Ratification thereof. County Courts authori. ied to open new roads, or alter former ones. firmed and ratified by a law of each State, never to be repealed, or altered, by either, without the confent of the other. II. AND WHEREAS this General Affembly are of opinion, that the faid compact is made on juft and mutual principles, for the true interest of both governments, and the fame having been confirmed by the General Assembly of the State of Maryland: Be it therefore enacted, That the faid compact is hereby approved, confirmed, and ratified by the General Affembly of Virginia, and that every article, claufe, matter and thing therein contained, fhall be obligatory on this State and the citizens thereof, and shall be forever faithfully and inviolably obferved and kept by this government, and all its citizens, according to the true intent and meaning of the faid Compact; and the faith and honor of this State is hereby folemnly pledged and engaged to the General Affembly of the State of Maryland, and the government and citizens thereof, that this law fhall never be repealed, or altered, by the Legislature of this Commonwealth, without the confent of the State of Maryland. B CHAP. XIX. An Act concerning Public Roads.t Paffed the 5th of Jaftuary, 1786.1] I. DE it enacted by the General Affembly, That where any perfon or pers fons shall make application to any County Court; to have a new road opened, or a former one altered, within their County, for the convenience of travelling to their County Court-houfe, to any public warehouse, landing, ferry, mill, lead of iron works, or to the Seat of Government, they shall appoint three or more fit and able perfons, to be fworn before a Juftice of the Peace, to view the ground along which fuch road is propofed to be conducted, and to report to them truly and impartially the conveniences and inconveniences which will refult, as well to individuals as to the public, if fech way shall be opened; and where the application is to alter a former road, they shall also view the former road, and report in like manner, the comparative conveniences and inconveniences thereof. II. UPON the return of the faid Viewers, if the Court shall be of opinion that the road applied for will be convenient, they shall order fummonfes to be iffued to the proprietors and tenants of the lands, through which the fame is propofed to be conducted, if they be found within the County, and if not, then to their agents therein, if any they have, to shew caufe why fuch road should not be opened; upon the return of which fummons, if any proprietor or tenant fo defire, the said Court shall order their Clerk to iffue a writ in the nature of a writ ad quod dumnum, to be directed to the Sheriff, commanding him to fummon and empannel twelve able and difcreet freeholders of the vicinage, no ways related to either party, to meet at fome certain place on the ground through which the faid road is proposed to be conducted, and on a certain day to be named by the Court, and inferted in the faid writ, of which notice shall be given by the Sheriff to the faid proprietors or tenants, or their agents, as before directed, if they were not prefent in Court at the time of the order made; which freeholders, taking nothing (on pain of being difcharged from the Inqueft, and immediately imprifoned by the Sheriff) either of meat or drink, from any perfon whatever, from the time they shall come to the faid place until their Inqueft fealed, shall be charged by the faid Sheriff impartially, and to the belt of their fkill and judgment, to view the lands through which the faid road is propofed to be conducted, and fay to what damage it will be of to the feveral and respective proprietors and tenants, who defired fuch writ, taking into ellimation as well the ufe of the lands to be laid open for fuch road, as the additional fencing, which will thereby be rendered neceffary; and if the faid Inqueft cannot be compleated in one day, the Sheriff shall adjourn the faid Jurors from day to day, until the fame be compleated: Which Inqueft, fealed by the faid Jurors, together with the writ, shall be returned to the Court, who thereupon, as well as upon other evidence, shall proceed to confider whether, all circumftances weighed, it be better that the faid road shall be opened, and if they be of opinion that the fame shall be opened, they shall levy on their County, at their next levy to be laid, the damages fo found, and the cofts of the inquelt, and direct them to be paid to thofe refpectively entitled thereto. But if they shall be of opinion that the faid road ought not to be opened,the cofts ↑ Amended in 1796, ch. 42. $ 1785, c. 77. of fuch inqueft shall be adjudged against the party applying for the faid road. But it shall not be lawful for any Court to order a road to be opened through any lot of land in any town, without the confent of the owner and tenant thereof. pre III. THE feveral Courts shall alfo divide all the public roads into To divide the public cincts, and as often as it shall be neceffary, appoint a Surveyor over every pre-appoint a furveyor to roads into precincts, & cinct, whofe duty it shall be to fuperintend the road in his precinct, and fee each. that the fame be cleared and kept in good repair; which Surveyor shall continue in office until another shall be appointed by the faid Court in his ftead. IV. ALL male labouring perfons, of the age of fixteen years or more, ex- Who are to