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TIT. 10.

A. A. 1783.
P. L. 324-5.

[See A. A. 1785. P. L. 365, amend

8. And the said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall have power, and they are hereby authorized to lay out and make the said drains or passages in the said swamp and savannahs, at such time and in such manner as they shall think most convenient for the purposes intended by this ordinance.

9. And the said drains or passages in the said swamp shall be laid out, made, and kept in repair, at the expense of the owners and proprietors of the lands which shall be benefited ing this act.] by the said drains or passages, and by the labour of the slaves employed on any such lands.

10. And the said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall have power and authority, and they are hereby fully empowered and authorized to employ overseers to inspect the making the said drains or passages, and keeping the same in repair, and to do all such matters as they the said commissioners shall be of opinion will best tend to carrying this ordinance into execution.

11. And that the said drains or passages may be speedily finished, Be it further ordained, That all the male slaves (from the age of 16 to 60 years) residing or employed on any lands within the limits aforesaid, shall be, and they are hereby obliged and required to work on the said drains or passages, at such time or times as the said commissioners or a majority of them shall appoint for that purpose. And in case the owner or owners of any such slaves shall neglect or refuse to send the same to work on the said drains or passages, at any time when required so to do by the said commissioners, or a majority of them, every such owner and owners shall forfeit and pay for every neglect or refusal a sum not exceeding three shillings sterling per day for every such slave that he, she, or they, shall so neglect or refuse to send, to be recovered by warrant under the hands and seals of the said commissioners, or a majority of them,* and to be applied towards defraying the expense of making the said drains or passages, and keeping the same in repair.

12. And the owners of any lands that are on the said swamp and savannahs within the bounds aforesaid, who have no settlement on such lands either with servants or slaves, and whose lands may be benefited by such drains or water passages, shall pay into the hands of the said commissioners or their successors, or either of them, all such sum or sums of money which they may be taxed or assessed by the said commissioners, or a majority of them, for cutting, sinking, clearing, and making the said drains or water passages; and in case the owners of such lands, or any of them, shall neglect or refuse to pay the sums from them respectively due, or in case the said owners of such lands or any of them shall neglect or refuse to pay the said commissioners or their survivors, yearly and every year, the sum of three pounds sterling, for every computed hundred acres of swamp or savannah land, and so in proportion for a greater or lesser quantity, after the

See State Constitution, Art. 9. § 2.

TIT. 10.

said drains or passages shall be fully completed and finished, towards cleaning and keeping in repair, the said drains or water passages, it shall and may be lawful for the said com- A. A. 1783. missioners, their successors, or a majority of them, to levy all P. L. 325. such sum or sums so due, by warrant under their hands and seals as aforesaid ;* but in case it shall happen that the defaulter or defaulters shall have no goods on which distress can be made, then it shall and may be lawful for the said commissioners, their successors, or the majority of them, to cause to be felled and cut down, upon the defaulters lands, or any part thereof, and to make sale of, so much timber or timber-trees as will be sufficient to raise the sum or sums hereby taxed or assessed, and made due and payable for such defaulters lands, the said timber being first viewed, appraised and valued by, and certified under the hands and seals of any three freeholders of the parish in which the said lands are situated, to be appointed by the said commissioners, their successors or the majority of them, for that purpose. And in case there should be no timber-trees growing on the said lands then the said commissioners, or a majority of them, are authorized to lease the aforesaid lands to such person or persons as may be willing to hire the same, for any term not exceeding four years, which leases are hereby declared to be valid and of as full force and effect as if they had been made and executed by the proprietors of the said lands respectively.*

15. If any person or persons whatsoever, by themselves, their servants or slaves, shall by any ways or means hinder or oppose the said commissioners, their successors, or such person or persons as they shall contract, agree with or appoint, their servants or workmen, from cutting, sinking, clearing, and making the said drains or water passages, or from cutting down, felling, or making use of any timber, wood, earth or stones, in or near the said drains or water passages, or from mending or repairing the same as aforesaid, shall for every such offence, forfeit the sum of one hundred pounds sterling, to be recovered by the said commissioners, their successors, or the majority of them, by action of debt, bill, plaint, or information, in any court of record in this state, and the monies so recovered to be disposed of for cutting, sinking, clearing, making and keeping in repair the said drains or water passages.

14. If any of the said commissioners shall die or depart this state, or shall refuse or neglect to act, it shall and may be lawful for the remainder of the commissioners, or the majority of them, to elect one or more commissioners in their room, or in default of such election for the governor or commander in chief for the time being to appoint, and the person or persons so elected or appointed, shall be invested with, and he or they shall and may lawfully use, exercise, and enjoy, the same powers and authorities in as full, and ample

VOL. III.

