. This celebrated instance, much dis- cussed by writers on the constitution of England, relates to a statute which required all the members of the House of Commons to be residents of the boroughs or shires where elected. This statute, before it was repealed, was constantly disregarded by parliament. But, as by the priv- ilege of parliament it is the sole judge of its own mem- bership, this solitary exception is not to be regarded as disturbing the integrity of the rule of the common law indicated. The undue importance now attributed in New- York to the resolution of the lower house in 1691, must afford a sufficient apology for the space here employed in its dis- cussion ; for if it was operative at all, the laws in the accompanying volume, now reprinted under the auspices of the Grolier Club two centuries after the first edition, are to be regarded as the first valid and permanent statutes of the Assembly of New-York. If, on the other hand, the resolution was defective as a repeal, the earlier statutes of New-York passed under the last two kings of the Stuart dynasty remained operative here until repealed in the modes recognized by the common law, and the statutes contained in this volume are not to be taken as the first in order of time. Ixxxiii White v. Boot, 2T.R., 274. i,3. 32, 1. Case of Dublin Uni- versity, 1 Peckwell's Cases of Contro- verted Elec- tions, 43 ; and note D, P- 53- Stubbs'sCon- stitutional History of England, III, 424; Hallam's Middle Ages, III, 119. GOVERNOR BENJAMIN FLETCHER. A part only of the laws embodied in the present volume were enacted at the several sessions of the Assembly which first convened on 9 April, 1691. The first ses- sion ended on 18 May, 1691, by an adjournment to the second Tuesday of September following. During the ad- journment Governor Sloughter expired, 23 July, 1691, at New-York. The Council then named Richard Ingoldsby, a captain of an independent company, president of the Council, or commander-in-chief of the province; and although he was obnoxious to the many adherents of Leisler, he served as executive until the Governor regu- larly appointed by the crown arrived out from England. The selection of Ingoldsby, though deemed irregular, as he was not a member of the Council, seems to have been acquiesced in by the Assembly, and the laws passed at its second and third sessions, approved by him, were not afterward questioned because of the irregularity noticed. In March, 1692, Colonel Benjamin Fletcher was com- missioned the successor of the deceased Governor. His Coi.' Hist. commission and instructions resemble those of his pre- N.Y. Ill . 818, 827.' decessor. Governor Fletcher arrived out on 29 August, 1692, and at an adjourned meeting of the fourth session of the first Assembly under William and Mary, the new Governor met the Assembly then in session. On the next day, 2 September, 1692, having first requested the advice of the Council on the legal effect of the demise of journal of Governor Sloughter, Fletcher officially declared to the As- the Legisla- tive coun- sembly that they were regularly continued in session. But cil, of N. Y., ° T > l 9- on the 10th of the month he prorogued the Assembly, and on the 14th dissolved it. The dissolution was fol- lowed by writs for the choice of new representatives, and on 26 October, 1692, the second Assembly held in the reign of William and Mary met at the city of New- lxxxiv FIRST PUBLIC PRINTER. York. 1 James Graham was again elected speaker of the House. The second session 2 of this Assembly terminated on 27 July, 1693. The residue of the laws embodied in the present volume had then been passed and approved by the executive, but at that time there was no printing- press in the province, and the laws were in the form of engrossed bills, enrolled in the office of the secretary of the province. The inconvenience incidental to such a mass of ill- arranged manuscript laws prompted the Council of New- York, on 23 March, 1693, to offer inducements to a printer to come and settle in the province. Attracted by these proffers, Mr. William Bradford, a printer of Philadelphia, concluded to try his fortunes in New- York instead of re- turning to England, as he had about that time contem- plated. With this object in view, he evidently sojourned in the city of New- York some time during the year 1693, but whether he came to reside there until 1694 is perhaps uncertain. At all events, the date now fixed by the anti- quaries and the Americanists for his erection of the first Wallace's Commem- orative Address on William Bradford, p. 62. 1 The assemblies at this period were chosen for no stated period. Not until 1737 was their duration restricted. In 1743 a septennial law was passed, which con- tinued in force down to the War of Inde- pendence. 2 The term "sessions" used in the va- rious imprints of the laws of New-York has occasioned some confusion. I am in- debted to an eminent Americanist for the following observations in manuscript : "All the legislative periods of the early assemblies were denominated ' Sessions of the [number] Assembly.' I have called them ' sittings ' because I think an ' As- sembly ' lasted till it was dissolved ; a ' ses- sion,' till it was prorogued ; and a ' sitting,' till it adjourned by the Governor's order. Take, for instance, the Twenty-seventh As- sembly, which lasted from October 24, 6* lxxxv 1752, to December 16, 1758. It held ten sessions, of which the sixth had nine sittings, the seventh four sittings, the tenth six sittings, and each of the others one sit- ting. The loose use of the term ' sessions ' was a source of trouble as early as 1695, when the acts of the second session of the Fifth Assembly were printed as the ' Sixth Assembly, first sessions.' All writers of the laws have been misled by it, and it was the cause of much confusion in the printing of the laws down to the Revolution. Thus the eighth session of the Twenty-ninth As- sembly is called the ' Twenty-first Assem- bly'; and the sixth and seventh sessions of the Thirty-first Assembly are called the ' Twenty-ninth Assembly ' and the ' Thir- tieth Assembly, seventh sessions,' respec- tively." See Appen- dix No. HI, infra. WILLIAM BRADFORD. Wallace, 63. Cf. Wal- lace's Com- memorative Address ; Thomas's History of Printing in America, II, 7 ; Printing in New- York in the Seven- teenth Cen- tury, by Charles R. Hildeburn, Esq., in The Memorial History of the City of New- York, I, c. XV; Appendix No. IV, infra. Wallace, 85. Thomas, II, 287. See the Charle- magne Tower Collection of Colonial printing-press in New- York is 10 April, 1693. The name of Bradford was very soon thereafter enrolled in the "Civil List" of the province. In his capacity of printer to their Majesties King William and Queen Mary, Bradford printed and published the volume now so accurately re- produced. The original bound volume no doubt appeared early in the year 1694, and was the second or third book published in the Province of New-York. It is among the rarest of Americana. As Bradford is regarded as the Caxton of the Middle Colonies, his life is deemed interest- ing, and his biographers have gathered many particulars of his career, some of which are not free from controversy. Having fallen on difficulties in Pennsylvania, from the pub- lication of an unauthorized edition of the charter of Penn- sylvania, and also a polemical tract relating to a schism among the Quakers of Pennsylvania, Bradford had almost determined to return to England when the offer of the Council of New-York no doubt induced his removal to this province. In 1703, having become an Episcopalian, Mr. Bradford was chosen a vestryman of Trinity Church in the city of New- York — even then a privileged parish. This distinction he enjoyed for some years. In the Province of New-York, Bradford held the office of printer to the crown during the reigns of William and Mary, Queen Anne, George I., and George II.: a longer period than that of any other public printer. He died in the city of New- York, 23 May, 1752, in his ninetieth year. In November, 1725, he established the "New- York Gazette," the first newspaper published in the city of New- York. In addition to the compilation of the New- York laws now reproduced, Bradford compiled and published various editions of the laws. The separate laws of New- York as printed by Bradford were not always to the taste of the Ixxxvi THE LAWS OF NEW-YORK. colonial authorities in England; for, in common with all the other editions of the laws of New -York published prior to the War of Independence, they contained omissions, mis- prints, and a variety of other inaccuracies. In this con- nection Lord Bellomont wrote, in 1699, to the Lords of Trade: "But as for a more correct book of the laws which you order me to send 't is not to be had. I sent for the printer and spoke to him about it, and he told me there was no remedy for it because he had no body to correct the presse at the time he printed them." From time to time the Assembly commented on the incorrectness of the various compilations and revisions of the laws of the province. A careful examination will, however, disclose that the original Bradford of 1694, now reproduced, was a faithful edition of the enrolled laws passed by the As- sembly between the years 1691 and 1694. Laws, title, New- York; Catalogue of Books printed by William Bradford and other printers in the Middle Colonies, exhibited at the Grolier Club, 14-21 April, 1893. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N.Y., IV, 522. Journal of the Assem- bly, I, 823 ; Liv- ingston and Smith'sN.Y. Laws, c. 907, I, 443 ; Van Schaack's N.Y. Laws, II, 676. Ixxxvii CHAPTER III. HEN Bradford, in the year 1694, published the first compilation of the laws of New- York, now reproduced in this volume, the entire white population of the Province of New-York could not have exceeded twenty thousand. Since the English conquest in 1664, it had apparently doubled on itself, notwithstanding that the extent of ter- ritory formerly embraced in New Netherland had been greatly reduced by the Duke of York's grants of New Jersey and the minimising boundary established with Connecticut. In 1694 the city and county of New-York alone contained some four thousand souls, and Albany County about fifteen hundred persons, exclusive of thir- teen hundred and twenty Indians ; while Long Island, lxxxviii Statistics of Population; Doc. Hist. N.Y., 1,687. CONDITION OF JURISPRUDENCE IN NEW-YORK. the most secure portion of the province, had a popula- tion of over eight thousand. The numbers of the colo- nists were everywhere increasing with that augmenting industry and prosperity which were promoted by the annexation of the province to the extensive British do- minions. Still, the greater part of the inhabitants of New- York were of Dutch descent, and in the two ob- coLHist. longs consisting of Long Island and the territory bor- ^js!'' 111, dering on the Hudson River, they long continued in their daily intercourse to speak the Low Dutch of the seventeenth century. But soon after the conquest of 1664, the Dutch language had ceased abruptly to be either the medium of legislation or of official usage, although for a long time proclamations continued not infrequently to be issued in both the English and the Dutch tongues, either of which the municipal courts employed as convenience dictated. Few persons now realize how long or to what extent the Dutch language remained in common use in large districts of the province. In the year 1758, when the province had been nearly a century under English rule, fourteen resident lawyers of New-York, in a mem- orial to the Council of the province, convened as a "Legislative House," affirmed "that in several counties the English Tongue is so little spoken that it is difficult to find Justices of the Peace able to copy a Warrant for ap- Journal prehending a Felon and much less to preside as a Judge Legislative r Council, II, Of Law." 1324, note. A consideration of the text of the laws contained in the present volume may possibly be aided by a brief review of the state of the jurisprudence in New-York in the year 1694. By the terms of the patents to the Duke of York and the charters granted by the governors to the several municipalities, but particularly by the commissions under lxxxix LAWS OF ENGLAND IN FORCE HERE. the great seal of England and the instructions from the crown to the governors of the province, which had the prerogative force of law, the legislation in New-York after the year 1664 was directed to conform in its essential features to the general principles of the laws of England. This was well understood before the War of Indepen- dence. Whatever we may now think of the motives of the English bureaucracy, their colonial administration pro- ceeded theoretically on fixed and intelligent principles. It was not fortuitous. In 1732 the chief justice of New- York, Morris, distinctly states in his petition before men- tioned : "Your Majestie and Your Royall Predecessors have been Graciously Pleased by the generall tenor of Your in- structions to your Governours to make the laws of Eng- land the Standard rule and Measure by which your Sub- jects inhabiting the Province of New-York should be Governed as nearly as the Circumstances of dominions So distant would admit." This general statement conforms to the precise fact ; for it was not by any particular ordi- nance or mandate that the common law of England was introduced here by the conqueror, but by a series of direc- tions and commissions so subtile oftentimes as to escape in this century the notice of several distinguished jurists, who have preferred to assume that the common law was always in force in New-York by virtue of a text of the English commentators, rather than to investigate so ar- chaic a subject as the precise manner of its introduction. This is not extraordinary if we consider also that an im- mense mass of one kind of colonial legislation — that by judicial decision — even now remains almost absolutely unexplored. There were until the close of the last century no printed reports of the judicial decisions of the New- York courts, and the colonial bar, which was rather a close xc LAW OF REAL PROPERTY IN NEW-YORK. order, possibly preferred to have them left unpublished and dependent on knowledge and tradition. Thus it hap- pens in any event that a good many things at the base of even our present institutions have been permitted to rest on assumptions rather than facts. About one proposition there is, however, no obscurity : that the common law of England was, after the year 1664, by the general character of the legislation indicated, substituted as the norm or ultimate rule for all cases arising in New-York and not distinctly provided for by the local statutes. Yet the pre- cise mode by which this substitution was accomplished is involved in needless obscurity. When the common law of a new or conquered country is determined by the adoption of the common law of a dominant race, particular institutions will soon be found to accord with the rationale of such common law. Thus it was with that great department of the positive law of New- York which is technically termed the "Law of real estate"; or, more expressively, the "land law." The patents from King Charles II. to the Duke of York con- veyed the vast body of land described in the previous chapter as claimed by the Dutch, to be holden of the King, his heirs, and successors "as of our manor of *wi\ a ' P East Greenwich and our County of Kent in free and common Soccage and not in capite nor by Knight ser- vice Yielding and rendering." The Duke of York cov- enanted "to yield and render" to the crown for the coLHist. N. Y. II same yearly forty beaverskins, when demanded or within 296. ninety days after. This language conformed to a gen- eral usage. The territories in North America were or- dinarily granted by the crown to be held either as of the manor of East Greenwich in Kent, or as of the King's castle of Windsor in the county of Berks, although some xci DUTCH LAND LAW CHANGED. See Penn's Charter, 4 March, 1682 12 Car. II, c. 24. Supra, p. lvi. Smith's Hist, of the Prov. of N. Y., ed. of 1829, I, 35; Hoffman's Treatise upon the Estate and Rights of the Corporation of the City of New- York, I, 95. grants were as of Hampton Court. The patent to the Duke of York therefore expressly introduced in New- York the socage tenure, and with this tenure all its in- cidents. Now, the statute 12 Car. II., c. 24, had, four years before, finally abolished feudal tenures. It had also provided that all tenures thereafter created by the King should be in free and common socage only, and not by knight-service, or in capite ; and that they should be discharged of all wardship, value, and forfeitures of mar- riage, livery, primer seizin, ousterlemain, aide pur faier fitz ckivalier, and pur file marrier. The Duke of York's patents conformed to the requirements of this statute. But although the reformed socage tenure alone was in- troduced in New- York, the "Duke's Laws" virtually re- enacted the English statute. The tenure in free and common socage as it existed in England in the year 1664, the date of the Duke of York's first patent, was the most liberal of all the English tenures, so much so that it is thought by many writers to have been the lineal suc- cessor of the allodial proprietorship of early times. It had little in common with the military or feudal tenures abolished by the Long Parliament. The feudal system of England never prevailed in New-York. The English authorities, immediately after the conquest of New Netherland, set about getting rid of the Dutch land law described in Chapter I. of this Introduction. The estate of the Dutch West India Company, which embraced all the unsettled lands in the territory, was for- mally confiscated. But where the lands claimed by the Dutch were actually occupied by Indians, it at first re- mained necessary to obtain a license from the Governor to extinguish the Indian claim before a patent would be issued by the colonial authorities, although the patent was XCll SOCAGE TENURE IN NEW-YORK. not void if the Indian title had not been extinguished. By the Duke's Laws of 1664, and amendments adopted a little later, those who held land by the Dutch tenure were compelled to take out new confirmatory patents, re- citing a tenure of his Royal Highness the Lord Proprie- tor. The record of the Court of Assizes, 25 March, 1667, states "that y e Sole reason of renewing all former ground- breifes was and is to abolish y e expresse Conditions con- tained in every one of them, to hould their Lands and houses from and under y e States of Holland and y e West India Company in Amsterdam as their Lords and Maisters." The Dutch generally complied with these re- quirements, and, indeed, in the absence of proof of com- pliance, the presumption of law would be that the Dutch grants were converted into the socage tenure, pursuant to the law. Those lands of the province which were held of the Dutch West India Company before the conquest, were now held of the Duke of York, and were subject to the reformed law of England regulating the tenure in free and common socage. At this period no such thing as an allodial ownership of socage lands was conceived of by the common lawyers : the tenant had only an estate in them, but an estate subject to no more burdensome feudal incidents than those styled by the common lawyers, "rent," "fealty," and "escheats." The nature of the quit-rents in New- York prior to the year 1732 is most conveniently dis- closed in a report of the surveyor-general of the province. A consideration of these leading facts enables us to per- ceive the condition of the land law of New- York at the time when the permanent representative government was established by William and Mary, in whose reign the acts contained in this volume were passed. In many other respects the land law of the province was Duke's Laws, title,Indians; Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., XIII, 395. 39 6 ; an act "concerning purchaseing of lands from Indians," passed 23 October, 1684. Jackson v. Hudson, 3 Johns., 383; Fletcher v. Peck, 6 Cranch, 87. Cf. Report of Gov. Try on, 11 June, 1774, Doc. Hist. N. Y., I, 749- Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., XIV, 629. People v. Livingston, 8 Barb., 276; Van Schaack's N. Y. Laws, 1, 87. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., I, 377- XClll CONVEYANCING IN NEW-YORK. Duke'sLaws, title, Con- veyances, Deeds, and Writings. Duke'sLaws, title, Con- veyances, etc. See Colonial Laws of Mas- sachusetts, p. 140; Bos- ton edition of 1880. soon settled according to the traditions and usages of England. The Duke's Laws of 1664 did not leave even the forms of conveyancing to develop on the simpler lines employed in the province when it was under the Dutch West India Company, but they prescribed anew the forms for future conveyances. They ordained that the habendum of all deeds and conveyances of houses and lands within this government when an estate of inheritance was to pass, should be expressed in these words: "To have and to hold the said houses and Lands Respectively to the party or grantee, his heirs and Assigns forever." If an en- tailed estate was to pass, then that it should be expressed in these words: "To have and to hold, etc., to the grantee and to the heirs of his body Lawfully begotten between him and such an one his Wife," etc. Thereafter no sale or alienation of lands was good in law "except the same be done by Deed in writing under hand and Seal and deliv- ered and possession given upon part in the name of the whole by the Seller or his Attorney so Authorized under hand and seal, Unless the said deed be acknowledged and Recorded according to Law." Due provision was made for recording such instruments, as it has been said by some writers, in accordance with the former Dutch law in the province. But even at that time the recording or enrolling in proper offices of deeds of bargain and sale had been made entirely familiar to Englishmen by the statute 27 Hen. VIII., c. 16 ; and therefore the paternity of the practice in New- York may be ascribed to the earlier cus- tom of the Dutch only with some ingenuity. 1 The entire familiarity of the Dutch inhabitants of New-York with the custom doubtless aided the law in practice. By such regulations as those indicated, the English land law was 1 In Massachusetts deeds were ordered to be recorded "after the end of October, 1640. " xciv ENGLISH MANORIAL SYSTEM PERPETUATED. substituted by the English for the earlier law outlined in Chapter I. of this Introduction. Among the other notable features of the land law of New- York as it stood at the beginning of the reign of William and Mary is the attempt to perpetuate the mano- rial system of England then observable here. The only systematic study so far made of the manors of New- York — a work of great usefulness and learning, by Mr. Edward F. de Lancey — does not ascribe a reason for the adoption or the perpetuation of the manorial system in so new a country. Yet this reason seems obvious. In many other parts of English America, notably in New England, the primitive settlements maintained order through a sys- tem of town governments somewhat autonomous, but not manorial, in character. The Dutch authorities, recognizing the fact that the scattered colonies from the Low Countries would necessarily be too far distant from the seat of the local government in New Netherland to be subject to the daily discipline of the central authority, conferred a familiar manorial jurisdiction on the patroons of the various colo- nies in New Netherland with the evident intention of sub- jecting the colonists to the police and the civil jurisdictions known to the patroonships or manors of Holland. 1 The essence of a manor everywhere was the manor court. Through this familiar court a semblance of local govern- ment was at once attainable in the Dutch colonies. At the English conquest in 1664, several patroonships were found existing in the province. After negotiations on the part of the owners of Rensselaerswyck, their manorial , , , , . Doc. rel. rights were recognized by the new government ; and in coi. Hist. 1685 tne patroonship was converted into an English manor, 269. 1 Two magistrates or justices (gerecktspersoonen), and the commissary, formed the court of the patroonship of Rensselaerswyck. xcv STATUTES OF PARLIAMENT. afterward confirmed 1 and held on the reformed socage tenure established by the Duke's patents. The privi- lege of maintaining within the manor a manor court was continued under the form of the court leet and the court baron known to the English manorial system. After 1664, other manors, embracing extensive tracts of terri- tory, were lawfully created in the province, and possessed like privileges to those enjoyed by Rensselaerswyck. As these manors were not created as a reward of merit, or by reason of the interest, or even on account of the distin- guished services, of the grantees, it may be conjectured that in so far as their erection in the wilderness had any political design whatever, it was similar to that animating the Dutch patroonships : they were intended to continue to be the nuclei of colonization, and to afford a ready-made local government of the colonists in distant and almost inaccessible regions of the new country. But it is beyond the scope of this Introduction to do more than to indicate the general nature of the land system already established here when the acts of Assembly were first published by Bradford in the year 1694. The particular jurisprudence of New-York, established by the English authorities in the modes pointed out, was, as early as 1694, irregularly modified by the statutes of the parliament of England, some of which were held to be in force in this province. The precise degree to which these English statutes were operative here, as well as the 1 The date of the several English letters patent or manor grants of Rensselaerswyck are as follows : (i) Thomas Dongan, Lieu- tenant-Governor, etc., to Kiliaen, son of Johannes Van Rensselaer, and Kiliaen, son of Jeremias Van Rensselaer, dated 4 No- vember, 1685. Liber of Patents, No. 5, p. 228 ; Secretary of State's office, Al- bany. (2) Lord Cornbury, Governor, etc., to Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, eldest son of Jeremias, dated 20 May, 1702. Liber of Patents, No. 7, p. 237 ; Secretary of State's office, Albany. These last letters were given in consequence of the death of Kiliaen, son of Johannes, without issue. xevi WHAT STATUTES EXTENDED HERE. principle on which they were so applicable, were moot points at all times prior to their substantial reenactment and repeal by the legislature of this State in 1788. Some of the English statutes were only confirmatory of the common law ; and about this kind, when passed before the conquest of 1664, there was little question made that they extended here. About other English statutes, either reformatory or penal in character, there was more ques- tion. The general rules on the subject were to the effect that those acts of parliament passed before the acquisition of ceded or conquered countries had in general no force there unless adopted or incorporated by royal or parlia- mentary authority, or by act of their own legislatures : after the establishment of a local legislature no subse- quent act of parliament extended to a conquered or ceded country unless it was expressly named. When the com- mon law of England was once established by authority in a country so acquired, the anterior acts of parliament, if suited to the new conditions, were deemed to extend there. The arbitrary way in which these principles were, in the next century, applied by the courts of New- York, ex- cited the animadversion of the colonial lawyers. But in the seventeenth century, as is disclosed by a report of the chief justice of the province, there was apparently less confusion on the subject than at a later day. The chief justice stated that all trials were then governed by " the common law of England and that severall statutes there made declarative thereof." This opinion was evidently based on the assumption that the province had been ac- quired by England through conquest and cession. But the examination of the rolls of a few contemporary cases discloses that no very self-consistent theory was uni- formly applied in New-York by the lower courts of the Jones and Varick's N. Y. Laws, II, 282. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., IV, 828. Smith's Hist. Prov. ofN. Y. : I, 243, Lon- don edi- tion of 1757; and American edition of 1829,11,47, note. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., IV, 828. xcvn JUDICIAL ESTABLISHMENT IN NEW-YORK. Cf. Tuck- er's Black- stone's Commenta- ries, I, 393 ; Dane's Abridg- ment, VI, art. 7, p. 606; Jackson, ex dem. Wood- ruff v . Gil- christ, 15 Johnson, 109 ; Lessee of Levy v. M'Cartee, 6 Peters, 108, 110. p. 2. province, although the ultimate rule upon the subject was then tolerably well settled if it happened that the suitor chose, as few did, to pursue his appeal to the King in council. This uncertainty in so extensive a department of the positive law was not peculiar to the Province of New-York : it is inevitable in any country where a ready- made jurisprudence of an older civilization is adopted with a fundamental reservation to the effect that the old juris- prudence must not be unsuited to the conditions of the newer country. Such a reservation necessarily leaves the whole matter to judicial legislation, and, until the old statutes are separately passed on, some confusion is un- avoidable. 1 A like confusion is observable in the juris- prudence of those countries of Europe which adopted the Roman law as the common law, the precise extent of such adoption having been a prolific source of controversy — the delight of the professional dialectician. Without anticipating the commentary on the text of the acts embraced in the volume of laws here reproduced, it may be remarked at this point that the judicial establish- ment of New- York received, in 1691, from the "Act for establishing Courts of Judicature," that final form which it retained without substantial modification until late in the present century. In a report to the executive, Lord Bellomont, the chief justice of New -York, in the year 1700, summarizes the nature of the judicial establishment as follows : " That the courts of law in this province es- tablished are the Corporation Courts who derive their power from Charters granted from severall persons who have heretofore commanded this province. And the pro- Journal, J The Continental Congress, held in P- 2 9- Philadelphia in the year 1774, attempted to put an end to the doubts on this subject by a series of resolutions declaring the rules to be observed. xcvm SELF-GOVERNMENT OF NEW-YORK. vincial courts which are authorized from an ordinance of your Excellent and Councill in virtue of the powers given you by His Maj ties letters pattents under the great seal of England." The act contained in this volume, and en- titled "An act establishing Courts of Judicature," having been continued until it expired in 1699 D Y limitation, it will be observed that the courts other than the municipal courts are properly referred by the chief justice to an ordinance of the Governor and Council. Some of the modern works on the later courts of New-York have failed to observe this distinction, which is explained in the notes on the acts appended to this chapter. It will now suffice to point out that when the legislature met in the year 1691, the courts of New- York were fully established upon the models of the ancient courts of Eng- land, but with jurisdictions which, from their antiquity, were part of the system of law then freshly administered here. By 1691 the laws of New Netherland had been virtually repealed or annulled, except in so far as they were still reserved by the articles of capitulation, or rec- ognized by that fundamental canon of the jurisprudence of all Christian countries which gives effect to the laws of a conquered Christian country until expressly abrogated. Even at the present day the courts of New-York do not refuse to recognize these principles, so universally ac- knowledged, even though the lapse of time causes the Dutch laws to be rarely, and then indirectly, invoked. With the erection of a legislative assembly in New- York in the manner pointed out in the preceding chapter of the Introduction, the Province of New- York entered finally in 1691 on a measure of self-government. The Governor, with the consent of the Council and Assembly, was invested by a commission from the crown, with full Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., IV, 828. pp. 2, 64. Notes 2, 26, infra. Denton v. Jackson, 2 Johns., Ch. 320; 1 Hopkins, 288; 2 Wen- dell, 109; Dunham v. Williams, 36 Barb. , 136; 37 N. Y., 251; Bartow v. Draper, 5 Duer, I3°> 145; Van Giesen v. Bridg- ford, 18 Hun, 73; Story v. Elevated R. R. Co., 3 Abb. N.C, 478, 489 ; Smith v. Rentz, 131 N. Y., 169, 175- XC1X GOVERNMENT OF ENGLISH PLANTATIONS. power and authority to make, constitute, and ordain laws, statutes, and ordinances for the public peace, welfare, and good government of the province. But such laws, statutes, and ordinances were to be, as near as might be, agreeable to the laws and statutes of England. All such laws, stat- utes, and ordinances were to be, within three months or sooner after the making thereof, transmitted to the King, under the seal of New-York, for his approbation or disal- lowance. Duplicates were to be transmitted by the next conveyance. In case any or all of them being not con- firmed should not be approved, and so signified by the Doc. rel. . . coi. Hist. crown under its sign manual or by order of the Privy N. Y., Ill, ° J J 624. Council, then those disallowed were to be utterly void. These provisions left the acts of the Legislature of New- The People York in force until they were formally rejected by the v. the Rec- J j j j tor, etc., of crown. In other words, the acts, though probationary church^?/ until confirmed, were presumptively in force until dis- Y.,44, 50. allowed. As the burden of proving that an act was an- nulled by the King is cast on those claiming against the validity of the act, the mode of dealing with an act of the New- York Assembly transmitted to England for approba- tion or disallowance cannot be irrelevant here. Its con- sideration involves a brief account of the administration of the colonies in the seventeenth century. The general supervision and management of the Eng- lish possessions in America was intrusted by King Charles II., by royal commission dated 1 December, 1660, to a standing council of forty-eight noblemen and gentlemen, who were charged with the colonial correspondence and Doc. rel. , , . . . coi. Hist. the disposition of all matters relating to the good govern- 30,32! ment and the improvement of foreign plantations. On 21 December, 1674, this commission was revoked, and their books and papers were directed to be delivered to LAWS OF THE NEW-YORK ASSEMBLY. the clerk of the Privy Council. On 12 March, 1675, by Doc. rel. an order in council, whatever matters had been under the n. y./iii, 228 cognizance of the late Council of Foreign Plantations were referred to a committee of the Privy Council appointed for matters relating to trade and foreign plantations. Their lordships were empowered to call for all documents rela- tive to the colonies, and were directed to meet at least once Col sLt N Y. Ill a week and report to his Majesty in council. Upon the 229. accession of King James II., the committee of the Privy Council remained charged with the same duties as before; and New- York, having devolved on the crown, fell under the supervision of such committee. Thereafter all acts of the Assembly were subjected to the consideration of this committee, until the year 1696, — a period later than any of the laws in this volume, — when the "Board of Trade" was finally commissioned and charged with the supervision of the plantations. Subsequent to 1696 the colonial acts Doc rcl were referred to the "Board of Trade," by whom they coi.Hist. were returned to the King in council. 698, 699. The laws in this volume, when transmitted to the Privy Council in England under the seal of New-York, were referred by that body to the committee appointed for matters relating to trade and foreign plantations. This committee then referred the acts either to the law- officers of the crown or to special counsel, on the re- ceipt of whose opinion they drew up a formal report or representation recommending the repeal or the disallow- ance of the particular act, or its confirmation, as the case might be ; or else that such act should be permitted to be operative by "lapse of time," without the formal assent of the crown signified. This last course left such act, ac- cording to the English idea, probationary or indefinitely subject to the King's repeal. The Privy Council usually 7* ci RECORD DEPOSITORIES. See forms in Bacon's Laws of Maryland at Large, anno 1765 ; note to Chap. XVII, Laws of 1692; also notes to Vol. I, Acts and Resolves of the Prov- ince of Massachu- setts Bay, Boston, 1869; and Appendix No. II, this volume. C. 175, N. Y. Laws of 1849; and C. 168, N. Y. Laws of 1856. C. 120, N. Y. Laws of 1 881. C. 120, N. Y. Laws of 1881. Infra, Appendix No. I. proceeded in conformity with the report or representa- tion of the Committee of Trade and Foreign Plantations to repeal or confirm the act by "orders in council"; or else it took no further action on the act, thus leaving it in force ex proprio vigore. Portions only of the proceedings of the Privy Council relative to the acts contained in this volume have been transcribed and published by direction of the State of New-York in the series of volumes known as the " Documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New-York," so frequently used in this Introduction. The last-named publications are not seldom cited in the course of judicial proceedings, but precisely how far they are to be treated as evidence in themselves is somewhat conjectural. The originals of the laws contained in the volume of Bradford, reproduced in this volume, are now in the State Library at Albany, of which the regents of the university are the trustees. Copies of them, certified under the hand of the secretary and the seal of the Board of Regents, may be read in evidence in the courts of New-York with the same force and effect as the originals. Those of the proceedings of the Privy Council relative to the laws of New- York, now at Albany, are in the form of manuscript orders in council, several of which are now published for the first time. The residue remain in the Public Record Office in London, where office copies may be obtained, as was done in the contest over the succes- sion to the Lauderdale peerage. At the time the State of New-York published the English documents then deemed important to illustrate the history of the State, the colonial papers, including the proceedings of the Privy Council relative to the laws of New-York, lay at the old State Paper Office; but in 1861, on the amalgamation of the Cll PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE. various record depositories in London, they were re- moved to the Public Record Office, their present place of custody. On arrival there, the former arrangement and numbering preserved in the publications of the State of New-York were totally changed, and, unfortunately, no exact reference to the old numbering was retained by the custodians; so that at the present day the utmost difficulty is experienced in identifying any particular pa- per by the reference to it contained in the edition of the "Documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New-York" published by the State of New- York. The parliamentary procedure of the Legislature of New -York at the time the acts contained in the present volume were passed, was not dissimilar to the methods fol- lowed in bicameral legislatures of the Anglican type the world over. It was founded on what is known as the com- mon law of parliament, or on that body of orderly rules which had grown up in England and proved so useful to legislative bodies in general. These rules acted as a minor limitation on the proceedings of the Assembly. The major limitation on their power was that contained in the commission granting a representative form of govern- ment; it was always to the effect that the legislation of the Assembly must be agreeable, as near as might be, "to the Laws and Statutes of the Kingdom of England." 1 The journals of both houses of the New-York Legislature subsequent to the year 1691 have been published. The minutes of several sessions of the lower house are, how- ever, missing. The proceedings of the Provincial Leg- islative Council in reference to the acts in the present Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 624. Journal of the Council, xxxi. 1 Since the revolt of the American colo- nies, the entire administration of the other British colonies has been modernized and changed. No law of a colonial legislature is now void because in conflict with the com- mon law of England; but otherwise when it conflicts with a statute of parliament ex- tending to that colony. Todd's Par. Govt. Brit. Col., 24. cm LAWS OPERATIVE UNTIL DISALLOWED. Intro, to Journal of the Legislative Council, xxvi. People ex rel McDonald v . Keeler Sheriff, 32 Hun, 563. Journal of Assembly, 15 and 22 October, 1708: I, 233, 236. p. cv infra. volume may therefore be readily ascertained, but the pro- ceedings of the Assembly are not so complete for this period. When bills introduced had been formally ap- proved by both legislative houses, and assented to by the Governor, their operation, until they were disallowed or repealed by the King, was as absolute within the ter- ritory of New- York as was that of an act of parliament in England, although the Assembly could not claim the prescriptive or independent jurisdiction of parliament, but owed its energy to the crown's franchise alone. The extent of the power of the Assembly of New- York to punish contempts of its authority has been questioned, without reference to the instance, in 1708, of Christopher Den, who was vigorously punished by command of the Assembly. Having now completed an outline of the situation of the province down to the year 1694, further commentary on the laws in this volume is reserved for the " Notes and Observations," which, it is hoped, may prove not altogether useless to those who have occasion to examine this work. civ NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE ACTS CONTAINED IN THE VOLUME OF LAWS. 1 i. "An Aft for the qtiieting and fettling the D if orders that have Laws, p. i. lately happened withiti this Province, and for the eflablishing and fecuring their Majeflies prefent Government againfl the like Dif orders for the future." This act was undoubtedly intended by the legislature as an explicit and formal acknowledgment of the change in the succession to the crown, and as an abjuration of the royal house of Stuart. Its condemnation of the usurpation HfctVrov. of power over their Majesties' subjects was directed against the of N - Y -> J • • • r t i i • , t i , , ii , edition of administration of Jacob Leisler. It happened that the clause mak- 1829, 1, 99. ing it treason punishable according to the laws of England " to disturb the peace good and quiet of their Majesties government by force of arms or otherways" had been much promoted by Colonel Nicholas Bayard, who was afterward indicted, convicted, s t °" e e j'r ials and sentenced to be drawn and quartered under this very act. In XIV, 471. the reign of Queen Anne, the Assembly were recommended to Smith'sHist. fe ' J _ Prov. of repeal the clause under which Colonel Bayard had been convicted. N.Y., 1,144. 2. "An Aft for Eflablishing Courts of Judicature for the Eafe and Laws, p 2. Benefit of each refpective City, Town and County within this Prov- ince." This act provided an entirely new judicial establishment for the province. It prescribed the jurisdiction of the justices of the peace, erected courts of sessions of the peace, courts of com- mon pleas for counties, and a supreme court for the province, hav- ing cognizance of all pleas — civil, criminal, and mixt — as fully 1 All the acts passed by the various Assemblies of the Province of New-York were, on 10 December, 1828 (c. 20 N. Y. Laws of 1828-29), abrogated as far as possible. 8 cv NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. Clark's Colonial Law, 52. MS. roll, State Library, Albany : Appendix No. IV., 2 R. L. of N. Y., anno 1 8 13. Supra, p.liii. Smith's Hist. Prov. of N. Y.,edit. : 1829, I, 102. Cf. ibid., L98; 60 N.Y.,68. See note 36, infra. to all intents as the Courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer in England. In many others of the transmarine posses- sions of England, the jurisdiction of these great common law courts of England were transferred to some one colonial court of law variously entitled. The Supreme Court of New-York, wholly created by this act, was given also a superintending jurisdiction, similar to that of the King's Bench in England, over the inferior law courts of the province in matters involving above the value of twenty pounds. This act also conferred on the judges, or justices, of all the courts of record the power to establish rules of court for the more orderly proceedings and practising in their said courts. It virtually repealed an act of the first Assembly, entitled "An act to settle Courts of Justice," passed i November, 1683, which had erected, among other courts, the "Court of Oyer and Terminer," having general jurisdiction of common law cases. The Court of Oyer and Terminer had taken the place of the Court of Assizes, which was dissolved by an act passed 29 October, 1684. Smith, the historian of the province, inconsistently says that as the act of 1683 was a perpetual act, and the act of 1691 a temporary law, "it may hereafter be disputed, as it has been already, whether the present establishment of our Courts can consist even with the preceding act or the general rules of law." Yet he had before said that the acts of 1683 "are for the most part rotten, defaced or lost" — a statement adopted to some extent by the courts of New- York in this century. This act of 1691 was from time to time extended, and the courts continued by several ordinances of the Governor promulgated under the express authority of a clause in his commission. The judicial establishment of New- York, created by this act, and continued by the ordinances mentioned, was recognized by the State constitution of 1777, and with very slight modifications became part of the new order of things under the republic. The attempt to refer the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery of New-York to this act has, in this century as well as in the last, occasioned some dispute among chancery lawyers of New- York. The act entitled "An act to settle Courts of Justice," passed 1 November, 1683, contained this clause: "That there shall be a Court of Chancery within this Province which said Court shall have power to hear and determine all matters of equity and shall bee esteemed and accounted the Supreme Court of this Province." The late Judge Hoffman was disposed to regard this act of 1 No- cvi NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. vember, 1683, as a perpetual act, and the basis of the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery recognized by the State constitution of 1777, notwithstanding the resolution of the Assembly in 1691. His argument is well fortified by reason and citations of authority. Smith, the historian of the province, is, however, silent on this very important point. It will be observed that the operation of this act was temporary, but its operation was extended for two years by "An act for the Establishing Courts of Judicature," etc., contained in this volume, and longer, as subsequently explained. The course of appeals prescribed by this act only conformed to the constitution of the province as expressed in the commissions from the crown to the royal governors of New-York. Paine and Duer regard this as the most important act of the session, but they misconceived its scope and duration. Hoffman's Treatise on Chancery Practice, I, pp. 6-19; supra, p. lxxviii. Laws, p. 6. Laws, p. 64 ; infra, note 24; Laws, pp. 5,6. Practice, n, 715 ; infra, note 24. 