work on te cept fuch as are mafters of two or more male labouring flaves, of the age of roads. fixteen years or more, shall be appointed by the Court to work on fome pub. lic road: For every perfon fo appointed, who, when required by the Surveyor placed over him, shall, without legal caufe or difability, fail to attend, with proper tools for clearing the road, or fhall refufe to work when there, or to find fome other perfon equally able, to work in his room, the fum offeven shillings and fix pence, for every day's offence, shall be paid, by himself, if he be a freeman of full age, if an infant, then by his parent, guardian, or mafter, and if a flave or fervant, then by his overfeer, if he be under one, or otherwife, by his master. Clerks annually to fix up lifts of their names at their Courthouses. V. THE Clerk of every County Court shall, within ten days after the Surveyors how to benoappointment of any Surveyor of a road, deliver a copy of the order to the tified of their appointSheriff of the County, under the penalty of fifteen shillings; and the Sheriff, ments. within fifteen days after the receipt of fuch order, shall deliver the fame to the Surveyor, under the penalty of fifteen shillings. And each Clerk shall moreover, once in every year, fix up in the Court-house, a lift of the names and precincts of all the Surveyors of roads in his County, under the penalty of fifty shillings for every neglect. VI. EVERY Surveyor of a Road shall caufe the fame to be conftantly Duty of the Surveyors. kept well cleared and fmoothed, and thirty feet wide at the leaft; and at the fork or croffing of every public road, shall caufe to be erected, and kept in repair from time to time, a ftone, or otherwise an index on a poft or tree, with plain infcriptions thereon, in large letters, directing to the most noted place to which each of the faid roads shall lead, and may take ftone or wood for that purpofe from any adjoining land; and for the expenfe of fetting up and infcribing fuch ftones, poffs, or indexes, and keeping them in repair, the Surveyor shall be reimburied by the County Court in their next fucceeding levy; and where bridges and caufeys are neceffary, the Surveyor shall caufe them to be made, twelve feet broad at the least, convenient and fafe, and shall keep the fame in repair, and for that purpose may cut and take from the lands of ary perfon adjoining, fuch, and fo much timber, earth, or stone, as may be neceffary, the fame being firft viewed and valued by two honeft houfe-keepers, appointed and fworn for that purpose by a Juftice of the Peace, unless the owner shall freely give fuch timber, ftone, or earth, for that ufe; but where a road leads through a city or town, the Surveyor shall not take any timber, ftone, or earth, from any lot within the town, without the permiffion of the owner, but shall take the fame from the lands nigh or adjacent to the faid town, where it will do the least injury to the proprietor; and where the affiftance of wheelcarriages is neceflary for making or repairing any caufeys, any Justice of Peace may iffue his warrant, under his hand and feal, for empowering the Surveyor to imprefs fuch neceffary carriages, draught horfes, or oxen, with their gear and driver, belonging to any perfon who, or their fervants or flaves, are appointed to work on the road, and appointing two honeft houfe-keepers, who, being fworn, shall value, by the day, the ufe of fuch carriages, draught horfes, oxen, and driver, which valuation, with a certificate from the Surveyor how many days the faid things were employed in the work, shall entitle the owner to an allowance for the fame in the next County levy. And in the like manner shall the owner of timber, stone, or earth, taken for bridges or caufeys, be entitled to the valuation thereof in the next County levy, upon a certificate from the two houfe-keepers who value the fame. Every Surveyor of a Penalty on then; for road, who fails to do his duty as aforefaid, shall forfeit fifteen shillings for neglect. every offence, VII. WHERE a bridge or caufey shall be neceffary, and the Surveyor, with his affiftants, cannot make or maintain the fame, the Court of the County are empowered and required to contract for the building and repairing tuch How bridges and caufeys are to be built and repaired, when within a county. When over any place between two counties. Penalty on perfons ob. structing or injuring roads or bridges. Owners of dams over which public roads pafs, to keep them of a cer tain width. Penalties how to be re ted. bridge or caufey, and to levy the charge thereof in their County levy. And where fuch bridge or caufey shall be neceffary from one County to another, the Court of each County fhall join in the agreement for building and repairing the fame, and the charge shall be defrayed by both Counties, in proportion to the public tax or affeffment paid by each. Upon every such contract or agreement, bond and fecurity shall be given by the Untaker, payable to the Governor and his fucceffors, for the ule of the County or Counties, as the cafe shall be, with condition for performing the fame, and may be profecuted at the cofts, and for the benefit of the County or Counties, or any perfon fuftaining a lofs by the breach thereof, as often as it shall happen, until the whole penalty of the bond shall be paid. And all fuch contracts made by County Courts, or others appointed by them, shall be available and binding