3- "An Acl for the Settling, Quieting and Confirming unto the Cities, Towns, Mannours and Freeholders within this Province, their feveral Grants, Patents and Rights refpec lively." This act is ascribed by the historian Smith 1 to a desire to get rid of contro- versies then made in reference to such patents and grants. The real design of the act was to confirm and ratify the patents and grants made under the royal house of Stuart. In this connection it should be observed that a similar enactment in the first constitu- tion of the State of New-York saving all former crown grants was much condemned because it was thought to be made exclusively in the interest of the great patentees of the province. The Duke's Laws and an Act passed 2 November, 1683, had already legis- lated on a like subject prior to the year 1691. Laws, p. 6. Hist, of N.Y.,I, 102; id., II, 25. People v . Livingston, 8 Barbour, 293- See N. Y. Daily Advertiser, 4 March, 1789, " Beware of Lawyers. " Title, Possession, "An act of Settlement." "An A el for the enabling each refpective Town within this Prov- Laws, p. 7. ince to Regulate their Fences and Highways, and make prudential Orders for their Peace and orderly Improvements." This act was not the first law on the subjects indicated in its title, even under the English rule, while the towns of New Netherland had been recog- 1 Hereafter the references to Smith's History of the Province of New- York are to the pagination of the American edition of 1829, and not to that of the London edition of 1 767. 8* CVll NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. Laws and Ord.of New Neth., 42 ; Denton v. Jackson, 2 Johns., Ch. 320. Duke's Laws, titles, Town- ships, Votes. Title, "Cat- tle Corn Fields Fences " ; see " The Town of the Duke's Laws," JohnsHop- kinsUniver- sityStudies, etc., extra volume IV, 105. nized by the Dutch as political units prior to 1664. For example, as early as November, 1644, a charter was granted to the town of Hempstead, on Long Island, "with power to establish civil ordi- nances amongst themselves." The following 10 October, 1645, the town of Flushing was organized with like power. But the towns of New Netherland appear to have been organized on a principle of subinfeudation. The authorities of the West India Company never divested themselves of the conception that their own organi- zation was based on the principles of a seigniorial fief; and in or- ganizing all subordinate political organizations, the West India Company effected this leading idea of their own existence by making the towns sub-fiefs, even to the extent of conferring the privileges of "hunting, hawking, fishing and fowling" within the limits of the towns. When the English reorganized the province in 1664 on the basis of the Duke's Laws, they gave the existing towns a more distinctly communal or corporate character, con- trolled by the votes of the resident freeholders and the householders, with power generally to "ordain such or so many peculiar constitu- tions as are Necessary to the welfare and Improvement of their Towne." By an amendment to the Duke's Laws, the town laws in force under the Dutch before the conquest of 1664 were ordered to be brought into the next Court of Assizes, to be confirmed, altered, or amended. Fences had been regulated by the laws of New Netherland. Under the English, the fences about common fields were by the Duke's Laws to be kept in repair by all persons interested in the common field. In 1684 an act was passed, entitled "A Bill con- cerning cattle corne ffields and ffences," which empowered "any Towne within this province " to make " Laws and Ordinances " con- cerning " fenceing their feild and meadows," provided such laws were not repugnant to the laws of this province and be confirmed by the next Court of Oyer and Terminer. 5- Laws, p. 8. "An Acl for Defraying of the Publick and Necejfary Charge throughout this Province, a?id for maintaining the Poor, and pre- venting Vagabonds." This act empowered each county within the province to establish poor-rates and levy taxes for the same. It will be observed that this act to some extent recognizes the county cviii NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. as an existing political subdivision, or, in other words, it treats the "Act to divide this Province and Dependencyes into Shires and Countyes," passed i November, 1683, as yet in force, notwithstand- ing the resolution of 1691. This act recognizes the custom of England and the adjacent colonies to provide for the poor, but without reference to the "Poor Laws" of New Netherland. By an ordinance of 22 October, 1661, the Director- General and Council of New Netherland had ordered that on every Sunday alms should be collected for the poor in the villages, and "something laid up for the Poor and Needy." There were other Dutch laws on the same subject. The Duke's Laws of 1664 continued, as a town charge, the support of the poor. The Dongan Assembly, on 1 November, 1683, by "An Act for the defraying of the publique and necessary charge of each re- spective Citty Towne and County throughout This province and for maintaining the poor and preventing vagabonds," directed every county, city, town, parish, and precinct of New- York to make pro- vision for the maintenance and support of their poor. The act of 1683 was virtually repealed by the act contained in this volume, and the support of the poor was again made a town charge only. Many of the provisions of both acts are almost identical in phra- seology : the legislature of 1691-94 had all the acts of 1683-85 before them. This act also relates to settlement and commorancy, and required all immigrants not having a visible estate or manual occupation, before being admitted inhabitants of the province, to give sufficient surety that they would not become public charges. These provisions were taken from the act of 1683. Both the act of 1683 and this act excepted all those who had manual crafts or occupations, provided they made application eight days after arrival to the authorities. The provision which required masters of vessels to give security for immigrants, etc., was taken from the act of 1 November, 1683. Supra, p. Ixxviii. Laws, p. 9. Laws of New Neth., 411. Ibid, passim. Laws, p. 8. Laws, p. 9. Cf. 13 and 14 Car.II.,c. 12. Laws, p. 10. "An Acl for fettling the Militia." This act was not more strin- Laws, p. 10 gent in many of its provisions than were the prior laws of New- York on this subject. The Duke's Laws had required every male person above the age of sixteen years, except justices, sheriffs, high constables, and under sheriffs, petty constables, ministers, school- masters, chirurgeons, and some others, to duly attend all military exercises when required and warned by their officers. The latter Title, Mili- tary Affairs. Cix NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. Duke'sLaws, title, Mili- tary Affairs. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 260. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N.Y.,IV, 185. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 333- Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 371, 379. Hallam's Constitu- tional Hist. England, II, 128, 134. Institutes of English Public Law, 415. Memorial History of New-York, IV, 263. were commissioned by the Governor on the nomination of the constable and overseers of the towns. "General training" for the whole province was required once in two years, and for the ridings of Yorkshire yearly. Every town must have four days in each year for training among themselves. On 16 April, 1678, Governor Andros reported that the militia of New-York " is about 2000 of w ch a bout 140 horse . . . , ordered and exercised according to law." In 1693 the militia in New- York numbered about 3000. A bill for the settlement of the militia passed 24 October, 1684, in terms amended the Duke's Laws, but left most of their provi- sions in force. The amended act made the nomination and pres- entation of the officers of the militia dependent on the choice of the freeholders. When Duke of York, James had vested his Governor of New- York with the power of appointing officers of the militia. Subsequent to the Duke's accession, the mode of appointment seems to have been left indeterminate, at least sufficiently so as to account for the act of 1684, vesting the power of nomination in the freeholders. The provisions of this last-named act, if com- pared with the various acts relative to the militia, passed in Eng- land immediately after the Restoration, when the militia was reor- ganized, will be found interesting to any treatise dealing with the historical phase of a citizen soldiery. The abolition of military tenures in England in 1660 had led to a change in the whole basis of the English militia. The conflict with parliament in the time of King Charles I., relating to the extent of the prerogative of appointing officers in the militia, was the grand question on which the quarrel finally rested. The English acts relative to the militia passed after the Restoration have been carefully collected by David Nasmith, a barrister of the Inner Temple. By the acts 13 and 14 Car. II., c. 3, and 15 Car. II., c. 4, every man who possessed five hundred pounds a year from land, or six thousand pounds of personal estate, was bound to equip, provide, and pay, at his own charge, one horseman. Every man who had fifty pounds a year in rents, or six hundred pounds of personal estate, was charged with one pikeman or musketeer ; smaller proprietors joined to- gether were required to furnish a horse-soldier or a foot-soldier. The King's power of keeping the militia under arms was, how- ever, limited to fourteen days. There is an outline of the militia laws of New-York by General Emmons Clark. But the various historians of the Province of New- York have not usually given this period the most exhaustive cx NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. treatment, if we consider that the Duke's Laws of 1664 were en- acted so soon after the Restoration and the reform in the English militia system as to afford interesting data for a comparison of certain institutions of England with those of New -York. The reservation of the choice of officers to the freeholders of New- York, contained in the act of 1684, was a somewhat important step toward freer government, if we consider that at that period in England they were named by the lord lieutenant of the county — the immediate representative of the crown. This act does not appear to regulate the appointment of officers. Nor did the com- mission and the instructions of Governor Sloughter apparently determine the manner of the choice of officers. This act, it will be observed, requires obedience of the militia when in arms to the laws and articles of war established by the Governor, with the advice of a general council of war, and extends the jurisdiction of a court martial even to acts of revenge done when the offender was not under arms. Even this subjection of the military courts in New- York to the laws and articles of war, to some extent probably reflects the influence of the English statute known as the Mutiny Act, which afforded the first regular recog- nition of the " articles and military laws " of Gustavus Adolphus and the Dutch military code of Arnhem. But this entire subject is one susceptible of independent treatment, at once profound and instructive in competent hands. By the English acts passed after the Restoration, the King remained sole captain-general of the forces. Justices of the peace were authorized to inflict slight pen- alties for breach of discipline by the militia, and only when the train-bands were called out against an enemy were they subject to the rigor of martial law. The Duke's Laws clearly gave too much power to the military courts to be in keeping with the English constitution after the Restoration. This act would seem also to have extended the power of courts martial too far. The proceedings of a " Court of Lieutenancy " for the city and county of New- York, between 1686 and 1696, appear in the printed collections of the New-York Historical Society. Laws, p. 10. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 623, 685. Laws, p. 10. 1 William and Mary, c. 5. De Lolme's Constitution, of England, 458; Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., IV, 426. Collections for 1880, pp. 391-458. 7- " An Acl declaring what are the Rights & Priviledges of Their Laws, p. 15. Majejlies Subjecls inhabiting within Their Province of New-York" passed 13 May, 1691. This is the most widely known of all the cxi NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 348, 351. 357, 370. Smith's Hist. Prov. of N. Y., I, 102; Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., IV, 263 ; Butler's Outlines, Consti- tutional Hist, of N. Y., 40, 41 ; and Appendix II, infra. Doc. rel. Col Hist. N.Y.,III, 624. Title, Votes; cf. Humbert v. Trinity Church, 24 Wendell, 625. acts contained in this volume, for it has been the subject of much comment on the part of the historians and the annalists of the province, while some of its provisions are not infrequently passed on by the courts of justice even in our own day. In any con- sideration of this act it should always be inquired whether many of its provisions were not cumulative, declarative, or entirely super- erogatory. The act itself, like its predecessor, the celebrated "Char- ter of Libertys" of 1683, was finally vetoed by the crown, but without seriously curtailing the liberties of the people, or altering the constitution of the province, already settled on the basis of the English public law. That the allowance of this act by the crown would have finally settled the constitution of the province cannot rightly be claimed, for there would have then remained the juris- diction of the parliament of England to be dealt with — an element far more powerful for evil , to the liberties of the province than the diminishing prerogatives of the distant prince of this province, " eodem tempore rex alterins populi." This act is modeled on the "Charter of Libertys" of 1683, which was passed by the Dongan Assembly under the lord proprietor. The "Charter of Libertys" was, after some consideration, rejected when James had ascended the throne. (a) The clause of the "Charter of 1683," to the effect that the legislative authority shall "forever be and reside in a Governor, Councell and the people met in General Assembly," was perhaps the first distinct enunciation in all history of the abstract right of the people at large to share in their own government. In this particular it was a remarkable instrument. These great words are in substance repeated in the act in this volume, which also was dis- allowed by the King. Though disallowed by the King, the leading provisions of this act were constantly recognized as otherwise in force throughout the entire period of the crown government. (p) The clause, " That every freeholder within this Province and Freeman in any corporation shall have his free choice and vote," etc., was, in so far as the freeholders were concerned, already the law. Whether the chartered freemen of the cities, unless as free- holders, were so eligible without this act, is another question. This act restricted the franchise to freeholders of forty shillings per annum. The Duke's Laws of 1664 permitted householders to vote in town affairs — a very early extension of the franchise. Although this act conferred the franchise on the freemen of the cities, — Albany and New- York, — yet the first State constitution of 1777 cxu NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. neglected to make a "freeman" of these cities eligible for the office of Governor of the State unless he were at the same time a freeholder — a great oversight. (j) Others of the provisions relating to the rights of the people, contained in this act, were taken from Magna Charta, the Petition of Right, and the English statutes relative to the abolition of the military or feudal tenures, notwithstanding such provisions were part of that law of England already imposed on the province in the most binding and conclusive manner. With these provisions, entirely unobjectionable in themselves, were blended privileges to the members of the Assembly as such, which were deemed by the Lords of Trade "too great"; and so the act was finally disallowed. (8) The clause of this act relative to all lands within the prov- ince being esteemed lands of freehold and inheritance in free and common socage according to the tenor of East Greenwich, was simply declarative, inartificial, and unnecessary. It recalls Lord Bellomont's observation in the year 1701: "Nobody here understands the drawing an act of assembly." (e) The clause of this act, "No Estate of a Feme Covert shall be sold or conveyed, but by Deed acknowledged by her in some Court of Record, the Woman being secretly examined, if she doth it freely, without threats or compulsion of her Husband," has been frequently cited in this century by the courts of New-York. The Duke's Laws had, in 1664, required all conveyance of lands to be in writing under seal. They were to be acknowledged before some justice of the peace or superior officer in the govern- ment, and recorded as in such laws expressed. No reference to the Dutch law relative to recording was made by the Duke's Laws, which in terms provided that all records of bargains and sales within the west riding should be transmitted to New-York "with the fees ordained for the records." Clerks of courts of sessions were to enter all conveyances of lands. The " Charter of Lib- ertys," passed 30 October, 1683, had contained the same provi- sion as this act relative to the conveyance of the estate of a feme covert by deed acknowledged by her in some court of record. The next act on this subject was " An act to pr'vent frauds in conveyanceing of Lands," passed 3 November, 1683. It enacted that "noe grants deeds mortgages or other conveyances whatso- ever of any Lands or Tenements within this province shall be of any force power or validity in Law, unless the said grants deeds mortgages or order conveyances be entered and recorded in the Section xi. Laws, pp. 17, 18. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., IV, 263. Laws, p. 18. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., IV, 830: id., VIII, 325. Laws, p. 18. Constantine v. Van Winkle, 6 Hill, 181 ; idem, 10 N. Y., 428; Jackson ex dem. v. Gilchrist, 15 Johns. Rep., 113; Humbert v. Trinity Church, 24 Wendell, 625 ; Albany Fire Ins. Co. v. Bay, 4N. Y., 1, 24. Title, Con- veyances, Deeds, and Writings. 2 R. L. N. Y., anno 1813, Appendix No. II; Humbert v. Trinity Church, 24 Wendell, 625. CXIU NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. Register of the County where such Lands or tenements doe lye within six months after the day of their respective dates. Provided alwayes, and be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that none of the aforesaid grants deeds mortgages or other convey- ances shall be entered or Recorded untill the party or partyes who did seale and deliver the same shall make accknowledgement thereof before some one of his Majestyes Justices of the peace or that the same be by sufficient Witnesses proved before the said Justice of the peace and certificate thereof entered on the back side of the said deed grant mortgage or other conveyance." Then followed an act entitled "A bill to prevent Deceipt and fforgerye," passed 23 October, 1684, which provided "That noe bargaine sale Mortgage or grant of any house or Land within this province shall be holden good in Law except the same be done by deed in writeing under the hand and seale of the Grantor and delivery and possession given in part in the name of the whole by the said Grantor or his Attorney soe authorized under hand and seale. And unlesse the said Deed be acknowledged by the said Grantor before one of the Judges of Oyer and Terminer and General Goale Delivery within one yeare after sealing thereof and Re- corded as is prescribed in an Act intitled An Act to prevent frauds in conveyanceing of Lands made this present Sessions of Assembly." On 29 October, 1684, "A Bill concerning fformer Mortgages " declared, " Whereas It hath beene the custome and practice of the ancient inhabitants of this province commonly called Dutch to use and exercise the Methods of their owne nation in Mortgages of Lands houses and Tenements which is not according to the usage and method of England and the now established Lawes of this province Bee it enacted by the Governor and Councell and Representatives mett in General Assembly and by the authority of the same That all such mortgages of Lands houses and Tenements duely and Legally obtained and made according to the former customes of this province before its Restauration to his Matie and Royal Highness shall be deemed and adjudged in any of the courts of equity and courts of Record within this province as effectuall in Law and Right as if according to the method and practice of England or the Lawes now estab- lished. Provided that all such mortgages shall be sued or re- newed within eighteen months after the Date of these premisses. Any acts custome or usage to the contrary notwithstanding." The subsequent law concerning acknowledgments of deeds and instru- cxiv NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. ments of conveyances in New- York prior to the War of Indepen- dence is commented on in a most instructive manner in a historical pamphlet by John Wallis, Esq., counselor at law, of New-York. This pamphlet was made for the use of the Honorable David Dudley Field, in the case of Van Winkle v. Constantine, and a copy is now in the State Library at Albany. There is also a very learned review of the law relative to acknowledgments in the brief of the Honorable George Hoadly, counsel for appellant in the recent case of Blackman v. Riley. If this practice of convey- ing estates of feme coverts by deeds privately acknowledged, was not due to a statute, it is an instance very rare in America, of a law established by custom. (C) The last clause of the act referring to matters of religion, with the exception of the proviso in reference to those of the " Romish Religion," was taken largely from the " Charter of Libertys" of 1683. Such proviso was not in the last-mentioned act, or that act could not have been approved, as it was, by Colonel Dongan, who was of the ancient faith. Of the two acts, the "Charter of Libertys" was the higher expression of religious freedom, and its principles are those now in force in New-York by constitutional limitation. When this act was passed the Prov- ince shared in the general excitement about the Roman Catholics and the fallen house of Stuart. 10 N. Y., 422. 138 N. Y., 318. See Albany Fire Ins. Co. v. Bay, 4N. Y., 31, 32 ; Collec- tions N. Y. Hist. Soc, III, 347. 8. "An Acl for the Allowance to the Reprefentatives." This act was more important to the members of Assembly than to their con- stituents. It also established a subsequently notorious " mileage " allowance, as it gave the representatives ten shillings per diem, "from their coming out till their return home," — limiting this time of going and coming, however, to sixteen days. Governor Fletcher thought the compensation a large allowance ; but the quantum of the compensation and the traveling allowance were originally fixed by an act passed 31 October, 1683, entitled "An Act for the allowance to Representatives." Laws, p. 19. Smith's Hist, of the Prov. of N. Y., 1,115. MS. roll, State Library, Albany. 9- " An Acl to Enable the City and County of A Ibany to defray their Laws, P . 20. necejfary Charge." This act establishes a species of octroi on the Indian trade, of which that city was then the center. The charter cxv NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. by which the village of Albany became a city was signed by Gov- ernor Dongan, 22 July, 1686. Under it the mayor and the sheriff were annually nominated upon the " ffirst day of St. Michael the Archangel " (September 29). IO. Laws, p. 21. Hist. Prov. N. Y., I, 101. Supra, p. lxxviii. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., V, 581, 643. Laws, p. 25. Smith's Hist. N. Y., I, 164, 306, 307 ; Daw- son's "Sons of Liberty," 30-32; Mag. Am. Hist., Ill, 165 ; Laws, pp. 21, 25, 26, 58, 84. "An Acl for EJlablishing a Revenue for the defraying the Pub- lick Charges of the Province." This act was, by express limita- tion, contained in the act itself, to remain in force only two years after the publication thereof. An act conferring a permanent revenue on the Duke of York and his heirs, entitled "A continued Bill for Defraying the Requisite charges of the Government," had been passed 30 October, 1683. Smith says this gave a perpetual revenue to the crown, and that a desire to be rid of it afforded the real reason for the passage of the resolution of 1691, declaring all laws consented to by the General Assembly under James null and void. Smith was undoubtedly right in his statement that the act was perpetual. 1 The act of 30 October, 1683, as explained by an act of 29 October, 1684, was undoubtedly the basis of this act. The rates of duties, the scale, and the amount of the excise are substantially the same by the provisions of both acts. Subsequent to 1 69 1, and prior to 1720, the course of legislation on the revenue is indicated in Governor Burnet's reports to the Lords of Trade. The point of this act was its limiting the operation of the revenue to two years. The control which the Assembly came to exercise in this manner over the revenue of the province was always spirited and determined, involving them in constant disputes with the governors of the province. The following act must be read in connection with this act. The revenue was continued by subse- quent acts, for two years, and then for five years. II Laws, p. 26. "An A 61 to enable his Excellency to defray his extraordinary Expence, a?id to Indemnifie the Collector and Receiver General for the Receipt of feveral Sums of Money on pretence of Cuflom and Brook- haven v. Strong, 60 N. Y., 68. 1 It should be remarked here that the acts of the " Dongan Assemblies " had amended some parts of the Duke's Laws and supplemented other parts. Indeed, up to the year 1691, the course of legislation in New-York is entirely succinct, orderly, and intelligible on this subject and others, although not now readily accessible owing to its scattered depositories and its un- printed form. cxvi NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. Duty." This act is to be read in connection with the foregoing act, as it made the revenue collected payable into the hand of the Receiver- General and issued by the Governor's warrant. Captain William Kidd received ^150 "for good services" under this act. The "services" were rendered in the protection of the province from pirates. Kidd was then a bold and skilful shipmaster, pre- sumably honest, and hailing regularly from the port of New- York. On 2 November, 1683, the Assembly had passed "An Act for a free and Voluntary Present to the Governour," which gave him "one penny for every pounds value of all the reall, personall and visi- ble estate of all and every the ffree holders and inhabitants in this His Royal Highnesse province." It gave the Receiver- General "two pence in the pound for all moneys by him paid." The act of 1683 was to expire by limitation 21 April, 1685. It was rein- forced by an act " ffor the more speedy and better collecting the Governour's ffree and Voluntary present," passed 27 October, 1684. Note 10, supra. Smith's Hist. Prov. N. Y., I, 101. MS. roll, State Library, Albany, N. Y. MS. roll, State Library, Albany, N. Y. 12. "An Acl for the raijing of two Thouf and Pounds for paying and defraying the Incidental Charges, according to eflablishment of one htmdred Fuzileers, with their proper Officers, for one whole Year." During the entire war, which began 7 May, 1689, and ended with the Peace of Ryswick in 1697, Albany was one of the chief points of defense against the Canadian attacks planned by the French under Count Frontenac, in the course of which the " Five Nations" filled so important a place. This act formed part of the systematic preparation made in New-York to countervail and repel the aggressions and encroachments of the French and their Indian allies during " King William's War." 13- Laws, p. 27. Cf. Papers relating to the Invasion of New-York by the French ; Doc. Hist., N.Y.,1,285; Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y.,III and IV, passim ; Dr. Shea's note No. 29 to Miller's N. Y. in 1695. "A11 Acl to eafe People that are fcrupidous in Swearing" This act was intended for the relief of the people called Quakers. As early as 22 February, 1687, Governor Dongan reported to the Committee of Trade that there were in New-York " abundance of Quakers preachers men and women especially ; Singing Quakers ; Ranting Quakers." The Quakers refused to take an oath. This act was repealed in 1734, and indulgence given by Chapter DCIII Laws, p. 30. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 415 ; ibid., IV, 159; On- derdonck's Annals, Rise cxvn NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. and Growth of Friends on Long Island and in New-York City; Van Schaack's Laws,DCIII. Laws, p. 31. Brodhead's History of the State of New- York, II, 647. of that year, entitled "An Act for granting to the People called Quakers residing within this colony, the same privileges, etc., as the People of that Denomination are entitled unto in England." 14. "An Acl for Pardoning fiuh as have been active in the late Dif- orders." This act was the sequel of the disturbances growing out of the administration of Jacob Leisler. It excepts some persons who had been already attainted of treason and murder, and others who had been Leisler's most obnoxious followers. This was the last act passed at the Assembly's first sitting, which began 9 April, 1691. Its passage was speedily followed by the execution of the unfor- tunate Leisler and his son-in-law Milborne. 15- Laws, p. 34. Appendix No. II, infra, L. & S., I, c. LXV. " An Acl for the Regulating Damages done in the time of the late Diforders," etc. This act forms the sequel to the excitement which attended the Leisler episode, and constitutes an important part of the voluminous literature of that tragedy. This act was repealed 19 April, 1699, by an act of Assembly. Laws, p. 39. MS. roll, State Li- brary, Al- bany; 2 Revised Laws N. Y., anno 1 8 13, Appendix No. Ill; 3 R. S., 481. Brodhead's N. Y., II, 385, 386. 16. 'An Acl to divide this Province and Dependencies into Shires and Counties." This act did not create twelve new counties in the province, for the members of this Assembly had been returned as representatives for these very counties mentioned in this act. An act passed i November, 1683, during the proprietary govern- ment, had divided the province into the twelve counties of New- York, Westchester, Ulster, Albany, Duchesses, Orange, Richmond, Kings, Queenes, Suffolke, Duke's, and Cornwall. Ulster was thus named after the Duke of York's Irish earldom ; Albany was the second title of the Duke of York ; Orange was called after the Duke's son-in-law and successor; Richmond, it has been said, was so called "probably for the King's natural son by the Dutchess of Portsmouth." By the act of 1683, high sheriffs were to be com- missioned for each of these twelve counties, and in 1691 writs of election were addressed to the sheriffs so created under the act cxviii NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. of 1683. This act made some trifling changes only in the rough descriptions already contained in the act of 1683. It also omitted the clause in the act of 1683 relative to the commissions to the high sheriffs of the respective counties. Otherwise the two acts are in almost the same words. In the description of Albany County, the old Dutch "Colonie" of the Van Rensselaers is recog- nized as the manor of Rensselaer, which is correct : the settle- ment had ceased to be a mere "Colonie" when made a manor of the English type, in 1685. The twelve counties after 1683 comprised the entire settled districts of the province. The wilder country, or those "territories depending" on New-York, as the description ran in the commissions to the governors of New- York, was not embraced within the boundaries of any of the counties — at least not until a much later period in the history of New-York. New Netherland had embraced "all the tract of land, with the islands adjacent, extending from the west side of Connecticut River to the lands lying on the west side of Delaware Bay ; all which were embraced in the Duke of York's grants from Charles II." Penn- sylvania was not, however, included in the Duke's grants. The grants from the Duke of York to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret (23 and 24 June, 1664) had taken away New Csesarea, or New Jersey. The Duke of York surrendered any claim to Pennsylvania by deed to William Penn, 31 August, 1682. The country west of the Connecticut River and east of the dividing line "run about twenty miles from any part of Hudson's River" was relinquished to Connecticut by the commissioners appointed by the two colonies to establish the eastern boundaries of New- York in 1664. The claims of Connecticut to the easterly end of Long Island were surrendered at the same time. The line was subsequently rectified in 1683, and confirmed in 1700. Pemaquid, in Maine, was surrendered to Massachusetts on 19 September, 1686. Notwithstanding this fact, this act, following too closely the act of 1683, makes Pemaquid still in the county of Cornwall and Province of New-York. The island of Nantucket, Martin's Vine- yard, and Elizabeth Island, embraced in Duke's County, were, in 1 69 1, given by the crown to Massachusetts, leaving No Man's Land alone in Duke's County. No Man's Land in course of time seems to have disappeared with Duke's County. These cessions reduced the counties of the province to ten in number. In 1757, Smith, the historian, confined his description of the actual counties of the province to the remaining ten. Sauthier's chorographical Laws, p. 39; Re- gents' Re- port of N.Y. Boundaries, I, 28, 30. Laws, p. 39. Note, p. xcvi, supra. Smith's Hist. Prov. N. Y., I, 108, 109 ; Journal N. Y. As- sembly, I, 23; Maga- zine Amer. Hist., VIII, 24. Report of Regents on the Bounda- ries of the State of New -York, I, 23; Report on N. Y. & Penna. Boundary, p. 41. Regents' Report on Boundaries N.Y., I, 24, 58; Doc. Rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., IV, 628, 630. Laws, p. 40 ; Regents' Re- port on Boundaries of N. Y., I, 39- Appendix, Hist. N. Y., I, 254, 273. CXIX NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. p. 113. Revised Statutes of N. Y., Part I, Chap. 2, title 1 ; 3 R. S., 481. Dawson's Hist. Mag. (3d series), II, 14. Spoffbrd's Gazetteer, 69. map shows the added county lines of New-York about the year 1779, and also the original counties, excepting Duke's and Corn- wall, then already ceded. For the boundaries of the original counties of New- York as finally established, see De Lancey's "Manors of New -York," and the statutory description of them. When the constitution of 1777 was adopted, there were but four- teen counties : those named in this act, less those ceded, and Tryon, Charlotte, and Cumberland. The two last were ceded to Vermont. The name "Tryon" County was changed to "Mont- gomery " County ; it comprised all that portion of the State lying to the westward of the river counties — Albany, Ulster, and Orange. In 181 2, twelve new counties were carved out of this great county. In 1820 the sixteen counties existing in the year 1790 had become fifty-five counties. 17- Laws, p. 40. Supra. "An Acl for the raijing and paying one Hundred and Fifty Men, to be forthwith raifed, for the Defence and Re-inforcement of Albany for fix moneths." See note 12. 18. Laws, P- 43- Supra, p. vii. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 337- Laws and Ordinances of New Nether- land; In- dex, New Amster- dam. "An Acl for the Regulating the Buildings, Streets, Lanes, Wharffs, Docks and Allyes of the City of New- York." The city of New-York was gradually developed from a seaport trading- post and village established about 1623. At first the village of New Amsterdam, it had, in 1653, acquired from the Dutch West India Company municipal privileges and a court of justice — to consist of a schout, burgomasters, and schepens, all well-known officers of the Low Countries, possessing ex vi termini established jurisdictions, duties, and obligations by the laws of Holland and New Netherland. The first corporate seal was granted to New Amsterdam in the year 1654, and this date may be said to fix the establishment of municipal authority and government in " Man- hattan Island" — the more ancient geographical designation of the city-county; for a city-county it remained until the year 1874. From 1654 to 1664 a great variety of ordinances were made con- cerning the police and the improvement of New Amsterdam. In 1656 the streets appear to have been set off and laid out with stakes, and a survey established. An instructive account of the municipal cxx NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. development of New Amsterdam is contained in a very scholarly paper by Professor John Franklin Jameson. Immediately after the conquest of New- York, 27 August, 1664 (old style), Colonel Nicolls, deputy governor of the Duke of York, remodeled the government of New Amsterdam by an ordinance declaring "that the inhabitants of New -York, New Harlem, and all other his Majesty's subjects, inhabitants upon the island, commonly called and known by the name of Manhattan Island, are and forever shall be accounted, nominated and established, as one body politique and corporate, under the government of a Mayor, Aldermen and Sheriff." This ordinance is now known as the first charter of the city of New-York, but it was so meager that it came to be regarded as a "confirmation" of prior municipal franchises and privileges. In 1673 — 74 the city was again under the control of the military forces of the States-General, and a quasi-civil authority of the Dutch type was restored under the former designation of schout, burgomasters, and schepens. Fifteen months later the city was ceded again to the English under the Treaty of Westminster. They proceeded to revive the English civic administration. On 9 May, 1676, the corporation passed an ordinance "that all persons living within the street, called the Heer Graft [Broad street] shall fill up the Ditch, Graff, or Common Sewer, and make the same level with the street, and then pave and pitch the same before their doors with stones, as far as every inhabitants house shall be fronting towards the said Graff or Ditch, upon pain of having such fines inflicted upon them as the court shall see fit." In 1683 the city was divided into wards. On 22 April, 1686, Thomas Dongan, under the great seal of the province, and by virtue of his commission from the lord proprietor of New-York, granted that charter to the city which is now known as the " Dongan Charter." This was confirmed by an act in this volume. The legislative acts under the Dongan Charter relative to streets, lanes, etc., have been collated by Judge Hoffman. This act is the principal one prior to 1730. On 19 April, 1 708, the Dongan Charter was confirmed by Lord Corn- bury, then the Governor of New-York. In 1730 the last of the city charters before independence was finally granted by Governor Montgomery. Chapter 410 of New- York Laws of 1882 gives the present city charter and the laws in reference to the sub- jects mentioned in the act which is the subject of this note. The history and origin of the city charters granted under English rule Magazine Amer. Hist., VIII, 315- Supra, p. lviii. Laws, p. 6. Treatise upon Rights, etc., of the CityofN.Y.. II, 12. City Charter, with notes, etc., by Ex- Chancellor Kent. cxxi NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. are ably presented in a second paper by Professor Jameson. The frame of the present city government of New- York, though often amended, is of considerable antiquity. Many of the rights and privileges of the corporation long antedate Independence, and the ancient charters are now frequently invoked in the courts of justice of the State and county. This act is discussed in Patten v. N. Y. Elevated R. R. Co., in Story v. same, and in other cases. 19. "An Aft for the rai/ing two hundred Men with their proper P- 46. Officers for the fecuring and re-inforcing of Albany in the Fron- Supra. teers of this Province." See notes 12 and 17. Magazine Amer. Hist., VIII, 598. 3 Abbott's New Cases, 322; ibid., 491. 20. Laws, "An A ft for the deflroying of Wolves." Compare "An Act for p ' 52 ' rewarding of those who destroy Wolves," passed 1 November, State 1 lu l 6%3> an< ^ l aws °f New Netherland. The laws of New- York in brary, Ai- this century continued the offer of rewards for the destruction of bany ; Laws , and Ord. of wolves. New Neth- erland, pp. 489, 496. Z I • Law s, "An Aft for the raifing and pay two hundred and twenty Men with their proper Officers, together with the incidental Charges that shall arife thereon, for the Re-inforcement and Security of the Fronteers of this Province, at Albany, for 7 Months." See notes Supra. 12, 17, and 19. 22. Laws, "An Act for the raifing and paying of Eighty Men in Ulster p- 57- a?id Dutches County," etc. See notes 12, 17, 19, and 21. 23- Laws, "Aft for eflablishing a Revenue upon their Majeflies, and for and 58 ' defraying the publick and neceffary Charges of the Government." pp. 2, 84. Continuation of the former revenue act for two years. See note 10. CXXll NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. 24. "An A cl for the EJlablishing Courts of Judicature for the eafe and benefit of each refpective City, Town and County within this Province." This act continued for two years the judicial organi- zation of the province established by the act passed in 1691. This act makes some changes in the sessions of the courts of law, but none in the jurisdictions of the several courts established in 1 69 1. This act was, on its expiration, again continued or ex- tended by another act; and as there is some confusion about this extension in the books on the practice and jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the State of New-York, the manner in which this act was continued should be now noticed. The former act, passed 6 May, 1691, established the courts for two years, or until 6 May, 1693. This act, passed 9 November, 1692, continued the courts for two years; on 24 October, 1695, the courts were con- tinued two years longer. By an act of 21 April, 1697, the courts were again extended "one year longer after the times mentioned in said acts expire by their own limitation." Messrs. Graham and "Paine & Duer" state that the act of 1697 continued the courts permanently, and was never repealed. This is a singularly precise statement of fact, and yet it contains a grave error for a treatise which justly recognizes the act of 1691 as the "frame of our judicial system as it now exists." Owing to a political dead-lock, the act of 1697 was allowed to expire by limitation of time. On 19 January, 1699, the Council had taken into consideration a clause of the Governor's commission empowering him to establish courts, and ordered a proclamation to be issued for the continuance of all the courts until the former courts had been confirmed by the Assembly. On 11 April, 1699, the lower house passed a bill for continuing the courts by act of Assembly. This bill attempted to validate this ordinance of the Governor continuing the courts, and was, therefore, a reflection on his commission under the great seal of England which empowered him to do this thing. On being sent up to the Legislative Council, this bill was referred to a committee consisting of the justices of the Supreme Court, who reported adversely to it, because it contained clauses repugnant to the common and statute law of England. On 15 May, 1699, the Council ordered "that William Smith, Esq., Chief Justice, John Guest, Esq., Second Justice and James Graham, Esq., Attorney General of this Province doe draw up a scheam or Laws, p. 64. Laws, p. 2. See note 2 on former act, supra. Laws, p. 2 ; note 2, supra. See MS. acts, State Library, Albany ; JournalN. Y. Assembly, I, 89. Practice, II, 715; Gra- ham's Juris- diction of the N.Y. Courts, 137- Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., IV, 266, 268. Council Minutes, Vol. 8", pp. 20, 37. cxxiu NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. Council Min., Vol. 8 1 , pp. 114, 129. 2 R. L. of N. Y., anno 1813, Ap- pendix No. V. 2 R. L. of N. Y., anno 1813, Ap- pendix No. V. Laws, p. 2. Laws, pp. 2, 64. See Chan- cellor Jones's Commen- tary on R. L. of 1813 ; Collections N. Y. Hist. Society for 1 821. Section I, title 3, Chap. 1, Part III, R. S. Section 217, N. Y. Code of Civil Pro- cedure. Laws, pp. 2, 64. Revised Laws of N. Y.,anno 1813, II, Appendix No. VII. method for erecting the Courts of Judicature of this Province in the best manner and method that may be." This "scheam" was drawn up and laid before the Council, approved, and, on 18 August, 1699, ordered to be printed. It simply provided for an ordin- ance of the Governor in Council instead of an act of Assembly. It was accordingly issued, and entitled " An ordinance of His Ex- cellency and Council for the establishing Courts of Judicature for the ease and benefit of each respective City, Town and County within the Province of New-York." At the foot of the ordinance is this underwriting : " Pursuant to an order of Council we do report this to be a proper scheam for erecting the Courts of Judicature of the Province which is humbly submitted. W. Smith, John Guest, Ja. Graham." This ordinance, approved 18 August, 1699, thus be- came the basis of the common law judicial establishment on the model of the act of 1691 ; but it made no provision for the Court of Chancery. On 3 April, 1704, Lord Cornbury, then Governor of New-York, with the advice and consent of the Council, pub- lished an ordinance directing certain stated sessions of the Supreme Court to be made by the Governor's proclamation beforetimes ; it reaffirmed the jurisdictions given in the act of 1691 and the ordi- nance of 15 May, 1699. On 6 August, 1750, and in October, 1760, the sessions of the Supreme Court were somewhat modified by ordinances of the Governor in Council. On this footing the judi- cial establishment of New- York continued until the War of Inde- pendence, when, with no change in jurisdiction or form, it was adopted by the State government. In 1829 the revisers of the New-York Statutes defined the primary jurisdiction of the existing Supreme Court as that which belonged to the " Supreme Court of the Colony." Under the constitution of 1846, the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery was transferred to the Supreme Court ; but the jurisdiction at law of the existing Supreme Court, in this year 1894, is still defined as that of the "Supreme Court of the Colony." Thus it may be seen that these laws are still useful although two centuries have passed away since their enactment. It has been already stated that the Court of Chancery mentioned in the acts of 1691 and 1693 was not provided for in the ordinance of 15 May, 1699. On 2 ° August, 1701, the Lieutenant-Governor, Nanfan, under his commission issued an ordinance providing for the court. In 1 702 it was, however, suspended until a fee bill should be settled. In 1704, this being accomplished, the court was re- vived. On the adoption of the first State constitution, the Court CXX1V NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. of Chancery was recognized as one of the fundamental courts. In 1829 the revisers defined the jurisdiction of the courts by a reference to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery in England. There- after the extent of the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery of the Province of New- York ceased to be of paramount importance. The late Judge Hoffman, in 1834, however, makes a very interest- ing discourse, in which he attributes the jurisdiction of the court to the "act to settle Courts of Justice," passed 1 November, 1683. The act of 1683, he argues, revived on the expiration of the acts in this volume in the manner above denoted. Judge Hoffman fails, however, to state that by the original constitution of the British colonies, which was practically settled in the days of the Stuarts, and reformed only in this century, the King's prerogative to estab- lish courts of justice without assistance from the local assemblies was very clear : no act of the Assembly was necessary to uphold the power. Hoffman's argument finds support, however, in the position of the anti-prerogative party in the Province of New- York ; but unfortunately that party could not by itself then make its ideals and aspirations the law of New-York. The law was then quite otherwise. These law-making prerogative ordinances sur- vived the death of the Governor who made them. 2R.S.,i96. Laws, pp. 2, 64. Treatise upon the Practice of the Court of Chancery, Chap. I. Chalmers's Colonial Opinions, 484. See note 36, infra. But see Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., VIII, 325 ; and note 36, infra. 25- "An A 51 for fettling Fairs and Markets in each refpective City Laws, p. 69. and County throughout this Province." This act, as much as any other in this volume, shows the extent to which the law of Eng- land was then thought to prevail in New- York. In England no fair could be held without a grant from the sovereign, or by prescription, which always presumed a grant. This act was a plenary grant of the right to hold fairs and markets, with all their common law incidents, including the Court of Pepoudres, or Pie-Powder Courts, originally a Norman institution. The name was derived from "pied puldreux, 'dustyfute.'" These courts, the most expeditious of all courts, were presided over by the lord of the fair, or his representatives, with a jury of traders chosen on the spot. They possessed a jurisdiction limited by the fair, and to matters occurring within its precincts, such as contracts, slander of wares, attestations, the preservation of order, etc. To be valid a sale must take place in market overt, and then the vendee's title cxxv NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. See Wood's Institutes, title, Fairs and Markets, London edit., 1772. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N.Y., III, 628, 832. Laws and Ordinances of NewNeth- erland, 29. Ibid., 364. Laws, p. 69. was good as against every one but the King. There were special rules about sales of horses. No tolls could be taken unless the power was granted. Wood says, " Every one that hath a market ought to have Pillory, Tumbrel, etc., to punish offenders." The act in this volume makes the rulers of the fair those appointed by the Governor, the King's representative; and confers on such "rulers" the usual jurisdiction of lords of the English fairs. The commissions of the governors of New-York authorized them, with the advice of the Council, to establish fairs and markets. This was a delegation of the King's prerogative, and could be exercised without the consent of the Assembly. Nearly all the countries of Europe had at one time open stated fairs, and the Dutch Director-General of New Netherland, in conformity with ancient custom, did, in the year 1641, establish a "Cattle Fair," to be held on October 15th of each year, and a "Fair for Hogs," on the first of every November. On 28 November, 1658, the burgomas- ters and schepens of New Amsterdam were authorized to establish two fairs " in that City"; one for lean cattle, and one for fat cattle. During these fairs no stranger was subject to arrest or process. This was an ancient exemption. In 1675 "a yearly Fair had been established in Breuckelen near the Ferry for all grayned cattle or produce to be held the first Munday Tuesday and Wednesday in November and in the City of New- York the Thursday Friday and Saturday following." Under this act fairs and markets were held in the Province of New-York until the outbreak of the War of Independence. How often the court of Pie- Powder was held, the data ready at hand fail to indicate ; but such a court was held in some instances in this province. 26. Laws, p. 72. Title, Ad- ministration. Title, Or- phans. 'An Acl for the fupervijing Intejlates Eflates, and Regulating the Probate of Wills, & granting Letters of A dminiflration." The Duke's Laws had, in 1665, made it the duty of overseers of the parish on the death of any person at once to repair to the house of deceased, and if such an one died intestate, then to list his effects, etc. : estates of intestates escheated if there were no relatives within the prescribed degrees. "Administration," "In- ventories," "Appraisements," "Sales and Division of Estates," were all regulated by the Duke's Laws. This act was based on the CXXVl NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. Duke's Laws, which it changed, taking away the duties of overseers and of the clerks of the sessions, who acted as surrogates to the Ordinary, and vesting such duties in two freeholders of each town. The probate of wills independently of this act was by instructions from the crown reserved at the time this act was passed to the Governor of the province, and the prior jurisdiction over probate matters were ipso facto taken away : this the act only confirmed. For an account of this act and the probate courts of New-York, consult the Matter of Brick's Estate, and Judge C. P. Daly's "Judicial Organization of the State of New-York." Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 821. 15 Abb. Pr., 12; E. D. Smith, I, preface ; Introduc. Redfield's Practice of N. Y. Sur- rogate's Courts. 27. "An Acl for the Encouraging a Pofi-Office." The earliest of- ficial notice of a post-office in the English colonies is contained in the records of the general court of Massachusetts in 1638: " It is ordered that notice be given that Richard Fairbanks his house in Boston is the place appointed for all letters which are brought from beyond the seas or are to be sent thither to be left with him ; and he is to take care that they are to be de- livered or sent according to the directions ; and he is allowed for every letter a penny and must answer all miscarriages through his own neglect in this kind." In Virginia, a law of 1657 required every planter to produce a messenger to carry the despatches to the next plantation, and so on, on pain of forfeiting a hogs- head of tobacco. The government of New- York in 1672 estab- lished a post to go monthly from New-York to Boston. When the Duke of York was in possession of the profits of the post-office, under an act of 15 Car. II. he claimed the profits for America. In 1684, Governor Dongan had leave to set up a "Post House," and endeavored to establish a post-office. The letters patent to Thomas Neal, mentioned in this act, seem to have preceded the appointment of a postmaster-general for the colonies, which was made in 1692. Neal, on 4 April, 1692, appointed as his deputy Andrew Hamilton, who brought the subject before Gov- ernor Fletcher; and the Legislature of New- York then passed this act. A similar act was passed by Virginia in March, 1693; Pennsylvania, 1 June, 1693; Massachusetts Bay, 9 June, 1693; Connecticut, 10 May, 1694; New Hampshire, 24 May, 1695; and Carolina, 5 February, 170 1-2. In 1705, the New- York Assembly Laws, p. 74. Miles's Hist, of the Post-office, Amer. Bankers' Mag., VII, 358, seq. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 350, 355- Laws, p. 74. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., IV, 200, note. cxxvn NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., IV, 1 167. 9 Anne, c. 10. passed "An act for enforcing and continuing a post office." Not much was done under these acts. In 1710a general act was passed : the postmaster-general of the colonies was " to keep his chief letter office in New- York and other chief offices at some con- venient places in each of her Majestys provinces or colonies in America." The colonial revenue was very small until Benjamin Franklin remodeled the post-office. Laws, p. 77- Note 23, supra. Note 34, infra. 28. "An Acl for the fatisfying and paying the Debts of the Govern- ment." This act was an extraordinary grant, no doubt occasioned by the debts incurred in defending the province against the French and the Indians. Laws, p. 79. Journal Legislative Council, I» 35.39- Note 2, Mil- ler's N. Y. in 1695. Laws, p. 80. Laws and Ordinances of New Neth- erland, 174, et passim j Journal Leg- islative Council, 39. 29. "An Acl for calling Long-Ifland the Ifland of Naffaw." The change of name was not welcome to the people. Governor Fletcher remonstrated at the opposition to a change made, at his personal request, in honor of the "best of Kings." He explained that it "can noe wayes hurt or injure any former grants or con- veyances of Lands." Dr. Shea states that the change of name never obtained in the province. Yet it certainly did obtain in official usage, although the description of real estate on the island was sufficient if it named the county only. The desig- nation of Nassau Island was therefore purely geographical sur- plusage in most cases. Like many other such changes depending on popular ratification, it failed in practice. Still, the change of name was often observed in legal documents until after American independence. "An Acl for eflablishing certain Rates and Duties upon fuch Goods, Wares and Merchandize as shall be brought unto their Majeflies Beam in the Weigh-Houfe at New- York." The weigh- ing-house was established in New Amsterdam by Director Stuy- vesant in the year 1654, and the fees were regulated at various times. It was continued in use after the conquest of 1664. The Duke's Laws required the high constable in each riding to provide a good " beam." CXXVlll NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. 31 "An Ail for fettling a Miniflry & raifing a Maintenance for them in the City of New -York, County of Richmond, Weftchefter and Queens County." This act has given rise to much contro- versy ; and its effect upon the Church of England in the Province of New- York is variously treated by those of different religious thought and discipline. It remained in force until after the War of Independence, when it was specially repealed. The late Doctor George H. Moore has given a very full account of this act, and draws conclusions not universally admitted to be accurate, although it should be observed that he is high authority on such matters. This act enters too largely into the controversy over the establish- ment of the Church of England in New-York ; for churchmen do not pretend that this act in itself proves the establishment of the Church of England in New- York. On the contrary, Mr. de Lancey maintains with great directness of assertion that the Church of England was established in the province, otherwise, and he claims for this act only that it fostered the establishment. Dr. Moore says the act "was arbitrarily and illegally wrested from its true bearing and made to answer the purpose of the English Church party." Mr. de Lancey founds his arguments largely on the King's obliga- tion by his coronation oath to establish the church in the crown colonies, and on the 31st to the 38th instructions from the crown to Governor Dongan (29 May, 1686). These things, Mr. de Lancey thinks, established the Church of England in New-York, placing it under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The instructions to Dongan were, with little variation, continued by the succeeding sovereigns. Subsequent to Dongan's administration, the Bishop of London, as primate in partibus exteris, became diocesan of the province, and as such was the first rector emeritus of Trinity Church. This great foundation, while not a cathedral church, is well known to be a unique parish church, if not the most influential and powerful one since the foundation of Christianity. Wallace terms this church " mater urbis et orbis," and the "San Giovanne Laterano" of the New World. Other authorities on the church in America are at one with Mr. de Lancey's conclusions about establishment. But all such are far from passing unchallenged. The historian Smith, as early as 1737, admits that the question of the establishment of the church Laws, p. 81. Butler's Constitu- tional His- tory N. Y., 45- June, 1867, Dawson's Hist. Mag- azine (2d series) I, 321 ; idem, II, 9. Edward F. de Lancey, Esq., in Legal Es- tablish- ment of the Church of England in New-York. Hist. Mag. (2d series), I, 328. Magazine Amer. Hist., XXVI, 117. See Com- memora- tive Ad- dress on William Bradford, 82. IO cxxix NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. Hist. Prov. N. Y., I, 286. Mag. Amer. History, III, 624; American Presbyteri- anism : Its Origin, etc., c. Ill ; Mag. Amer. Hist. XIII, 39. Mag. Amer. Hist., VIII, 610. Cf. James Anderson's History of the Church of England in the Colon- ies, 3 vols.. 1856; Chit- ty's Preroga- tives of the Crown, Chap. Ill; de Lancey's Manors of New-York, 93 ; note 23 to Miller's New-York in 1695, by John Gil- mary Shea, LL. D. Smith's Hist. N. Y.,1, p. 284; see Father Jogue's Papers, Collectionsof N. Y. Hist. Society, III, 216. is often controverted, but he argues against establishment in a manner thought often very conclusive by many intelligent men. It is to be observed that the Reverend John Miller, in his " De- scription of the Province and City of New -York in 1695," — written at the time and on the spot, — makes no claim for estab- lishment; and what he says would appear to be rather against, than for, such establishment. Others who have dealt with this subject in a vein hostile to the pretension of the Church of England in New-York are the Reverend Charles W. Baird, in a paper on " The Presbyterians in the Province of New -York," and the Reverend Charles Augustus Briggs, D. D. In these works this act is discussed at large with much profundity of thought and research. It is important to note that the vestrymen chosen under this act were civil officers, and quite distinct from the vestry of Trinity Church in the city of New-York. Without entering into the discussion of this vexed question concerning establishment, it may be suggested that several points are not at times observed by controversialists. No two writers appear to agree in the definition of "Established Church," while several writers altogether disregard the difference between the royal prerogative over a crown province and the royal prerogative over a chartered colony. After the statute 26 Henry VIII. c. I, the King was the head of the English Church, and the guardian of the temporalities during the vacancy of a see. In crown Prov- inces he could create new ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and exercise there the ecclesiastical prerogative. It would seem, therefore, that the disputed point should be discussed from the basis of what the King could do and did do in New-York as the head of the English Church, rather than from what actually happened to the establishment ; for in the crown Provinces the King's power of legislation was in the seventeenth century most extended. Another omission observable in the discussion indicated would seem to relate to the observance accorded in New-York to the laws relative to the test oath. The effect of the test as an evi- dence of "establishment" is not foreign to this controversy, as some writers would seem to assume. But no expression of opinion is intended to be made; as, in 1694, when Bradford published this volume of laws now reproduced, and our account of the province closes, the Church of England was an abstraction rather than a fact. The Dutch Church, "established" under the prior govern- ment and protected by the Articles of Surrender of 1664, was then cxxx NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. the flourishing religious organization in the province, excepting in Suffolk County, where the Congregationalists of the Connecticut type dominated. 32- "An Aft confirming & continuing unto their Majefties the Laws, p. 84. Revenue eftablished by an Act . . . five Years longer than the Term therein mentioned." See notes 10 and 23. Supra. 33- "An ACT for Refiraining and Punishing Privateers and Doc. rei. Pyrates" (separately printed). This act was probably drawn in ^ ol Y Hl ni England. Piracy was the one fashionable irregularity of that day 690, 823. in New- York; it was winked at officially oftentimes, if not actually shared in, and sometimes it was condoned even by high authority. The warlike spirit of the age then made colonists first armed priva- teers ; and licensed privateers without pay lapsed easily into free- booters and outlaws. It is not difficult to misjudge the relative gravity of offenses at a time when every man's hand was raised, and might governed in the out-of-the-way corners of the world. Little by little sentiment changed, and then the law against piracy came into operation, after some cessation of its activity; for it had been in abeyance only, and not blotted out of the jus inter gentes. There is no proof that this crime was ever condoned by the highest authority of all, the crown itself, which in due time took active measures to put an end to the scandal. This law indicates only the beginning of an active crusade against the evil, the history of which may be seen in the colonial documents relative to New- York. The reform culminated in the execution of Kidd and ibid. Vols, the disgrace of several persons of respectability in the province, passim. ' When this had happened, privateering came into harmony with the laws of nations and of war. The episodes of such culmina- tion, while highly interesting to some persons, can form no part of the comments on the laws in this volume. 34- "An A61 for Granting to their Majefties the Rate of One Penny per Pound upon all the Real and Perfonal Eftates within this Province of New -York, &c. To be allowed unto his Excellency the exxxi NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. See notes 10, 23, 28, 30, 32, su- pra. See notes 12, 17, 19, 21, supra. Governour, for the Care of the Province, November the 12th, 1692." This grant to the Governor has no relation to the revenue acts : it was always on the basis of an extraordinary grant or largess to the Governor. 35- "An A 51 for raijing fix Thoufand Pound for the payment of three Hundred Volunteers, and their Officers, to be imployed in the Re-inforcement of the Frontiers of this Province at Albany," etc. When the frontiers were at Albany, the province was not infre- quently described as " Long Island and the mainland or territories adjoining." Long Island was at this time far the most populous part of the province, and Albany the most exposed. 36. Cf. Chan- cellor Jones on Ordi- nances fixing fees, in N.Y. Hist. Soc. Collections for 1821. "A Catalogue of Fees eflablifiied by the Governour and Coun- cil at the Humble Requefl of the Affembly." This ordinance serves to indicate the acquiescence of the representatives in the limited power committed to the crown governor to legislate indepen- dently. Its insertion at the end of this volume permits some otherwise irrelevant comments on the power of the crown to make ordinances serve as laws. This power was derived from the royal prerogative over crown provinces. The crown then retained, either in the grant of an assembly or by implication, an extra- ordinary power, limited, but tolerably certain, to legislate for this province independently of the Assembly; but this power must be exercised within the narrow range prescribed by the common law for such prerogative action, or it was illegal : it could be, and was, delegated to the governors of New-York. A prerogative without the means to enforce it would have been a semblance of power: this the crown did not concede itself to possess in the case of New- York. Whatever may be true of England, the preroga- tive over New-York was settled on the basis of the pretensions of King Charles II., and so remained until the War of American In- dependence. In any consideration of the laws in this volume, we must have regard, therefore, to the prerogative as it existed here, not to the later ideals to which the crown of England is now justly conformed. The extent of this particular power can hardly be discussed within the limits of this Introduction. Its best expo- cxxxii NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. sition will be found in the opinions of those law-officers of the crown who were charged with the colonial administration : many of them were wise and excellent men — the very flower of the bar of England. Some of their opinions we have, and from these we have, we may deduce, under the law of legal discussion, what those we have not must have been. This power of legislation indi- cated can hardly be judged of correctly without throwing ourselves back into the age of the discussion : this is extremely necessary, as was shown in a case as recent as the last term of the court at Biackmai Albany, in the year 1893. The plaintiff counted on an ordi- v - Rile y' 1 38 N Y nance of the royal Governor of New-York, which the defendant 318. evidently deemed entirely incompetent, because its provisions were not fixed by acts of the Assembly of the province. Now, to settle this power on the basis of present institutions is impossible — the question is, what was the law ? Those who wish to ascertain what it was, must seek far, not in the ideas of modern English writers on the present fluctuating constitution, but in the ideas of those who deal with that colonial constitution which closed for New-York in 1775, on the day of the battle of Lexington and Concord — the date now fixed by law for rejecting the authority of our former rulers. As the kingdom of England was in process of conversion into a limited monarchy, the royal prerogative was gradually fixed by constitutional limitations. As it was fixed in the days of King Charles II., so it passed into the colonies; or, rather, that interpre- tation of it deemed to be specially applicable to them, so passed. It is a matter of common history that, after the Restoration, Charles II. issued proclamations in England, which, to some extent, were allowed the force of law, although the validity of proclamations in general had been disputed under James I. The origin of the King's power to legislate at all in crown colonies by ordinance is to be sought far back in the history of the English kings, or in the days when legislation by ordinances was constitutional, and often convenient ; for an ordinance of the King could be revoked at will, and was therefore thought even by parliament itself to be well adapted to express certain kinds of temporary laws. Having reference to this well-known origin of ordinances, we may easily perceive why the crown lawyers fastened upon them as well suited to that species of legislation which all admitted King Charles II. had the right to exercise, independently of the Assembly, over con- quered or crown provinces. When this power was once reserved in the commissions to the governors of New- York, and approved 10* cxxxiii NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE LAWS. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., V, 48. Blackman v. Riley, supra, p. cxxxiii. by those charged with the colonial administration, this species of legislation ceased to be archaic, and soon again came to be acquiesced in by the majority. At all events, a prerogative to leg- islate in New-York by ordinance was fixed here until independence severed the relation which the kingship bore to the particular Province of New-York. Not that the power was indisputable or undisputed ! In several cases in New-York, notably Cosby v. Van Dam, in 1733 (unreported), its exercise was vigorously dis- puted: but by a school of thought which, singularly enough, stood not so much for autonomy, or for the right of the province to self- government, as for the supremacy of the parliament of England ; for this school admitted, and even invoked, the right of parliament to legislate for the colonies. Now, the right of parliament to leg- islate for the unrepresented colonies was an usurpation of the time of the English commonwealth, and excepting in colonies where such right was expressly reserved in the charters it was absolutely indefensible at all times and by all law. The colonists always said : Better one king than a hundred kinglets. Thus the exercise of this power by parliament when finally abetted by the King, was, in the minds of many royalists in the colonies, the real grievance on which they ultimately sanctioned in their own minds the right of revolution and even independence of the King — whom they had been taught to regard as their natural protector. Whether the ordinance fixing the fee bill was properly within the prerogative of the King is another question, and one ultimately decided ad- versely to the power. However, in this particular instance, which was an exception, the ordinance was petitioned for by the Assembly. The very recent case mentioned in this note makes a considera- tion of ordinances in abstracto perhaps not altogether out of place, the more especially so, in view of the fact that many such were pro- mulgated prior to Independence. It is to be noted that the Duke's Laws of 1665 contained a "Fee bill." The entire code of laws, known, after 1674, as the Duke's Laws, was little more than an ordinance, of the kind discussed in this note, although it was pro- mulgated at the Court of Assizes. cxxxiv APPENDIX No. I. ( Orders in Council.) At the Council Chamber in Whitehall n. y. Col. the nth day of May 1697. xll's™' Present: Their Excellencies the Lords Justices in Council. Whereas by Powers under the Great Seal of England the Gov- Council & Assembly of his Majesty's Province of New York have been authorized & Impowered to Constitute & Ordain Laws Statutes & Ordinances which are to be transmitted to his Majesty for his Royal Approbation, or disallowance of them ; and the Council of Trent [sic/ Trade/] having perused & Considered Several Laws past in the General Assembly of that Province, in Persuance of the said Powers, intituled as follows viz 1 : An Act for the quieting & Settling the disorders that have lately happen'd within this Province & for the Establishing & Securing their Majesty's Present Government against the like disorders for the future. An Act for Settling the Militia. An Act for the Enabling each respective Town within this Prov- ince to regulate their ffences and High Ways & make prudential Orders for their Peace & Orderly improvement. An Act for the defraying the publick & necessary Charge throughout this Province & Maintaining the Poor & preventing Vagabonds. An Act for an Allowance to the Representatives. An Act to Enable his Excellency to defray his Extraordinary expence & to indemnify the Collector & Receiver General for the receipt of Several Sums of Money on pretence of Customs, & Duties. Laws, p. 1. Laws, p. 10. Laws, p. 7. Laws, p. 8. Laws, p. 19. Laws, p. 26. cxxxv APPENDIX NO. I. Laws, p. 30. Laws, p. 43. Laws, p. 52. Laws, p. 69. Laws, p. 77. Laws, p. 58. Laws, p. 72. Laws, p. 79. Laws, p. 80. Laws, p. 81. Laws, p. 84. See Bas- kett, p. 23. An Act to ease People that are scrupulous in Swearing. An Act for regulating the Building Streets, Lanes, Wharfs, Docks & Allyes of the City of New York. An Act for the distroying of Wolves. An Act for the Settling of Fairs & Markets in each respective City & County, throughout the Province. An Act for the Satisfying & paying the Debts of the Gov nt . An Act Establishing a Revenue upon their Majestys for the De- fraying the publick & necessary Charges of the Gov nt . An Act for the Supervising Intestates Estates and regulating the probate of Wills & Granting of Letters of Administration. An Act for calling Long Island the Island of Nassau. An Act for Establishing certain Rates and Duties, upon such Goods, Wares & Merchandizes, as shall be brought into their Majestys Beam in the Weigh house at New York. An Act for the Settling a Ministry & raising a Maintenance for them in the City & County of New York, County of Richmond, West Chester & Queens County. An Act Confirming & Continuing unto their Majesties, the Rev- enue Established by an Act of General Assembly, made in the 4th Year of their Majesties Reign for the defraying the publick & necessary Charges of the Government, five years longer, than the time therein mentioned. An Act against unlawfull By-Laws & unreasonable forfeitures. An Act for Confirming & Continuing An Act of General As- sembly, made in the 4th year of their Majesties Reign, Entituled An Act for the Satisfying & paying the Debts of the Gov nt . one year longer than the term therein mentioned. An Act for Confirming & Continuing An Act of General As- sembly, made in the 4th Year of their Majesties Reign, Entituled An Act for the Satisfying the Debts of the Gov nt . one year longer than the time mentioned for its last Continuance, to be imploy'd for the Rebuilding of their Majestys Chapel in the ffort, the Mount- ing of 16 Great Guns & the Defraying of the Debts of the Gov nt . An Act against the Prophanation of the Lords Day called Sunday. An Act for the Confirming & Continuing An Act of General Assembly, made in the 4th Year of his Majesty's Reign, Entituled An Act for the Satisfying & paying the Debts of the Gov nt . 18 Months longer than the Term therein mentioned & for the paying the Debts herein express'd. cxxxvi APPENDIX NO. I. And the Council of Trade having this Day presented the Said Laws to their Excellencies at this Board, their Excellencies were thereupon with the Advice of the Privy Council pleased to declare their Approbation of the Same & pursuant to their Excellencies pleasure herein Signify'd the Said Laws are hereby Confirm'd finally Enacted & Ratify'd accordingly. Richard Colinge. i i th May 1697. Endorsed : Order of y e Privy Council 1 1 May 1697 confirming several acts. [seal of privy At the Court at Kensington council.] the 20th of May 1708. Present: The Queens most Excellent Majesty in Council. Whereas by Commission under the Great Seal of England, the Governour Councill and Assembly of Her Mat s . Province of New York have been authorized and Impowered to make, constitute and Ordain Laws, Statutes and Ordinances for the Publick Peace, Welfare and Good Government of the said province, Which are to be transmitted to Her Majesty for her Royall approbation or Dis- allowance of them A nd Whereas in pursuance of the said powers Divers Laws past in the said Province of New York from the Year 1 69 1 to the Year 1705 having been Transmitted The Titles where- of are as follows viz 1 : An Act to Divide this province and Dependencies into shires Laws, p. 39. and Counties, past in 1691. An Act for the Indemnifying of all such Persons as were Ex- cepted out of the Generall Pardon made by Act of Generall As- sembly in this province in the Year of our Lord 1691, past in 169!. An Act for Repealing an Act of Assembly Entituled An Act for the Regulating Damages done in the time of the late Disorders and for Uniting the minds of Their Majesties Subjects within the province and for Calling home such of their Majesties Subjects, cxxxvii N. Y. Col. MSS., Vol. LII, 135- APPENDIX NO. I. that have lately absented themselves from their Habitations and the usual places of their abode, past in i6of. An Act for preventing Vexatious Suits, Settling and Quieting the minds of His Majesties Peaceable subjects within this prov- ince, past in i6q|-. An Act against Jesuists and popish priests, past in 1700. An Act for the more Regular proceeding in the Elections of Representatives for the Severall Citties & Counties within this province, past in 1701. An Act for Supplying the Defects of a late Act Entituled An Act for Settling the Militia, past in 1701. An Act for Allowance to the Representatives, past in 1701. An Act for Repealing An Act of Generall Assembly of this Province Entituled An Act for Defraying the Publick and Neces- sary Charge throughout this Province for Maintaining the poor & preventing Vagabonds, Except so much thereof as relates to Vaga- bonds and for appointing more Effectuall means for Defraying the publick and necessary Charges in Each City and County and for maintaining the poor, past in 1701. An Act for the Settling and Amending the Highways and Roads in the County of Ulster, past in 1701. An Act for regulating Fences in the County of Ulster, past in 1 70 1. An Act for Destroying of Wolves within this province, past in 1702. An Act for Encouragemen 1 of a Grammer Free School in the City of New York, past in 1702. An Act for the Continuing the Revenue, past in 1702. An Act to Ascertain the Assize of Casks, Weight Measures & Bricks within this Colony, past in 1703. An Act for the better Explaining and more Effectuall puting in Execution an Act of General Assembly made in the 3 d Year of the Reigne of their late Majesties King William & Queen Mary En- tituled An Act for Defraying of the Publick and Necessary Charges throughout this Province & for Maintaining the poor and prevent- ing Vagabonds, past in 1 703. An Act to Repeal the last Clause in an Act of Assembly En- tituled an Act for the Quieting and Settling the Disorders that have lately happened within this province, and for the Establishing and Securing Their Mat ies . present Government Against the Like Disorders for the future, past in 1 704. cxxxviii APPENDIX NO. I. An Act Granting Sundry Priviledges and Powers to the Rector and Inhabitants of the City of New York of the Communion of the Church of England as by law Established, past in 1704. An Act for the Better Laying out Regulating Clearing & pre- serving publique Common High Ways in this Colony, and for the Erecting and Building a County Goal and County House in the County of Richmond, past in 1704. Ax Act for Defraying the Common and Necessary Charge in the Mannor of Renslarwick in the County of Albany, past in 1705. Which said Laws having been perused and Considered by the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations, and presented by their Lordships to this Board with their Humble Opinion, that the said Laws be Confirmed, Her Majesty this day takeing the same into Consideration, is Graciously pleased with the Advice of Her Privy Councill to declare Her Approbation of the above- said Laws and pursuant to Her Ma ts . Royall pleasure thereupon, the said Laws are hereby Confirmed finally Enacted and Ratified accordingly. Edward Southwell. cxxxix APPENDIX No. II. ( Table of the Laws, Confirmed or Otherwise.) 1 i st Act, page 1 Confirmed 11 May, 1697. Baskett. See notes 2, 2d " 2— 6. . Expired 1693. 24, infra. ^ „ 6- 7- Left probationary. Baskett. 4th " 7- 8. Confirmed 11 May, 1697. Baskett. 5th " 8- 10 .Confirmed 11 May, 1697. Baskett. 6th " 10- 15 Confirmed 11 May, 1697. G. H. Moore. 7th " 15- 19 Repealed 11 May, 1697. N. B. This act is printed as in force in the editions of 1710 (and consequently in those of 1713, I7 ! 6, and 1719, as the first 72 pages of all three are the sheets of the 1710) and 1726. It is printed in full in Baskett (p. 2), but with a side-note of its repeal. 8th " i < 19 Confirmed 11 May, 1697. G. H. Moore. 9th '• < c 20- 2 1 Expired 1694. 10th * c 2 1 - 25 Expired 1693. Tower Catalogue, No. 609. Appendix No. 1. supra. Tower Catalogue, No. 624. Tower Catalogue, No. 627. 1 The references in this table are intended to refer to the following works : Baskett "Acts of Assembly, passed in the Province of New York, from 1691 to 1718. London, Printed by John Baskett. . . . MDCCXIX." G. H. MOORE Manuscript annotations by the Doctor, who was a learned Americanist, in a copy of Van Schaack's edition now in the Tower Collection. With the exception noted under Act 29th, all his confirmations are cited upon the authority of "Colonial MSS., XLI, 65." L. & S Laws of New-York, from The Year 1691, to 175 1, inclusive. Published according to an ACT of the GENERAL Assembly. New-York. Printed by James Parker, Printer to the Government, at the New Printing- office, in Beaver-Street, MDCCLII. (This is commonly known as Volume I of the Revision of the Laws of New-York by William Liv- ingston and William Smith, Junior, and is cited " L. & S., I".) Van SCHAACK Laws of New-York from The Year 1691, to 1773 inclusive. Published according to an Act of the General Assembly. Volume the First. New- York: Printed by Hugh Gaine, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty in the Province of New- York, MDCCLXXIV. (This is Vol. I of the Revision of the Laws of New-York by Peter Van Schaack.) cxl APPENDIX NO. II. nth Act, page 26-27. 12th " " 27-30 13th " " 30 14th " " 3 1 ~33 Confirmed 11 May, 1697. Expired 1692. Confirmed 11 May, 1697. G. H. Moore. Baskett. 15th 1 6th 17th 1 8th 19th 20th 2 1 st 22d 23d 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 34-39 39- 40. 40- 43 43-46 46-51 52 53-57 57- 58. 58- 64. 64-68. 69-72 . 72-74 74-77 77-79- 79 " 80-81 81-83 This act is marked repealed in the Bradford editions of 1710, 1726, and in Baskett. Moore makes no com- ment. Livingston and Smith call it obsolete. Repealed by Act of Assembly 19 April, 1699. Moore makes no comment; but the act must have been before the Privy Council on n May, 1697. Confirmed 20 May, 1708. Baskett. "Obsolete." Baskett. See the difference in title given in Livingston and Smith. Confirmed 11 May, 1697. Baskett. "Obsolete." L. & S. Confirmed 11 May, 1697. G.H.Moore. "Obsolete." L. & S. . Expired 1692. Continued by Chap. 34 of L. & S. . Continued by Chap. 54 of L. & S. Confirmed May 11, 1697. Baskett. . Confirmed May n, 1697. Baskett. . Continued by Chap. 77 of L. & S. .Confirmed May 11, 1697. G. H. Moore. This act is omitted by Livingston and Smith and Van Schaack. Confirmed 11 May, 1697. Baskett. G. H. Moore notes, " See Colonial Entry Book, State Paper Office, No. ioi." .Confirmed 11 May, 1697. G. H. Moore. In the editions of 1710, 1726, and Baskett, the title only of this act is given, as if it was not in force. Liv- ingston and Smith, however, considered it in force, and so did Van Schaack. .Confirmed 11 May, 1697. Baskett. Livingston and Smith erroneously give the date of the passage of this act as 24 March, 1693, and of the 32d Act as 10 March, 1693, i. e., 1697. (That the acts which were passed on 26 March, 1694, were not in- cluded in the "Bradford of 1694," goes to show that this volume here reproduced was issued early in the year. ) cxli See Appen dix No. Ill infra. Appendix No. Ill, infra. 3 2d Act, page 84 33d " " 1 L. & S., Chap. 67. See Doc rel. Col. Hist. N. Y., VII, 454-5- 34th " " I - r fl» »< / Six unnum- \ 30 ul ^bered pages .) APPENDIX NO. II. . . .Confirmed 11 May, 1697. G. H. Moore. 3. . ."An Act for Reftraining and Punishing Privateers and Pyrates." Repealed 20 May, 1708. Baskett. This act was supplied by an act passed 19 April, 1699. The act of 1699 was repealed by the crown, 5 Sept., 1700, reviving the act of 1692. Livingston and Smith give the act of 1699 as in force, and proceedings were had under it in 1761. 4. . ."An Act for Granting to their Majefties the Rate," etc. Expired. Baskett. . . . "An Act for raifing fix Thoufand Pound," etc. Expired. Baskett. cxlii APPENDIX No. III. ( List of Sessions ; and Table of Laws in the later Revisions.) The First Assembly held in New -York after the year 1691 had but one legislative session, divided into four sub-sessions, or "sit- tings." The first sitting began 9 April, 1691, and adjourned 18 May, 1 69 1. The second sitting began 8 September, 1691, and adjourned 2 October, 1691. The third sitting began 19 April, 1692, and adjourned 29 April, 1692. The fourth sitting began 16 August, 1692, and adjourned 10 September, 1692. The First Assembly was dissolved 13 September, 1692. The Second Assembly, after 1691, had but one session, divided into two sub-sessions, or sittings. The first sitting began 24 October, 1692, and adjourned 14 November, 1692. The second sitting began 20 March, 1692-93, and adjourned 10 April, 1693, during which time three acts were passed. The Second Assem- bly was dissolved 27 July, 1693. The Third Assembly, after 1691, had but one legislative session, and sat continuously from 7 September, 1693, to 22 September, 1693. This assembly was dissolved 16 November, 1693. The following Table shows where the acts in the facsimile may be found in the subsequent Revisions of the Laws of the province by Messrs. Livingston and Smith and by Peter Van Schaack, Esq.: This Volume. Livingston and Smith. Van Schaack. Act, p. 1 Ch. I. .. Ch. I. «« « 2 " IV. . " IV. " " 6 " II. . . " II. " " 7 " III. . . " III. » « 8 " VI. . . " VI. " "10 " V. " V. " "15 " X. . . " x. «< "19 " VII. . . " VII. cxliii See note, p. lxxxv, supra. Jour, of Leg. Council I, p. xxxi, and p. 24. Jour, of Leg. Council I, PP-25,34,4o, and p. xxxi. Jour, of Leg. Council I, pp. 41,48- See Appen- dix No. II, supra. APPENDIX NO. III. This Volume. Act, p. 20 " " 21 " " 26 " "27 " "30 " "3i " "34 " "39 " "40 " "43 " "46 " "52 " "53 " "57 " "58 " "64 " "69 " "72 " "74 " "77 " "79 •••• " "80 "81 * "84 ••; "An Act for Reftraining and Punishing Privateers and Pyrates " "An Act for Granting to their Majefties the Rate of One Penny per Pound," etc. . "An Act for raifing fix Thou- fand Pound," etc "A Catalogue of Fees" (p. 85) . ;on and Smith. Van Schaack. :h. IX. ' . Ch. IX. (i XI. . M XI. << XII. . tt XII. VIII. . << VIII. XIV. . << XIV. it XIII. . II XIII. XVI. II XVI. < ( XVII. . II XVII. XV. II XV. (< XVIII. . II XVIII. 1 < XX. 11 XX. XIX. . 11 XIX. (< XXII. . II XXII. XXIII. . II XXIII. XXIV. . II XXIV. «< XXVIII. . II XXVIII. XXVI. . II XXVI. XXVII. 1 i XXVII. XXV. . 1 1 XXV. Omitted. II Omitted. < < XXXI. . 1 1 XXXI. < < XXXII. 1 1 XXXII. XXXVI. II XXXIII. 1 < XXXIV. . II XXXIV. XXI. . II XXI. u XXIX. . II XXIX. XXX. . II XXX. t < Omitted. II Omitted. cxliv APPENDIX No. IV. (Material for a Biography and a Bibliography of Bradford.) The main source of the biography of William Bradford is still the well- known address by John William Wallace, Esq., delivered at the celebration, by the New- York Historical Society, of the two hundredth birthday of Bradford, 20 May, 1863. Mr. Wallace's material has been supplemented by a recent chapter from the pen of Charles R. Hildeburn, Esq., of Phila- delphia. A free use of both these sources, implemented by notes taken from a recent address delivered before the Grolier Club, has been made in compiling the following biographical notice: William Bradford was born 20 May, 1663, in the parish of Barwell, Leicestershire, England. He was the son of William Bradford, husband- man, and Ann his wife, as appears in part from our subject's first marriage certificate, and in part from the records of St. Mary's Church, Barwell, where he was baptized 30 May, 1663. The father of William Bradford died in 1668, and was buried in Barwell parish churchyard 9 October, 1668. There had been Bradfords in Leicestershire from early in the fifteenth century, but no more of the printer's ancestry is known. The famous founder of the Quakers, George Fox, mentions in his journal about the year 1643 his "cousin Bradford." As Fox's birthplace is five or six miles only from Barwell, this may indicate some kinship to the printer of that name, and it may be that through this connection William Bradford found a place in the establishment of the great Quaker printer of that day, Andrew Sowle, of London, whose chief business was with the Society of Friends. It is probable that William Bradford was in Sowle's office in 1679, but, unlike the case of William's brother, John Bradford, there is no record of his indentures at Stationers' Hall. That William Bradford did not join the company was probably due to his determination to emigrate to America before the expiration of his apprenticeship. While in Sowle's employment Bradford naturally met many of the lead- ing "Friends" of that day, and there he seems to have attracted the notice of William Penn, the proprietor of Pennsylvania. Penn wished his charter Publication of J. Mun- sell, Albany, N. Y., 1863. Memorial History of the City of New-York, I, Chapter XV. Cf. Memorial Hist. City N.Y.,1,571; Wallace, 20. Memorial Hist. City N. Y. ; 1, 572. 