upon the Juftices and their fucceffors, fo as to entitle the Undertaker to his ftipulated reward in the County levy, or to a recovery thereof, with costs, by action of debt, against the Justices refufing to levy the fame. VIII. WHEN the Juftices of one County shall judge a bridge or caufey over any place between them and another County to be neceffary, they shall notify the fame to the Juftices of fuch other County, and require them to ap point three perfons to meet at the faid place on a certain day to be named by the Court requiring the fame, to confer with three others, to be appointed by the faid requiring Court, and agree on the manner and condition of executing the fame; which fix perfons, or fo many of them as meet, being not fewer than three, shall have power to agree on the manner and conditions of doing the faid work, and to fee that the fame be done: And if the Court fo required shall fail to appoint perfons to act on their behalf, or to do what on their part should be done towards executing and paying for the faid work, the Juftices of the Court which made the requifition, shall apply to the General Court for a writ of mandamus, to be directed to the Juftices of the c-her Court, commanding them to do, what on their part they ought to have done, and have failed to do, or to fignify to them caufe to the contrary thereof; upon the return of which writ, the General Court, if they shall be of opinion that the work is unneceffary, or that other fufficient caufe is returned, shall quash the writ; or if they think otherwife, shall caufe fuch further proceedings to be had as are ufual in other cafes of mandamus ifting from the faid Court: And the like method of proceeding by way of mandamus shall be used, where the Juftices of one County shall think it neceflary to open a road to their County line, for the convenience of paffing to fome public place in another, and the Juftices of fuch other shall refufe to continue the road through their County. IX. IF any perfon shall fell a tree into a public road, or into any ftream of water, whereon there shall be any public bridge, and shall not remove the fame within forty-eight hours, or shall kill a tree within the diftance of fifty feet, from the road, or shall cut, pull up, deftroy, or deface, any Rone, or polt, erected for the direction of travellers, or the indexes or infcriptions thereon, it shall be deemed a nuisance. Every free man, of full age, fo offending, or the parent, matter, or owner, of every child, apprentice, fervant, or flave, fo offending, with his or her knowledge, shall forfeit and pay ten pounds for every offence. And where any fence shall be made across a public road, the owner or tenant of the land shall pay ten shillings for every twenty-four hours the fame shall be continued. X. THE owner or occupier of every dam over which a public road paffes, shail conftantly keep fuch dam in repair, at least twelve feet wide at the top, through the whole length thereof, and shall keep and maintain a bridge of like breadth, with ftrong rails on each fide thereof, over the pier-head, flood-gates, or any wafte, cut through or round the dam, under the penalty of ten shillings for every twenty-four hours failure; but where a mill-dam shall be carried away or deftroyed by tempeft, or accident, the owner or occupier thereof shall not be liable to the faid penalties from thenceforth, until one month after fuch mill shall have been fo repaired as to have ground one bufhel of grain. XI. ALL the penalties in this Act, not otherwife directed, shall be one covered and appropria- moiety to the informer, and the other to the ufe of the County, recoverable with cofts, on warrant, petition, or action, as the cafe may be, Any Juftice, who, upon his own view, shall difcover, a road, bridge, caufey, or mill-dam, as aforesaid, out of repair, shall iffue a warrant against the Surveyor, or other delinquent, and if no reasonable excufe be made for fuch default, may give judgment for the penalty and coils, not exceeding twenty-five shillings, or fuch offenders may be prefented by the Grand Juries; in all which cafes of convic non, on view of a Juftice, or prefentment, or on private informations to Juftices, where there shall be no evidence to convict the offender but the informer's own oath, the whole penalties shall be to the ufe of the County, towards lef fening the levy thereof, and shall be annually collected and accounted for by the Sheriff, in the fame manner as County levies; and to enable the Sheriff to make fuch collection, every Justice, immediately on conviction of any offender, where the penalty is to be to the County, shall certify the fame to the Clerk of his County Court, who shall yearly, before the first day of March, deliver to the Sheriff a lift of all the offenders fo certified, and of all others convicted in Court, within one year preceding, of any offence againft this A&t. XII. PROVIDED, That profecutions for any offence herein mentioned, To be profecuted for shall be commenced within fix months after the offence committed, and not within fix months. after. XIII. THIS A&t shall commence and be in force from and after the first Commencement of this act. day of January, one thoufand feven hundred and eighty-feven. 1. W CHAP. XX. An Act for establishing Religious Freedom. [Paffed the 26th of December, 1785.