1 1 cxlv APPENDIX NO. IV. Memorial Hist. City N. Y.,I, 572. Wallace's Address. Supra, p. lxxxv. Supra, p. lxxxvi. printed. The penalty for unlicensed printing was then heavy, as Sowle had already learned ; and the risk of printing the charter was assumed by Brad- ford, who, on Sowle's press, produced anonymously his first work: "The Frame of Government of the Province of Pennsylvania in America: Together with certain Laws agreed upon in England by the Governour and Divers Freemen of the aforesaid Province. Printed in the year 1682." Of Bradford's life in London little else is known. Until the expiration of his apprenticeship in 1685, he remained with Sowle, whose daughter, Elizabeth, he married at Devonshire meeting-house, in London, on 28 April, 1685. It has been asserted that he was one of Penn's company on the "Welcome's" first voyage to Pennsylvania in 1682. It is not only unlikely that it was our printer, as he was not then out of his apprenticeship, but there is no record of his having obtained a certificate of removal from the London Quaker meeting prior to 1685. It is also directly at variance with the tone of George Fox's letter of 6th month, 1685, commending him to friends in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. The companion of Penn was, beyond a doubt, another William Bradford, who settled and became a man of some local importance in Sussex County, now part of Delaware. William Penn returned to England in 1684, and it may be inferred from Bradford's state- ments in 1689 that he held out inducements to the young printer which led the latter to emigrate to Pennsylvania. Bradford obtained from the London meeting a certificate of removal for himself and wife, dated 12 August, 1685, which was read to the quarterly meeting in Philadelphia on the 4th of the following January. The date of his arrival in America is thus shown to have been some time between the October and the January quarterly meet- ing. His printing-office and residence appear to have been first in Phila- delphia; then in Oxford Township, Philadelphia County, whence he seems to have removed his office back to Philadelphia in 1688, adding to it a book-shop and general store. After Bradford had fallen on difficulties, Governor Fletcher induced the Assembly of New-York to vote a salary of £40 per annum to any printer who would locate in that province, and by this inducement Bradford was led to remove to New- York, as stated in the text. The first warrant for his salary as printer to King William and Queen Mary is dated 1 October, 1693, ar) d was for six months due on the 10th of the same month, thus showing that on 10 April, 1693, he had complied with the terms of the resolution and introduced the art and mystery of his craft into New- York. His printing-office and shop, at the sign of the Bible, as his imprints tell us, were in a house on the north side of Dock, now Pearl, street, near Hanover Square, in the city of New-York. Thus it appears that William Bradford, the printer of the laws now reproduced in this volume, began his work in New- York about two centuries ago. As already stated in the course of the Historical Introduction, Bradford died at New-York on 23 May, 1752, in the 90th year of his age. For fifty years he had been a notable figure in the life of the Province of New- York. He was buried in Trinity Parish churchyard. cxlvi APPENDIX NO. IV. Material for a Bradford bibliography is to be found mainly in the writings Memorial of Mr. Hildeburn. His recent chapter, "Printing in New- York in the ^ 1S y C j lty Seventeenth Century," contains a valuable Bibliography of the New-York Chap.' XV. Press in the Seventeenth Century. It is announced as taken from the advance sheets of an unpublished work entitled "The Issues of the Press in New- York, 1693-1752." The " Catalogue of Books printed by William Bradford and other Printers in the Middle Colonies, exhibited at the Grolier Club in commemoration of the Bicentennial of the Introduction of Printing into New- York, April 14 to 21, 1893," "A List of the Issues of the Press in New- York, 1693-1752," "The Charlemagne Tower Collection of Colonial Laws," Philadelphia, and "The Issues of the Press in Pennsylvania," all from the pen of Mr. Hilde- c u ConT-"" burn, will be found useful to bibliographers of Bradford. pany, 1889. The New- York Historical Society, on 8 April, 1893, celebrated the " 200th Anniversary of the Introduction of Printing in New-York," and are about to publish the proceedings on that occasion. These may possibly add some- thing to the material for a bibliography of Bradford. The 1694 edition of the New-York Laws, now reproduced in this volume, was the first consid- erable book published in New- York, although not the first publication in order of time. cxlvii GENERAL INDEX TO THE INTRODUCTION AND NOTES. Aborigines, rights of, in soil, iii. Accession of James II., lxvi. See King James II. Achter Cul, viii. Administration of Colonies, c. Albany, vi, vii, xxiii, xli, cxv, cxvii, cxxi. Allowance to Representatives, cxv. Amesfoort (Flatlands), xxiv. Amsterdam (Old), xvi. Andros, Governor Edmund, lxi ; commission of, lxi ; report of, lxii. Articles of surrender of New Netherland, effect • of, xlix, xcix. Assembly of 1683-4-5, Ixv, lxvi, lxvii, lxviii. Assembly of 1691-3, lxxvi; resolution of, in 1691, lxxviii ; effects of this resolution, lxxix ; conflict of opinion on its resolution in 1 69 1, Ixxx ; modern view of resolution, lxxxi ; exam- ination of resolution, Ixxxii ; importance of resolution, lxxxiii ; government by, xcix ; its laws, how treated, ci; what evidence of laws of, cii ; where its acts are deposited, cii ; pro- cedure of, ciii ; its laws, how operative, civ. Assembly of Leisler, lxx. Baltimore, Lord, xvi. Bergen, xxiv. Beverswyck, viii, xxiii. Boundaries of New Netherland, xiii, xiv, xv; boundaries of counties, cxix. Boundary Question, incidental to new coun- tries, xv. Bradford, William, i; importance of Bradford's press, ii; first public printer, lxxxv; sketch of, lxxxvi, cxlv ; material for biography of, cxlv ; material for bibliography of, cxlv. Breda. See Treaty of. Breuckelen, xxiv. British Plantations, lxiv. Brockholes, Lieutenant Anthony, lxii. Burgher-recht in New Netherland, xxviii, xxix, note. Burgomasters of New Amsterdam, xxviii, xli ; " and Schepens, Court of, xxix. Bushwyck, xxiv. Cabot, Sebastian, ix. Cabots, ix. Canterbury, Archbishop of, cxxix. Capitulation. See Articles of surrender. Charles II., King, xxxix. See King Charles II. Charter, First Trading, vi, vii. Charter of Dutch West India Co., vii, xviii. Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, xxiii, xxxi, xxxvi. Charters, Dutch Trading, vii. Church of England, cxxix. Church in New-York, cxxix. Claims of the Dutch to New Netherland, ix. Colonies, Modern Law of English, ciii, note. Colony, not a State, ii. Common Law of Colony, how established, v; theories concerning the introduction of com- mon law, v. See Real Property Law. Common Law of England, theories concerning its introduction in colonies, v, xllii, xlvi ; how introduced, xc; effect of, on colonial institu- tions, xci. Common Law of New Netherland, ii, xvii, xviii. Condition of Jurisprudence in New- York, lxxxix. Connecticut River, xiv, xv. Conquest of New Netherland, determined on, xxxviii, xxxix. Consolidation of Colonies, lxix. Constitution of New Netherland, xxii. Constitution of New-York in 1691, xcix. Constitution of British Colonies, gradually de- veloped, lxiv. See Note No. 7, cxi. Conveyancing in New- York, xciv. Counties of New-York, cxviii. Courts, of New Netherland first established, xxi ; of Director-General and Council, xxi, xxii, xxv ; Admiralty, xxi, xxix; Prerogative, or Surrogate's, xxi, xxix ; Town Courts, xxiii, xxiv; of Burgomasters and Schepens, xxix; Baron or Patroon's, xxxii, xxxiv, xcv; of Arbitration, xxii. Courts in New-York, Court of Assizes, estab- lished, liii; regulated, liii ; held in 1665, liv ; dissolved, cvi ; Oyer and Terminer, cvi ; Ju- II* cxlix GENERAL INDEX. dicial establishment in i69l,xcviii; Supreme Court, cv, cxxiii ; Chancery, cvi, cxxiv; Com- mon Pleas, cv, cxxiii; Justices of the Peace, cv, cxxiii ; Pie-Powder Courts, cxxv. Delaware River, viii. Diplomatic Intercourse about New Nether- land, xi. Discovery and Occupation, effect of, iii, vi ; by the Dutch, vi ; by the English, ix. Dispute over Boundary, xiv. Dongan, Thomas, Governor, lxv, Ixix. Dongan Assemblies, lxviii, cxvi, note. Downing, Sir George, xxxviii. *' Duke's Laws," or Duke of York's Laws promul- gated, liv; the work of Nicolls, liv, note 2 ; title of, liv, notel; printed, liv; originally where, lv; went into effect when, lv; scope of, lvi; confirmed, lviii ; relating to conveyancing, xciv ; cited in Notes on the Laws, cv-cxxxiv. Dutch Charters, vii; interregnum, lviii. Dutch, claimed territory, vi. Dutch land law changed, xcii. Dutch language in New-York, lxxxix. Dutch Jurisprudence, xvii. See Law of New Netherland. Dutch Settlements, nature of, xvi. Dutch Transports, xxxvi. Dutch West India Company, vii, xix, xxx, xxxix, xli. Early laws of New-York, ii. *' Eendracht," affair of ship, xiii. English, aggression of, xxxix. English law in colonial empire, v; theories concerning its introduction, v, xc. English Revolution, lxx. English statutes in force in New-York, xcvi. English title to lands occupied by Dutch, ix, xi. Executive of New Netherland, xxiv. Established Church, cxxix. Fairs and Markets, cxxv, cxxvi. Fences and Highways, cvii. Fletcher, Governor Benjamin, lxxxiv. Fort Orange, vii. See Albany. Freemen of the Cities, xxix. Frontenac, Count, cxvii. Government of English Plantations, c. Government in New-York in 1691, xcix. Greenwich Bay, xv. Hartford, xv ; treaty, xv. Hempstead, xxiii ; meeting at, liii, liv. Hudson, Henry, vi. Hudson, or Hudson's, River. See Rivers. Importance of early laws, ii. Index of Laws in this volume, where found in later revisions. See Appendix No. II, cxl ; Appendix No. Ill, cxliii. Indians, title of, to soil, iii; title to be extin- guished, xcii ; if title not extinguished, patent not void, xciii. Intestate succession, xxxvii. Jamaica, xxiv. James II. See King James II. Judicial Establishment in New Netherland. See Courts of New Netherland. Jus Patronatus, xxxiv. Jus Postliminii, lix. Kidd, William, cxvii. Kieft, William, Director-General, xxiii, xxv. King Charles II., grant of, to Duke of York, xxxix, xci ; declares war against States-Gen- eral, xli ; feigns ownership of New Nether- land, 1; war by, with United Province closed, lviii ; grants amnesty to Dutch, lix ; grants new patent, lx ; revokes commission of coun- cil for foreign plantations, lxiv ; dies and suc- ceeded by Duke of York, lxvi. Kingston, xxiv. King James II., ascends the throne, lxiv; effect of his accession, lxvi ; new assembly of, lxvii ; consolidation of colonies by, lxix; commission to Dongan, lxix. King William III. See William and Mary. King William's War, cxvii. Law of England introduced in New-York, xliii, xc. See Laws of New- York. Law of nations in fifteenth century, ii. Law of New Netherland, xvii, xix, xxi ; relating to land, xxxvi; relating to intestate succession, xxxvii ; relating to land changed, xcii ; vir- tually repealed by 1691, xcix; relating to mortgages changed, cxiv. Laws of the New-York Assembly, ci. See As- sembly. Laws of New- York, English laws, the standard of, xc ; how affected by English statutes, xc, xcvi, xcvii; operative until disallowed by the crown, civ; transmitted to England for ap- proval, c, ci; procedure in England on, ci. See Real Property Law and Law of New Nether- land. Legislature of the province, power of, ciii ; pro- cedure of, ciii ; journals of, ciii. See Assembly. Leisler, Jacob, lxx, lxxi, cv, cxviii. London Company, xiii. London, Bishop of, cxxix. Long Island, viii, xv, xxiii, xxxviii; name changed, cxxviii. Lord Proprietor. See York, Duke of. Lovelace, Governor Francis, lvii; commission to, lviii ; brought confirmation of laws, lviii. Manhattan Island, vii, viii, xvi, xvii, xxiv, xxvii, xxviii, xxxviii ; purchased from Indians, xxx. cl GENERAL INDEX. Manors, xxxiv ; perpetuated in New-York, xcv; grants of to Van Rensselaers, xcvi, note; con- firmed, cvii. See Patroons. Material for a Biography and a Bibliography of Bradford, cxlv. Mauritius River, vi. Midwout, xxiv. Middleburgh, xxiv. Militia Law, note on, cix. Minuit, Director-General Peter, xxiv, xxv. Mohawk River, viii. Nature of settlements, viii, xvi, xxx. Nature of the Government of New-York, lxxiv. Netherlands, vii, ix, xi. Newtown, xxiv. New Amsterdam, viii, xvii, xxii, xxiii, xxiv, xxv, xxvii, xxviii, xxix, xxxviii, xxxix, xli, xlix. New Amstel, viii. New Constitution in New-York, lxxiii. New England, viii. New France, vi, xiii. New Netherland, first named, vii ; population of, vii ; boundaries of, xiii, xiv ; title to, ix. New Netherland, Law of, xix ; claims to terri- tory of, ix, x, xi; see " Law of," see "Courts of," xxi, xxii ; constitution of, xxii ; execu- tive of, xxiv; intestate succession in, xxxvii; boundaries of, xiii, xiv, xv; settlements in 1664, xxxviii. Population of, see Population. New Orange, lviii. See New Amsterdam. New Utrecht, xxiv. New-York, city of, named, xli ; renamed New Orange, lviii ; streets of, regulated, cxx ; charters of, cxxi; account of, cxx. New-York, Province of, named, xli; new con- stitution of, lxxiii; law of, xlvi, xlvii; see Real Property Law in, xci ; nature of its government, lxxiv ; the governor of, lxxv. Nicolls, Governor Richard, xli ; commission of, xlvii; instructions to, xlvii; proposes taxes, liii; remodels government of city, cxxi. Nieuw Haerlem, xxiv, xxxviii. Notes and Observations on the Laws : Note on Law, p. I of Facsimile. . . .cv. " " " p. 2 " " ... .cv. «« " " p. 6 " " • • .cvii. « « " p. 7 " " . . .cvii. " " " p. 8 " " ... .cviii. " " " p. 9 " " ... .cix. •< <• " p. 10 " " ... - cix. « p. 15 " " ... cxi. « « « p. 19 " " ... .cxv. .< » " p. 20 " " cxv. « •< « p. 21 " " .cxvi. « " " p. 26 " " cxvi. " " " p. 27 " " • ■ .cxvii. i. 74. An Act for the fatisfying and paying the Debts of the Government, 7 j An Act for calling Long Ifland, the IJland of Naflaw, 79 An Act for e ft ai lifting certain RaHs and Duties upo* fuch Goods, Waret and Merchandize as (ball bt brought unto their Mytfiks Btant in the Weigh* Houfeat New-York, 80 An Act for fettling a Minifry and raifing a Maintenance for them, 8 1 • An Act continuing tht Revenue unto tbeir Mayflies foe Years longer than the former Act, 84 A Calalogut of tees eflablifbtd by the G$ver»9ur and Council at the humble } requejl oj the A(ftmHy> CO An A& for the quieting and fettling the DiforJers that have lately happened within this Province , and for the ejlablishingand fecuring their Majefties prefent Government againjl the Hie J)iforders for the future. FOrafmuch as the Good and Quiet, Eafe, Profit, Benefit and! Ad- vantage-of the Inhabitants within this Provincedoth chiefly confift in, and altogether rely and depend upon their hearing true-Faith and Allegiance unto their Majefties Crown of EngU/Uy which is, andean only be the fupport and Defence of this Province. And whereas the latehafty and inconiiderate Violation of the fame, by the- letting up a Power over Their Majefties Subje&s, without Authority from the Crowo of £ngUnd, hath vitiated anddebauched the Minds of many People, dhc, and hath alio brought great W2fte, Trouble and Deftruction tipoufhe good People of this Province, their Majefties Loyal Subjects. For the Pre- vention whereof, in time to c come, Be it therefore Enacted and Ordained by the Governour and Council, and Reprefentatives met in General At fembly, And it is hereby Publi/hed, Declared, Enacted and Ordained, by the Authority of the fame, That there can be no Power and Authority held and exerciled over their Ma jefties Subjects in this their Province and Dominion ,but what muft be derived from their Majefties, their Heirs and SucceiTors. And we do hereby Recognize and Acknowledge, That Their Majefties, IViliiamznd Mary, are, and as of Right they ought to be by the Laws of the Realm of England, our Leige Lord and Lady, KING and QUEEN of England, France and he/ami, and the Domi- nions thereunto belonging, &c. That thereby their Princely Perlbns are only inverted with the Right to Rule this their Dominions and Province, and that none oug^ht or can have Power, upon any Pretence whatfoever, to ufe or cxercife any Power over Their Subjects in thit Province, but by their Immediate Authority under Their Broad Seal of Their Realm of England, as now eftablifhed. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefeid, That what- foever Perfon or Per (on s fhali by any manner of way, or upon any pretence whatfoever, endeavour by Force of Arms or otherways, to> difturb the Peace, Good 2nd Qmet of this Their Majefties Government, as it is now eftablifhed, fhall be deemed and cfteemed as Rebels and Traytors unto Their Majcftie e , and incur the Pains, Penalties and For- feitures, as the Laws of England have, for fuch Offences, made and provided. t 21 An AS for EJUblisbing Courts of judicature for the Eafe and 'Benefit oj ' eachreftec~ivire City, Town and Comty within thk Province. WHcreas the orderly Regulation, and the eftabliinmcnc of Courts of Juftice throughout this Province, as well in the refpeft of Time as Place, doth tend very much to the Honour and Dignity of the Crown, as well as to the Eafe and Benefit of the Subject, Be k Enacted by the Governour & Council, and Reprefentatives convened in General AfemWy, and it is hereby Enacted and Ordained by the Authority of the feme, That every Juftice of the Peace thatrefides within any Town or County within tnis Province, are hereby fully impowered and autho- rized to have Cognizance of all Caufes, Cafes of Debts and Trefpals to the value of Forty Shillings, or under; which Caufes and Cafes fhall be heard, tryed and finally determined without a Jury* by every Juftice of the Peace that refides within any Town or County within this Province, he taking to his Affiftance," at the time of his hearing and determining fuch Caufe or Cafes of Debt and Trefpafs to the value of Forty Shillings and under, one of the Free holders of the Town and place where the caufe of Action doth arife. The Procefs of warning, fihall be by a fummons under the Hand of the Juftice, directed to the Con- ftableof the Town or Precinct, or any deputed by him, where the Party complained againft doth live. Which Summons being Perfonally ferved, or left at the Defendants Houle two days betore the Day of Hearing of the Plaint, (hall be fufficient Authority to and for the faki Juftice, aflifted with one of the Free-holders, as aforefaid, to proceed on fuefi Caufe and Caufes, and determine the fame in the Defendants abfence i and to grant Execution thereon, againft the Defendants Perfon, or for want thereof his Eftate, which the Conftable of the Town or Pre- cincts, or his Deputy, mall and may ferve. Always provided, and be it further Enacted by the Authority afore- faid, That if the PlantifF or Defendant fhall defire a Jury, it mail be allowed, but at the proper Coft and Charges of the Perfon defiring the fame. And for the Increafe of Virtue and Difcouraging of Evil-doers throughout this Province, Beit further Enacted by the Authority afore- faid, That there mall be held and kept in every refpe&ive City and County within this Province (at the Times and Places hereafter named and exprefTed) a Court of Seflions of the Peace, that is to fay, For the City and County of New-Tork^ at the City Hall of the laid Gity four times every Year, viz.. The firft Tuefclay in Msy, the firft Tuefday in Augaft, the firft Tuefday in November and the firft Tuefday in February.. For the City and County of Albany, at the City Hal! of theTaid City, the firft Tuefday in JW, the flrft Tuefday in Ottokr, and the firft Tacfday in February* For Wejlchejter at tVeJtcbejler the firft Tuefday in June, and the firft Tuefday in December. For Vtfer, at Kjn^on "die firft Tuefday in September, and the firft Tuefday in M«r;£. For the County of Richmond, at the Court-Houle, the firft Tuefday in September, and the firft Tuefday in March. For County at Flatbujb (alias Midwoai) the fecond Tuefday in ilfiy, and the lecond Tacfday in November. For gteoM County, at f ornate*, the third Tuefday in Afy, and the third Tuefday in September. For Suffolk County, zx.Southold y the laft Tuefday in September. Anor and Alderman, and Courts of Common Pleas, To the Suprcam Court, for any Judgment above the value of Twenty Pounds; And from the Supream Court at New-7ork y to the Governour and Council , for any Judgment above the value of One Hundred B Pounds [ 6 1 Pounds ; And from the Governour and Council To their Majefties Council , for any Decree or Judgment above the Value of Three Hundred Pounds, as in Their Majefties Letters Patents to his Excellency doth and may more fully appear. Alwayes provided t That the Party or Parties fo Appealing, fhall foft pay all Coft of fuui Judgment or Decree from which the Appeal arheth, and enter into Recognizeancc, with two ftfficient Sureties, for double the value of the Debt, Matter or Thing recovered or obtained by Judgment or Decree again ft him or them, to the faid Court from which they Appeal, That they will profe- tute the /aid Appeal or Af teals with Efe3, and tnaH Return thereof mthin Twelve Months after the /aid Appeal or A f peals here nude. And if Default happen thereon, then Execution to ilTue out upon the Judgment, againft the Party, or their Sureties, in courfe, without any Scire facias. Provided alwayes, That the eftablilhing of thefe Courts fhall not be or remain longer in force than for the time and fpace of two Years, and until the end of the fitting of the next Aflembly after the expiration of the laid two Years. Ah AB for the Settling Quieting and Confirming unto the Cities, 'lowns, Mannours and Free- holders within this Province, their feveral Grants, ^Patents and Rights reffeiiively. FOrafinuch as the many Changes, Alterations and Difturbances that have been lately given unto their Majefties Subjects inhabit- ing within this their Province, &c. hath and doth very much difcourage the fettling, improving and the growth and ftrength thereof ; and that it is now abfolutely necefTary for the quieting and fatisfying their Majefties good Subjects within the Tame, that the Rights and Priviledgcs formerly held by and granted to the refpective Cities, Towns, Mannors and Free-holders within this Province, &c. fhould be now ratified and confirmed, fie it therefore Enacted by the Governour, Council, and Reprefenta. tives convened in General Affembly , And it is hereby Enacted and Declared by the Authority of the fame, That all the Charters, Patents, Grants made, given and granted, and well and truly executed under the Seal of this Province, conftituted and authorized by their late and prefent Majefties, the Kings of England, and Regiftered in the Secretary's Office, unto the feveral and refpecHve Corporations or Bodies Politick of the Cities, Towns and Mannors, and alfo to the feveral and re- fpective Free-holders within this Province, are and fhall forever be deemed, efteemed and reputed good and effectual Charters, Patents and Grants authentick in the Law, againft their Majefties, their Heirs, and Succeflbrs forever, notwithftandtng of the want of :Fo*m$ in the Law, orthcNon-feizanceof any Right, Priviledge, or Cuftom, which oogbt to have been done heretofore by the Confutations and Directions contained in the refpe&ive Charters, Patents and Grants aforefaii}. And be it further Ena&ed by the Authority aforefaid, That all the Charters Patents and Grants, made, given and granted, as aforefaid, unto all and every the feveral and refpe&ive Corporations or Bodies Politick of the Cities, Towns and Manaors, and their Succeflbrs, and alfo unto all and every the refpe&ire Free-holders, their Heirs & Afligns forever within this Province, are to all intents and purpofes whatsoever hereby Ratified and Confirmed, To Have, Hold, Exercife, Occupy, Poflels and Enjoy all their, and every of their former Rights, Cuftorns, prerogatives, Priviledges , Preheminencies , Pra&ifes , Immunities, Liberties, Franchifcs, Royalties and Ufages whatfoever, in as full and ample manner, as if none of thele Changes, Alterations, Difturbances, want of other Forms in the Law, or the Non-feizance of any Rights, Priviledges or Cuftorns of any of the Corporations aforelaid, had never happened, or been negle&ed, any thing herein contained, or in any other law to the contrary in any wife notwithftanding. Provided, That nothing herein contained {hall be conftrued or taken to bar any perfon or perlons of his or their former and juft Right, or pretences to any Hoafe, Tractor parcel of Land within this Province. Al waves pro- vided, That he or they that have any fuch juft Right or Pretence, do make his or their Claim within the fpace of five Years next after the date hereof. And alio provided, That nothing herein contained fhall be intended or conftrued to the prejudice or hindrance of the Title or Claim of any Perlba under Age, Itme Covert , Non Compos Mentis, Imprifonment, or beyond the Sea. An A& for the enabling each rtfpeBke 1 own xv': thin tb'j Province to Regulate thtv Fences and High- ways, and make prudential Orders for their Teace and orderly Improvements^ WHereas the refpeftive Towns within this Province, &c are Co circumftanced as 'to have different and diftindl: waves in their. Improvements of Tillage and Pafturage, and that it is altogether neceiThry that they may be qualified and made capable in the Law to makefi»cli prudential Rules and Orders for the better Improvement of their refpecYive Towns, and the Rcgaiating their Fences and High- wayes accordingly. Re it therefore Enaftcd by the Governour and Council, and the /leprefenratives met in General ACfembly, and by the Authority C 8 3 Authority of thejame, That the FreViolders of every refpe&ive Town* with this Province are hereby Impowered and Authorized to meet andaflemble themfelves together at fuch times and places as axe appointed and expreffed in their refpe&ive Grants and Patents, and when fb alTemWed to make, eftablifh, oonftitute and ordain, from time to time, fuch prudential Orders and Rules, for tne better improving of their refpecrive Lands in Tillage, Pafturage, or in any other reafonable way, as (hall by the Majority of the Free-holders, fo affembled or convened as aforefaid, be thought good and convenient. And alfb, when the Freeholders of each refpe&ive Town within this Province, &e> are aflBmbled , as aforefaid, they are hereby further authorized and impowered to make chotte, and nominate in each of their refpe&ive Towns , annually, and once every Year, Three Perfbns to be Surveyors and Orderers of the Work for the laying out and the Amendment of the High-wayes and Fences within the Bounds and Limits of their refpe&ive Towns wichin this Province. Which Perfbns, fo Nominated and chofen , fball take upon them the faid Office, and are hereby impowered to lay out, fet forth, regulate and amend all fuch Hieh-wayes and Fences as fhallbe eftablifhed, infucli manner, form and way as fliall be agreed upon and directed by the Majority of the Free-holders of each refpe&ive Towns, as aforefaid.. Alwayes provided, That fuch Orders as are made, constituted and ordained, Ihall be fcept and Regiftered in the Town's Books for that purpofe, and contented to and approved by the next Court of Stflions of tne Peace in the Counties where the refpeftive Towns are, other- wife to be of no Force nor Virtue whatfoever. Jin A3 for Defraying of the Tublict^ and Necefary Charge throughout this Province, and fortnamtain* ing the Poor, and preventing Vagabonds* F Orafmuch as it is neceflary that each refpetHve County within this Province fhould have Power to eftablifh a Rate, for the Defray irg of their refpeftive andpublick Charge, Be it therefore Enacted by the Governour and Council , and Reprefentatives convened in General AfTembly, and by the Authority of the fame, That there be elected and chofen annually, and once every Year, in each refpe&ive Town within this Province, Two Free-holders, who are hereby impowered to afTefs and eftablifh a certain Rate upon each of the Free-holders and Inhabitants within their. Refpe&ive Towns ; which AfTefment or certain Rate,ftiall upon a certain day, as the Inhabitants of the refpeftive Towns fhill appoint, be delivered to a certain Free-holder, which fhall be like- wife chofen in each refpeftive Town aforefaid, to fupsrvife and examine the publick and neceflary Charge of each refpecUve County. Which Perfbns Perfons, fo duely chofeo, ffaall ele& and confiitute a oertain Treafurer for each reijxftivc County, which Trcafurcr IhalJ make fuch payment* for the defraying of all the publick and neceflary Charges of eadi refpeitive County, as (haU be appointed and ordered by the Perlbns ft chofen for the ftperviflng the publick Charges of each refpeftive County. And be it further provided by the Authority aforefaid, That any fuch AfTefmenr or Rate, made, ordained or appointed, by the Perfons fo chofen, fhall be coilefted and gathered by the Conftable,' or any other Per fon chofen or appointed thereunto ; as alfo, if any perfba or perfons fhall refufe to pay the. (aid Aifefment or Rate, that it may be lawful for them that are chofen as aforefaid, and they are hereby Authorized to i0 ue out their Warrants to the Conftable, under their Hands and Seals, or any other Perfons appointed by them, to colled and levy the lame by Diftrefs on their Goods and Chattels. And be it further Enadted by the Authority aforefaid, That the Trea- furer of each refpettive County within this Province, fhall keep a diftiaft Book of Accompts* containing a particular Accompt of all the Money, Rates |and Affelments aforefaid, and alfo of all DisDurfrrjents and Pay- ments by warfant aforefaid, and once every Year he fhall bring in hI5 Accompts, to fuch perfons as fhall be appointed tor the audit of the fame, under the Penalty of one Hundred Pounds, except prevented by Death or Sicknefs. And further, whereas it is the Cuftom and Practice of their Majefties Realm of England, aad all the adjacent Collonics in America, That every refpe&ive Town and Parifh doth take care and provide for the Poor, who do inhabit in their refpe£Kve Precin&s, as aforefaid, Therefore it is Ena&ed by the Authority aforefaid, That for the time to come, the refpe&ive Free-holders, elected and chofen as aforefaid, in every Town, Parifh and Precinct, fliall make provifionfbr the maintenance and fup- port of their Poor refptctively* And for the Prevention and Difcouragement of Vagabonds and Idle Perfons to come into this Province, from other parts, and alfo finm one part of the Piovmce to another, Be it Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That ail Perfons that fhall come to inhabit within this Province, or any part or place thereof, and hath not a vifible Eftate, or hath not a manual Occupation, (hall, before he be admitted an Inhabitant, give fufficient Surety, That be {ball not be a bur fan or Charge to the reft Ssve ptace he (hall torn* t$ inhabit. Which Security fhall continue for two Year*. Provided alwayes, That all thofe that have manual Crafts or Occu« nations, may at all times come and inhabit in any place within this Province, and be alwayes admitted, provided he maketh Application within eight days after his arrival in any City, Town or County, as aforefaid, unto fuch pcrfon or perfons as are appointed for Governing the fefpettive parts. C And C io ] And alio, all VefTcls that fliall bring any Pafferrsers into this Province, the Matters of fuchVcffels fhall within four and twenty Hours after arrival, bring a Lift of fiich Paflengers he brings into the Province, with their Qualify and Conditions, unto the chief Magiftrates of each relpettive City, Town or County, as aforefeid, under the Penalty of Ten Pounds currant Money of this Province. Alwayes provided, That if any VeflTel bring in any Perfbn as aforefaid, not able to give Surety for their wifc demeanour* that then, and in fuch cafe, That the Matter of fuch VefTel or VefTels fhall be obliged to Tranfport all fuch to the place from whence they came, or at Jeaft ouc of this Province and Dependencies. And alfb, if any Vagabonds, Beggars, or others, remove from one Town to another, and cannot give Security, as aforefaid, It /hall be lawful to the Conttable to return fuch Perfons to the Town from whence they came, w WHereas the present State and Condition of this Province doth of neceflity require, that the Inhabitants thereof fhould be well armed, and trained up in Art Military, as well for the Honour and fervice of their moft excellent Majefties, as the Prefervation of tfuir own Lives and Fortunes, Be it Enacted and Ordained by the Go- vernour and Council y and Reprefentatives convened in General AfTembI/, And it is hereby Enacted and Ordained by the Authority of the fame, That no Perfbn whatfocver from Fifteen to Sixty Years of Age remain unlitted by themfelves or Matters, Miftri/Tes or Imployers, under the Captaias in their refpe£Hve places of abode, in Foot or Horfe, thefpaceof one Kalander Moneth after their arrival, or coming to relide~ or fojourfl in any place within this Province, on Penalty of Twenty Bhillings, and fo for every Moneth fuch Perlon fhall remain unlitted. And that every Foot Souldier be provided with a well fixed Mufquet orFufee, or if the Officer fo appoint, with a good Pike, or Sword, or Lance and Piftol; each Mufquetcer fix Charges of Powder, and one Cartouth Box, and fo fhall appear when and where appointed, upon penalty of five Shilfings for his default in not appearing , and three Shillings for want of each Charge of Powder, Gun, Pike, Sword, Piftol ' or Cartouch Box, fb as the whole Penalty for any ferfbn at one time exceed not ten Shillings. And that every Souldier belonging to the Horfe, fhall, when and where commanded, appear, and be provided with a good ferviceablc Horfe of his own, covered with a good Saddle, with Holfters, Brett-plate and Crupper, and a Cafe of good Piftols, Hanger, Sword or Rapier, and half a pound of Powder, with twelve femceable Bullets, on penalty of Ten Shillings for each times abfence, and and five Shillings for default of each of the particulars above mentioned, lb as the whole Penalty for one time exceed not fifteen Shillings. And chat every Foot Souldier fhall have at his Habitation and Abode one 1 pound of good Powder, and three pound of fizeable Bullets. And every Trooper have at his ufaal place of Abode, a well fixed Carbine, with Belt and Swivel, and two Founds of fine Powder, with fix pounds of fizeable Bullets, on penalty of ten Shillings for each default m ? and that each of them fhall bring the fame into the Field, when commanded, npon Penalty of anfwering the fame at a Court Martial. And for the fupply of the Troops of Horfe in the Cities of New-Tork and Aibauy t and County of Vifter , it fhall be in the Power of the Collonolor chief OBicer of the Militia of the City of Nev-Torfr, County of Albany, and County of Vtfor, for the time being, whenibeverany of the laid Troops fhall not compjeat the Number of Fifty, To prefent doublethe Number, infteadof Fuchas are dead, removed, or wanting, out of the principal Inhabitants and Gentlemen of the refpe&iveGties and Counties aforefaid, unto the Governour for the time heing, who from time to time may lift and order fo many of them to be of the faid refpe&ive Troops, as may compkat the Number of Fifty for their Ma- jeures fervice, and the fecurlty of this Province. And evory Perfon ib prefented to the Governour for the time being, and by him lifted and ordered to be of the faid refpe&ive Troops , fhall be, and are hereby obliged to ferve in the faid refpe&ive Troops, upon the Penalty of five Pounds. Provided neverthelefs, That nothing herein be cooftraed to extend to force orcompell any Perfon that hath or fhall be in Commit fion in this Province, to lift themfelves in any Company or Troop, on to ferve in any Capacity beneath their former CommifHon, uniefs fueh perfon hath been degraded by a Court Martial. And it is further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That no oerfbn, fo lifted as aforefaid, fhall depart thence, without a Difcharge from the Commander of die Company or Troop, where lifted, oil Penalty of Twenty Shillings. And that no Commander of any Com- pany or Troop fhall refufe, when defired, to give a Difcharge in Writing, to any that is removing his Abode out of the Precin&s or Piovince, under the penalty of five Pounds, And whereas at the City of New-Tork> Guards and Watches are every Night fet and appointed, Be it therefore Ena&ed and Ordained by the Authority aforefaid, That ir fhall and may be lawful for any perfon or perfbas lifted in the Reigraent of the City and County or New-Tor^ (except on Extraordinary Occafions) to put a well Armed Man in their Room, who, if approved of by the Captain of the Guard, fhall excule his or their Abfence. Provided always, That the Commiffion Q hcers and Serjants of the refpective Companies, be obliged in their refpethve Turns to mouot the Guard in their proper Perfons. And that no Perfon fhall refufe to be a Scrjant, Corporal or Drummer in the Com- pany wherein he is lifted, under the penalty of Forty Shillings. And be it further Enacted and Ordained by the Aathority aforefaid, That all Captains of Companies of Foot', or Troops of Horfe, fball within twelve Moneths from and after the Publication of this Ad, provide for their Companies and Troops, Drums and Colours, Trum- pets, Trumpeters, and Banners, at the proper Charge of the refpedtive Officers, Troops and Companies, under the Penalty of Ten Pounds, and fo for every four Months fuch Commanders fhall remain unprovided. And that all the Coilonels of the refpcftive Regiments, or next chief Officers in their abfence, fhall once every Year at leaft iffue our their P Warrants to their Inferiour Officers, commanding them, To make diligent fearch end inquiry in their feveral PrtcinBs, that ail be duel] Lifted, Armed and Eqaiffed ; And to return tc them fuch Defects as fhall be found, tQ tire end the lame may he reformed, onpermlty of Twenty Pounds. And and that once every three Moneths, oroftner, as Occafion fhall require, and command be given by the Captain Genera) or Commander in chief, the feveral Companies and Troops in each Regiment, fhall meet at the next and moft convenient places to he appointed by the refpe&ive Officers, to be then and there by them muftered and exercifed.. And it is hereby Enacted and Ordained , by the Authority aforefaid, That during the time the laid Officers and Souldiers are in Arms, they fhall obferve and keep all and every of the Laws and Articles of War. and give all due Obedience to their fuperiour Offijers : Which Laws ana Articles the Captain General or Commander in chief, with Advice of a general Council of War, is to make and eftablifh, and the Com- manders of the feveral Regiments to give out Copies -of the faid Articles unto the refpedive Officers, that the fame may be publickly read once every three Months unto the Souldiers, whilft they are in. Arms, that all Perfbns may the better know and obferve their Duties. And if it fhall happen that any tjf the Officers or Souldiers, fhall, when they are out of Arms, endeavour to take Revenge by force, for any thing his or their fuperiour Officer* lawfu ! ly did in pur fua nee of his or their Duty, and this A&, The faid Officers and Souldiers fhall be brought to a Court Martial, and there punifhed, as if the Offence had been done in Time of Service or Exercife provided that the faid Punilhmentdonot extend to Life or Limb. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That once every Year, or oftner, if thereunto commanded, each particular Captain fhall give to his Field Officer, and the Field Officer to the Captain General or Commander In chief, fair written Rools of their refpedtive Companies and Regiments. And if any Field Officer, Captain or other inferiour Oft^cer or Souldier fball neglect, or concemn performing the lawful Commands of their refpedtive luperiour Officers, he or they (hall be ■punifrted by Fine, Cafhsering, or other Punifhment, according to the Difcretion t>ffcretk>n of a Court Martial, which the Captain General, or the Commander in chief is to appoint and eftablifh. And the Orders of :he (aid Court Martial, aro hereby declared to be binding in all Military Affairs. And if any Perfon upon any Invafion, or other publick Military Service, ba wounded or difiblcd, he fhall be cured and maintained out of the publick Revenue. And if any Perfon whatfocver fhall be fued, molefted or impleaded for any thing lawfully commanded in the Execution and Purfuance of this prefent Ac%,l he •/hall plead the general Iffue, and give this Ad in Evidence ; and fhall thereupon, if found for him, recover oofts of Suit, and Trible Damage. Provided alwayes, and it is hereby EsaAed and Declared by the Au- thority aforefaid, That the feveral Pints and Forfeitures mentioned in this Aft, fhall be recovered and difpofed of aifolloweth, viz. That all fuch as do relate to any Perfon under the digree of a Captain, fball be to the iefpedive Captains, to defray the Charges of their Companies or Troops, and to be liviea before the next Exerciflng day, by Diftrefs and Sail of the Offenders Goods, by the Captains Warrant to the Serjant 01 Corporal ; and if r.o Diftrefs bt found, the punifhment to be by riding the Wooden Horfe, or being tyed Neck and Heels, not exceeding one Hour,at the Difcretion of their Officers. But if the offender be a Servant, the Owners Goods fhall be liable to the Diftrefles and Sales, as aforefaid, io that Satisfaction may be made. And for all other Penalties mention, ed in this Aft, the fame fhall be levied by Diftrrfs and Sale of the OfFen. dots Goods and Chattels, by tht Proveft Marfhal, by Warrant from the Captain General or Commander in chief, «r the chief Field Officer, where fuch Offimdors zt: ; one half thereof fhall be to the Captain Gtneral, and tht other half unto the faid Field Officers of that Regiment where theOifeice is committed. And if the Fines that do relate to any Perfon under the degree of a Captain, fhall not amount to a fum fufficient to defray the Charge of the Captains Companies or Troops, that then the over-plus wanting be levied upon the feveral Souldiers equally, by Warrant or Order of the Collonci or chief Officer of the Regiment, Troops or Companies. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That it fhall and may be lawful for any Commiffion Officer, belonging to the Re- giment of the City of Ncw-Tark, under the degree of a Captain, in the abfence of the faid Captain, to grant Warrants of D ftrefs againfi: any Perfon whatfoever, that fhall abfent themfelves frem their Dityon the Plight Guards, without fending a fufficient Perfon to ferve and watch in their ftead; which faid Warrants, Co granted, fhall be as tfie£hial, to all intents and purpofes whatfoever, as if they or any of litem had been granted by the Captains themfelves. D » Provided C 14 3 Provided alvvayes, and be it further Enacted and Dec'ared by the Authority aforefaid, That nothing in this Aft contained be expounded, conftrued or underftood, todiminifh, alter or abridge the Power of the Captain General or Commander in chief for the time being, but that in all Things and upon all Occafions he may aft as fully and freely, as Captain General and Commander in chief, to all intents and purpofes, as if this Aft had never been made, any thing in this Aft to the contrary notwithftanding. And be it further fina&ed by the Authority aforelaid , That all Pcrfbns lifted, as aforelaid, fhall readily attend and ferve on the Watches when appointed, under the Penalty of Three Shillings, for each default. And it is alio further Enafted by the Authority aforefaid, That 'no Perfon whatfoerer prefume to fire any fmall Arms after Bight of the Clock at Night, unlefi in cafe of any Alarm , Infurreftion , or any other lawful Occafion ; And in either of the faid Cafes four Mufquets or fmall Arms, diftinftly fired, or where great Guns are, the firing of one great Gun, and two Mufquets or fmall Arms, diftinftly, and beating of a Drum fhall be taken for an Alarm. And every perfbn. that {ball neglcft his Duty in taking and giving forward an Alarm, by firing, as aforefaid, or fhall be guilty of firing any fmall Arms after Eight of the Clock at Night, unlefs as aforelaid, fliall be fined, or otherwife punifhed, at the Difcretion of a Court Martial, not extending to Life or Limb. And in cafe of fuch Alarm every Souldier is imme- diately to repair armed to his Colours or Court of Guard, upon the penalty of Five Pounds. And for the better Prevention of falfe Alarms, That no Captain, Mafter or Commander of any Ship or Veffol riding at Anchor in any the Harbours, Ports cr Bayes within this Province, or any other Perfbn, fre any Gun after eight of the Clock at Night, under the Penalty of brty Shillings for every Gun fo fired to be levied by Warrant front the chief Officer, not under the Degree of a Captain, who is hereby impowered to adminifter an Oath, and give Judgment thereupon by Diftrefs and Sale of the Offendors Goods ; and for want of Diftrefs the faid chief Officer is hereby impowered to commit fuch Offendors to the Goal, there to remain until payment be made of the fame. And that in cafe the faid chief Officer fhall not perform his Duty therein, he fhall forfeit ten Pounds, to be levied by Warrant from the Captain General or Commander in chief for the time being. Provided alwayes, That this claufe fhall in no ways concern or extend to any Captain or Officer of any of his Majefties Ships of War, for their firing at fetting of the Watch, ^-Avlrled alwayes, and it is hereby further Enafted and Declared by ths the Authority aforefaid, That all Trumpeters and Drtimmers lately jo, (ervtce,or that fhall by the feveral Captains be put into that fervitfe,during the Captains pleafure, fliall fcrve upon the Sallary of forty Shillings per, annum for a Trumpeter, and twenty Shillings per annum for a Drummer, finding their Trumpet and Drum; and twenty Shillings' for a Trumpeter, and ten Shillings for Drummer, if the Captain find them, upon Penalty of forty Shillings. Provided alwayes, and it is hereby Ena&«d and Declared, That alt the Members of Their Majefties Council, Juftices of the Peace, Sheriffs, Coroners, and all other Officers of Courts, Minifters, Sckool-Mafters, Phyfitiansand Chyrurgions fliall be free from being lifted in any Tipop or Company within this Province, any thing contained herein to the contrary in any wife notwithftanding. An AB declaring what are the Rights Priviledges of Their Majefties Subjeffs inhabiting within Their Province of New-Tort. FOrafmuch as the Reprelentatives of this their Majefties Province of Ne»-Tork t now convened in General Aflembly, arc deeply fenfible of their Majefties mod gracious Favour, in reftoring to them the undoubted Rights and Priviledges of Englifh-men, by declaring Their Royal Will and Pleafure in their Letters Patents to his Excellency, who they have appointed their Captain General and Governour in chief •ver this their Province, Thxt he Jhould, mth the Confent of Their Council, from Time to Time, as need (hall require, to fumm§n and call General Ajfcmblies of the Inhabit ant s, being Free-holders, according to the Vfage of Their Maj:jties other Plantations in America : And that this moll excellent Gonftitution, fo necefiary, and fo much efteemed by our Anceftors, may ever continue unto Their Majefties Subjects within this Their Province of Ne*-Tork, The Reprefentativts of this Thar Majefties Province, convened jn General AlTembly, do with all Duty apd Stbmi&on humbly pray, That the Rights, Liberties, Priviledges and Franchifes, according to the Laws and Statutes of their Majefties Realm of England, may be confirmed unto Their Majefties mod Dutiful and Loyal Subjects inhabiting within this their Province of Nc»-Tork, by Authority of this General Atfembly, Be it Ena&eJ by the Governour and Council , and Reprefentarives met in General Aflembly, and it is hereby Ena&ed and Declared by the Authority of the fame, That theSupream Legiflativc Power and Authority, under Their Majefties, WiHiam and Mary, King and Queen of England, &c. (hall forever be and refide in a Governour in Chiet and Council appointed r 16 3 appointed by Their Majefties, their Heirs and Succeflbrs ; and the People by their Reprefentatives met and convened in Generat AfTerably. That the Exercife and Adminiftration of the Government over the (aid Province, fhall, purftant to Their Majefties- Letters Patents, be in the Hud Governour in Chief and Council, with whofe Advice and Content, or with at feaft five- or them, he is. to Rule and Govern the lame, according to the Laws thereof, ' and for any defect therein, according to the Laws of England, and not othcrwife. That in cafe the Governour in Chief fhould dye, or be abfeat out of this Province, and that thereto no Perfon within tht laid Province commflionated by Their Ma jefties, Their Heirs or Sucteflbrs, to be Governour or Com- mander in chief, That then the Council for the time being, or fo many of chem as are in the faid Province, do take upon them the Admini- ftration of the Government, and the Execution of the Laws thereof and Powers and Authorities belonging to the Governour in chief and Council; the fir ft in Nomination in which Council is to prefide until the faid Governour mall return and arrive in the (aid Province again, (or the pleafure of their Majeft ie«, their Heirs and Succeffors be further known. That for the good Government and Rule of their Ma jefties Subjects, a Seflionof a General AffemUy be held in this Province once every Year. That every Free-holder within this Province, and Free-man in any Corporation lhalJ have his free choice and Vote in the Electing of the Reprefentatives, without any manner of conftraintor impofition; And that in all Elections the majority of Votes fhall carry it. And by Free-holders is to be unacrftood every one who fhall have forty Shillings fennnum Sn Free-hold. That the Ferfbns to be elided to fit as Reprefentatives in the General AfTembly from time to time, for the feveral Cities, Towns, Counties, Shires, Divifions or Mannors of this Province, and all places within the fame, fhall be according to the Proportion and Number hereafter cspreffed. That is to fay, For the City and County of Ntrv-Tork Four. For the County of Suffolk Two. For guttns County Two. For Kjngs County Two. For the County of Richmond Two. For the County of Wefichtftr Two. For the County or Vlfier Two. For the City and County of Albany Two. For the Collony of RanJUetmck One. And for Dnkes County Two. And as many more as their Majefties, tkeir Heirs and Succeflbrs fhall think fit to eftablift. That all Perfbns chofenand aflTembled, in manner aforefaid, or the major part of them, fhall be deemed and accounted the Reprefeata- tives of this Province in General AfTembly. That the Reprefentatives convened in General AfTemblv may appoint their own Times of meeting, during their Seflions, ana may adjourn their tbeir Houfe from time to time , as to them /hall teem meet and convenient. That the (aid Repretentativcs, as aforcfaid con ve ned, a-ie» t£ r fi >Ie Judges of the Qualifications of their own Members, and likewife of all Under-Ele&ions; and may from time to time purge' their Houfe, as they fball fee occafion. That no Member of the General AfTembly, or their Servants, during the time of their Seflions, and whilft they fhall be going to and return- ing from the faid Aflembly, (hall be arrefted, fued, imprifoned, or any way molefted or tronbled, nor be compelled to make anfwef to any Suit, Bill, Plaint, Declaration, or otherwite (cafes of High-Treafon and Fellony only excepted.) That all Bills agreed upon by the faid Repretentatives, or the major part of them, (hall be pretented unto theGovernour and Council for their approbation and content. All and every which (aid Bills, (b approved of and contented to by the Governour and Council, fhall be efteemed and accounted the Laws of this Province. Which faid Laws (hall continue and remain' in force until they be difallowed by their Majefties, their Heirs orSucceflfors, or expire by their own Limitation. That in all cates of Death or abtence of any of the (aid Repretenta*. tives, the Governour for the time being fliall iflue out a Writ of Summons to the refpe£hvc Cities, Towns, Counties, Divifions or Mannors, for which he or thev lb deceated or abtent, were choten, Willing and Requiring tht Fret-folders of the f*me to cleft others in tkir place and Jlead. That no Free-man (hall be taken or Imprifoned, or be deprived of his Free-hold, or Liberty, or free Cuftoms, or Out-Lawed, cr Exiled* or any other wayes deftroyed ; nor (hall be paflfed upon, adjudged or condemned, but by the lawful Judgment of his Peers, and by the Law of this Province Juftice nor Right (hall be neither Sold, Denyed or Delayed to any Perfon within this Province. That no Aid, Tax, Talliage or Cuftom, Loan, Benevolence, Gift, Excife, Duty or Impofition whatfbever (hall be laid, aflefled, impoted, levied or required or or on any of Their Majefties Subjects within this Province, &c or their Eftates, upon any manner of Colour or Pre- tence whatfbever, but by the A& and Content of the Governonr and Council, and Repretentatives of the People in General Aflembly met and convened. That no Man,, of what EAateor Condition foever, (hall be put out of his Lands, Tenements , nor- taken , nor imprifoned , nor difl inherit :d, norbanifhed, nor any ways deftroyed or molefted, without firft being brought ro anfwer by duecourteof Law. That a Free -man fliall not be amerced for a fmall Fault, but after the manner of his Fault, and for a great Fault after the greatnefs thereof, faving to him his Free-hold ; and a Husband-man, (aving to him his Wamage; and Merchant, laving to him his Merchandize ; and none of thete Amercement fball be affdTed, but by the Oath of Twelve E Honeft C x8 3 Honcft and Lawful men of the Vicinage. Provided, the Faults and Mifdemeanours be not in Contempt of Courts of Judicature. All Tryals fhall be by the Verdict of Twelve Men, and as near as may be Peers or Equals, and of the Neighbourhood of the place where the factjfhall arife or grow, whether the fame be by Indictments, Declara- tion , Information, or otherwayes, againft the Perfbn Offender or Defendant. That in all Cafes Capital and Criminal, there fhall be a grand Inqueft, who fhall firft prelent the Offence, and then Twelve Good Men of the Neighbourhood to Try the Offender, who, after his Plea to the Indictment, fhall be allowed his realbnable Challanges. That in all Cafes whatfoever, Bay I by fufhcient Sureties fhall be allowed and taken, unlefs for Treafon and Fellony, plainly and fpecially expreffed and mentioned in the Warrant of Commitment, and that the Fellony be fuch as is rcftrained from Bayl by the Laws of England. That no Free-man fhall be compelled to receive any Souldiers or Marriners, except Inholders, and other Houfes of publick Entertain- ment, who are to quarter for ready Money into his Houfe,' and there futfer them to fbjourn again rheir Wills ; provided it be not in time of actual War within this Province. That no Commiffion for proceeding by Martial Law, againft any of Their Majefties Subjects within this Province, &c. fhall iffue forth to any Perfbn orPerfbns whatfoever, leaft by colour of them any of their Majefties Subjects be deftroyed or put to Death, except all fuch Officers and Souldiers that are in Garrifon, and in pay during the time of actual War. That all the Lands within this Province fhall be efteemed and accounted Lands of Free-hold, and Inheritance in free and common Soccage, according to the Tenor of Eafl-Greenwkh in their Majefties Realm of England. That no Eftate of a Feme Covert fhall be fold or conveyed, but by- Deed acknowledged by her in fome Court of Record, the Woman being fecretly examined, if fhedoth it freely, without threats or com- pulfion of her Husband. That all Wills in Writing, attefted by thfe« or more credible Wit- nelfes, fhall be of the fame force to convey Lands, as other Conveyances, being proved and Regiftered in the proper Offices in each County, within days after the Teftators Death. That all Lands and Heritages within this Province and Dependencies fhall be free from all Fines, Lifences upon Alienations, and from all Heriots, Wardfhips, Liveries, Primiers, Seizins, Year and Day, and Wafte, Efcheat and Forfeiture upon the Death of Parents and Anceftors, Natural, Unnatural, Cafual or Judicial, and that forever , Cafes of High-Treafon only excepted. That no Perfon of what Degree or Condition foever throughourthis Province, chofen, appointed, or com miilionated to officiate or execute any Office or Place, Civil or Military withm this Province, &c. /hall be capable in the Law to take upon him the charge of fuch Place before he C 19] he hath firft taken the Oathes appointed by Aft of Parliament to be taken in lieu of' the Oathes of [Supremacy and Allegiance, and fubferibe That no Perfon or Perfons which profefs Faith in God by Jefus Chrifl: his only Son, (hall at any time be any way moleftcd, punifhed, di« fturbed, difquiettd or called in queftion for any Difference in Opinion* or matter of Religious Concernment, who do not under that pretence dtfturb the Civil Peace of the Province, &c. And that all and every fuch Perfon and Perfons may from time to time, and at all times here- after, freely have and fully enjoy his or their Opinion, Perfwafions and Judgments in matters of Confcience and Religion, throughout all this Province ; and freely meet at convenient Places within this Province, and there Worfhip according to their refpe&ive Perfwafions, without being hindered or molefted, they behaving themfelves peace- ably, quietly, modeftly and Religioufly, and not ufing this Liberty to Licentioufnefs, nor to the civil Injury or outward Difturbance of others. A Ivvayes provided, That nothing herein mentoined or con- tained fhall extend to give Liberty to any Perfons of the komijb Rtligio* toexercife their manner of Worfhip, contrary to the Laws and Statutes of their Majefties Kingdom of England. An Att for the Allowance to the Reprefentatives. \ V officiate and difcharge that honourable and great Truft repofed in them, without being at great Charge and Expence, Be it therefore Enacted by the Qovernour and Council, and Reprefentatives convened in General Aflembly, and it is hereby Ena&ed by the Autho- rity of the fame, That the Wages or the Allowance to each Reprelen* tative of the People , (hall be Ten (hillings currant Money of this Province per Diem, to commence from their coming out, till their return Home. Alwayes provided it fhall not exceed eight dayes before the meeting of Ithe Aflembly, and eight dayes after their adjourning, proroguing or dirTolving of the fame. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefkid, That each refpe&ive City and County throughout this Province, fhall bear and defray the Charge of their own Reprefentatives ; which Charge or Allowance, as aiorclaid, fhall be paid to the refpe&ive Reprefentatives by the Treafurcr of each -re fpe&ivc City and County, by warrant under the Hand and Seal of the Mayor of the refpe&ive Cities for the time being, and by Warrant of any two Juftices of the Peace, to the Trea- furerof the refpective Counties, within ten dayes after the Return of the faid Reprefentatives from the Aflembly • the Teft. C 86 1 Am AB to Enable the City and County of Albany t4 EOrafmuch *as the Inhabitants of the City and County of Albany have been, during the time of the late Diforders, very mudi grieved > wafted, deftroyed arid impoverifhed by the Incurfions of the trench, their Majefties declared Enemies', and that it is abfblutely neceffary that fbme fuitable and convenient way fhould be found out for their Relief and more eafie defraying of the neceiFary Charge of that City and County, Be it therefore Ena&ed by the Governor and Council* and Reprefentatives convened in General Aflembly, and it is hereby Ena&ea by the Authority of the fame, That the Impofition or Rate of Trvofer Cent, fhall be raifed and levied upon all Indian Goods that aro brought up to that City and County of Albany, and there fold or con* fumed. And alfb, That the Impoft of Three Pence be raifed and levied upon each Gallon of Rum that is fold and confumed within that City and County. And for the due and orderly colle^ing of the laid refpettivc Impofts and Rates, the Treafurer of the faid City for the time being, or any appointed by him, and the Mayor of the laid City, under the publick Seal of the faid City, are hereby impowered and a'tfthorizcd to appoint, conftitute and eftablifh a Collector or Receiver of the Rates ana Impofts aforefaid, who fhall have Power to receive the lame, and to enter in a fair Book, kept for that purpofe, all fuch Sum and Sums of Money as fliall be fo entered and received for the reff eftdve Duties aforefaid ; the faid Collector or Receiver appointing certain convenient Times and Places for the keeping of the Office, as fhall be directed by the Court of Mayor and Aldermen, and Affiftance of the faid City. And all Perfons that Trade and bring up to the faid City and County the afore- mentioned Indian Goods and Rum y are hereby required to make a Report of the Quantity and Value of fuch Goods and Rum they fo bring up and fell in the City and County aforefaid, and pay the Duties and Impofts hereby eftablifhed, without being at any further Charge rhari the faid Duty. Andin Default hereof it fliall be lawful fbr the Mayor, Treafurer, or any other Officer hereby Authorized, to iflue out hisor their Warrant, under his or their Hand and Seal, for the feiiing of all fuch Goods and Rum as fhall be im- bezele-d, and not pay the Duties aforefaid, One Third to the Imformer^ One Third to the {aid City and County of Albany, and One Third to his Excellency the Governour or Commander in Chief for the time being. Provided, That all the Sum and Sums of Money that arc hereby received,- fhall be only appropriated and applycd to the defraying of the necefTaYy. Charges of the City and County aforefaid. And that the Treafurer, Collector or Receiver for the time being, fhall not pay any of the Money received as aforefaid, but by Warrant from the Maydf t 2i 3 Mayor of the faidGtv, and approved by the Court o r Aldermen and Alftftants. Provi9ed, That this A& (hall only remain in force (or the fpaceof three Yearr, and no longer, any thing contained herein to the contrary in any ways notwithstanding. An ./IS for Eftablishing a Revenue for the defraying the Public^ Charges of the Province. FOr the better defraying of the publick and neceffary Charges and E<- pences of this Province , which cannot otherwife be effe&ed, without great Charge unto Their Majefties, Be it Ena&ed by the Governour, Council and Reprefentatives now met in General Affembly, and by the Authority of the fame, That the Duties, Cuftoms and Excite hereafter fpecified, be given and granted unto their {aid Majefties^ to the intent aforefaid, That is to fay, For every Gallon of Rum, Brandy and Diftilled Liquors, thatfball be imported into this Province and Dependencies, the Sum of four Pence currant Money of this Province. And for every Pipe of Madera Wine, Fyall, St. Georges, Cmarfo MaUego, Sherry and all fweet Wines, the Sum of Forty Shilling* currant Money aforefaid. And for every Hogfliead of White, Red and Rhenifh Wine, the Sura of Twenty Shillings, currant Money aforefaid. And upon all other Merchandize imported into this Province and Dependencies, the Sam of Forty Shillings, currant Money aforefaid, for every Hundred Pound value at the pjrime Coft, except thefe here- after fpecified, visa. Salt, Brick, Pantilts, Coals, fijh, Sugar, MaUJfc.r. Cotton-Wool*- Ginger, Logword, BrazeSetto, Futthk, or any other fort oe Dying Wood, Coccoa, Hides, Tobacco, Bullion and Plate, Pork, 0)1, far % Flax, Snap, Candles., Cheefe, Butter, Beef, Ftjb, Whale-Bone, Flops, Apples, Pears, Sydtr, Fire-wood, Planks, Boards, Peltry, Beaver, Sheets Wool, Onions, DrefTed and UndreflTed Deer Skins, Tattov, H ies, Sart % Honey, Bets-Wax, Bay-Wax, Indian Corn, Wheat, Birley, Rye, Peafe t or any other fort of Grain, or any other thing of the Growth and Pr«« du&ion of our Neighbouring Collonies and Plantations in America, Andbeit further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid. That there be alfb given and granted unto their laid Majefties, for ihe intent aforefaid, upon all Merchandize, commonly called by the Name of Indian Goods or Duflils, Stroads, Blankets, Plains, half Thicks, Woolen Stockings, White Ozenburgs, Kettles.Hatcfiets, Hoes, Knives, Red Le^d, Vermilion, Cotton, Red Kerfies, Indian Haberdafhery, and other Indian Goods, the Sum of Ten Pounds currant Money aforefaid, f or everv Hundred Pounds Value prime coft, that fhall be carried up Htdfons (liver in any VefTel, Sloop, Boat or Canow, or any other way. A.id that the F Value [ 22 3 Value of the prime Coft fhall be at the Rate hereafter mentioned provided, That all Kettles that fhall contain above eight Gallons, ihafl pay none of this Duty, viz.. Indian Duffils to be valued at Two Shillings and Four Pence the Yard. Indian Stroad, half a piece, Four Pound. A whole piece Eight Pounds. Indian Blankets, each piece four Pounds. Indian plain Cotton, per Yard one Shilling and fix Pence. Indian half thick'd, per Yard one Shilling and ten Pence. Indian White Ozenburgs, the Englifh Ell eight Pence. Indian Kettles, each hundred weight, fix Pounds. Indian Hatchets, the dozen, twelve Shillings. Indian Hoes, the dozen, twelve Shillings. Red Lead, each Hundred weight twenty Shillings. Vermillion, per Pound four Shillings. Cotton per Yard one Shilling and four Pence. Red Kerfey per Yard two Shillings and fix Pence. Knives per dozen three Shillings. Indian Shirts per dozen twenty Shillings. Indian Drawing Knives, Looking-Glaffes, Indian Wooden Combs, Indian Beeds, Tobacco in Rolls, Indian Bells, Sciflars, Jews Harps, Indian Points, Drills, Tobacco Pipes, little painted Boxes, Auls, Sword Blades, Copper Tobacco Boxes, Tinfey Lace, Indian Gimp Lace, Needles, Tobacco Tonges, Indian, Powder Horns, Indian Woolen Stockens,.and Indian Steels, the fum of ten Pound currant Money aforefaid, for every hundred Pounds Value prime Coft, that fhall be carried up, as aforefaid. And for every Barrel of Powder fix Shillings. For every hundred weight of Leed fix Shillings. For every Gun with or without a Lock, fix Shillings, which fhallbe carried up Hudfons River t as aforefbid. And alio, for every Gallon of Rum which fhail hereafter be carried up Hudfons River } as aforefaid, four Pence. And be it further Ena&ed by the Authority aforefaid, That there be given and granted, and there is hereby given and granted unto them, for the Ufe aforefaid, an Excife upon all Brandy, Rum, and all other Diftilled Liquors, to be retailed within this Province, under fifteen Gallons, the Sum of twelve Pence, Money aforefaid, for each Gallon lb retailed And alfo, an Excife of twelve Pence, currant Money aforefaid, on each Gallon of Wine, under the Quantity of five Gallons, fo retailed,, as aforefaid. Andalfb, That all Beer and Syder retailed throughout this Province ^and Dependencies, fhall pay fix Shillings for each Barrel fo retailed. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That there be given and granted, and there is hereby further given and granted unro Their Their laid MajcfHes, for the ule aforefaid. a Cuftom and T>0't% that is to (ay, Upon every Beaver Skin, commonly called a whole Beaver, the Sum of Nine Pence, currant Money aforefaid And that all other Furs and Peltry be valued and raped accordingly That is to fay, For two half Beavers nine Pence. For four Laps nine Pence. For three Drillings one Shilling and fix Pence. For ten Raccoons nine Pence. For four Foxes nine Pence. For four Fifliers nine Pence. For five Cats nine Pence. For fix Minks nine Peace. For one Otter fix Pence. For two Bear Skins nine Pence. For four Wolfes nine Pence. For four and twenty Musk-Rats nine Pence. For ten Matters nine Pence. For every Twenty four Pounds of Mule and Deer Skins And for Ox, Bull and Cow Hides, fix Pence per Hide, Spaoift and Wtf -India Hides only excepted. And all other Peltry to be valued equivalent to a whole Beaver, nine pence, to be exported out of this Province. And be it farther Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That for the due and orderly collecting of the aforefaid Duties, Cuftoms and Exciieu and alio for the preventing of Fraud and Imbezelments of the faiol Duties, Cuftoms and ExciTe, That all Ships and Vedels whatfoever that (hall come to any Port, Creek or Harbour within this Province and Dependencies, to Trade or Traffick, the Mafter, Mare or Purler DiaU come to fuch p'ace or places as Ihall be appointed by the Governor or their Ma jerries Collector for the time being, and there make Report of all fuch parcel or parcels of Merchandize and other things, as he hath on board fuch Ship or Veflel, and alio declare upon his Corpora! Oath, That he hath not broke Bulkfince his arrival within this Province, before he made fuch Report as is required. And alio , all Merchants that nave any Goods or Merchandize whatlbever, (hall at fuch place or places as is above directed, make a true and diftinct Entry of all fuch parcel or parcels of Goods or Mer- chandize he hath on board uich Ship or Veucl, according as they ecft biraat prime coft ; and if any Difference lhall a'ifc about the value of the faid Goods and Merchandize, then die Collector, or any appointed for the Collection of the faid Duties or Cuftoms, may a Iminifter to all or any fuch Pcrfon or Per fans, making fuch Entry, their ' orpo a! Oathes, That the faid Entry is according to the Invoice or Invices fent to him or them from the place or places from whence fuch Goods did come. And further, It is Enacted by the Authority aforelaid, That if any Maaer, Maftcr, Mate or Purfer of any Ship or Vtffe! tvhatfbever, or any Merchant, Factor, or other, (hall, contrary to the Rules above pre- feribed, break Bulk or Land any Goods or Merchandize whatfoever, before he or they make fuch a Report or Entry, and pay fuch Duties as required by this Act, then and in fuch cafa the Mafter of fuch Ship or VefTel that (hall break Bulk before making fuch Report, as above, (hall,, upon proof of two Evidences, forfeit his Ship or VefleJ, with all her Tackle, Furniture and Ammunition, one third part to their Majefties, one third to the Governour of this Province , and one third to the Informer, to be fued for in any Court of Record within this Province, by Bill, Plaint or Information, wherein no Effoin, Protection or Wager of Law (hall be allowed. Andalfo, all fuch Goods as (hall be landed, without Entry made, as afore directed, (hall be forfeited, on theTeftimony of two or more fufficient and credible Witnefles, one third to their Majefties, one third to the Governour, and one third to the Informer, that (hall (he, as above. And bs it further Enacted by the Authority afore(aid,That all Matters of Ships or Vefiels that are within this Province, and do not belong to this Province, or any part thereof, and bound to any Port within or without this Province, (hall, before they take in any merchandize above expreffed, come to fuch place or places as (hall be appointed for the collecting the Rates eftablifhed by this Act, and there make Entrv and Report or their defign, and enter into Bond to the value of one Thou- fand Pounds, with fufficient Sureties, That he of they {ball not take on Board> direftly or indirectly) without fuch Permit or Ccrttfie/tte from the Collector, tr fome ont having Authority under him for the fume. And if he or they do take on board any Goods or Mcrchandrze, contrary to the true intent and meaning of this Law, then he or they (hall forfeit his or their (aid Bond, to be fued for within three Moneths after fuch fa£t, committed, or otherwue to be void, and of none effect. Andaho, for the due and orderly Collection of the Excite above granted, Be it hereby Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That all Retailers of Wine, Rum, Brandy, or any other ftrong Liquor within this Province, (hall, upon their purchafe and receipt or all fuch Liquor or Liquors before expreflbd or Exeifeable. come to the Office or Officer of the Excite, and there or with him mere Entry of all fuch Liquor or Liquors as they (hall buy and receive, and pay fuch Duties as are hereby appointed, wirhin four and twenty Hours, or as foonasmay be, without great Inconvenicncy ; Providcd'an Officer for that purpofc be eftabhlhed in «ach Town throughout the Province; and on default thereof, all fuch Liquors as (hall be found in any Retailers Houfe within this Province or Dependencies, as have not been duely enrred and pard the Rates above exprefTed, Then and in fuch cafc on the Te« ftimonyof two or more fubftantial Witnefles, the (aid Retailer cr Retailers, (b offending in the Premifcs, (hail forfeit fuch Lrquors. And in cafe the value thereof JhaUbeunderthefiimoffive Pounds cur* rant Money aforefaid 4 , Hull likewife, and beyond forfeit, pay the rrible Value of fuch Liquors, one half to the Informer, and the other half to pnblick Treafury of this Province, to be fued for in any Court of Record within each County whore any luch Action of Actions fliall arife, wherein no Eflbin, Prote&on or Wager of Law (hall 'be allowed. And be it further Enacted, Tliat if any Perfon or Perfbns within this Province and Dependencies, not being thereunto duely Lifenced, fhall at any time hereafter preCume to (ell by Retail the Liquors afbre&id, that is to fay, lefs quantity at one time than fifteen Gallons, the Perfon lb offending, (hall forfeit and pay the fiimof five Pounds for every fuch Offence, being thereof convi&ed by the Oarhesof two or more fubftantial Evidences, to be fued and im ployed for in fuch manner and proportions as is laft aforefaid. And be it further Ena&ed, That all Mafters and Commanders of Ships, Sloops, Boats, or any other VdJel belonging to this Province, and its Dependencies, fhaU repair to the (aid Cuftora-Houfe, or other place or places that fhaU be appoiated for that purpofe, and there enter into Bond of one Hundred Pounds, That tb& /ball pot direBly or indire&ly fake on Boxrd or curry &«xy out of this Province and Diffident?!, any of the •for/aid Gotdt or MtrcbtndUes, without paying fuck QuQotns and JDutks it arc before oxfrtfed. Provided alfb, That all Indian Traders throughout the whole Pro- trineeand Dependencies do pay for the value of each hundred Pounds prime colt, thev lb Traffick with the Indians* the fum of Ten Pounds, ^toncy aforefaid. Alwayes provided, and it is further Enacted by the Authority afore- faid, That it any of the Goods, Merchandize, Wine, Rum y Brandy* and other diftilled Liquors, for which the Duties, in this Act mentioned* is paid* or fecured to be paid at the Importation, be Exported out of this Province, within fixMoneths after their Importation, then the moyety,or one half of the aforefaid Duties, in this A& mentioned, (hall he returned, for as much as (hall be fb exported, the Exporter making Oath in the Grftom Houfe, That the whole Duty hath bun wholly paid for the faid Wines and Liquors, at the Importation; and that there hath beefs no Fraud or Mixture ufU to encreafe the faid Lionon, to be exported. And that thereupon he bring a Certificate from the Surveyor or Searcher, That the faid Wines or Liquors are accordingly Shipped. Any thing con- tained here unto the contrary in any ways notwithstanding. Provided always, That this Aft, and all things therein contained, (hall only continue and remain in force for the time and fpace of two Years next and after the Publication thereof, and no longer, any thing con- tained heroin to the contrary in any waves notwithftanding, G 4m C 26 } An Att to enable his Excellency to defray his extraordi- nary Expence, and to Indemmfie the Collector and ^ceiver General for the Receipt of federal Sums of Money on pretence of Cuflom and Duty. THe Reprefentativos convened in General Aflembly, being very fenfiblc that the great Confufions and many Diforders that were in the Province on your Excellency's arrival, mult needs occafion unto your Excellency an extraordinary and great Expence ; and they being likewife weft aflured of the good AffeQion your fxcellency has for the Inhabitants of this Province, and for thf great Care your Excellency hath taken for the conferving the Peace thereof. And tbrafmuch as their Maj«fties Collector and Receiver General has fince the 29th of Jk**^, exclufive, laftpaft, received from the Inha- bitants of this Province feveral Sums of Money for Duties, Cuftoras, and other Impofitions, formerly accuftorned to be taken, but not warrantable by the Law. For the removal of the many Controverfos and Difputes that may arife hereby, and alfo for the better defraying the extraordinary Expenses your Excellency has been at, do pray that it maybe Enacted by your Excellency and Council, and Reprefenta- tives convened in General Aflembly, And be it hereby enacted by the Authority of the fame, That all the Sum and Sums of Money for any Duty, Cuftom, Impofition, or any other pretence whatfoever, received by their Majefties Receiver General, fince the twenty nineth day of JwiMrp, cxclufive, nowlaft part, until the day of a Publication of a certain A£l now made and eftablifhed in this prefent Seffionsof Aflembly, entituled, An s.ft far the eftoblift>ing d Revenue, ftr the defraying the publick and neceffarp Charges of the Province, are hereby given and granted unto his laid Excellency, for the intent aforefaid. And the faid Collector and Receiver General is hereby required and authorized to account and pay unto bis (aid Excellency, when he fhall be thereunto required, all and every of the faid Sum and Sums of Money, foby him received, within and during the time aforementioned. And for his fo doing, this Act fhall be a good and fufficient Warrant unto him the faid Collector, his bxecutors and Adminiftrators forever. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid. That their Majefties Collector and Receiver General aforefaid, is hereby indemni- fied from all manner of Plaints, Suits or Demands whatfoever* from any Perfon or Perfbns on the account of any Sum or Sum* of Money fo received by him, during the time aforefaid, and that if anyAHvp, Bill, F laint or Information fhall be brought, moved or profecu' td a» any any time hereafter againft the GudColle&or, his Executors or Admi- nittrators, for or concerning any Sum or Sums or Money fo received by him, daring the time aforefaid, he or any of them fbfued and profe- cuted in any Court whatibever, fhail and may plead rhe general Iffue, Hot Guilty, and upon any IfTue joyned, may give this A ft, and the fpecial matter in Evidence. And if the PlantifFor Profecntor (hill be Non-fuited, or forbear further Profecution, or fuffer Diicontinuance, or Verdict pals againft him, the Defendant or Defendants fha 11 recover their tribleCofls, for which they fhall have like Remedy as in cafe where Cods by the Law are given to Defendants. And whereas there are feveral Arrearages of Cu Moms and Duties in the Moocth of Jane, which was in the Year of our Lord One Thou- fand Six Hundred and Eighty Nine, formerly ufed to be taken, Be it further Ena&cd by the Authority aforefaid, That all fucb Perfbn or Perfbns that remain endebted for any Duty or Cuftom arifing and due in the Moneth of June aforefaid, which was in the Year of our Lord 1 689. are hereby required to make their feveral and refpefrivePayments unto their Majefties Collector and Receiver General, for the intent aforefaid. Arid their Majefties Collector & Receiver General is hereby Authorised and Impowered to receive the fame, and in default thereof, to fuc for and recover the fame, in fuch manner and form as is ufual and' practicable in recovery of all juft Debts due to the King. And foraftnuch as the Representatives now met in General AfTembly arelikewife ftnfible of thefignal fervicedone and acted by Major Rkb. Ingotdsby and Cap. William Kjii, before your Excellency's arrival, therefore pray that it may be further Enac\ed by the Authority aforefaid That there be paid out of the Money given to your Excellency, by virtue of this Ad, unto Major Richard Ingoldsby the Sum ot one Hundred Pounds, and to Capt. William Kjdd the Sum of one Hundred and Fifty Pounds, as a fiutable Reward and Acknow ledgement for the good Services done by them before your Excellency's arrival here. An AB for the raifingof two ThoufandTounds for faying and defraying the Incidental Charges, accor- ding to ejidblishment of one hundred Fu^Ueers, with their proper Officers, for one who e Tear. FOr the fecuring the Fronteers of this Province in the County of Albany, it is thought convenient, that his Excellency, the Captain General do raife one Company to confiftof one hundred Fuzileers, with their proper Officers, which fhall remain in the faid County, for the defence thereof, one whole Year, to commence on the 28th day of Miireh % C 28 3 March now laft paft, Be it therefore Ena&ed by the Qovewow and Council, and Reprcfentatives convened in General AfTembly, And it is hereby Ena&ed by the Authority of the fame, That a Levy of two Thoufand Pounds currant Money of this Province, he Jaid, afleflcd, railed and levyed upon all and every of the Inhabitants, Refidenrs and Free-holders of and in this Province, for the paying and defraying the incidental Charges of thefaid Company of Fuzileers, and their Officers for one whole Year, as aforefaid, and for no other ufe, intent or pur- pofe whatfbever. To be laid, afTeffed, raifed, levied and paid unto their Majefties Collector and Receiver General for the time being, at their Majefties Cuftom-Houfc in the City of New-Tork, at the times hereafter mentioned, That is to fay, one -half or Moyetvof the faid two Thoufand Pounds at or before the 2 5th of fuly now next enfumg, and the other moyety or half part at or before the 25th day of March, which fhall be in the Year of our Lord t<5Q2. according to the Rates and Proportions following, that is to fay For the City and County of Neto-Torl\ Four Hundred Pounds. For the City and County oiAlUny One Hundred and Eighty Pounds. For the County of Wejtchefler, one hundred and forty Pounds, For theGsHinty of Richmond quiz hundred and twenty Pounds, For the County of VlHtr and Dutches County two hundred and fifty Pounds. For the County of Suffolk, three hundred and fifty Pounds. For Kings County, two hundred and fixty Pounds. For gueens County > two hundred and fixty Pounds. For the County of Orange, fifteen Pounds. For Dukes County, twenty five Pounds. And be it further Enacted by tlie Authority aforefaid, Thar for the better afTeifing, railing and rai&ng the Sum of two rhouland Pounds aforefaid, the Mayor and Aldermen within the City of New-Tork, the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Albany* with the Juftices of the Peace for the City and County of Albany for the time being ; and the Juftices of the Peace for the t«me being, for the feveral refpe&ive Counties aforefaid, for the feveral Counties refpeftively for which they Ihall be Juftices of the IJeace, do forth- with, upon the Publication hereof, afTemble and meet togetlier at the Court- Houfes, for the feveral refpe&ive Cities and Counties, or fuch other place or places as they fhall agree upon amongft themfelves, and fhall there Older, that the AflefTors and Collectors for the feveral refpective Cities, Towns, Man* norsand Liberties within their feveral Jurifdi£Uons, for the AfTeffmg, Collecting and receiving of the publick Rates, for the defraying the pubick and necefTary Charge of each refpettive City and County afore- faid, be the AftefTors and Col&e&ors, for the affefling, collecting aad receiving the Sum or Sums of Money herein before mentioned, accor- ding to the Proportions before exprc (Ted, as to the faid Mayor, Alder- menand Juftices fluty feeqa mesr md rcafonable. DC C 29 3 Be it further Ena&cd by the Authority aforefaid, That the (aid Mayor, Aldermen, and Juftices of the Peace tor the refpective Citie^ Counties, Mannorsand Jurifdictions, have, and fha.ll have Power and Authority, by virtue of this Aft, each of them by himfelf, to admi* nifter an Oath to the faid Affeffors, Well, truly, equally, and actor ding to thtir heft Vndtr ft finding) to affefs and rat* the Inhabitants, Refidents and Frc'-boldt of the reflective places for the which they {ball be chofn djfejfors. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That if any Per Ion or Perfons who fhall be chofen Afleffors or Collectors, fhall deny, neglect or refufe to*cake Oath, as aforefaid, or Ihall in any ways deny, neglett, or refufe to make fuch Affefment as by this Act is required, or fhall deny, neglect or refufe to colled any Sum or Sums of Money, in form before mentioned aflefTed, that tnen and in fuch cafe it fhall and may be lawful for any two of their Majeftks Juftices of the Peace, of the County where fiich Offenders fhali happen to dwell or reftde, and who by virtue of this Act are required and im- powered to do the fame, by Warrant under their Hands and Seals to commit fuch AfTefTor or Afleffors, Collector or Collectors, lo denying, refufing or neglecting, to the common Goal, there to remain without Bail or Mainprise, till he or they fhall make Fine andRanfom to their Majefties, for fuch Contempt as above-faid. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That if any Perfon or Perfons, of what Degree or Quafity foever he or they be of, within this Province, who fhall be affeffed or rated any Sum or Sums of Money, by virtue of this Act to be raifed or levied, fhall deny, refufe or delay to pay and fatisfie the fame, That then it fhall and may be lawful for any fuch Collector, by virtue of a Warrant under the haai andfealof any jaftice of the Peace for the City and <3ounry where fuch Offenders fhall dwell or refide, who, by virtue of this Act are required and authorized to grant aud ifTue forth fuch Warrants, to levy the fame by diftrefs and fale of fuch Perfon or i erfons Goods and Chattels, returning the over-plus of fuch Goods and Charrlesto the owners, the fum affefTed, and Charges of Diftrefs and Sale being firft deducted, if any fuch overplus /hall happen to be. And alfb, Be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That ik any Mayor, Alderman or Juftice of the Peace within this Province, whoare hereby required, tmpowered and authorifed to take effectual earc that this Act, and every Article and Clatrfe therein be truly executed, according to the true and genuine fence and intent thereof, fhall deny, refufe, neglea: or delay to do, perform, fullfiU and execute all and every, or any the Duties, Powers and Authority by this Act required and impowered by him or them to be done, performed, fullfilled and executed, and (hall thereof be lawfully convifted before any of .their Mdjeftics Courts of Record within this Province, he or H they r ?© 3 theyfhall fufTer fuch Pain, by Fine, Tmprifonment, as by thedifere- tion of the Juftices of the faid Courts (hall be adjudged. And be it further Ena^ed by the Authority aforefaid, That if any Action, Bill, Plaint or Information fhall be brought, moved or pre- fented at any time hereefter againrt any perfon or perfons, for any matter, caufe or thing done or atted in purfuance or execution ol this ACt, fuch perfon or perfons fb fued or preiented in any Court whatfb* ever, fhall and may plead the general IlTue, Not Guilty, and upon any IfTue joyncd, may give this Aft and the fpccial matter in Evidence ; and if the Plantift or Profecutor fhall be non-fuited, or forbear further Profecution, orfuffer Dilcontinuance, or VerdiA to pafsagainft him, the Defendant axd Defendors fhall recover their Trible Cofts, for which tkey fhall have the like Liberty as in any cafe where Cofts by Law arc given to the Defendant. Provided alwayes, That no Mayor, Alder- men or Juftices of the Peace fhall be troubled, fued, profecuted or moleftedfor any Omifllon, Offence or Negleft, by virtue of this Ad, but within the (pace of one year after fdeh omiflion, offence or negleft, and not at any time hereafter, any thing herein contained to the con- trary in any v/ife notwithftanding. An AB to eafe People that are fcrufulous in Swearing. COrafmuch as there are fundry Perfons within this Province and De" * pendencies, out of a tender Confcience rcfufe to giye their Evidence °n Oathinany matter or thing depending in any of theCourts within ™efame, Be it therefore Enatted by the Governour and Council, and R eprefentatives now met in General AfTembly, and by the Authority °» the fame, That in fuch cafe the perfon or perfons fo refufmg the lame, fhall give in or deliver their Evidence or Teftimony in manner & form following, that is to fay, / A. & do (olemnly fromife, *$ in the 5refence of God, to (peak the Truth, the whele Truth, and nothing but the "ruth to the matter or thing in queflion. And be it further Enafted by the Authority aforefaid, That rf any fuch perfon or perfons, fo refufing as aforefaid, fhall he fummoned to ferve upon any Jury in any Court within this Province, then fucrt perfon or perfons fhall make the Engagement following, that is to fay, / A. B. do folemnly promt fe, as in the prefence of God, that i wilt well and trnly try tht Ijfue letneen C. D PUnttff, and H.I. Defendant, accordmg /, Evidence. And tn cafe any fuch perfon or perfons fo Called to £ Vl - dence, and ro ferve upon any Jury, and declaring as aforefaid. fhail after wards be conviftcd of willtull Falfhocd, thatthenand in fuch cafe fuch perfon ^or perfons fhall undergo the fame punifhrr.ent as in cafe of willhill Penury is appointed and provided. /n yffl -43 for ' Pardoning fuch as have been She in the date Diforders. THe Governour and Coiiricil, Wet Reprefentatives convened in Ge- nerat Aflembly, 'taking into their feriousConfideration the many great Troubles and Dilbrders that have been lately within this Province, and that by occafion thereof, and btherways; ^ many of their Mijefties Subje&sare fallen into danger of and lie open to great Penalties and Forfeitures. And withal, confidering the Ignorance of many, and the dutiful Affeftions of others of their Majefties Subjects, out of an earneft defire^ to deliver thetn from the . Penalties and Forfeitures aforefaid, and to the intent that their Offences may nor hereafter be brought in Judgment, Queftion or Remembrance, to the leaft endamagement of them, either in their Lives, Liberties, Eftates or deputations, but that they, having an entire Confidence in their Majefties, and perfect Union among tnemfelves, may be encouraged in their Duty to their Majefties Government, and more fully and fecurely enjoy the benefit of it, It is therefore nece/Tary,* that there be extended unto them a general and free Pa don, that all their Majefties Subjects by this Clemency and Indulgence may be the better induced henceforth morecaFefulIy^ to obferve the Laws, and perform their Loyal and due Obedience to toeir Majefties, Be it therefore Enacted by the Governour and Council v ^n William Lmrdm of &f'J*rfey, Cortttlhu Plevier, WiiitmCburchUly 7»fi Stoll t i a Samuell Stunts , Jacd Maurjtz, M&bae! Hiufsff f - RifbArd Peutm, ef tfce County of ffefichefitr* *}oftph Smiths $ohn Baity, Review Swrtwnd, Antfony Swartmed, Jehaaoes Priveft, f$ctb Mnfltirfy Benjamin Blagg, fiachem Staatts, Anil Riebard Pretty* The End of the Firft Seffions, I Several C ?4 1 Several A&s made by the General Affembly in their Second Seflions, begun the $tb. of September, Annoq\ Domini 1691. and in the third Year of Their Aufpicious Majefties, King William and Queen Mary. An AB for the Regulating Damages done in the time of the late Dif orders; and for the uniting the Minds of their Majt flies Subjetls within this Province, and for calling home fuch of their Majeflies Subje&s that have lately abfented themfelves from tbeir Habitations and the ufual places of their Abode. FOrafmuch as many of their Majefties Subje&s have lately abfented themfelves from the ufual places of rhcir Abode and others, through cauflds fears, have alfo with drawn themfelves out of this Province, by which means Trade isleffened, the Strength of theProvince is weakened, and their Families injured And whereas it is highly neeeiTary at this Juncture, being a timeof War and great danger, that the Minds of the Subje£h in this Province fhould be heartily united. And forafmuch as in the time of the late Dilbrders, when J*col> Ltyjler, lately attainted and executed, had ufurpeda Power, and pretended a Government over their Majefties Subje&s within this Province, many Hurts, Injuries, Wrongs and Damages were done unto their Majefties good and faithful Subiefb by thofe that were a/d- ing and affifting unto him in his ufurped Power and Government, as aforctaid. And it being likewife neceffary, that all their Majefties Subjects, asaforefaid, fhould have fome juft and reafonable Satisfaction from thole that have injured them; and that it is apparent that many through Ignorance and Fear, have been led afide to do the Hurts and Harmsi as aforefaid, and if fuch be profecured by thecommon Proce/s of the Law, may tend to the utter Ruin of them and their Families, and no wayes recompence the Injuries done, and thofe that are mo/1: able to latisfie the Damages, and have been moft active in profecufmg the lame, elcape free. And forafmuch asuhe, ..gcBsral Peace and Security of their Alajefties Government over this Province, cannor be Firmer hrrucr diibL'fcaT, than that all chofe tha,t have foabfcnted rficmlcivcs reairaagsia to their refpective Abodes and Habitations, and that al chcyrgo»5 Sabjs&s heartily unite in the common Defence of the tame agauaft &U. Ecemies what foever. And for the effectual doing theieof -iod tfeit a juft and equitable Satisfaction may be made to the Pe Ion isiured, by thole that have been active, as aforefaid, in fuch equal and luft Proportions, asthe Circuitances of the Fad will admit. Be it therefore Enacted by the Commander in chief and Council and the Reprefentatives convened in General AfTembly, and by the Authority of the fame, That in each of the refpective Cities and Counties hereafter named and cxpretTed, there fhall be conftituted and commiflioaated, under their Majefties Seal of this Province, five Coramiflioners, who are hereby impowered and authorized, at fueh certaip dayes and places as they frail conveniently appoint, to meet and affemble togetner, and at fuch their Aflemblies and Meetings to reeeive in Writing the Claims and Demands of fuch of their Majefties Subjects that have been hurt, or have received Damage in their Eftates by the force or violence of any Perfbn or Perfons imployed, or pretend- ed to be imployed by Jsetf Leyfer, lately attainted and executed, or aiy under, or aflbciated with nlm : And after they have received fuch Claims and Demands, as aforefaid, they are then to caufe theConftable of the refpective Towns, where the Perfbns complained againft do refide, or any other Perfon the laid Commiflioners fhall think fit to appoint, to tummon the parties complained againft, to make their Eeifonal Appearance before them at a certain day, of which the Com- plainants fhall have . flotiee, and be likewife prefent ; and upon their appearance ftrictly to examine, and to enquire into the matter of Faft and Damage alleoged ; and upon denyal of the Fa&, to fummon and call before them fuch Perfon or Perfons, that know any thing of the Fact or Damage allcdged, or cm give Evidence thereof; and the faid Commiffioners are hereby impowered and authorized to adminifter an Oath or Oathcs unto fuch perfon or perfons that fhall be fb fummoned before them, that the Truth may be the better difcovereJ. And upon their hearing and examining of the Parties, and enquiring into the matters of Fact and Damage, as aforefaid, they are hereby further impowered and authorized to alTefs the Damage in Truth and Equity, as it fhall appear uato them, and not other* ife ; and fuch tfeiTments of the Damages fhall betaxedon the OFendors in fuch juft and equal Proportions, as to them fhall feem meet, in equity and good Con- fciencc andafrer fuch their AfTefcienr and Taxation, as aforefaid, fhall order and decree thcOfTcnrfors or Defendants to pay thefum fb afteffedand taxed, in manner aforefaid, unto the Complainants, or give fufheient tecuriry that they fhall pay the fame at a reafonable day after this their Decree and Determination. All which Affefmenrs, Taxations, Decrees and Determinations done and made, in manner and form, as aforefaid, fhall be good and effectual in the Law, and a good and fuftkient Difcharge unto the Defenders forever, according to die the true intent and meaning hereof, any thing ..contaiaed herein, orio any other Law to the contrary hereof, in any wife notwithftancbng, Alwayes provided, and be it further Ena&ed by the Authority aforefaid, That all Perfbns that have been harmed, injured and damajged in manner aforefaid, arfd are at the publication hereof 'within this Province, fhall bring in their Claims and Demands into fuch place or places, as fhall be appointed by the Gommtnloners in the refpedive Cities and Counties hereafter named, within forty daye§, other wife they fhall forever be barred their Claim/ And . upon any future Peofecution, the Defendants may plead the* general Iff ue, and give this Ad and the fpecial matter in Eyjdencev^d if the PlantifT fhall fcecome Non-fuit, or forbear further Prolecutiqn, or fuffer Difcon- tinuance, or if VerdiQ: pafs againfVJ him, the fajid Defendant fhall recover his double Cofts, for wftjeii he fhall have the like remedy as in cafe where Cofts by Law are given to" Defendants* And all Perfbn or Perfons that are out of the Province at the Publication hereof, and have been wronged or injured iri manner aforefaid, fhall within one Tear after the Publication hereof, give in t,heir Claim and Demand, as aforefaid, otherwife (hail forever be' barred their Claims, and be under the Reftri&ion of this Law to all intents and purpofes, as aforefaid. Alwayes provided, and be it further Ena&ed by the Authority aforefaid, That if any Perfon or Perfons that have offended in manner aforefaid, and have been' perfonally fummoned, or had a Summons left in Writing at their Habitations, or ufual places of theifc Abode, and do not appear to make their Defence, or ihow,icme lawful caufe why they could not appear, fhall be deemed and cfreemeti as Defaulters, and Sentence and Decree fhall pafs upon them on default accordingly, and Executions UTue thereupon, as atbrcfaid.' And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That the Commiflioners hereafter named, for the putting this A& in Execution, fhall be commilfionated under the Seal of this Province. And there is hereby nominated, conftituted and appointed for the Execution of this Aft, and the Claufes therein contained, For the City and County of New-Tork, Capt. Jacolusvan CturtUnL Peter Jacob fts Marias, Law awe Ready Thomas Cedtringtw, and Aiolfb Pbtllips, Efqrs. or any three of them, whereof ^f*c*b van Couttland is to be one. w ^ For the City and County of Albany, Peter Schuyler, MartmGerretf, Albertus Rykman, Kenrick Ranker, and Genet Rerefon, Efqrs. or any three of them, whereof Feter Schuyler is to be one. * For the County of Vl/ler. Th§mas Gart$n, Tynetjck, William Legg, Wtlltam Hawes, WeffelTynbr&ok, Efqrs. or any three of them, whereof Thomas Garten is to be one. For For the County of Richmond, Blias Duxberry, Dennis Tent fon, Andrew Cannon, Abraham Lackmxn, John Shadmeel^ Efqrs* or any Ch eCOf them, whereof EUas Duxberty is to be one. For the County of WeflcheHer^John Palmer, John Hunt, $ohn Drake, fofephTheal, fobnathan Hart, ERjrs. or any three of them, whereof John Palmer is to be one. For Kjngs County , J*?** Cortilew, John Tennifon, Nicholas Stillwell, Lucas Stevinfon, fofeph Hegmen, Efqrs. or any three of them, whereof Jaq/tes Cortiltw to be one, And for Owens County, Join Robtnfon 9 Nathaniel Pier/on, James Clements, William Mallet, jun. Johnathan Smith, Efqrs. Or any three of them, whereof John Robin fon is to be one. Provided alwayes, That in cafe of Death, it (ball be in the Power of the Commander in Chief and Council, to nominate and appoint other Commiflioners, inftead of the Commiflionws deeeafed, at their owa difcretion. Which laid Commiflioners, (bag aforofaid nominated and appointed, or in cafe of Death to be nominated and appointed, fhall ia the refpeftive Cities and Counties rcfpe&ively, meet together, and perform the feveral Powers, Authorities and Dkeftions, in and by ths kid Act given and appointed. For the true and faithful Iisecutioffi thereof, they (hall at the, time they receive their Commiflfion, take tfcir following Oath, Viz.^ YO V jbaLl Swear, That you to your Cunning Wit and Power, fbatl truly and indifferently execute the Powers and Authorities given you by this Commifjion and J& of Ajfembly, without any Favour, Affectum, Corruption, Dread or Malice to be born to any manner of Per fon or Perfons* Aud as the cafe /ball require, ye JhaO confent and endeavour your felf, for your fart, to the heft of your kh^wledg^ to the ajft/Jing and taxing tht Damage of fuch Claims and Suits, that fhall be brought 'before wv, according to Truth, Equity, and the Evidence given you, and in fuch due and eaual Proportions, as in good Confcience (ball feem, meet unto you . and the fame Powers and Authorities, to your Cunning, Wit and Power, caufe to be put in due Execution, without Favour, Dread, Malice or Affetlion. So help you Qod. Alwayes provided, and be it hereby further Fna£red by t 1 Autkoriry aforefaid, That in cafe of Error, any Perfon or Perfons fha have Liberty to make his or their Appeal unto the Governour and Council. Provided, the Value appealed for exceed the fum of one hundred Pounds and that Security be firft given by the Appellant, to aiXwer fuch Charges as fhall be awarded, in cafe the firft Sentence or Decree be affirmed. And in regard Tome Perfons have commenced and profecuted, and threaten to commence and prolecure Actions and Suits agatnft fuch of their Majefties Subjects, for and by reafon of their" acting and K doing, [ *8 1 ttoiug, as aforefaid ; Therefore for the preventing the Trouble and Charges which the laid Subjects might be put to, by means of fuch Suits, jbe it Therefore Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That all Perfonal Anions, Suits, Moleftations, Profecutions whatfbever, and Judgments and Executions hzA thereupon, if any be, for or by reafon of any of the Premifes, are, and be hereby difcharged and made void. And if any Action or Suit, dtclaredjOr intended to be difcharged, fhall be com- menced or profecuted in any other Court, or after any other manner, than what is declared and appointed by this Aft, then every Perfon fo lued, may plead the general liTue, and give this Aft, and the fpecial matter in Evindence. And if the PlantifT fhall become Non-fuit, or forbear further Profecution, or fuffer Difcontinuance, or if a Verdict pafs againft him, the faid Defendant fhall recover his double Cofts, for which lie fhall have the like Remedy as in cafe where Cofts by Law are given to Defendants. And fince it is the general Peace of this Government, and the good, eafe and benefit of all their Majefties Subjects inhabiting within the lame, that is only intended by this Act, Be it therefore Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That all Judges and Jufticos of their Majefties Courts or Records, and all Mayors and Aldermen of the refpectivc Cities, and all Sheriffs, darks, and other Orhcers within this Province, do take notice of the faid A6t,and fee the fame truly executed, according to the Powers, Authorities and Claufes therein contained, anything contained herein, or in any other Law to the contrary hereof in any wayes notvvithftanding. And that all their Majeftes Subjects concerned in the Premifes, and who for thefe caufes have abfented themfelves from the ufual places of their Abode, or have with -drawn themfelves out of this Province, may have all their cauflefs fears removed, and fully enjoy all the Benefits, Priviledges and Advantages intended them by this Act, Be it therefore further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That all and every of fuch Perfons concerned in the Premiles, as aforefaid, do within forty days after the Publication hereof, return and repair to their refpective Habitations or places of their Abode within this Province, and there ufe, exercife and follow their refpective Occupa- tions, as accuftomed, where they fhall remain without any other let or moleftation than what is required by this Act, and freely poflefs and enjoy all their Benefits and protections of their Majeftits Laws of England and this Province. Alwayes provided, and be it further Enabled by the Authority aforefaid, That if any Perfbn or Perfons concerned in the Premifes, as aforefaid, fhall neglect to return or repair to their refpective Habita- tions or places of their Abode in this Province, within the time limited and exprciTed, except all fuch as fhall be at the Publication hereof, beyond the Seas. Then and in fuch cafe fuch Perfbn or Perfons fhall be deemed deemed and cfteemed Contetnners of their Majefties Authority and Government over this Province, and loofe all the Benefe and Advantages intended them bythi* A& , and all and every o/ their rdpe&veEftatcs, both ReaJ and Perfooal,. (hall be liable and extended to make Satisfaction to all fuch Suits or Demands as. (hall be madcih due Farm of the Law againft thcra, any thing contained herein to the contrary hereof in any waves notwithftanding. An A3 to divide this Trovince and Dependencies into Shires and Counties. FOrafmucb as Miftakes may arife about the Limits and Bounds oF the rcfpe&ive Counties within this Province , for Prevention whereof, Be it Ena&ed by the Commander in Chief and Council, and Reprefentatives, and by the Authority of the feme, That the {aid Province be divided into twelve Counties, asfolloweth. The City and County of Ne»-Tork to contain all the Ifland eorfl* rhonly called Manhattans 1/land, Mannings Ifimd, the two Barron fflands and the three Oyfier 1 fends, Manhattans Ifiand to be Called the Citj ef New-Tork, and tne reft of the IlUnds the County. The Connty of IVeJlche/ler to contain Eaft and Weftcbefter Breuxes Land, Fordham, Mannor of Pedham, M'nfords IJland, RichbMt Neck, and all the Land on the Main to the Eaft ward of Manhattans Ifland, as far as the Government at prefent extends> and the Tonkers Land, And Northwards along Hudfans River as far as the High-Land. The County ot Vlfter to contain the Towns of Kingftont, HmrUf and Marble Town, JWu//andthe Nov Pe/U> and all Villages, Neigh- bourhoods and Chriftian Habitations on the Weft fide H»dfin % % River, from the Murderers Creek, near the Highlands, to the Sawvers Creek. The County of Alb Any to contain the Mannor of Rtnfleerfouk, Scfo* naUady, and all the Villages, Neighbourhoods and Ckrirtran Planta- tions on the Eaft frde of Htdfons River, from the Roel of Janfw Creek : And on the Weft fide, from the Swyers Creek to the utmoft end of Sarraghfoga. The Dutches County to be, from the Bounds of the County of Wtfi- chefler, on the South fkfe the High Lands, along the Eaft fide of Htdfons River, as far as Roel of jam/ens Creek. And Baftward into the Woods twenty Miles. The County of Orange to begin from the Limits and Bound* of EaiJ and Weft Jtrfey t on the Weft fide of Hudfons River, along the faid River to the Murderers Creek, or Bounds o* rhe County of Vifter. And Weft ward, into the ty'oodsasfar as Ddware River, The C 40 3 The County of Richmond to contain all Staten lfland, Shooters lfland, and the Iflandsof Mtddovo on che Weft fide thereof. Kingt County to contain the feveral Towns of BujJjric^, Bedford, Bro'okline, Flatbujh, Flatlands, Neuwtrutht and Graves -End, with the fcveral Settlements and Plantations adjacent. Queens County to contain the feveral Towns of Netvtown, Jamaica, Flujbwg, Hemflead, Oyfler-Bay, with Horfe Neck, and the feveral out- Farms, Necks, Settlements and Plantations adjacent, and the lfland called the Two Brothers, and Hullets lfland. The County of Suffo/k to contain the feveral Towns of Htntington, Smithfeld, Brookhaven, Southampton, S out hold, JZaHhampton to Mont auk Point y Shelters 1/land, IJle of Wtght, Fi/bers lfland and Plumb lfland, with the feveral Out-Farms, Settlements and Plantations adjacent. Dukes County to contain the lfland of Mantucket, Martins Vineyard, Elizabeth lfland, and No Mans Land. The County of Cornwall to contain Pemy Quid, and all the Terri- tories in thofe parts, with the Iflands adjacent. An Aft for the raifirjg and paying one Hundred and Ftfty Men, to be forthwith raijed, for the De- fence and %e-inf)rcement of Albany for fix Moneths. WHereas the Fronteers of Alhany are in eminent danger to be loft, being daily threatened to he invaded by the French, their Majefties declared Enemies. And forafmuch as the fafety of this, and all their Majefties Neighbouring Plantations, doth only depend on having that place well fecured ; and for die etf dual doing thereof, Application hath been made unto the Neighbouring Plantations, but hath had no efteft ; and there being now an abfolute neceflity for the Re-iniorcing of the Fronteers of this Province in the County of Albany, as well for the fecuring their Majefties neighbouring Planta- tions, as for the preferving the Indians and this Province. Be it there- fore Ena&etl by the Commander in chief and Council, and Reprefen- tatives convened in General AiTembly, and by the Authority of the fame, That the Commander in chief do raife one hundred and fifty Men, with their proper Officers, for the Reinforcement of the Fron- teers of this Province in the County of Albany aforefaid, which fhall remain in the faid County, for the Defence thereof, fix Moneths, to commence on the firft day of November next, and to end the fir ft day of May then following. And for the paying and maintaining the faid one hundred and fifty men, and their proper Officers, Beit therefore Enacted by the Aatiority aforefaid, aforefaid, That a Levy of fifteen Hundred Pounds currant Money of this Province, be laid, affeffed, raifed and levied upon all and every ofrhe Inhabitants, Refidentsand Freeholders of and in this Province, for the paying and maintaining of the laid one hundred and fifty men, and their proper Officers, for fix Months, as afore/aid, and for no other ufe, intent or pur pole whatlbever. To be laid, afleflcd, railed levyed and paid to their Majefties Collector and Receiver General for the time being, at their Majefties Cuftom-houle in the City of New* Torky on the 2by virtueof this Act are required and authorized to grant and iflbe forth fuch Warrant, to levy the fame, by dill reft and fait; of fuch Perfon or Perfons Goods and Chattels, returning the Over-plus, it any be, to the Owners, the fum afleflcd and Charges of Diftrefs and Sale being fir ft deducted. And i 4? 3 Andaifo, be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaia 4 , That if any Mayor, Alderman or Juftieeof the Peace wkhin this Province who are hereby required, impowered and authorized to take effectual care, that this Aft and every Claufe therein beduely executed according to the true and genuine fence and intent thereof, flnil deny, refufeT neglect or delay to do, perform, follfill and execute all or every orany of the Duties, Powers and Authorities by this AS required and irnpowcred, by him or them to be done, performed, fullfilled aid executed, and (hall thereof be lawfully convicted before any of their Majefties Courts of Record within this Province, he or they fhallfuffer fuch pain by Fine or Imprifonment, as by the Difcretion of the Juftices of the laid Courts fodl be adjudged. And be it firther Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That if any Action, Bill, Plaint or Information fliall be brought, moved or prefenred at any time hereafter againft any Perfon orperlbns, for any matter, caufe or thing done or acted in purfuance or execution of this A&, fuch PerCbn or PerTbns fo fued or profecuted in any Court whatlbever, fhali and may plead the general lifue, Not Guilty, and give this Act and the fpecial matter in Evidence ; and if the Piantiff or profecutor Jhall be non-fuited, or forbear further Profecution, orfurTer Di (continuance or Verdift to pa& againft him, the Defendant or Defendors {hall have tribleCofts, for which they fhall have like liberty as in cafe where Cofts hy Law are given to Defendants. Provided alwayes, That no Mayor, Aldermen or | uftices of the Peace fliall be troubled, fued, profecuted or molefted for any omiflion, offence, or negle&, by virtue of this Ad, but within the fpace of one year after fuch o million offence or ncgle£r, and not at any time thereafter, any thing herein contained to the con- trary hereof in any wife not with ft anding, Alwayes provided, and be it further Ena&ed by the Authority afore- faid, That the feveral Colle&ors of each refpe£tive City and County as aforefaid, ilia 11 have the liberty to pay the feveral and rcfpe&tve f urns afiefled, as aforefaid, at the day aforementioned, in Silver Money, or for want thereof in good fufficient and merchantable Provifions at the currant Market Price in Silver Money at Ne*-Tork % any thing contained herein to the contrary hereof in any ways notwuhftanding. An All for the Regulating the Buddings, Street s> Lanes, Wharfs, Docks and Allyes of the City of New- York. w 7 Hereas the City of New-Tork y and Metropolis of this Province, was chiefly created by the Inhabitants thereof lor the prupaga- tln g r «4 3 , , , ting and encouragement of Trade and Commerce, and for the good, benefit and wellfare of their Majefties Subje&s inhabiting within this Province. And forafmuch as it is very neceffary for Traffick and Gommeree, that Buildings, Streets, Lanes, Wharffs, Docks and AHyes of the laid City be conveniently regulated with Uniformity, for th° accommodation of Habitations, Shipping, Trade and Commerce, and that all Impediments and Obftru&ions that may retard fb neceflary a Work, may be removed, Be it Ena&ed by the Commander in Chief and Council, and Reprelentatives met in general Afiembly, and by the Authority of the fame, That the Mayor, Aldermen and Common- Council of the faid City, fhall and may, at their will and pleafure, elecl:, nominate or appoint one or more difcreet and intelligent Perfbn or Perfons to be the Surveyors or Supervifors of their Bui!dings,Streets, Lanes, Wharffs, Docks and Allyes, and to lee that the Buildings, Streets, Lanes, Wharffs, Docks and Allyes of the laid City be conve- niently regulated with Uniformity for the Accomodation of Habitations, Shipping, Trade and Commerce, according to fuch Rules and Orders of Building and laying out of Streets, Lanes, ^Wharffs, Docks, and Allyes, as fhall be eftablifhed by the Mayor, Aldermen and Common-Council of the faid City, who are hereby authorized and impowered to make fuch Rules and Orders for the better Regulation, Uniformity and Gracefulnefs of fuch New-Buildings as fhall be erected for Habitations, and alio of fuch Streets, Lanes, Wharffs, Docks and Altes, as fhall be found convenient for the good of the Inhabitants. And it fhall be lawful for the Mayor, Aldermen and Common-Council, or for the Mayor and Aldermen in their Court, to adminifter an Oath upon the holy Evangelifts, unto the Surveyors or Sjpervifors, of the true and impartial Execution of their Omce in that behalf. And whereas in the laying out of the New Lots for Buildings, fome Controverfie may arife, by a Lot or Lots of Ground, which if built upon, would be very incommodious and prejudicial rooneof the prin- cipal Streets of this City, and hurtful to the Trade and Health of the Inhabitants, Be it therefore fcna&ed by the Authority aforefaid, That the Mayor, Aldermen and Common- Council of the faid City, for the time being, in Common-Council aflembled, 0>all, and may, and are hereby impowered and required to obftrucl: any Building or Buildings that may narrow the faid Street, or any other Street within the faid City. And the faid Mayor, Aldermen and Common Counci! fhall, and may by virtue of this prefent A&, continue the faid Street, commonly called the Broad Street, according to its prefent Dimenfions, and if in the doing thereof, or in the laying out for the future any Streets, Lanes, Wharffs, Decks or Allyes, and they do take any Perfons Ground, they are to give Notice to the Owners or Parties Interefted ip the Ground, to be fb taken for the intent as aforcfaid ; and to the end that reafonable 'atisfaclion may be given for all fuch Ground as fhall be taken and imploycd for the Ufe aforefaid, the Commander in chief and Council, may alfefs the value of the Lots now t 4<> i now in ControverGe; and for other Ground, the Mayor, 4ld«rmM and Common-Council shall and may treat and agree wrriulie Owneis, and others interefted therein; and if ( «here be any Perfbn that ffi^lsfc refufe to treat in manner aforefaid, that in fuch cafe the Mayoral Aldermen in their Court, are hereby authorized, by virtacof this ftH to iiruc out a Warrant or Warrants to the Sheriff of the feid hy, who is hereby required to impannel& return a Jury betore the faid Court of Mayor and Aldermen. Which Jury, upon their Oathes, to be adml* niftredby the faid Court, are to enquire and affefs ftwh Damages and Reeorrpence as they (hall judge fit to be awarded to the Owners alid others interefted, according to their leveral and re! pe&ive Inter^fts and Eftates of any fuch ground, or any part thereof, for their rtfpe&ive Intereils and Eftates in the feme, as by the (aid Mayor, Aldermen and tommon Council fhall be adjudgH fit io be converted to the purpofes aforefaid ; and fuch Verdict of the Jury, and Judgment of the faid Court of Mayor and Aldermen thereupon, and the payment of the faid fum and fumsof Money Co awarded or adjudged, to the Owners, or others ha vine Eftate or Intereft, or tender, or refufal thereof, fhall be bindmg to all intents and purpofes, againft the faid Parties, their Heirs, Executors, Adminiftratofsand Alfigns, and all others claiming any Title and Intereft to the faid Ground, and fhall be a full Authority to the (aid Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council to caufe the faid Ground to be converted and ufed for the purpofes aforefaid, any thing contrary herein, or in any other Law to the contrary hereof in any; wayes notwithstanding. And forafmuGhas the Filth and Soil of the faid City, lying in the pub lick Streets thereof, dothofton prove a common Nufance unto the Inhabitants and Traders to and from the faid City, and very prejudicial to their Health ; For the Removal thereof, fie it further fcna&ed by the Aurhbnty aforefaid, Thatth« Numbers and places for all common Severs, Drains and Vaults, and the O der and manner of Paving and Pit«hiog Lhe Streets, Lanes and Ailyes of the faid City, fhall bedefigned and let out by the Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council oi lhe laid City, together with the (aid Surveyors or Supervilbrs appointed in manner aforefaid ; and when they afTemble fhall have Power and Au* thoritv lo order and direct the making of Vaults, D. ains and Sevef.?, or to cut into any Drain or Sev«r already made, and for the altering, enlarging, amending, cleanfing aad fcouring of Vaults, Sinks or common Severs And foi the better effecting thereof, it fhall and maybe lawful to and for the faid Mayor, aldermen and Common Council, together with the Surveyors and Supervifors, at rheirfaid Meeting, to impofe any reafonablc Tax upon all Homes within the faid Cicy, in proportion so the benefit they fhall receive thereby, tor and towards the making, cutting, altering, enlarging, amending, cleanfing and fcouring all and fingular the faid Vaults, Drains. Severs, Pavements and itching aforefaid. And m default of payment of the .faidfumcobe charged, ltfhail and may be lawful to and for the (aid M Mayor 1 [ 46 J Mayor and Alderrrcn, &c t fo authorized as aforefaid, by Order or Warrant under their Hands and Seals, toleavy the laid iiim and fums of Money, fo aiTeffed, by diftrefs and fale of the Goods of the Parties chargeable therewith, and refufing or neglecting to pay the fame, rendring the over-plus, if any be. Alwaycs provided, and be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That nothing herein contam'd fhall beconftrued to change, alter, ftiorten, lengthen, narrow or enlarge any of the Streets, AHyes and Lanes within this City, as they are now laid out and remain at the Publication hereof. Nor to break thorow any Perfons Ground now in Fence or Encloled, or to take away any Perfons Houfeor Habitations, any thing herein contained to the contrary hereof in any ways notwithftanding. A£ts paffed in the third Sefficns of the General Affembly, begun in the City of SXep-Tork, April 19. 1692. An A8 for the ra'tfeng two hundred Men with their proper Officers for the fecuringand reinforcing of Albany in the Front eers of this Province. WHereas the Forces lately raifed for the Re-inforcing and Securing the Fronteersat Albany, are not to continue in that ferviceany longer than the firft of May next enfuing. And forafmuch as it is ftill abfoluteiy neceffary for the fafety of all their Majeft ies Neighbouring Collonies and Plantations, as well for the fecunty of this Province, that there be and remaia at that place fufBcieut Force for the Defence thereof. And whereas the prefent State & Condition of this Province is fuch, that they are not able at this time to make fufficient Provifion of Menand Money, for the re-inforcing of that place, as is truly nccelTary for the maintaining fuch a confiderable Port, which is* the only Bull-work of Detence for all their Majeft ies Neighbouring Collonies and Plantations in this main of America; yet that the laid place may not be deferted, nor xhtlndUttSy who have been fo conftant to us diU couraged, Be it therfore Enacted by the Commander in chief and Couneil, and Reprefentacives convened in General AiTembly, and by the Authority of the fame, That the Commander in chief do iflue out his Warrants to the chief Military Officers in the refpe&ive Ciues and Counties under-named, for the raifing of 200 men, armed as the Law \ E 47 3 Law direfts, with their proper Officers, in fuch Proportions hereaftar mentioned, to confift and make two diftinft Companies of Fuxileers, for the Reinforcement and Security of the Fronceers of tins Provi nee in the County Of Jlbtm aforefaid, which fhall continue and remain in the laid County of Alba»y t for the Defence and Security thereof for the term andfpaceof five Moneths, to commence on the firft day of May next, and to end and terminate on the firft day of Oilober then following. And be it further Ena&ed by the Authority aforefaid, That if any Perfonor Ferlons, who in purfuance of fuch Warrant or Warrants, to be by the Commander inchier uTued out to the chief Military Officer of each refpe£tive City and County or Counties, as aforefaid, jhall be warn- ed toappear in Arms, in order to the raifing the 200 men aforefaid, /hall negleft delay or refufc to appear, or other wife abfent him or themfelvcs £hali forfeit the fura of five Founds currant Money, to be levied by Diftrefs, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of any Jufticc of the Peace within this Province, on the Goods and Chattels of cv£ry fuch Perfon or Perfbns fb offending as aforfaid, upon a Certificate of fu«h Default, from the Captain or chief Officer of fuch Company, in or to which the laid Offender Jhall be lifted or belong, under his Hand & <$eal which faid fum of $ /. ftiailbe imployed for t he encouragement and raifing the Quota of men, by this Acl:, in each refpe&ive City & Count/ or counties to beraifed, as aforefaid. And in cafe fuch Perfon or Perfbns fb offending as aforefaid, fliallnot have Goods and Chattels to be found to pay and fatisfie the fum of five Pounds aforefaid, fuch Perfon or Feribns, upon fuch Certificate, and by fuch Warrant as aforefaid, ftjall becommjted to the common Goalof tho lamcCity or County orCountie* thereto remain without Bail or Mainprise for the fpace or term of five Moncths, or untill he or they fhall faci&fie the fum of five Pounds aforefaid. And for the paying and maintaining the faid two hundred men, and their proper Officers, Be it further Enacled by the Authority aforefaid That a Levy of fifteen Hundred Pounds currant Money of th is Province' be laid, aiTefTcd, rarfed and levied upon all and every rhe Inhabitants' Refidentsand Freeholders of and in this Province, for the paying and' maintaining of the faid two hundred men, and their proper Officers for five Months, as aforefaid, and for no other ufe, intent or purpofe whatfoever. To be laid, affefTed, railed, levyed and paid to their Majefties Collector and Receiver General for the time being, at their Majefties Cuftom-houfe in the City of NeivTo*k y on the firft day of Septet kr, next enfuing, which fhall be in the Year of our Lojd 1692. according to the Rates and Proportions following, that is to fay, For the City and County of New-Jork y $4$/. for the paying an<$ mainta ining 46 men, being their Quota and Proportion of the 200 meo aforefaid. For C 4S 3 For the County of tVeftchefer, 127/. xo s. for the paying and maintaining 17 men, being their quota and proportion, as aforefaid. For the County of Richmond, 6jl. 10 s. for the paying and main- taining of nine men, being their quota and proportion, as aforefaid. For the Ceunty of Vljier and Dutches County, 1 1 o /. tor the pay- ing and mainta ining 28 men, being their quota and proportion, as aforefaid. For the County of Suffolk, 300 /. for the paying and maintaining 4c men, being their quota and proportion, asaforefaid. For K/ngs County, 210/. for the paying and maintaining 28 men, being their quota and proportion, as aforefaid. For Qtieens County, 22$ /• lor the paying & maintaining 30 men, Sep. . For the County of Orange, 15/. forthe paying and maintaining twd men, being their quota and proportion , as aforefaid. Andalfo, be it Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That fuc h furrt or fumsof Money of the feveral fums of 2500 /. lately rai fed by the 1 Act of General AfTemly, forthe paying and defraying of the Charges of 2%r£, and Territories thereon depending in America. An A3 for the raifing and pay two hundred and twenty Men with their proper Officers, together with the incidental Charges that shall wife thereon, for the %e-mforcement and Security of the Frontiers of this Province, at Albany, for 7 Months. WHereas the Levy* appointed for the Defence of che FronceersoF this Province at Alhrny^ do expire on the fvft day of Oftobcr next, and that it is abfblutely neceflary that there should bt con* tinued at that place a ionfiderable Force for the ecuncy ot this Pro* vince, as wellas for the neccfTary Defence of their Ma)e'iics Neighbour- ing Plantations, B« it therefore Ena&ed by the Governour, Council, and Reprefentatives convened in General AfTemblv, and by che Au- thority of the fame, That his Excellency the Captati General do imme- diately upon the Publication hereof, lflue out his Warranrs under his Hand and Seal, to the feveral and refpective Military Officers of the feveral and refpe&ive Counties hereafter named, for cne raifing of 220 men, well provided with]Arms,to be peremptorily at Alfanjon the fir/% day of Oclobtr next enfuing, and there to continue and remain for che Reinforcement and Security of this Province, for the term and fpac* of, feven Kalender Moneths, to commence on the faid firft day 01 Oftohtr t and to expire on the firftday ot Mtv then next enfuing, in fuch quotas and proportions in each refpectivtCJunty, as is hereafter fpecih\.d and exprefled , to wit, For the City and County of tfew-Tirk, fixty effective men. O For For the County of rVeficheffer,' twenty five effective men. For the County of Richmond, ten effective men. For Kjngi County, thirty four effective men. For Queens County , forty four effective men For the County or Suffolk, forty five effective men. For the County of Orwge, two effective men. £ndbe it further Enacted by the Authority aforelaid, That if any ©f the refpective Military Officers in the refpective Counties aforelaid, fhall after the Receipt of the Warrants from the Captain General, in manner aforefaid, fail, neglect, refufe or delay to execute the faid Warrants, according to the true intent and meaning thereof, shall for fuch their failure, or neglect, refufal or delay, anfwer the fame before the Captain General or fuch other Officers as he shall appoint, and there fuffer fuch Mulcts, Pains and Punishment, as by the Captain General slwll be thought convenient, according to the Laws and Articles of War in that cafe made and provided in their Majefties Realm of England, any thing contained herein, or any other Law to the contrary hereof in any wayesnotwithftanding. And for the pacing and maintaining the faid two hundred 8r twenty men, and their proper Officers, Be it further Ena&ed by the Authority aforefaid, That a Levy of two Thoufand eight Hundred and fixty Pounds currant Money of this Province, be laid, affeued, railed and levied upon all and every the Inhabitants, Refidcnts and Freeholders of and in this Province, for the paying and maintaining of the laid two hundred and twenty men, and their proper Officers, together with the incidental Charges that shall arife the- eon, forfeven Kalendary Months, as aforefaid, and for no other ufe, intent or purpofe whatfb- ever. To be laid, aifefled, raifed, levyed and paid to their Majefties Collector and Receiver General for the time being, at their Majefties Cuftem-houfe in the City of New-Tor k, on the firft day of April next enfuing, which will be in the Year of our Loid 169 j. according to the Rates and Proportions following, that is to fay, For the City and County of New-7ork, 780/. for the paying and maintaining 60 men, being their Quota and Proportion of the 220 men and Officers aforefaid. For the County of fYeficheffer, 52$/. for the paying and main taming 25 men, being their quota and proportion, as aforefaid. For the County of Richmond, i^o/. for the paying and maintain- ing of ten men, being their quota and proportion, as atorefaid. For the County of Suffolk, 585/. for the paying and maintaining 4^ men, being their quota and proportion, as aforefaid. For Kjngi County, 442 /. for the paying and maintaining 44 men, being their quota and proportion, as aforefaid. For Queens County, 572 /. for the paying 8< maintaining 54 men, be- ing their quota and proportion aforefaid. For the County of Orange., 26 1. for ch e paying and maintaining two men, being their quota and proportion, asaiorefaid. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That for the better afle01ng,raifing& paying the fumoftwo thoufa ad eight hundred and fixty Pounds aforefaid, The Mayor and Aldermen in the Cjtv of Nm-Tork, for the time being, and the Juftieee of the Pea«e, fear the time being, for theteyeral and refpectivs Counties afbrefeid, for the feverat Counties relpectively, for the which they lhall be Juftices of die Peace, do within forty dayes after the publication hereof, afTcmble and meet together in the Court Houfes for the ftveral refpective Cityes and Counties, or fuch other place or places as they fhal! agree upon among themfelves, and (hall there order that the Afeflbrsand Collectors for the feveral refpective Citys, Towns, Mannors or Liberties, within their feverat TuriBi&iofis, for the auetTing, collecting and receiving of the publick Rates, for the defraying the pubHck and neceflary Charges of each refpective City and County aforefeid, be the Affeffors end Col- lectors, for the affefling, collecting or receiving the fum ox funis of Money herein before mentioned, according to the Proportions be- fore exprcfled, as tothefaid Mayor, Aldermen and Juftices fhallfeem meet and reafonablc. And forafmuch as there are feveral Mannors and Jurilai&ions within the refpective Counties aforelaid, who neglect or do not cleft annually or on«e every year Affeftors or Collelors, whereby the intent of this Act may be fruft rated. Be it therefore £naft«d by the Authority afore- faid, Thatiftherelpective Mannors 8c Jurildictions within the feveral Counties aforefaid, fhall refufe or neglocl to elect AiTeff rs and Collectors, for affeuTng of their refpective Mannors or Jurifdictio ns> and for the collecting the fame, according to the intent and dire<&ion of this Act, then and in fuch Cafe the Juftices of the Peace in the Counties where fuch Mannors or Jurifdictions are, are hereby im« powered and authorized to nominate and appoint AucfTors and Col- lectors for fuch MUnrws or Jurifdictions as ftiall neglect or refufe, as aforefaid. Which Aflfeflors and C ollectors, fball, to all intents and purpofes obferve the directions of this Act, any thing contained herein to the contrary hereof in any ways notwkhftanding. And be it further unaeted by the Authority aforefaid, That trie (aid Mayors, Aldermen and Jufttce* of rhe Peace for the relpeetive Cities, Counties, Mannors and J uri (dictions, have, and fhall have Power and Authority, by virtue of this Act, ^achotthem by himfelf to aduinifter an Oath to the faid ArTcffors, Well ami ttnly, t$t**lly % impartially, and in due Proportion ou tt /ball appear to them, actor ding to their be ft Under (landing, toajfefiand rate the Inhabitants, Redden t< and Free-holders of the refteciive places for which they (ball kchofen Ajejfors* And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That if any Perfon or Perfons, who fhall be chofen A0efsors or Collectors, (hall dony, neglctt, or unequally and partially affefs, or rofuic to make fuch AfleTment as by this Actb required, or /hall deny, neglect, or refufe to collect any fum or Turns of Money, in form before mentioned affeflcd, that then and in fuch cafe it fhalland may bclavfullfor any two of their Majefties Juftiees of the Peace of the Cities and Counties where fuch Offen dors (hall happen to dwell or refute, and who by virtue of this Act are required and im powered to do die fame, by Warrant under their Hands and Seals to cammit fuch AfleCfors or Collectors, fo denying, neglecting, or unequally and partially a^effa»g, orrefufing to collect, as aforefaid, to the common Goal, there to remain without Bail or Mainprife till be or they fhall make Fine or Ranfom to their Majeftics for fuch Contempt as aforefaid. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid. That if any Perfon or Perfons, of what Degree or Quality foever he or they be within this Province, who fhall be aflefled or rared any fum or futns of Money, by virtue of this Act toberaifed and levied, frail deny, refufe or delay to pay and fatisfie the fame, that then it fhall and may be law full for any fuch Collector, by virtue of a Warrant under the Hand 8c Seal of any of the Juftiees for the City and County where fuch OfFendors fhall dwell or refide, who, by virtue of this Act are required and authorized to grant and ifllie forth fuch Warrant, to levy the fame, by diftrefs and falc of fuch Perfoa or Perfons Goods and Chattels, returning the Over-plus, if any be, to the Owners, the fum aOeflcd and Charges of Diftrefs and Sale being fir ft deducted. Andalfo, be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That if any Mayor, Alderman or Juftice of the Peace within this Province* who are hereby required, irnpowered and authorized to take effectual care, that this A£l and every Article and Claufe therein be duely executed according to the true intent thereof, /hall deny, refufe;, neglect or delay to do, perform, fullfill and execute all or every or any of the Duties, Powers and Authorities by this A& required and irnpowered, by him or them to be done, performed, fullfilled ami executed, and fhall thereof be convi&cd before his Exce'leney the Captain General andConncil, or before any of their Majefties Courts of Record within this Province, he or they -hall lurTer fuch pain by Fine or Imprifonment, as by the Difcretion of the Paid Governour and Captain General and Council, and the Juftiees of the laid Courts fhal! be adjudged. And be it further Ena&ed by the Authority aforefaid, Thar if any Aclion, Bill, Plaint or Information fhall be brought, moved or prefented at anytime hereafter againft any Perfon or Perfons, for any matter, caufe or thing done or acled in purfuanccor execution of this Ad, fuch Perfon or PerTons fo fued or profecuted in any Court whatfoever, fhal! ana may plead the general IfTue, Not Guilty, and give this Acl and the fpecial matter in Evidence; and if the Plantiff or Profecutor fhall be aon-fuited, or forbear further Profecution, or fuffer Difcontinuance or Vcrdid Verdift to pafs againft him, the Defendant or Defendants fhall have tribfeCofts, for which they (hall have like Remedy, as in cafe where Cods by Law are given to Defendants. Provided alwayes, That no Mayor, Aldermen or fuftices of the Peace fhall be troubled, fued, pro- fecured or molefted for any omiflion, offence, or ncgleft, by virtue ©£ this Aft, bat within thefpace of one year after fuch omiffion offence ornegleft, and not at any time thereafter, any thing herein sontained to the contrary hereof in any wife not with ft anding. Alwayes provided, and be it Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That the feveral Collectors of each refpettive City and County, as aforefaid, fhall have the liberty to pay the feveral and refpe&ive fums affefled,asaforefaid, at the day aforementioned, in currant Silver Money, at Nerv-Tork, or for want thereof in good fuffieieat and merchantable Provifions at the Rates and Prices hereafter fpecified and exprefled, to wit, good and merchantable Pork at the Rate of frifty Shillings per Barrel, the Barrel well Re-packed by thefworn Packer of A/ew-Terk,ztid the Barrel containing thirty one Gallons and half Wimhefter Meafure, at leaft. B^ef at the Rate of thirty two Shillings and fix Pence pew Barrel, well re-packed by thefworn Packer of Ne»-Tork aforelaid, the Barrel to contain thirty one Gallons and half Wi»clujkr Meafure, at Ieaft. Good merchantable Winter Wheat at four Shillings per Buftejl Tryed-Tallow at four Pence half Penny per Pound. An Aft fortheraifing and paying of Eighty Men in Ulfter and Dutches County, to be imployed for the Re-inforcingand Security of Albany, from the i^th Day of December next, to the fii jl of 'March then next enfuing. WHereas it is convenient jrhat tke County of 1)1 fer and Dutches County fbould be cxcuHd from their Quota's of joo Men, Gnce they are to provide eighty men for the Re-inforcement of Albany in the time of the moft eminent danger, Be it Emfted by the Governour and Council, and Reprcfentatives convened in General AtTembly, and by the Authority of .he lame, That the Governour do ilTue out his Warrant under his .Seal to the Military Officers of Vlfier and Dutches County, ro levy eighty effective Men, with their Arms to be perempto* rily at Albmy on the 1 5th day of December next, and there to continue and remain for the Re-mforcement, Security and Defence of the Fron- teers there, until che firfl: day of March then next following And alio that the faid Captain General would form the (aid Number of eighty effe&ive men into fuch Companies as he fhall think convenient, and to P Con> [ 5« 1 Commiffionateand appoint fb many Officers over thcin as he fhall think needful in the faid County. Andbeit further EnaGed by the Authority aforefaid, That the faid Counties of TJ/Afer and Dutches County fhall at their own proper Coft and Charge well and futficiently provide, that the faid eighty effective men be well fupplyed with good and wholfora Provifionsof Beer, tfread and Meat, an! Ammunition, during rhe time thar thev fhall be imploytd in the fervice aforefaid, andalfo take effectual care that all and every of the faid effective Men be wellpaid,according to the Kings eftablifhrnent after the expiration of the faid Service ; and likewife, thar they fhall pay and (atisfie fuch Officersas fhall be Commiffionated and appointed over them, accordingto the Kings eftabliibment aforelaid. Andbeit further Ena&ed by thz Authority aforefaid, That if any Officer, Civil or Military, within the faid County, fhall delay, neglect or refufe to perform and execute th^ leveral and refpective Articles and Claufesof this A&, accordingto the true intent and meaning thert of heorthey fonegledmg, refufing or delaying, 0>all be lyable to fuch Penalties rcfpectively , as are in cafe of fuch refulal, neglccl or delay provided in the other &ofthis prefent Seflions, entituled, AnAcl for ruftng and fAytng two hundnd and twenty Men^ &c. Ads piflTed in rhe fifth Seffions of Ge- neral Aflembly; begun in the City of New-Tor^ the vernour and Council, and Reprefencatives now met in Ge- neral Aiy of A/^ncxt, which fhall be in the Year of our Lord 169$. There fh&ll be throughout this their Majeftics Province of Nev-lorb andche Territories depending thereon in America, Riifed, Levyed, Collected, and '^aid, for the pur^ofeand intent atorefaid, duting the fpace and term of Two Years, from the eighteenth Day of Mxf arore- uud, and no longer, the Rates and Duties of txcife herein after men- tioned, in manner and form rollo wing, that is to fay, Fpr every Gallon of Rom, Brandy and Di (tilled Liquors that fhali be Imported into this Province and Dependencies aforefaid, thefcim of Four Pence currant Money of this Province And for every P.pe of Madra, Matmfey, FyaJl, St Georges, Pifada, C*»*rfr Malltgo, Sherry, and all ortsoi Sweet Wines, the Sum ot Forty Shillings currant Money aforefaid. And fo in proportion for all greater and fmaHer Quantities Imported as atorefaid. And for every hfoglhead of Rad, White and Rhenifn Wines, the Sum of Twenty Shillings currant vloney atorefaid. And fo in propor- tion for all greacer and final er Quantities, Imported afore(aid. And upon all other Merchand ze Imported into this Province and Dependencies aforefaid, the Sum of Forry Shillings currant Money aforefaid, for every Hundred Pound prime Coft, except thefe hereafter fpecified, fvrz.) Salt, Brick, Pantyle, Coals. Ftjh, Sugar, Malojfcr, Cotton Wool, Grnger, Logvood, Braz lletfo, Fuftick, 0/ any other for t of Dying Wood, Wcf India Hyde s. Tobacco. Rull on, Plate, Cacco. Pvrk, Oyl Tar, Flax, Soap, Candles Tallow, Cheefc, Bttttr, Beef, Wbalchne Hops, JftUs, Pears, Sidtr, Fire-Wood, Planks, Boards, Pleltry, Beaver Sbetps Wool Onions, Drcffed and UndrefTcd Deer Skins, Honey, Was, Bay Wax, Indian Com, Wheat, Barky, Rye Peafe, or any Of her fort of Gran, or any other thing of the Growth and Production of our NcighbuuriJg Collonies and Plantations in Amtuca. And be it further Enacted by the A uthortty aforefaid, That there b* alfo given and granted unto their (aid Maiefties,ror the intent aforefe.d upon al Merchandize, a >mmonly called by the Name of Indtan Goods' w? jffi ^' S ?" 