+] THEREAS Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all at Preamble. tempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrify and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion, who being Lord both of body and mind, yet chofe not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do; that the impious prefumption of Legiflators and Rulers, civil as well as ecclefiaftical, who being themselves but fallible and uninfpired men, have affumed dominion over the faith of others, fetting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as fuch endeavoring to impofe them on others, hath established and maintained falfe religions over the greatest part of the world, and through all time; that to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he difbelieves, is finful and tyrannical; that even the forcing him to fupport this or that teacher of his own religious perfuafion, is depriving him of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to the particular paftor, whofe morals he would make his pattern, and whofe powers he feels most perfuafive to righteousness, and is withdrawing from the miniftry thofe temporary rewards, which proceeding from an approbation of their personal conduct, are an additional incitement to earnest and unremitting labours for the inftruction of mankind; that our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in phyfics or geometry; that therefore the profcribing any Citizen as unworthy the public confidence, by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profefs or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously, of thofe privileges and advantages, to which, in common with his fellow-citizens, he has a natural right; that it tends only to corrupt the prin ciples of that religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing with a monopoly of worldly honers and emoluments, thofe who will externally profefs and conform to it that though indeed these are criminal who do not withstand fuch temptation, yet neither are thofe innocent who lay the bait in their way; that to feffer the civil Magiftrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion, and to reftrain the profeffion or propagation of principles on fuppofition of their ill tendency, is a dangerous fallacy, which at once deftroys all religious liberty, because he being of courfe judge of that tendency, will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and approve or condemn the fentiments of others only as they shall fquare with or differ from his own that it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order; and finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left to herfelf; that she is, the proper and fufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unlefs by human † 1785, ch. 34. ↑ Well aware that-See Jefferson's Notes, where this act is truly inferted. No man compelled to and by argument to Declaration that the rights by this Act afferted, are of the natural rights of mankind. interpofition difarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceafing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them : II. BE it enacted by the General Affembly, That no man shall be compelled to frequent or fupport any religious worship, place, or Miniftry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molefted, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwife fuffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profefs, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the fame shall in no wife diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities. III. AND though we well know that this Assembly elected by the people for the ordinary purposes of legiflation only, have no power to reftrain the Acts of fucceeding Affemblies, conftituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this Act to be irrevocable, would be of no effect in law; yet we are free to declare, and do declare, that the rights hereby afferted, are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any Act shall be hereafter paffed to repeal the prefent, or to narrow its operation, fuch A&t will be an infringement of natural right. General Affembly, begun and held at the Public Buildings, in the City of Richmond, on Monday, the 16th Day of QƐtober, in the Year of our Lord, 1786. Punishment of perfons going armed before Courts of Justice, or the Ministers of Justice, or in fairs or markets in terror of the Country. Who fhall be deemed Punishment of thofe who fell unwholefome CHAP. XXI. An At forbidding and punishing Affrays.t Bint condition foever he be, except the Minifters of Juftice in executing Bth CHAP. XXII. An act against Confpirators. [Paffed the 27th of Noyember, 1786.||] E it declared and enacted by the General Affembly, That Confpirators be they that do confederate and bind themselves by oath, covenant, or other alliance, that every of them shall aid and bear the other falfely and maliciously, to move or caufe to be moved any indictment or information against another an the part of the Commonwealth, and those who are convicted thereof at the fuit of the Commonwealth, shall be punished by imprisonment and amercement, at the difcretion of a Jury. CHAP. XXIII. An Aa preferibing the Punishment of those who fell unwholejome Meat or Drink. [Paffed the 27th of November, 1786.§] Be E it enacted by the General Affembly, That a Butcher or other person that felleth the flesh of any animal dying otherwife than by flaughter, or flaugh† 1786, ch.49. Commenced 1 July, 1787. ||1786, ch.59. §1786, ch. 5.3. |