0ack £ iankets ' M,aim > half ™cks. Wool*. SxkW White Qzenburgs, Kettles, Harthets, Hoes, Red UaTv3 Cotten, Red Kerfies, Knives, Indian kbSflif ^'otl^Tnd^ Goods, die sum of hve Pounds currant Money aforefaid, for em? hundred C 60 ] hundred Pound orime Coft, which fha.ll be imported into this Province and Dependencies aforefaid, over and above the forty Shillings for every hundred Pounds prime Coft before gven and granted to rhcir Ma/efties by this prefent Acl:. And that the value of the prime Coft faall be at the Rates hereafter mentioned, Vtz» Indian DufBlls to be valued at Two Shillings and 4 pence per Y ard. Indian Strouds, half a piece four Pounds, a whol* piece eight Pounds* Indian Blankets, each piece four Pounds. Indian plain Cotten, eighten Pence per Yard. Half Thicks, two Shillings and two Peace per Yard. Indian white Ozenburgs, the English ell, eight Pence. Indian Kettles, under eight Gallons, fix Pounds per hundred weight. Indian Hatchets, twelve Shillings per Dozen. Indian Hoes, nvclrc Shillings per Dozen. Red Lead, twenty Shillings per Hundred weight. Vermilioa, four Shillings per f ound. Cotten, fixtten Pence per Yard. Red Kerfey, two Shillings fix Pence per Yard. Knives, three Shillings per Dozen. Indian Shirts, twenty Shillings per Dozen. Indian Drawing Knives, LooKing-GlaiTes, Indian Wooden Combs, Indian Beeds, Tobacco in Rolls, Indian Bells, Sciflars, Jews Harps*, Indian Points, Drills, Tobacco Pipes, little painted Boxes, Auls, Sword Blades, Copper Tobacco Boxes, Tinfcy Lace, Indian Gimp Lace, Needles, Tobacco Tongs, Indian Powder Horns, Indian Woolen Stockings, and Iodian Steels, the Sum of fix Founds currant Money aforeiaid, over and above the two per Cent, aforefaid, for every Hun- dred Pounds value prime Coft. And be it further Enacled by. the Authority aforefaid, That there be alfo given and granted unto tbeir Majefties for the intent aforefaid) for every Barrel of Powder, fix Shillings, For every Hundred Pound of Lead, fix Shillings* For every Gun, with or without a Lock, Six Shillings. For every Gallon of Rum, four Pence, currant Money aforefaid that fhall be earned up Hudfou\ River in any Veffd, Sloop or Canow or any other way whatfoever. And be it further Enacled by the Authority aforefaid. That there be alfo given and granted unto their faid Majcfties, for the pur pofe afore- faid, the Duties of Excife upon all Liquors retailed throughout -rhe Provinceand Dependenciesafcrefaid,under the Quantity ot five Gallons, the Sum of Twelve Pence currant Money aforefaid, for each Gallon to Retailed (Beer and Syder only excepted.) And likewife the Sum of Six Shillings for each Barrel of Beer and Syder fold by Retail through- out the Province. Audit is further Enacled by the Authority aforefaid, That there be givejs given and granted, and there is hereby further glveo and granted unto their (aid Wajefties, for the Ofe aforefaid, a Rate add Duty upaa the Furs and Peltry hereafter mentioned, that (ball be tipor ted one of this Province and Dependent ies, that is to (ay, For every Beaver Skin, commonly called a whole Beaver, the fain of Nine Pence currant Moaey aforelaicl And that all other furs ar 3 Peltry be rated accordingly, that is to fay, For two half Beavers, the furn of Nine Pence cm? aat Mogey afore* faid. For four Laps, Mine Pence. for three Drillings, Eighteen Pence. For ten Raccons, Nine Pence. For four Foxes, Nine Fence. For four Fifhers, Nine Pence. For five Cats, Nine Pence. For fix Minks, Nine Peicc* For one Otter, fix Pcnee. For two BearSkins, Nine Pence. For twenty four Musk Rats, Nine Pence. For ten Matters, Nine Pence. For every twenty four Pound of Deer and Mufc Elfins, Nine Petce. And for every Ox, Cow and Bull Hide fiaaghtered is the Previa® and Dependencies, fix Pence* And all other Peltry to be vaftted to a whole Beaver, nine Pence And for the due and orderly collecting of the afarefaid Rates and Duties of Excife, and alio for preventing of Frauds and Insbezelments of the faid i?ates and Duties of Excife, Be it further Ena&ed by tfa© Authority aforelaid, That all Ships & Veflels whatfoetfcr that (hall coma to any Port, Creek or Harbour within this Province and Dependencies to Tirade or Traffick, the Matter, Mate or Purfer (hall come to hicJv place or places as fhall be appointed by the Governour for the time being* and there make Report of all fuch parcel or parcels of .4/erchand \z® and other things, that he or thev have on Board the (aid Ship or Veffe^ and alfo declare upon their Corporal Oath, That he or they have so? broke Bulk finte his Arrival within this Province, kef are he ar they mods fuch Report as aforefatd. And alfo, all Merchants that have any Gaodsor Merchandise oo Board fuch Ships or Veflels, asaforefaid, fhall, at fuch place or places as is above directed, make a true and diftinct Entry of aU fuch parcel or parcels of Goods or Merchandize he hath aboard fuch Ship or VeUel, according *o the prime Colt. And if any Difference fhoald arife a bo us the Value of the faid Goods, Their Majefties Collector for the tima being is hereby Authorized toadminifter toallor any fuch Perfonof Perfons, making fuch Hnrry, their Corporal Oath, That the f aid Entry ts according to the Invoice or Invoice* fent to them from the f hue or fl/^ on the firft Jueflay of March, and the firft Tuefday of September. And for the County of Richmond, two General Semens of the Peace annually, and every Year at the Court Houfe in the faid Connty,oo the faftTue.day in March, and the firft Tuefday of September. And lor Kings County, two General SsfRons of the Peace annually, and every Year at Ilatbnfh, on thclecond Tuefday tiiMay, and on tke iecond Tuefday of November. And for Queens County, two General Seflions of the Peace ammally, and every Yew at Jamaica, on the firft Tuefday in May, and onx lie third Tuefday of September. And for Suffolk County, two General Seflions of the Peace annually, arid every Year, on the laft Tuefday in March at Southampton, and on the laft Tuefday of September at Southold. Which General Seflions of the Peace in eacli refpe&ive City and County aforelaid. fha!l only hold and continue for the {pace and timeof two dayes, and no longer. And for the more Regular and Beneficial Diftribution of Juftioo to the Inhabitants of each refpedrive County aforsfaid, Be it further "Ena&ed by the Authority aforelaid,That there fhall be kept and hodden a Court of Common Pleas in each refpecVive County aforefaid, at the Times and Places hereafter named and mentioned, That is to fay, nt fuch Places in each .efpect.ive Count/, as the faid General Seffions of the Peace are to be kept, and to begin the next day after the Seflions terminate, and then only to hold and continue for thefpace and time of Two Dftyes after, and no longer. And that there be a Judge, aflifted with three Juftices of the Peace in each refpective County ap- pointed and cornmitfionated to hold the fame Court of Pleas, three whereof to be a Quorum. And that the (everal and refpeftive Courts of PleasTiereby tftabhflied, fhall have Power and Jurifdi&ion to Hear, Try, and finaWy determine all Actions orCaufeof Anions, and all Matters and Things and Caufes try able at the Common Law, of what Nature or Kind whatfoever; fo that the Action or Caufe of Aclion, R the C 6<5 1 the Matter, Thing and Caufe Triable, *od the Natuit and Kind thereof doth not relate to or concern Titles of Land. Provided always, and it is hereby Enacted, That there ihall not be any ppeaicr Re- movalby HakedsCorpM^ of any Perfon, or of any Adion oarSuitj, or of anyjudgmentor Execution, that fhall be determined in the faid Courts of Pleas, to the Value of Twenty Pounds or under, any thing contained herein to the contrary hereof in any wares notvvitjiitanding. And it is further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, Tffiat th* Courts of Mayors and Aldermen of the respective Cities of Nim-Tork and Albany, (hall have in each of their refpective Cities the Powers and Authorities to Hear, Try and finally to Determine ail fudi Suits and Actions of their Corporations, as is commonly cognizable be- fore them. From whieh final Determination there fhall not be aoy Appeal or Removal by Habeas Cerpus, of any Perfon, or of any A&ioa or Suit, or of any Judgment or Execution to the value of Twenty Pounds or under, anything herein contained to the contrary hereof in any wayes notwithstanding. To whieh relpeclive Courts of Com- mon r leas there (hall belong, and be appointed and commi&onated for that purpofe, one Clark of the Court, to draw, enter and keep the Records, Declarations, Pleas and Judgments, there to be had and made ; and one Marfhal or Cry er of the Court, to call the Jurors, a&d proclaim the Commands and Orders of die Court. And for the more regular proceedings in the- faid Court, all Procefs and Writs, of what Nature fbever, for the comroaad of Perfbns to appear, and to execute the Judgments and Executions of the refpective Courts aforefaid, fhall be directed to the refpective Sheriffs of each County aforefaid, and executed by them, their Under-ShcriS or Deputy or Deputies. And all Procefs and Writs for A&ioos betwixt party and party in the faid Court, fhall iiTue out of the Office of each refpective Clark of each refpective Court, figned, Per Curiam. Provided alwayes, That nothing herein contained fhall be taken or conftrued to take away the Prm- ledge of the Town of KjngHon in the County of Vljter, for the hearing ahddeterminingall Actions and Caufcof Actions arifing within the Li- bertiesof the faid Town, to the value of five Pounds &- under, any thing contained herein to theeontrary hereof in any ways notwithfianding. And that all their Majeftics Subje&s inhabiting within this Province may have all the good, proper* juft, eafie and beneficial wayes for the fecuring and recovering their juft Rights and Demands within the fame, Beit further Enacted, and it is hereby further Enacted and Or- dained by the Authority aforefaid, That there fhall be at New-Tork a Supream Court of Judicature, the which fhall eonfift of five Juflices, which fhall be appointed and commiffionated for that purpofe, two whereof, together with ope chief Jufticc, to be a Quorum. Which Supream Court are hereby fully impowcredto have Cognizance all of Pleas ,Civil,Criminal and Mhct,as fully and amply to all intents and pur- pofes whatfo ever, as the Courts of Kj,v*s Bexch, Common Pleas and Exchequer Ex:kftor within their Maiefties Kingdom of England, have or ought to haye. In and to which Supream Court all aad cverv Perfon and P«tfoas vvhatfocver, fball or may, if they fha II fee meet, commence or remove any Action ox Suir, the Debt or Damage laidtin Rich Action or Suit being upwards of Twenty Ponnds, and not other wife ; or fhall or may, by Warrant ox Certiorarie, remove out of any of the refpc£hve Courts of Mayor and Aldermen, Seffions of the Peace and Common Pleas, any Judgment, Information or Indictment there had and de- pending : Provided alwayes, that the Judgment removed be upwards of the Valve of Twenty Pounds. Out of the Office of w hich Supfeam Court at Nav-Tork, afore faid, all Procefs fhall uTue out uuder the Teft of the Chief Juftice of tbefaid Court ; and to which Office all Returns fhall be made. Which Supream Court (hail be heiden ar fach Times and Places as herein after is limitced appointed : For die City and County of New-Tork, and County of Orange, on the fir ft Tuefday in April, and on the firft Tuefday in Q&okr, annually and every Year. For the City and County of Albany, the firft Tuefday in May. For Vljler and Dutches County, the third Tuefday in May. For the County of fVeflcheJler, the laft Tuefday in June* For King* County ; the firft Tuefday in Auguft. For Queers County, thefecond Tuefday in Auguft, For the County of Suffolk, the third Tuefday in Auguft. And for the County ot Richmond, the fecond Tuefday o£Jum* And be it further Ena&edby the Authority aforefaid, That all and every of the Jufticcs or Judges of the fcveral Courts afore- mentioned, be, and are hereby fufficienrly impowered to make, ordain and eftabiifh all fuch Rules and Orders, for the mora Regular pra&iftng and pro- seeding in their faid Courts, as fully And amply, to all intents and porpofesubatfoever, as all or any of the Judges of the leveral Counts or tlie K^gs Bench, Common Pleat and Exchequor in England legally do. Provided alwayes,- and be it further Enacted by the Authority afore- faid, That no Perfons Right or Property fhall be by any of the aforefaid Courts determined, except where matters ot Fad are either a c&now- (edged by the Parties, 01 Jadgment be acknowledged, or pafTeth by the Defendants Fault, for want of Plea or \ rawer, unlefs the I act be found by the Verdict of Twelve Men of the Neighbeurnood, as it ought to be done by the Law. And he it further EnaBed by the Authority aforefaid, That one of toejufticesofthe faid Supream Court ,commifTionated asaforefatd, fhall once in every Year, at theafor efaid Times and Places, in each refpeOive County aforefaid, go the Circuit , and at theplaces and times aforefaid, there hold the Supream Court being then affiled by two or more of the Juftices ot tnc Peace oF the fever al refpectwe Copies where the faid Supream Court is to be hidden, and fhall there hear and determine all Procefs C 68 ] Procefs and Pleas there depending and uTued, as afbrefaid. Aiwuyes provided, That infueh County where there is no Procefs iffued or Pleas depending, That the Juftice fhall not be then obHged to go the Circuit to the laid County, any thing contained herein to the contrary hereof in any waycs notwithstanding. Ahvaycs provided, theSe/Tions of the faid Supream Cours ihall notcoutlnue nor hold longer at Ntm* Tork than five da yes, & at the other relpeclive places in each refpedivc County, than two day es, and no longer. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefard, That there lhall bea Co$tr$ ofChsacery within this Province, which laid Court fhal! have Power to hear and determine ail Matter - of Equity, and fhall be efteemed and accounted The High Court of Qhdnctry of this Province. And be it further Ena£ed by the Authority afbrefaid, That the <5o- vernour and Council be the faid High Court of Chancery, and hold and beep the faid Court ; And that the Governcur may depute, nominate and appoint in his ftead a Chancellor, and be alTifted with fuch other Perfonsof the Council as Iball by him be thought fit and convenient, together with all necefTary Officers, Clarks and Regifiers, astothefiid High Court of Chanocry are needful. Provided alway es, and it is hereby further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That any Free-holder, Planter, Inhabitant or Sojourner within this Province may have liberty , if he or they lee meet, to make his or their Appeal or AppeiMront any Judgment obtained againft him or them, in cafe of Error in the feveral Courts aforefaid, in fuch manner and form as is hereafter expreffed, Thar is to lay, From the Courts of Mayor and Aldermen, and Courts of Common pleas, totheSupreati? Court, for any Judgment above the Value of Twenty Pounds. And from the Supream Court at Ncw-Tork t to the Governour and Council, for any Judgment above the value of One Hundred Pounds. And from the Governour and Council, to Their Majefties in Council, for any Decree or Judgment above the Value of Three Hundred Pounds, as in their Majefties Letters Patents to his Excellency doth and may more ftilly appear. Alwayes provide J, That the Party cr Parties fo appeal- ing, fliall firft pay all Cofts offudi Judgment or Decree from whicn the Appeal arifeth, andcntcrintoRetognizance, with two fufficicnt Sure- ties, for double the value of the Debt, Matter or Thing recovered or obtained by Judgment or Decree againft him or them, to the faid CoBrt from which they appeal, That they mil profecute the fad Appeal or Appeals with EfeiJ, and mate Return thereof mthw twelve Months after the fdid Appcator Appeals here made. And if default happen thereon, then Exe- cution to iflue outjypon the Judgment^gainft the Party or their Snret ies in conrfe, without any Stmfums. Provided alwayes, That the efta* bhfhibgoTthefe Courts fhall not be orrcrnt in/longer in force than for the time and fbace of two Years from and afrer the Expiration of the former A& before- mentioned, and no longer- C 69 j JnAff for fettling Fairs and Markets in each respec- tive City and County throughout this 'Province. WHereas great Inconveniency doth arife unto thelnhabiranr of the Province for want of certain Market da yes in each re Rec- eive Gity and County throughout the fame, & the Trade of ; he Pr ovinc$ is likewife very much difeouraged for want thereof, as well as for the want of publick Fairs in eaeh relp«£tive City and County, to be held and kept at leaft once ia every Year. Per Remedy whereof, and that Trade and Commerce may be the better encouraged and propagated, for the good and weal of all the Inhabitants aforefaid, Be it therefore En- acted by the Governour and Council, and Reprefenratives convened in General Aflembly, and it is hereby Enacted by tht Authority of the fame, That there /hall be held and kept in the reipeftive Counties afore- faid, upon every Tburfdayoi the Week at Jamaica within Quetns County on Long-ljland ; and on every Saturday of the Weak at Kjngflon in the County of Vljfer; on every Wednesday of the Week at Wtjlchefttr in the County of PYeftcheJler, publick and open Markets, to which Mar- kets it fhall and may be lawfull for all and every the Inhabitants and Sojourners of this Province to go, frequent and refort, and thither to carry all forts of Cattle, Grain, Victuals, Provifions, and other Ne~ celTaries, together with all forts of Merchandize whatfoevcr, and at the publick Market-place that fhall be afligned and appointed in each refpe&ive Town aforefaid, them to expofeto fale or barter in grofs or by retail between the hours of Eight of theCbck in the Morning and Sun-fet of the fame day, without the payment of any Toil, or any other let, hinderance or moleftation whatfoever. And be it further Ena&ed by the Authority aforefaid, That there fhall likewife beheld and kept in each refpe&ive City and County throughout the Province, and at the Times &: Places hereafter named, Twice yearly and every year a Fair. To which Fair it fhall and may likwife be lawful for all and every Perfon or Pcrfons, Inhabitants, Strangers or Sojourners of this Province, &c. totht faid Placeand Places, at the Caid Time and Times where the faid refpeclive Fair and Fairs are to be held and kept, to go, frequent and refor r , and thther to carry, or caufe to be carried all forts of Cattle, Horfes, Mares, Colts, Grain, Victuals, Provifions, and other NecefTaries, togethec with all forts of Merchandize, of what Nature foever, and them to expofe to Sale or Barter in Grofs or by Retail, at the Times, Hours and Seafo ns that the Gove 1 nors or Rulers of the faid rifpe&ive Fairs for the Time being fhall proclaim and appoint. And be it further Ena&edby the Authority aforefaid, That there he S kepe E 70 If > kept Yearly, for the City and County of Nem-Tork, t#o Fairs at the City of Neiv-Tork. The firft Eair antiually to commence the laft Tuefday of Aprilin every year, and to end upon the Fryday then next following, being in all four days ineluftve, and no longer. And the fecond Fairto commence the firft Tuefday oi November in every year, and to end upon the Fryday then next following, being in all four dayes inclufive, and no longer. And alio, That there be held and kept one Fair annually and once in the "V ear for Kjngs County onLong-IJIand at Flatbufb in the faid County, to commence the fecond Tuefday oiOclober every Year, and to end upon the Fryday then next following, being in all four days inclufive, and no longer. And alfb, That there be hel the firft Tuefday of July in every year, and to end on Fryday then next following, being in all four dayes inclufive, and no longer And the fecond Fair at Southold, to commence the fecond Tuefday ot Sep\ tember, and to end upon the Fryday then next following, being in a!| four dayes inclufive, and no longer. And alio, That there be held in the City and County of Albany two Fairs yearly, the firft Fair to be kept at Albany, and to commence the third Tuefday of July, and to end on the Fryday then next following, be- ing in all four dayes inclufive, and no longer. The fecond Fair to be held at Crawlier in Ranflaerfvick on the third Tuefday in Otfober, and to end on the Fryday following, being in all four dayes inclufive, and no longer. And alfo, That there be held Sc kept two Fairs yearly for the Counrv of Vljler, the firft to be kept at Kjngflone on the third Thurfday in Marth y and to end on the Saturday then next following,being three days inclufive, and no longer. And the fecond Fairto begin the fecond Thurfday in Oltobcr, and to end on the Saturday following. And alfo, that there be held and kept two Fairs yearly for the County of Weflchefler, the firft to be kept at the Town of Weftebefier in the faid County, on the fecond Tuefday in May, and to end on the Fryday follow- ing, being in all four days inclufive, and no longer. And the fecond Fair to be kept at /te, in the faid County, on the fecond Tuefday of Oclcber yearly, and to end the Fryday then next following, being in all four days, and no longer. And alfo, that there be held and kepttwo Fairs yearly in the County of Richmond, the firft on the North fide of the I (land, on the laft Tuefday in June, and to end on the fridaj following, being in all four days in- clufive dufive, and no longer And the fecond Fair to be fcepr at the laid place on the ldft TucftUy in September % and to end on the brtiay then next \c\* lowing, being in all four dayes inclufive, and no longer. All which Fairs at the Times and Places aforefaid, in each refpeclive County refpe&ively, (hall be holden, together with a Court of Pypoudcrs, and with all Liberties^ Free Cuftomsro fuch Fairs appertaining, or which, ought or may appertain, according to the Ulage and Cuftoms.of Fairs holden in their Majefties Realm of EngUni. And for the more regular Government of the feveral and refpe&iv© Fairs afore-mentioned, tfie Governour (hall commiflionate and appoint fuch perlbrior perfonsin each refpe&ive County aforefaid, where fush Fairs are oe holden and kept, to beGovernours and Rulers of the faid Fairs, r^pe&ively. Which Governor or Ruler, fo appointed and com- mtfionated as aforefaid, is hereby a uthorized and impowercd to have 8c zsolda Court of Pypouders, together with all Liberty and free Cuftom to fuch appertaining. And that they and eve ry of them may have and hold there, at their and every of their refpe&ive Courts the faid dayes, from day to day, and hour to hont, from time to time, upon all occasions, Plaints and Pleas of a Court of Pypoudcrs, together with all Summons, Attachments, Arrefts, Iflues, Fines, Redemptions and Com- modities, and other Rights whatfbever to the lame Court of Pypouders any way pertaining, without any impediment, let or hinderance what- loever. Al waves provided That the Governour or Ruler of the faid refpective Fairs aforefaid, lhall, or oaule Cry and publifh witbifi and without the Liberties of the faid refpe&ive Fairs, Where they {Ball hold the faoie, the time that they ought to hold it, and no longer. And that every Governour or Rulerdf the refpe£Hve Fairs aforefaid, at the begin- ning of his Fairfoall there cry, proclaim and publifh how long that Fair lhall endure-, to the intent that Mcrchanrs and others fhall not be atthefame Fairs over thetlme fo publifbed, upon pain of being fined foi the fame. Nor that the (aid Governor or Ruler fhall not hoW tfeit refpettive Fairs over the due time hereby limitted, upon pain of forfeit*- ing the keeping of the faid Fairs, untot heir Majefties. And for the preventing of Abu fe in any of tfie aforefaid Fairs and Markets, Be it further Stuffed by the Authority aforefaid That the Governor or Ruler of the refpe&ive Fairs aforefaid, lhall yearly appoint and limit out a certain and fpecial open place within the refpcclive Towns aforefa id, where the refpeftive Fairs are to be held and kept, vthere Horfes, Marcs, Geldings, Colts, and other Cattle may be fold ; In which faid certain and open place, asaforefaid, there fhaU be by the Governour or Ruler aforefaid, pur in and appointed one furhcient Ferfon, o- more, to take Toll, and keep the fame place from ten ot the Clock in the Morning until Sun-fetof every day of the afoieTaid Fairs and Markers, upon pain to loofe and forfeit upon every default forty Shillings And that every Toll-gatherer, his Deputy or Deputies, fhajl during the time of every the faid Fairs, take the (urn ot Nine Pence as due and lawlull Toll for every fuch Her fe, Mare, Gelding or Colt, at C 7* 3 e the faid cpen«place of Ttbrtury, in the Year of our Lord 1691. have given unto Thomas Ae*4 Efr ; : £ 7f I Efq; hi* Executors, Admioirtrators and Afngns lull Power and Autho- rity to erect., fettle and eftablifb within the chief Ports Of their faid Majefties Collonies and Plantations in Amerira, an Offics or Offices for the Receiving and Difpatching of Letters and Pacquets, aod to receive, fendand deliver the fame, underfuch flatesaad Sums of Money as the Planters (hallagrct to give, &c. to hold and enjoy the. fame for the term of one and twenty Years, with fuch Powers and Cfaufes as are oeceffary on that behalf, as by the faid Letters Patents, relation being thereunto had, ray more fully and at large appear. And whereas Andrew Hamkort, Efq; is deputed and conftitued to govern and manage the faid General Poft-OfEce, for and throughout all their Majeftics Pianta- tioiisand Colloniss upon the main Land or Continent of America, and IQands adjacent thereunto, purfuant to the directions of the faid Letters Patents. • And whereas he tne (aid Andrew Hamilton hath made Applica- tions his Excellency ,theGovernour, and Council, and Reprefentatives convened in General AfTembly, That they would afcerta in and eftabh/h fiicb Rates and Sums of Money.uponthe Letters and Pacquets that /hall be received anddifpatched by the faid Office and Offices, for the effect- ual encouraging of the (aid General Poft Office, and for the quicker maintenance of mutual Cbrrefpondency amongft all our Neighbouring Collonies and Plantations afbrefaid, and that Trade and Commerce may be the better preferved, Be it therefore EnaSedby the Governcur and Qwntily and Reprefentatives convened in General Ajmbly> and by the Authority of the fame, That there fhall be from henceforth a General Letter-Office erected and eftablifhed in (bme convenient place within the City of New-Terk, from whence all Lettersand Pacquets whatfbevsr, may be withfpeed &■ expedition lent into any part of our Neighbouring Collonies and Plantations on this main Land and continent of America, or unto any other of their Majefties Kingdoms and Dominions beyond the S«as. At which faid Office all Returns and Anfwers may be like- wife received. And that one Mafterof the faid General Letter-Office fhall from time to time be appointed by the faid Andrew Hamilton } which faid Mafterof the faid Office, or his Servant or Agent, and no other Perfbn or Perfbns whatsoever, fhall from time to time ha the receiving, taking up, ordering, difpatching, fending Poft or with fpeed, and delivering of ill Letters and Pacquets whatfoever, which fhall from time to time be lent to and from all and every of the adjacent CbHonies and Plantations on this main Land and Continent of Aweritd, or any other of their Majefties Kingdoms and Dominions beyond the Seas* where he the (aid Poft-Mafter General fhall fettle, or caufe to be fettled Pofts or Running MefTengers, for rhat purpofe, except fucb Letters of Merchants 8c Matters, which fhall be fent by any Mafiers of any Ships, Barques, or other VefTels of Merchandize, or by any other Perfbn im- ployedby them for th« carriage of fuch Letters afcrefaid, according to the refpective Directions ; and alfo excepr Lettets to be fent by any pri- vate Friend or Friends, in their ways and Jnurnies or Travel, or by any McfTengeror Me(Tengers fent on purpofe for or concerning the private Aftairsof any Perfon or Perfons. And And be it further Enacted by the Authority afore/aid, That fuch Poft- Maftcffor the time being,and no other fWon whatfoever, fhait prepare and provide Horfes and Furniture to let to hire unco all through Pofts and Perfons riding in Poft, with Commiffion or without, to and from all and every of the adjacentCollonies and Plantations on this main Land or Continent in Americs, where any Poft Roads are- or fhall be fettled and eftablifhed. And be it further Biuffed by the Authority dforefaid 1 That it fhall and may be lawful to and for th§ Pdft-Mafter General aforefaid, and his deputy & Deputies^by him thereunto fuificiently authorized, to demand, have, receive and take for the Portage & Conveyance of all fuch Letters which he fhall fo convey, carry or fend Poft as aforefaid ; and for the providing a*nd furntfhing Horfes for through Pofts, or Perfons riding in Poft, as aforefaid, according to the feveral Rates and Sums ot Currant Money of this Province, hereafter mentioned, not to exceed the fame, that is to fay, That the Port of every fingle Letter to Or from Europe, the WtH-lndks r or elfc-where to and from beyond the Seas, Nine Pence, currant Money aforefaid, and fb in proportion to the greataefs or qu in* tity of faid Letters. .'Arid for the Port of every fingle Letter from. to New*Torky or from Maryland to NevcJCork, Nine Pence, cnrrant Money aforefaid, and fb in prbjportion, asaforefaid. And for the Port of every fingle Letter from Virginia, to Nery-firk, Twelve Pence, currant Money aforefaid, and fb in proportion, as aforefaii. And for thef Port of every fingle Letter to or from, any place not exceeding Eighty Miles diftant from New-Tork, Four Pence Half Penny, currant Money aforefaid, and {bin proportion, as aforefaid. And for the more effectual encouragement of the faid General Jofr- Office, Be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid. That all the fefpeclive Poft-Mafters that fhall be fettled in th«'refpe£tive Stages for the purpofe aforefaid throughout, the Province, fhall, during the fpace indtime that this Aft fhall be in force, be fre'e'd and exempted from Ex- cite and all Publick Services whatfoever, except the P. ft -Matter of the City of Ncw-Totk, who is only exempted from Puhlidc Services. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That no Perfbn or Perfons whatfoever, or Body Politick or Corporate, 'other than the Poft Mafter General aforefaid, /hall prefume to carry, re-carry or deliver Letters for hire, other than as before excepted, or to fet up, or imploy any Foot- Poft,Horfe- Poft or Pacquet Boat whatfoever, for the Carrying, conveying and re-carrying of any Letters or Pacquets by 1 Sea or Land Within this Province, cr fhall provide and maintain Hories,& Furniture for the Horfes of any through-Pofts, or Perfons riding Poft with a Guide and Horn", as is ufual in their Majefties Realm of England, upon pain of forfeiting the fum of One Hundred Pounds currant Money aforefaid, for every feveral Offence againft the Tenor of this prelent Act, tobefued and recovered in any Court of Record within this Province, by Bill, Plaint or Information, wherein no ElToyn, Protection or Wager of Law fhall be admitted, one half of the faid Forfeiture to the Governour, and the other half to the Poft-Mafter Genera!, who fhall fue and profecute the fame. Be Beit further Enacted the 1 A$$berity afortfiid, That all Letters and Pacquets thatby an/ Mafterof any Ship or Vcflcl, or any Of his Com* pany, or any FaUcngers therein, &all or may be brought to this Port q{ New-York, other than fueh Letters as are before excepted, djall by fuch Mafler, Paflcnger or other Perfon, be forth* with delivered unto she Poft-Mafter of HewT»rk for the time being, Or unto his Servant or Servants, and by him or them to be delivered according to the feverai and respective Directions of the fame. Provided, That tto Letters go- ing up or coming down Hud/oat &tvtr 3 going to or from Lwg-ljland s ftiallbecarryed to thePo& ^fK*^ *bme hcioiu «©ntained to the contrary hereof o«r*ithftanding* Provided alwayes, That nothing herein mentioned (hall be in force longer than three Years next and after the Publication hereof, any thing to the contrary hereof in any wares notwithstanding* An Aft for the fatisfying and paying the Debts ef the Government. THe ReprefentativeS convened in General ArTembly, being willing that all fuch as have advanced Money for the fuppOrt of the Go- vernment, (hould be well and truly paid and fatisfied ; and for that purpofe have agreed that the Rates and Duties herein after mentioned fhould be levyed and collected, and pray that it may be Enacted, Ani belt thervfore*E*a&ed bp the Governottr and Council y and Reprefeutatves convened in General Ajfembly t and by the Authority of the fame. That tho Rates and Duties herein after-mentioned, fliall be levied and collected, and be only appropriated and applyed to the payment of fuch Debts due for the fupport of the Government, aforefaia, and the faid Rates and Duties herein afterinentioned, hereby authorized to fce levyed and col- lected, (hall he quarterly paid to fuch Perfon or PerKos who arc now the prefent Creditors, & have advanced their Money, as aforelaid, their Executors, Adminiftratorsor Affigns, in two years from the Publication hereof, in eight quarterly Payments, and in equal proportions, accor- ding to the greatnefs and fmallneis of the Sums due, without any pri* ority or refpett to Perfons, and not otherwife. And that the refidue of the Money artfing and payable by this Act, if any be, fliall be appropri- ated and applyed, from and after the payment of the feverai Dents, as aforelaid, unco the fupport of the Government, and for no other ufe or purpofe whatloever, any thing in this or any other Act contained to the contrary notwithstanding. And that from and after the Publication hereof, there fhall be railed, levyed, collected and paid unto their Ma jefties,during the fpace & term of two years, after the publication hereof, asaforefaid, and no longer, the feverai Rates and Duties herein after-mentioned,, over & above all other Duties, r 78 3 Unties, Charges and Impofitioni by any former Aft and Acts fct arcd impofed, that is to fay, The Rate and Duty of Twopence, currant Money of New.Tork, For every Gallon of Rum, Brandy, and other di- billed Liquors. And the Rate and Duty of thirty Shillings for every Pipe of Wine. And five Shillings for every Hogfbead of MaloiTos, and fo in proportion for any greater and leffer Quantity that /hall be Import* cd into this Province and Dependencies, from and after the Publication hereof. And alio the Rate and Duty of Two per Qenh prime Coft, upon all other Goods of the Growth, Production or Manufacture of Europe, that /hall from and after rf» Pufci^;^ foiunf be Imported, as aforefaid. And alfo,. the Rate and Duty of Six per Cent* prinve Colt, of the Goods and Merchandize of the Growth, Production & Manufacture of Europe that fhdli from and after the Publication hereof, be imported into this Province and Dependencies, from any other part or place than their Ma- jefties Kingdom of England, Dominion of Wales ,and Town of Berwick upon Twetd. And be it forth er Enabled by the Authority aforefad,T\\zx. the feveral Rafes and Duties hereby impofed on the Liquors and Merchandize aforefaid fiiall be raifed, leyyed, collected, recovered and paid unto their Majefties Collector and Receiver General for the time being, during the term be- fore mentioned, and in the fame manner and form, and by fuch Rules, Allowances, Ways, and Means, and under fuch Penalties, Fines and: Forfeitures, as are mentioned, exprefTed and directed in and by one Ad of General Amenably made in this prefent Seflions of AflemMy ,cntituled, An Alt for efiahlifhing a Revenue to defray the publick and necejfary Charges of the Province. And forafmueh as it is manifeft that there are feveral Sums of Money collected and received by fundry Perfbns, an 1 not paid unto their Ma- jefties Receiver General : And alfo, that there are ieveral Pcrfbas that continue and remain indebted for the feve;al Duties and Impofitions, and Bxcife upon Liquors, which were formerly eftabUfhed by the late Go- vernment, for defraying the publick Charges thereof, and that it is moft reafonable and juft that all the arrears©? the la me /hould be raifed, levied, collected, anfwered and paid onto their Majefties Receiver General, for and towards the Debt aforefaid ; Be it therefore Er&Zkd by the Authority aforefaid, That all and every Perfbn or Perfom who have received any Sum or Sums from any of their Mi jefties Subjects within thisProvince, or under pietenceof any Duties, Impofitions, or Excite, formerly efla- blifhedby the late Government, from the nth day of Auguft y in the Jfear of our Lord 1688. unt ll the 20th day of March, in the Year of our Lord 1691. At^d likwife> all and every Perfbn and Perfons that are ia arrears for any of the Duties, Impofitions or Excife, as aforefoid, fhalf within four Kalendep Mooeths after the publication heregf, come unto their Majefties Receiver General at New.Tork> and there account with him for all and every Sum or Sums of Money, fb go Uccted and re- ceived by them, and every of them: And alfo, for what they are ia arrears for any of the Duties, Impofitions or Bxcite,asaforeiaid$and pay the fame unto him, without any further delay. And if any Perfca or Pec fen* Perlons (hall refufeor negle&, upon furnmons of their Majefties Recei- ver General, to account 8r pay the funis of Money found due in arrears, as aforefaid, it fhall then be lawful for th«ir Ma }e fties Receive r General, who is hereby authorized to do the lame, to iffue out his- Warrant under his Hand and Seal, to make Diftrefs upon the Goods and Chattels of fuch perfon or pcrfonsthat fhall be found indebted,or in arrear$,as afore* faid, and the fame to expole to Sale by Publick Out-cry, and the pro- duce thereof to take, unt il he be fatisfied for the Sums of Money due and in arrears, as aforefaid. All which Sum & & whatfoever . And all the Afti and Ordi- nances made by the late Govornour and Council for and concerning any oftke Duties, Impofiriens and Bxcife aforefaid, fhall remain and con* tinue in full force and virtue until all the faid Sums of Money, 8* arrears due thereupon be fully paid and fatisfied, according to the tenor of ibis A3, any thmg contained herein, or in any other Aft, to the contrary hereof in any ways notwithftanding. Provided, That all Merchants and others, who are to pay the additrotraiilates and Duties hereby efta- blifoed, (hall have the time of three Moneths after their rcfpe&ive Erv tries made, for the Duties aforefaid, for the payment of the Rates and Duties aforefaid, any thing contained to the contrary hereof nor* wlthftanding. Afts patfed in the Fifth Seffions of the General Affembly, begun at the City of New-Tor l 7 the 22th day of March, 1692. An Acl for calling Long-Iftand the Ifland o/Naffaw* TJ E it Rna&ed by the Governour and Council, and Reprefentatives J5~j convened in General Aflembly, and by tbe Authority of the fame Tlvtt the Ifland, commonly called & known by the Name o^Lnnglfimi, fball from hence-forth be called, The I/land o/j&affatO. And that after she Publication hereof, all their Majefties loving Subjects are hereby re* quired, in all Grants, Patents, Deeds, Conveyances, Bargains of Sale, Bills, Bonds, Records, and other Inftruments in Writing that fllall here- after be made, granred, conveyed, bargained, fold and executed, for or concerning the faid Ifland, or any part or place within the fame, or in anyCounty thereof,tocall &r denominate the faid [Hand in all fuchDecds and Elcripts, as aforefaid, The Iflaxdof Naffatv, any thing contained in any'former AO. to the contrary hereof in any ways nJtwuhftanding. L So j An A3 for eftablishing certain T^tes and Duties upon fuch Goods j Wares and. Merchandise as shall he brought unto their Maje files Beam in the Weigh- Houfe at New-York. THe Rcprefentatives convened in Ucaciai Aftembly being fenfibfe of the great Charge that is requifite for the piwfcui fupport of the Government in this time of War, and being al(b willing at all times to rnanifeft their mod dutiful Affe&ions unto their Majefties,withan hum- ble and thankful Acknowledgment of their Majeftiesmoft gracious aad tender regard to their Subjects within the fame, have cheerfully and unanimoufly given and granted unto their Majefties an Aid and Affift* ance for the better defraying the neceflary Charge of the Government, toberaifed and levied upon all fueh Goods, Wares and Merchandizes that (hail be brought unto their Majefties Beam in the Weigh-Houfe at Atetp-7<>r*,according to fuch Rates &■ Duties^? during fuch Time,and in fuch manner and form as herein after followeth. And they humbly praf that it may be Enafted, And be it therefore EnaStedby the Gevernour sni Council, and Reprefentdtives convened in General Aflemtty, Amd it is hrrtby Emitted by the Authority of the fame, That all the Goods, Wares and Mer- chandises herein after turned and expreifed, that (hall from and after the Publication hereof be Imported to, and Exported from this City, or that fhall be bought and (bid, bartered or exchanged within the lame, (hall be firft brought unto their Majefties Beam at the Weigh-Houfe aforeiaid, and be there weighed. And for weighing the fame there (hall be anfwered and paid unto their Majefties Collector and Receiver Ge- neral for the time being, or to fuch Perfon or Perfons as he (hall autho- rize for the attending and receiving the fame, the Ratesand Duties here- after named, eftablifhed andexpreffed, that is to fay, For all lortsof Silk "Ware above one Hundred weight, Nine Pence per Hundred Weight; Floret or Worfted, the fame; Cochanella, the fame ; Saifron, the fame. Indigo exported only, fix Pence per Hundred Weight, nothing for Im- portation Confe£tures,ihe fame ; all forts of Spices, the fame; Sp**$> Leather, the fame. Sugar, Two Pence half penny per Hundred weight exported, nothing at Importat ion ; Candles, the fame. Tobacco, two Pence, the fame. Sarfaparilla, three pence, the fame ; Ivory, the (ame. All forts of Dye Wood, three halfpence per Hundred weight, exported only. Wool and Cotten Wool, three pence , rhe fame. Dry Hides, Ettt and Deer Skins, twopence, the fame. Butter, three pence, the fame ; Cheefe, the fame . Starch, the fame, both exported and imported; alfo Tallow, threepence, exported; Ginger, the fame ; Hops, the fame; Dry Fifru two pence, the fame; Brimftonc, two pence, the fame, im- ported ; Rozen, two pence the fame, exported only. Cordage, three C8i 1 pence, the fame ; Grocery Ware, two pence, ths farac \ Bread, one penny , the fame ; Flower, t he fame ; Pitch* two pence, the fa ac. And thac all broken Weights fhall pay in proportion accordingly. Md be if further Ensued by tht Authority sfirefdi i t T hat all other fpedes of Goods, Wares and Merchandizes that are not herein named and ex- prcfled, 8r fhall voluntarily be brought by any Perfon or Perfbns within the fame, to be weighed, as aforefaid, ihall for fuch their weighing pay fcfter the Rites and Duties hereby eftabljlhed, and not other wile. And for the better collecting and paying ths Rates and Duties afore- faid, Be it further En&elhy tht Authority af ore/aid, That all Fuch Perfon or Perforrs that from and after the time aforefaid, That fhall import to or export from this City, or fhall buy, fell, barter or exchange within the fame, any the Goods, Wares and Merchandizes afbre-mentioned, enumerated and expreffed, without bringing the fame unto their Maje- fties Beam, aforefaid, and there anfwer and pay the Rates and Duties hereby eftablifhed as aforefaid, fhall then and for lb often as he or they Ihall negleft or refute to do the fame, pay or forfeit unto their laid Ma. jeftiesthe fumof two Shillings and fix Pence^ currant Moncyaforcfaid, for each Hundred weight of fuch Goods, Wares and Merchandizes, as aforefaid, that fhall be denyed or refufed to be weighed as aforefaid, to be recovered before any Jufticeof the Peace within the faid City, or in any Court within the fame, by Bill, Plaint or Information, one naff unto their Majefties, their Heirs and Succeffors, and the other half to the Informer or Profecutor, who ftrall fue for the fame , together with colts of Profecution. Provided alwayes, That the Regulation, tor any part thereofjfhall not extend to com pell any Free-holder withia this Provinccto bring his Goods to be weighed, who fhall fwear upon the holy Evangelift, bona, fid*, That all fuch Gc^di exported or imported, art hii own proper Eftate> and that no other Perfon hath kirettly or indirect fy any Inttnft therein, but that they are exported or imported upon hij own proper Account t»d Rifco. Which if fuch a Perfon fhall be found falfly to I we at in the Premifes, fhall be profecuted againft asone convicl of willfuli Perjury. And that the Colle&or, or fwch Perfon as he fhall appoint, fhall be impowcred to adminifter fu6h an Oath. A&spaffed in the fixth Seffions of General Affem- bly, begun the 1 2th of September, 1 An Acl/or fetthngaMiniflry is raifing aAtaintenance for them in the City o/New-York, County o/Rich* mond, Weftchefter and Queens County^ WHereas Prophanenefs &• Lifcentioufnefs hath of lace over-fpread thisProvinse for want of a fettled Miniftry throughout the fame, X To L *2 ] To the end the fame may be removed, and the Ordinances of Cod daily adminiftred, Be it Enacted by the Governor & Council, and Reprefentatroes convened in General Ajfembly, and by the Authority of the fame, That in each of the refpeftirc Cities and Counties hereafter mentioned & expreffed, there fhall be called, inducted and efrablifhea* a good fu ffici en t Froze/?**/ Mtpifier, to officiate and have the care of 5ouIs,within one year next and after the publication hereof, That is to fay, In the City of New-lork One, in the County of Richmond one, in the County of Wettchefter two, one to have the care of Weflchejler, Eafchefer, Teanches and the Mannor of Vellham, the othei to have the care of Rye, Manerenotk and Bedford; in Queens County two, one to have the care of Jamaica, and the adjacent Towns & Farms, the other to have the Care of Htmpjttd t and the next adjacent Towns and Farms. And for their relpe&ive Encouragement, tie it further Enaeled by the Authority of oref aid, That there fhall be annually and once in every Year in every of the refpective Cities and Counties aforefaid, affefled, levyed, collected and paid for the maintenance of each of their refpective Mini* fters the refpeclive fums hereafter mentioned, that is to fay, For the City & County of Ne»-Tortt, One Hundred Pounds; for the two Pre- cincts ofPVcJtcheJfer, one hundred Pounds, to each fifty Pound, to be paid in Country Produce at Money price. For the County of Richmond forty Pound, inCountry Produce at Money price. And for the two Precincts of Queens County one hundred and twenty Pounds, to each Cxty Pound, in Country Produce at Money price. And for the more orderly railing the refpective Maintenances for the Minifters aforefaid, Beit further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That the refpective Juftices of every City and County aforefaid, or any two of them, fhall every year ilTue out theirWarrants to theConftables, to fiim- mon the Free-holders of every City, County & Precinct aforefaid,together. on the 2d Tuefday in January, for the chufing'of ten Veftry-men & two Church- Wardens, 8c the faid Juftices and Veftrymen or major part of them, are hereby impowcred, within ten daysafter the laid day, or any day after,as to them mall fec,m convenicnt,to lay arealondble Tax on the laid refpectif e Cities, County, Parifh or Precinct, for the Maintenance of the Miniftcr and foor of their refpective places. And ifthey fhall neg- lect to ifTae their Warrants,fo as the Election be not made that da> , thejr fhall refpedtively forfeit five Pound currant Money of this Province* And in cafe the faid Free-holders duely fummoned, as aforefaid, fhall not appear, or appearing donotchufethe faid ten s'eftry -men 3r to Church- Ward ens,rhat then in their default, the faid Juftices fhall within ten days after the faid fecond Tuefday, or in any day alter, as to them fhall feem convenient, lay the faid reafonableTaxon the faid refpective places, for the refpective Maintenances aforefaid. And if the laid lultices & Veftry- men fhall neglect their Duty herein, they fhall refpectively forfeit 6vc Pound currant Money aforefaid. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That fuch of the^ Juftices and Veftry-men that fhall not be prefent at the time appointed, to jnake the faid Tax, and thereof be convicted, by a Certificate under the C 8 * 3 the hands of fuch as do appear, & have no fufficient Excufe for the fame, fhall rdpc&ively forfeit five Pound currant Money aforefaid. And a Roll of the faid Tax, fo made, fhallbe delivered into the hands of the refpectiveConftables of the faid Cities, Counties, Parifhes, and Precin&s, with a Warrant figned by any two Juftices- of the Peace, impowering him or them to levy the faid Tax, and upon refufal, to diftrain, and fell by publick Out-cry, and pay the fame into the hands of the Church- Wardens, retaining to himlelf 1 2 d. p er Pound, for levying thereof. And if any Perfcm fhall refute' to pay what he is fb a Med, and the faid Conftablesdo ft rain for the fame, all hisCharges fhall be paid him, with fuch further allowance for his pains as the faid Juftices or any of them fhall judge reafonable. And if the faid Juftice or Juftices fhall neglect to iffue the faid Warrant, he or they refpectively fhall forfeit five Pounel currant Money aforefaid. And if the faid Conftables, or any of them, fail of their Duty herein they fhall refpeftively forfeit five Pound currant Money aforefaid. And the Church- Wardens fb chofen fhall undertake the faid Office, and receive and keep a good Account of the Monyes or Goods levyed by virtue of this Act, and the fame iffue by order from the faid Juftices and Veftry-men of the re fpc&ive Cities, Counties, Pre« cintts and Parifhes aforefaid, for the purpofes and intents aforefaid, ant! not otherwife. And the Church- Wardens fh^ll, as often as thereunto required, yeild an Account unto the Juftices and Veftry-men, of all their Receipts and Disburfemeats. And in cafe the Church* Wardens or any of them fhall neglect their Duty herein, they fhall refpectively forfeit five Pound currant Money aforefaid, for every refufal. And (re it further Enafted by the Authority df*refaid f That the faid Church- Wardens in their refpective Precincts aforefaid, shall by Warrant as aforefaid, pay unto the ref pective Minifters the Maintenance afore- faid, by four equal and quarterly Payments, under the Penalty anil Forfeiture of fne Pound currant Money aforefaid, for each neglect* refufal or default ; The one half of all which Forfeitures shall be diu pofedof to rhe ufe of the Poor in each refpective Precinct where the fame doth arife, and the other half to him or them that fhall profecutc the fame. Alwayes provided, and Beit further Erttftedby the Authority afore fatd^ Thatall and every of the refpective Minifters that fhall be ferried into, the refpe&ive Cities, Counties and Prccin&s aforefaid, fhall be called to officiate in their refpective Precincts, by the refptctive Vefttvmen and Church Wardens aforefaid. And alwayes provided, That all former agreements made with Minifters throughout this Province, fhall continue and remain in their full force and virtue, any thing con- tained h«rein to the contrary hereof in any ways notwithftanJing, t 84 3 An A3 confirming is continuing unto their Majrfties the Revenue eft ab lis bed by an Ail of General Aftm- bly 7 made in the \th Year of their Majefttes Reign, for defoying the public k and necejfary Charges of the Gwtrnment^ five Teats longer than the Term therein mentioned THe Reprefentatives convened in General Afftmbly taking mm their ferious Confidsrauoo the extraordinary Expence chat the Defence of this Province requires from their Majefries, daring this term of War, and being willing on all occa flora to gire Demon ft ra- tion of their conftant Loyalty and dutiful Affections unto their mod Excellent Majeftics, do humbly pray tod befeech that the Revenue given and granted unto their rnoft Sacred Majefries for the term of Two Years, by an Act of General Affembly made in the fourth Yea* of their Majefties Reign, Brtitulcd, An A& for tjt&hifotng a Revemm i$M their M^efttes fir ike &( frying the PfdluJc and Nctt§*rj Charges if tbt Governments may be continued and confirmed unto thoi? moft Excellent Majefries for the time and fpace of five Years nexr after the expiration of the Term of the two Years afbrefaid, and humbly be- feech that it may be Enacted, AnAbeit therefore Emend by the Q$vtmo*t *nd Council, and Reprefentatives tenveneJ in General AJf entity, and iy the Authority $f the fame, That the Rates, Dunes and Excite made payable upon Merchandizes, Furs and Liquors, fhall be levyed, collected and paid unto their moft Excellent Majefties for the term and fpace of five years next and after the expiration of the term linmted in the laid Act, to commence and be eompttted from the 1 &th day of May, which /hall be in the Year of our Lord iaQ{. according to fuch Rules and Di- rections, and under fuch Pains and Forfeitures as w contained and enjoy ned by the faid Aft. And the aforefaid Act, and every Article* Rub and Claufe therein mentioned fhall he, abide and remain in fuH force and effect, to all intents and purpofes> during the laid Term of five Years, and no longer, as fairy and in like manner as iff the lame were particularly and at large recited anklet down in the Body of this Aft, any thing contained thoroia to th« contrary hereof in any wayes notwithstanding. CO Province of New- York, ff. Anno Rcgni Gulielmi & Mans. REGIS & REGINJ?, Angliac, Scotise, Francise & Hibetnise, Q U I N T O. r An ACT for Retraining and PunisbingTrivateers and 'Pjrates. WHereas nothing can more contribute to their Majefties Honour than filch Articles as are concluded and agreed on in a) I Treaties of Peace, fliould by all their Majefties- Subjects, according to their Duty, be mod inviolably prefer ved and kept, in and over all their Majefties Dominions and Territories. And whereas agaiuft fuch Treaties of Peace made between their Majefties and their Allies, fcveral of their Majefties Subjectts do continually fail Under Com- Ksifl&ons of Forreign Princes and States, contrary to their Doty and good Allegiance, and by fair means cannot be refrrained from fo doing, Be it therefore Enacted by the Governor, Council and Affembly, and it is hereby Enacted by the Authority of the lame, That from and after Publication hereof, it Ihall be Feilony for any Perfbn which now doth or hereafter (hall inhabit in or belong to thk Province, to fcrve in Amtrie* in an Koftile manner under any Forreign Prince, State. or Potentate in Amity with their Majefties, without {pecial lifence for ft) doing, under the Hand and Seal of their Majefties Governor or Commander in Chief of this Province for the, time being/ and that aU and every fuch Offender and Offender*, contrary to the true intent o£ this Act, being thereof duely conyicted in their Majefties Court of Judi-^ cature within this Province (to, which Courts Authority is hereby RivefT fo hear and determine the lame, ss other safes of EcUony) .jQsail fuff& A * pain* C * ) pains of Death, without benefit of Clergy. Provided nevefthelefs that this A&, nor anv thing therein .contained, iball exiend to any Perfon or Peifbns, which now are or have been in the Service or Imployment of any forreign Prince, State or Potentate whatfoever, that fhall return to this Province, and leave and defer: fuch Service and tmploymeat, before the firft day of September next enfuing, rendring themfelves to sheir Majefties Governour or Commander in Chief for the time being, and giving fuch Security as he fhal appoint, for iheir future good Behaviour, and alio that they fhall not depart this Province without the Lifence of their Majefties Governour or Commander in chief. And for the better and more fpeedy Execution of Juftice upon fuch who having committed Pyracies, Fellonies, jaod other Offences upon the Sea, fh&H be apprehended in or brought prifoners to this Province, Be it further enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That all Fellonyes, pyracies, Roberies, Maiders, or Confederacies committed, that here- after (hall be committed upon the Sea, or in any Haven, Creek ox Bay, within the Jurifchftion of the Admirality, fball be enquired, tryed, freard, determined and judged in fuch Form as if fuch Offence had been committed in and upon the Land, aad to that end and purpole Com- Saifrions fhall be had under their Majefties Seal of this Province, directed «o the Judge or Judge6 of the Admirality of this Province for the time seeing, and to fuch other fubftantial perfons, as by their Majefties Go- vernour or Commander in chief of this Province, for tlie time being* Jhall be named or appointed ; which (aid Commiuioners, or fuch % Quorum of them, as by fuch Commotion fhall be thereunto authorized, Ihall have full Power to do all things in and about the enquiry, hearing, determining, adjudging and punifhing ot any of the Crimes and ^Jflences aforefaid, as any Oommiflioners appointed by Commifliort junder the great Seal of England, by virtue of a Statute made in the Twenty Eight Year of the Reign of King Henry the eight, are Ira^ powered to do and execute within the Kingdom of Eegliwi. And chat the (aid Offenders which are or fhall be apprehended in or brought Prifoners to this Province, (hall be lyable to fuch Order, Procefs, Judgment and Execution, by Virtue of fuch Commillion to be grounded upon this Act, as might be awaided or given again!* them, if they were proceeded againft within the Realm of EngUpd, by Virtue of any CbrnrnuTion grounded upon the laid Statute. Be it further Enaaed by the Authority aforefaid, That all and every perfon or perfons that fhall any way Knowingly entertain, harbour, conceal, trade, or hold any correspondence by Letters, or otherwife, *vuh any perfon or perfons that fhall be deemed or judged to be Privateers, Pyrates, or other Offenders within the Conftruftion of this Act , and fhall not readily endeavour , to the beft of his and ™* P° wcr » to apprehend, orcaufe to be apprehended fuch O.fender <* Q&Qdcrs, flull be lyable to be profecuted againft, as Acccuaries and ( ? ; and Confederate, to fuffer fuch pains and penalties, as in in fach cafe by Law is provided. And for the better and more effe&ual Execution of this A£, Be it further Ena&ed by the Authority aforefaid, That all Commiffion Officers, in their feveral Prrcin£ts within this Province, arc hereby required and impowered, upon his or their Knowledge, or Notice given, That any Privateers, Pyrates, or other Perfons, fufpe£fced to be upon any Unlawful Defign , are in any place within their refpe&ive Pr«cin6ts, to raife and levy fuch Number of well Armed Men, as he or they fhall think needfull, for the feizing, apprehend- ing, and carryinig to Goal all and cfrery fuch perfon and perfons, and in cafe of any Refiftance, or Refufal to yiel 1 Obedience to their Majefties, Authority , . it fhall be lawful to Kill or Deftroy fuch Perfon or Perfons. And all and every Perfon or Perfons that fhall Oppoie or Refift, by Striking or Firing upon any of the Command- ed Parties , fhall be deemed, taken and adjudged Fellons, without Benefit of the Clergy. And every fuch Otficer that fhall omit of negleft his Duty herein , fhall forfeit Fifty Pounds currant Money of this Province for every fuch Oifence, to be Recovered in any of their Majefties Courts of Record within this Province, by Bill, PlairtS or Information, wherein is no Effbyn, Wager of Law or ProteAioE feall be allowed, one moiety thereof to be to their Majefties, tfoeif Heirs and Succefiors, for and toward the fupport of the Govern- ment of this Province, and the contingent Charges thereof, and the other moiety to the Informer. And all and every Perfon anJ Perfons that upon Orders given him or them, fhall refute to repair immediately, with his or their Arms well fixed, and Amunition p 10 futh place or places as fhall be appointed by any fuper O Beer or Officers, and not readily Obey his or their Commands, in the Ex- ecution of the Premifes, fhall be lyable to fuch Fine or Corporal Pa* nilhment as fha41 be awarded againft them within the Courts to which the Recognizeance of the Fa& doth belong. FIN IS. An AGt for Granting to their Majefties the Rate of One Penny per Pound upon all the Real and Per- fonal Eftates within this Province of ^(ew-Tor^ &c. To be allowed unto his Excellency the Go- vernour, for the Care of the Province, ZNjwembct the 1 2th, 1692. THe Representatives convened in General AfTembly, in all humble and dutiful Acknowledgement of their Majeftiej moft Gracious Favour and Regard to the Subjects of this Province, by CommifRorUting and Appointing over them, aPerfbntobe their Governour, who is endued with moft excellent Qualities, and hath given moft fignal Dcmonftration of his conftant Loyalty and Fidelity unto their Majefties, by his prudent care and conduct, fince his arrival into this their Majefties Province, and who by his unwearied vigilcnce hath vifitcd the Frontiers of the feme, and hath put them hito fuch pofture as that all the Subjects are in fafety, tho' inviron'd with a powerfull Enemy ; In the deepeft Sence thereof become humble Sup- pliants unto their moft Excellent Majefties, and pray that they would be srgu cioufly pleated to accept, as a token of their moft Loyal and Sincere Affection unto their Majefties, and their Government eftablifhed here, One Penny for every Pound value of all the Real and Perfbnal Eftates of all and every the- Free-holders and Inhabitants within this their Majefties Province and Depen- dancies; and dolikewite humbly pray, that your moft excellent Majefties would be pleated to give & allow the fame unto Benjamin Fhtcber £fq; Capt, General and Governourin chief in and over their Maicfties Province of Akw- Tork, and Territories thereon depending, in Jmerics y and pray that it be fo enacted. Be it therefore enacted by the Governour and Council,and Repretentativci convened in General Alfembly, and by the Authority of the fame, That tfiere be AfTeffed, Levyed and Collected One Penny foreverv Pounds value of all the Real and Perfbnal Eftates of all and every the Free-holde-s and Inhabitants within this Province and Dependencies, to be afTelTed, levyed, ccHe&ed and paid y in manner and form following, that is to fay, The one half ©rrnoyetyof theaforelaid Aflefmentsof One Penny for every Pounds -value of all the Real and Perfbnal hftares, asaforefaid, to be altered, levyed, col- lected and paid unto their Majefties Receiver General at Ne^v-Tork, at or be- fore the firft day of Septcmbtr next, which (hall be in the Year of our Lord OncThoufand MX Hundred Ninety and Three, and the orher half or nioyety of the faid Aflefment to be paid in like manner at or before ihc firrt day of SetKmbtr then next following, which .(hall be in the Year of our Lord One Thoufand Six Hundred Minety and Four- And fcr the more due and orderly Collection of the AuVoat nt sforefaii ^ * ) Be it further enafted by the Authority afore/aid, That the Mayor and Aldermen within the City of New-Tork for the time being, and the Mayor and Aldermen within the City of Mbtwy iot the time being, and the Jufticcs of thcPeaee for the time being,for the feveral and refpective Counties with- in this Province, for the feveral Counties refpeftively, for 'the which they jhallbc Jufticcs of the Peace, do within fix Months after Publication hereof affemble and meet together in the Court Houfes, for the feveral refpeftive Cities and Counties, or fuch other place or places as they fhall agree among themfelves, and fhall there order, That the AfTefTors and Collectors foe the feveral and refpe&ive Cities, Towns, Mannours, and Liberties, within their feveral Jurifdi&ions, for the affefling, collecting and receiving of the Publick Rates, fbn the defraying of the Publick and NecefTary Charge of each refpeftive City and County aforefaid, be the AfTcfTors and Collectors for the affefling, collecting and receiving the Rate of One Penny per Pound, asaforo* faid, as to the faid Mayors and Aldermen and Juftices of the Peace lhall feem ■Aee* and reafbnable. And forafmuch as there are feveral Man nors and Jurifdi&ions within the refpeftive Counties aforefaid, who neglect, and do not elect annually, or once every year AfTefTors and Collectors, whereby the intent of this Ad may be fruftrated, Be it therefore Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That if the rcfocftive Mannours and Jurifdictions within the feveral Counties afore- Jl&J, (nail refufe or neglect to elect AfTefTors and Collectors, for the affefling their refpeftive Mannours and Jurifdictions, and for the Collecting the fame, according to the intent and direction of this Act; Then and in fuch cafe the Juftices of the Peace of the County where fuch Mannours or Jarifdictions are, Are hereby impowered and authorized to nominate and appoint Affef- fors'and Collectors, forfucb Mannorsand Jurifdiftions as fhall negleft and yefufe as aforefaid; which AfTefTors and Collectors fhall, to all intents and purpofes, obferve the directions of this Act, any thing contained herein to the contrary hereof in any wife not withftanding. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforefaid,That the faid Mayors* Aldermen and Juftices of the Peace, for the refpective Cities and Counties, Mannors and Jurifdictions, have and fhall have Power and Authority by Virtue of this Aft, each of them by himfelf, to adminifter an Oath to the faid Affeflors, (Yell, Truly, Equally and Impartially, in due Proportion, as it [bad appear to them, according to :heir befi Under (landing, to ajft/'s and rate the Inha* bitanti, Rcfi 'dent s and Freeholders of the TtfptSivt places • for nhich they (ball U eboftn jiJ[e.ffors, And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That if any Perfon orPeifons, who fhall be chofen AfTefTors and Collectors, fhall deny, negleft, or unequally or partially affefs or refufe to make fuch AfTefment, as by this c\a rcc * uir . ed > or A 1311 deny, negleft or refufe to collect any Sum or Sums of Money, m form a f >re- mentioned affeft, that then and in fuch cafe, it SfcUandiiay be lawful for anj two Juftices of the Peace of the Cities and Counties Counties where fuchO.Tenders fhall happen to dwell or refide,Sf who by virtut of tills Aft, are required and impoweiei to do the fame by Warrant under their Hinds and Seak, to commit fuch Afleflbror Affeflors, Colle&or or Colle&ors fb denying, rtfcgte&ing or unequally and partiafly aJTemng, or re- fttfing to collet, as aforefaid, to the common Goal, there to remain without Bayl or Maioprize tiil he or they make Pine and Ranforo to their Majslives, as afore kid. And be it further elected by die Authority aforefaid, That if any Perfon or Perfons, of whit degree o* Quality (bever he or they bd, within this Pcovince, who fhall be afFefted or rated any fum or fums of Money by virtue of thts\4& to be raifed and levyed, (hall deny, refufe or delay to pay, and ratify the lame,* that then it mail and may be lawful for any uich CoU le&or, by Virtue of a Warrant under the Hand and Seal of any Juftice of the Peace for the City or County where fuch Offender mall dwell or refide, who by Virtue of this A& are Required and Authorized to grant and iffue forth luch Warrant, to levy the fame by Diftrefs and Sale of fuch Perfon or Perfons Goods and Chatties, returning the Over-plus, if any be, to the O wners, the Sum affeffed, tand Charges of Diftrds and Sale being fir ft cbdu&ed. And alio, be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That if any Mayor, Alderman or Juitice of the Peace within this Province, who are hereby Required, Impowered and Juthoiized to take effectual care that this A6t, and every Article and Claufe therein be duely executed, according to the true intent and meaning thereof, fhall deny, negle&, refufe or delay to do, perform, fullB.ll and execute all and every or any the Duties, Powes and Authorities, by this A& required and impowered y by him or them to he done, performed, fullfiUedor executed, and fhall thereof be convicled before his Excellency, the Governour and Captain General, and Council, or before any of their Maiefties Courts of Record within this Province, lie or they fhall fuffer fucli pain, by Fine and Impritonment, as by the dire & km of the faid Governor and Captain General, and Council, and the Juftices of the faid Courts, mail be adjudged. And be it further ena&ed by the Authority aforefaid , That if any Action, Bill, Plaint or Information fhall be brought, moved or prefentcd at any time hereafter againft any Perfon or Perfons, for any Matter, Claufe or Thing, done or a&edin pnrfuance or execution of this Act, fuch Perfon cr Perfons fb Sued or profecuted in any Court whatfbever, fhall and may plead the general Iflfue, Not Guilty \ and give this -ct, and rhefpecial Matter in Evidence ; and if the Plantirf or Profecucor fhall be N T on-fuited, or forbear further Profecurion, on.fuifer Difcontinuance or V-.rdict to pafs againft him, the Defendant and Ddfcrtdanrs fhall recover Tribble Cods, tor which they fhall have the like Remedy, as in die where Cofts by the JLaw are given to Ddendants. Provided (4) Provided alwayes, That no Mayor, Alderman or Juittee of the Peate £hall be troubled, fued or molefted for any OmifTion, Orfeoce or N«g- lect by Virtne of this Act, but within the fpace of one Year after fiicb Omiffion, Offence or Neglect, and not any time hereafter, any thing con- tained herein to the contrary thereof in any wife notwithftanding. Always Provided, and be-tt further Enacted by the Authority aforefeid, That the feveral Collectors of each refpective City and County, as afoiefaid, fball hav« Hbertjr to pay the feveral refpective Sums afleffed, as afbrclaid, at the Time and Days aforefaid in Currant Money at New-T*rk, er for want thereof, in good, fufficient and merchantable Provifionc at the currant Market Price. F I N I 9, Anno Regni Gulielmi & Marise, REGIS & REGlNiE, Anglise, Scorise, Francis & Hiberniae, Q U I N T O. The \otb of Aprils Anno Domini 1693. An Aft for raifmg fix Tboufand Found for the payment of three Hundred Volunteers y and their Officer 5, to be imployed in the Re-inf or cement of the Frontiers of this Prow nee at Albany, from the fir ft of May next , to the firfl of May then next following, in the Tear of our Lord 1 694. WHcrcas upon the firft day of Mty next, the time doth expire, w herein the Forces lately raifed for the defence of the Fron- tiers at Aibauy, were to abide, which continuing ftill daily expofed to the Attempts of the French, their Majeftics declared Enemies, it is of aWblute neceflity that they fhould from the faid time be well Re-iGforced, not only for the Prefervation of this Province, but alfo for the Security and Defence of ail their Maiefties Subjects in the adjacent Colonies. And to the end that the faid purpofes may be wall and truly effe&ed, the Reprefentatives convened in General AfTtmbly, do pray, that his Excellency would levy or caufc to be levyed in this and the *djacent Collonies three hundred efFe&ual Men, Volunteers, to be formed in four Companies of Souldiers, and imployed in their Ma jetties fervice, for the fecuritv and defence of the Frontiers of this Province at Jlbsty and there to continue during the time hereafter mentioned and exprelTed. That is to fay, That his Excellency doth forth-with, upon publication hereof, raife, or caufe to be raifed, as aforefaid, two hun- dred effectual men Volunteers, which are to be formed into four Com- panies of Souldiers, as aforefaid, and imployed at Jlbnuy , for thiir Maiefties Service, as aforefaid, and there to continue in the faid Service from the firft day of Afrrnext, until the firft day of May then next fol* B lowing lowing, that fhall be in the Year of our Lord One Thoufand Six Hun- dred Ninety and Four. And alfo, That his Excellency fhall likewife raife One Hundred effective Men Volunteers more, which fhall likewife fee added to thejfour Cornpaniwaforefaid,in equal Proportion, and pofted at Albany, as aforelaid, and there only to coi t nue and remain from the firft day of November next enfuing, until che fifteenth day of Marck then following, and no longer.' And that his Excellency may be the better enabled to make fuch Levys as aforefaid, the Reprefentatives convened in genera! AlTembly, do pray that it may be Ena&ed, And be it therefore Ena&ed by the Governour and Council, and Reprefentatives convened in general Alfembly, and by the Authority of the fames That a Levy of Six Thouland Pounds currant Money 0/ thrs Province be laid, afTeffed, railed and levyed upon all and every of the Inhabitants, Refidenta and Free holders of and in this Province, &c. for the paying and maintaining of the laid three hundred Volunteers, and their Officers, together with the incidental Changes that fhall arife rhereon, according to the Bftablifhment here- unto annexed, and not otherwife, and for no other ufe,. intent or purpofe whatfoever. To be laid, afletfed, raifed and levyed in each refpe&ive City and County, throughout the Province, according to the Rates, Qjjota'tand Proportions hereafter following ; that is to fay, For the Gty and County of New-Tork, One Thdu&nd Four Hundred and Fifty Pounds, being their Quota and Proportion of the Levy of Six Thoufand Pounds aforelaid. For the County of Suffolk, in the Ifland of N*Jf*P, Twelve Hundred Pounds, being their Quota and Proportion, as aforelaid. For Queens County, in the Ifland of Naffaw, One Thoufand Pounds, being their Quota and Proportion, as aforefaid. For Kj*& County in the laid Ifland of Naffaw, Nine Hundred Pounds, being their. Quota and Proportion, as atore&d. For the County of Weftcbcftr Five Hundred and Sixty Bounds, being their Quota and Proportion, asaforefaid. For the County of Vlfterznd Dutches County, Six Hundred & Thirty Powtds, being their Quota and Proportion, asaforefaid. For the County or Richmond, Two Hundred and Thirty Pounds, being their Quota and Proportion, as aforefaid. Ard for the County of Orange Thirty Pounds, being their Quota and Proportion, as aforefaid. All which Quota's and Proportions, as aforefaid, doth in the whole amount unto the Sum of Six Thoufand Pounds currant Money afore- faid, which faid Sum of Six Thoufand Pound fhall well and truely be paid by the refpe&ive Collectors of each rerpe&ive City and County aforefaid, unto their Majefties Collector and Receiver General for the time being, at their Majeftie* Cuftom Houfe in the City of New-Tori:, J* coequal Payments, that is to fay, Three Thoufand Pounds carrant Money as aforefaid, being the one moiety or equal half part of the faid Thoufand Pounds, at or More the nine and twentieth day of Sep/em&et next, being the Feaft Day dFAMttM the Arch- Angel. Andtheothet three Thouiand Pounds currant Money aforefaid, being the other moiety or equal half part of the Levy aforefaid, at or before the twenty fifth day o? March then next following, being the Feaft day of the Anunmtion of the bleffed Virgin Mtry y which fhall be in the Year of our Lord OneThoufard Six Hundred Ninety and Four* under the pa.ns and penalties herein after mentioned. And that the laid Sum of Six Thoufand Pounds, according to the Quota's and Ptoportions aforefaid, mar be moft.iyudy and erfauahV afTefled, raifed, collected and paid unto their Ma jetties [Receiver General, in manner aforefaid and for the intent and purpofes aforefaid, Be it ftrtfar Ertatttd, and it is hereby further Enacted bv the Authority aforefaid, That the Mayor and Aldermen wirhin this City of Ntw-Tork, for the time being, and the Jufticesof the Peace for the time being, for thefeycrat and refpective Cotn ics aforefaid, for the feveraJ Counties refpctlively, for the winch they fhall be Juftices of the Peaee, do within forty days after Publication hereof, atTernble and meet together in the Court Houfes, for the feveral refpective Cities and Counties, or fuch other place or places as they fhall agree upon *mongft themfeives, and mail there order that Affcifors and Collectors for the feveral and refpective Cities, Towns, Mannors, and Liberties within their feveral Jurifdictions, for theafTcfling, collecting and receiving of thcpublitlc Rares, for the defraying the publfck and nece/ftry Charges of eadi reflective City and County aforefaid, be the AiTeffcrs and Collectors for die aflefling, collecting and receiving the fum or fums of Money herein before-mentioned, according to ths proportions before exprefled, as to the faid Mayor "and Alder-men and JuJtices fhall (eem meet and reafbnabte. And forafinneffas there are feveral Mannors and Jurifdicrions withia the refpective Counties aforefaid, who neglect, and do noteJect annually cr once every Year Afftffors and Collectors, • whereby the intent of this Act may be fruftrated, Be it therefore Enacted by the Authority afore- laid, That if the refpective Mannors and Jurifdictions within the feveral Counties aforefaid, fhall refufe or neglect to elect A ffeffcrs &• Collectors fbrtheaffefling of their refpective Mannors and Jurifdictions, and for the collecting the fame, according to the intent and direction of this Act, then and in fuch cafe the Juftrces of the Peaco of the Counties where fuch Mannors or Jurifdictions are, are hereby impowercd and authorized to nominate and appoint AiTeffors and Collectors for fuch Mannors and Jurifdictions as Thall neglect or refufe asaforefaid ; which AiTefTors and Cotlectors fhall to all intents and purpofb obferve the directions of this Act, any thing contained herein to the nontraty hereof in any wile notwithftanding. An* And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That the faid Mayor, Aldermen and Juftices of the Peace for the re/pectivc Cities and Counties, Mannors and Jurififictions have and llial I have Power and Authority by virtue of this Act, each of them by himfelf to adminifter an Oath tothciaid Affeflbrs, We&, Truly^ h^udly **d faparthtlly, and in. due Proforti**, ** it (bill appear to them, accenting to tbetr btji VneUrfland* ing, to ajfefiand rate the Inhabit ant s % R efidents & Ine-holders of the refpeftive placet for which they JbaU be chefen JJjeJfors. And be it Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That if any perlbn 00 perfbns who (hall becholen AffefTors or Collectors, fhall deny, neglect, or unequally, or partially aflefi, orreiiifc to make fuch Alfefsment, as by this Act is requind, or fhall deny, neglect or refufe to collect any Sum or Sums of Money, in form afore* mentioned afkft, that then and in fuch cafe, it fhall and may be lawful for any two Juftices of the Peace of the Cities and Counties where fuch Offenders fhall happen to dwell or refide, & who by virtue of this Ad, are required and impower- ed to do the fame by Warrant under their Hands and Seals, to commit foch AfTeJTor or Affeflbrs, Collector or Collectors fo denying, neglect- ing or unequally and partially afleffingjOr refufing to collect, as a forefaid, to the common Goal, there to remain without Bay] or Mainprize till he or they make Fine and Ranfbm to their Majefties, for fuoh Contempt, as aforefaid. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That if any Perfon or Perfons, of what Degree or Quality foever he or they be, within this Province, who fhall be aiTefled or rated any fum or fums of Money by virtue of this Act to be railed and levyed, fhall deny, refufe or delay to pay and fatify the fame, that then it fhall and may be law- ful for any fuch Collector, by Virtue of a Warrant under the Hand and Seal of any Juftice of the Peace for the City or County where fuch Offender (hall dwell or refide, who by Virtue of this Aft are Required and Authorized to grant and iitue forth fuch Warrant, to levy the fame by Diftrefs and Sale of fuch Perfon or Perlbns Goods and Chatties, re- turning the Over-plus, if any be, to the Owners, the Sum altered, and Charges of Diftrefs and Sale being firft deducted. And that where any oftheGoods and Chattels fhall be diftrained for any of the Atfefments and Rates aforefaid, and the Owner of the laid Goods fhall not within five days next after fuch Diftrefs taken, and notice thereof, with the caufe of fuehj&king left at the Houfe, or Other moft known place where the diftrefs wa$ made, come and pay to fhe Collector and Receiver of the Afleffment aforefaid, that then after fuch Diftrefs, and notice as afore- faid, and expiration of the faid five days, the Collector, or perfon di- ftraming floaH and may caufe the Goods and Chattels fo diftrained, to be appraifad bv two fworn Apprailers, to appraife the fame truely, according to the beft of their Underftandings,ana after fuch appraifemcnt fliali and may lawfully carry and drive the faid Goods and Chatteb fo diftrained, diftrained, into any County or Town throughout the Province, and the faid Goods and Chattel* fhall and may there lawfully (ell for 'the beflr Price can begotten for the fame, toward iatisfaction of the Rate* afore- ftid, and or the Charges of fuch Dutrefs, Appraifcment and Sale, giving the Over- plus to the Ovvners. And alfo, be it further Enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That if tny Mayor, Alderman or Juftice of the Peace within this Province, who are hereby Required, Impowered and Authorized to take effectual care that this AcVand every Article and Claufe therein be duely executed, according to the true intent and meaning thereof, fhall deny; neglect, refufeor delay to do, perform, futlfill and execute all and every or any the Duties, Powers and Authorities, by this Aft required and im- powered, by h m or them to be done, pertorniid, failftikd and executed, and (hall thereof be convicted before the Governoar and C until, or before any of their Majefties Courts of Redord within thit Provincei he or they (ball fiaTer fuch pain, by Pine and Imprifbnment, as by thedifcretion of the faid Governor ana Council, and the J uft ices of the laid Courts, fhall be adjudged. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforefeid, That if any 'Action, Bill, Plaint or Information (hall be brought, moved or profe- cuted at any time hereafter againft any Perfon or Perfons,for any Matter, Claufe or Thing, done or acted in purfuance or execution of this Act, fuch Perfon or Perfons (b fued or proiecuied in any Court whatfbever, fliall and may plead the general Ilfue, Not Gattty y and give this Act, and thefpecial Mittor in Evidence; and if the PlantifF or Profecutor fhall be tfon-futted, or forbear further Profecutton, or fuf&r Dilcon- tinuance or Verdict to pais againft him, the Defendant or Defendants lhall recover Treble Cofts, for which they fhall have the like Remedy, as in cafe where Cofts by the Law are given to Defendants. Provided always, That no Major, Aider-man or J u ft ice of the Peace jhall be troubled , fued, profecuted or molefted for any Cmhfion, Ofence or Neglect by virtue of this Act, but within the fpace of -on© year after fuch OmifRon, Offence or Neglect, and not at any Time here- after, any thing contained herein to the contrary hereof in any wife not* withftanding. Alv^ycs provided, and be it further Enacted by the Authority afore* faid, That the (everal Collectors of each refpectide City and County, as aforefaid, (hall have liberty to pay the feveral and refpedtive Sums* aueffed, as aforefaid, at the day aforefaid, in currant Money at New-Tork 9 ©rfor want thereof in good fufrtcient and merchantable Provifions, at the Rates and Prices hereafter fpecified andcxpreiTed, to wit, good mer- chantable Pork at the Rates of fifty Shillings per Barrel, the Barrel well repacked by the fworn Packer at Ntw-Tork 9 and the Barrel! containing Thirty One Gallons and half, Wimchefter Meafure, at leaf^ Beef at tho Rate of Thirty Two Shillings and Six Pence /er Barrel, wtll repackt by the fworn Packer of New-Ttrk, aforefaid, the Barrel to contain thirty one Gallons and a half, tVtfickefier.Mca.CurQ, at leaf*. Cood merchantable Winter Wheat at tour Shillings per Bufhei. Trycd Talfow at four pence hilf penny per Pound. Provided always, and be it further Ena&edby the Authority afore- faid, That if it (hould fo happen that his Excellency, purluant to the Limitations aforefaid, could not effect to raife Co many Volunteers in manner aforefaid, but that for the intent aforefaid his Excellency fhould be conftrained to make proportionable Detachments in the refpe&ive Cities and Counties within this Province, to compleat the Number of the Forces, as aforefaid, then it is the true intent and meaning of this A6t, that there (hall only be allowed & paid unto fuch ptrlbn or perfons fo detached as aforefaid, for the fervice aforefaid, the lum of Eight Pence per Diem for each Perfbn Co imploycd as aforefaid, and no more, any thing contained nereis, or mentioned in the Eitablifhment hereunto annexed, in any wayes to the contrary hereof notwithstanding. J» Efiahlifimettt for the paying of the Officers and SouUiers, together xvtiU the incident d Charges, vhieb sre to be ratfed for the Reinforcement of Albany, &c from the frft dqof May, 1695. unttl the ftfl daj of May. 1694. Four Captains at 8 /. per Diem Four Lieutenants at 4 /. per Diem Four Lieutenants it $ s. per Dtem One Chyrurgion It fli. 6 d. per Diem OneCommiffiary for the S tores per diem One CommnTtary for Muftcr per Diem Twelve Sergeants at 1 /. 6 d. per diem Twelve Corporals at 1 s. per diem Four Drums at 1 s per diem Four Clerks at 1 /. per diem Four Montr offes at 1 s. per diem 164 private Ceminels at 1 s> per Sim L /. d. 01 12 00 00 16 00 CO 12 00 00 02 06 00 02 06 00 02 06 00 18 00 00 12 00 00 04 00 00 04 00 00 04 00 c8 04 00 1? 1 2 c6 /. I For $65 days 13/. s. c6 d. n 4991 07 co" 1 00 private Centinels for ij<; days at 12 4 675 00 00 One Town Major for 365 dayes at 4* ©7$ 00 oo Incidental Charges 260 12 06 The Totall 6000 00 00 frhmdand Sold hp William Bradford, Printer to Kjng William ami £*ee» Mary, at tk C19 of Ncw-STork, 1695. & Catalogue of jfm Eftablifoed by the Governour and Council At the Humble Kequeft of the ASSEMBLY For the Governour. FOr the great Seal to every Patent for and under L. S K D> 100 Acres, oo 12 00 For 1000 Acres and upwards of Arable Land, for every 100 Acres. 00 10 09 For every Licenfc of Marriage 00 10 00 For his Hand and Seal to Letters of Adrruniftration, 00 10 00 For a Certificate of Denization, 00 10 00 For a Certificate of Naturalization, 00 10 00 For a Certificate That a VefTel was built, or belongs to their Majefties Filing a Declaration, 009 A Copy of a Declaration, if required, every Sheet con- taining 1 5 Lines, 8 Words to u Line, o o 6 Entrirjg every Attion, o c 9 Every Venire, o % o hvery O C 4 3 £ a 4 Every Subpoena, 009 Entring a Verdict, 009 Entring Judgment, o 1 Execution, 015 Coppying of the Records, for each Sheet, containing 1 5 Lines, and eight Words to a Line, 006 Entry Rule or Order of Court, 009 Reading a Petition, 006 Anfwer thereon, 006 With-dawing an Action, o 1 6 A Scire facias, o 1 o A Habeas Corpus, 016 Every Recognizance, o 1 o A Superfedeas, o 1 6 Searching the Records within one Year, 006 Every Year backwards 3 d. more, o o 3 Entring a Plea, o o 9 The Sheriffs Fees for the Courts of Seffions and Common Pleas. CErving a Writ, taking into Cuftody, and Bail Bond, without any pretence for hiding in the County, 060 Returning a Writ, o 1 o A Venire, o $ o Returning the fame, o x o u. erving an Execution under a hundred Pound, © $ o Every Ten Pound more, o 1 Serving a Writ of PolTeflion, 012 o Scire facias {erving, and Return, o j o Every Perfon committed into the common Prifon, 030 The Cryer or Marfhals Fees for the Seffions and Common Pleas. C Ailing a Jury, each Caufe, o i o Calling every Witnefs, 4J Every Verdict, o 9 Calling each Action, 1 o G u. ThePerfon that (hall Ring the Bell or beat the Drum, each A&iofl depending in Court, o Every Jury -man each Action, 1 o o The t*3 Council and Attorneys Fees. for Attorneys Fees, p g * For Pleading each Caufe, 060 Fees for the Judges of the Supr^am Court. ' I *AHng Ball on a Capi Corpus y ^ _ ^ 1 Allowance, and taking Bail on a Writ of Error, o 6 a Taking Bail on a tMest Corpus^ 060 A Superledeas,, f> t 6 Acknowledging a Deed to be Implied, o 6 a Admitting of a Guardian, *> 6 Sigaiqg a Bill of Co its, o 1 o A Difcontinuance, © 1 © Q A Prohibition-, ^ ^ Lifencsng a Perfbn be an Attorney, o t All Attioasof Debt above 20 to 100 frouncls, © f © One Hundred Pounds and upwards, © to © All A&ionsof Aflault and Battery, Falft Imprifonmeit, Defamation, Actions of Trefpafs, and all other Perfbnal Actions, ft 10 4 Al Preferments, Informations, aad Indictments in Criminal Matters. o to © j Adionsof Ejectment, o to o Clarks Fees for the Supream Court. Filing a Declaration, Copy thereof, if required, each Sheet of 1 5 Lines, S Words to a Line, Entring all manner of Pleas, per Sheer, Entring a Ve:di& and Judgment, I All manner of Executions, I Copy of the Records, for each 5heet, e£ A Rule of Court, O Reading a Petition, fa- An Order upon it, Copy of it, Entring Satisfaction upon Record;, "With-drawing an Action, Fverv Deed Acknowledged, AH Recognizances, A Prohibition, Searching the Records, 6 i € b 6 6 x • 1 6 6 fi s 9 * 1 t 1 c * S ft * r " • 1*1 O The Sheriffs Fees for the Supream Court. . CErving a Writ or Capias, taking intoCuftody, and Bail / ' ^Bond,without any pretence for Riding in the County, o The Venire, Facias and Return, c ervingan Execution under a hundred Pound, Every Ten Pound more, Serving a Writ of Pofleflion, Serving a Scire facias, and Return, o o o o o s. 6 ? 5 i 12 3 d o 6 o o o o The Marlhai Of Cryers Fees. J pAlling each A&ion, Calling every Jury, \ Swearing every Witncfs, c c 9 o i o o o Fees for the Mayors Court, For fixing the City Seal, c j o The Clarks Fees for the Mayor's Court, AN Arreft, Attachment or Summons, o i Recording a Declaration, o i Copy thereof, if required, © i Entring and Recording the Anfwer, o i Copy thereof, if required, o i Order of Court, o o Copy thereof, if required, o o Entring a Judgment, o 2 Copy thereof, if reqnired, © 1 q Execution, o 1 u ' A Copy thereof, if required, c o Reading and Entring a Petition, 1 A Copy thereof, if required, A Warrant to fummons a Jury, each A&ion, o 1 Wnh-drawing an A&ion, o i Entring and Recording Bargains and Sales of Lands, Houfes, Wills, Adminiltrarions, and other Wi kings paffed in Court, not above 2 Pages, o 2 Every page more, o o e 6 6 o o 9 / o o 6 9 o 9 o o 6 6 A o £73 /. ». d Certificate, o i 6 A Sstre Facias, o i 6 An Hibtre Facias Fojjef/tomm, o I 6 Licenles for Ion-keepers, Victuallers and Retailers, 026 A Subpaena for Witneflfes, four, or under, e 1 6 If more, j d. for each Perlbn fubpaened, 003 'Entring an Allowance for zHtkas Corpus, o 1 6 /i Copy of the Records, per Sheet, 006 O at o The Sheriffs Fees for the Mayors Court EVery Arreft and Return, 025 Summons and Return, 016 Every Bail Bond, 010 fcvery Perlbn that (hall be arretted and committed to Prifon for want of Bail, or not bailable, © J p Returning of a Jury in each Caufe, 016 Every Caule in Court, o 1 p Every Execution that {hall be lerved, if under 100 /. o 5 p Every 10 L more, one The Marfhalls Fees. CUmmomng a Jury in each Caufe> o 1 $ Every Witnefc in Court, • o j Calling every A&ion, p a 4| Every Frifoner committed to Goal, « x p Bell Ringers Fees. ^jT] Very Prilbner eommited, O 1 o °|JG Every Adion in Court p p 4* The Jurys Fees. Very Caufe in the City, for each Man on fai<3 Jury, p p 9 C 8 ] Fees to be Received in rh Cuftom - e. By their Majefties Colleftor and Receiver General of the Province of 3\(ew - Tork. ENntry of every Ship or other Veflel, burthen fixty t. s. eC Tuns or upwards, inwards or outwards, 12 o Every Poft Entry of the fame, , o 06 o Lifence to load or unload, o 100 Every Bill of Sight, o 100 Every Bill of Store, o 04 o Every Permit or Warrant of Entry, o 01 o O) Every Poft of the fame, q q 6 u. Every Certificate of Goods Landed, where Bond is j. given abroad, o 10 o Every other Certificate, o of o The Jerkin and Clearing the fame in or out, and com- paring the Merchants Entry, and the Matters Invoice or Outvoice, o 06 o A Cocquet, Let-Pafs or Tranfire, *o 06 o Ships or other Veffels burthend under 60 Tuns, and more than 20. Trading into or out of this Province, EVery Entry in or out, 060 Lifence to load or unload, 050 Every Poft entry of the fame, 030 A Bill of Store, 026 U A Permit or Warrant of Entry. o 1 c C Every Poft of the fame, 006 Every Bond, 026 A Certificate, o 3 q Clearing and Jerking the fame, ice. in or out, 040 A Let-Pafs, Cocquet or Trantire, 030 C 93 Sloops or Veffels of 20 Tuns, or under, coming or going put of this Province. /. 3[. d. FOr every Entry in or out, o 3 <=> Lifence to load or unload, o 1 6 A Pod Entry, 1 6 , A Bill of Store, 2 ° A Bill of Sight, o 2 5 A Permit or Warrant of Entry, o 1 o A Poft of the fame, 006 A Bond, o 2 5 A Jerking and Clearing the lame in or out, ch. 026 Cocquet, Let-Pafs, and Tranfire, o j o O u. Sloops, &c. Trading within this Province, to- wards the SoundjConneEiicutjip Hudfons River and to Eaft-farfey, \ N Entry in or out, 009 jilence to load or unload, o o 42 |PafTand Clearing, 009 Permit or Warrant of Entry, o 41 Other Fees taken in the Cuftom-Houfe. FOr the Sight of every Certificate of Bond given, and entring the fame in the Kin^s Books, 026 For Cancelling a Bond, filing a Certificate, and making it returned in the Kings Books, o z 6 Provided alwayes, That no other Fees fliall be taken for or concerning the Naval Office, Tonnage, or the enumerated Com- modities, or any other thing which relates to Shipping, upon any pretence whatsoever. Clark 2 Clark of the Affemblies Fees. REading and entring every Petition o 3 c Entring aa Anfwer thereof a 3 © Recording faid Petition, if required, © 6 © The Clarks Attendance on the Houfe, all Committees, and. drawing up Refolves, &c. per Dim, o fi o © Theperufal of any A&, or each Days Minutes, -3(W^ do order, That this Catalogue of Fees be fent c^st£S5 tdfeeGEFraraiBfur and Council, praying his Excellency that He easy dW «2dc lame. % Or