* See State Constitution, Art. 9. § 2.

TIT. 10.

A. A. 1783.
P. L. 325.

A. A. 1787.
P. L. 424.

Wannell's creek and Cuckold's creek.

Compensation to be made for damages which may accrue.

manner to all intents and purposes whatsoever, as the commissioners hereby appointed, can or lawfully may or ought to do.

15. If any person or persons whatsoever, shall be sued, prosecuted or molested for any matter or thing done by virtue of this act, such person or persons may plead the general issue, and give this act and the special matter in evidence; and in case the plaintiff or plaintiffs shall suffer a discontinuance, or verdict or judgment shall pass against him or them, the defendant or defendants shall be allowed his and their treble costs of suit.

16. Whereas many valuable tracts of land lying on the swamps and savannahs formed by Wannell's or Cuckold's creek, cannot be seasonably cultivated for want of sufficient drains therein, to the great detriment of the proprietors of the said land;

Be it therefore ordained, That

be and

they are hereby constituted and appointed commissioners, and they or a majority of them are hereby authorized and empow ered to lay out, cut, sink, maintain and keep in repair, and to agree for laying out, sinking, maintaining and keeping in repair a free drain or passage to carry the waters off the said swamps and savannahs, from the most convenient navigable place on the said Wannell's or Cuckold's creek, to be continued through the said swamps and savannahs as far up Godfrey's savannah as the commissioners or a majority of them shall deem necessary, then to divide into one or more drains, to be continued through or on the side or sides of the said savannah, and one or more drains through or on the side or sides of Timmons' swamp, as far up in the said respective courses as the said commissioners shall think necessary for carrying the intention of this ordinance into execution.

17. Provided, That a full and adequate satisfaction and compensation be made to all persons for the damages they may sustain from carrying this ordinance into execution, by a fair and just valuation of seven disinterested freeholders of the parish of St. Bartholomew, or a majority of them, three to be chosen by the party who may think himself aggrieved thereby, and three other disinterested freeholders of the same parish, to be chosen by the commissioners herein before mentioned, or a majority of them, and the six appointed to choose the seventh, which seven are to be summoned by the commissioners appointed by this ordinance, or by a majority of them, in the same manner as herein after prescribed for laying an assessment on the proprietors of land benefited thereby ; but in case either party should refuse or neglect to appoint the three freeholders aforesaid, then the commissioners, or a majority of them, herein appointed for carrying this ordinance into execution, shall, and they are hereby authorized and empowered to appoint six freeholders as aforesaid, who being so appointed, shall choose a seventh, and the said commissioners so appointed are hereby vested with the same powers and authorities as if the persons interested had appointed the three freeholders aforesaid.

TIT. 10.

to be made

shall be bene

18. The said drains shall be laid out, made and kept in repair at the proportionable expense of the owners and proprietors of the lands which shall be benefited by the said A. A. 1787. drains or passages, and by the labour of the slaves employed P. L. 424-5. on any such lands; and the said commissioners, or any three The drains or more of them, shall and may, and they are hereby autho- and kept in rized and empowered, from time to time, to issue out their repair at the warrant or warrants under their hands and seals, to seven expense of the freeholders of St. Bartholomew's parish no ways interested in owners of the the said drains or passages, to appear before the said commis- lands which sioners, or any three or more of them, at a time and place to fited thereby, be specified in such warrant, which freeholders, or any five of them, upon their oaths, to be administered by any two of the commissioners, (which oath the said commissioners or any two of them, are hereby empowered to administer) shall en- Enquiry and quire which of the owners and proprietors of lands on said assessment to swamps and savannahs, will be benefited, and which will be be made by damnified by the said drains or passages; and the said free- freeholders. holders shall assess and ascertain what sum or sums of money shall be paid, by the owners or proprietors of the said lands who shall be benefited by the said drains or passages (either by a sum in gross or by instalments) for the setting out, cutting, sinking, maintaining and keeping in repair the said drains or passages, and compensating such owners and proprietors of lands as may be damnified thereby; and the said freeholders shall also assess and ascertain what sum or sums of money (either in gross or by instalments) shall be paid out of the above assessment to such owners and proprietors of lands as may be damnified by making the said drains or passages, in proportion to the injury they may receive thereby. Provided, Proviso. That notice of the time and place of making such inquiry and assessment shall be given in the State Gazette of this state, and also given to or left at the usual or last places of abode of the persons interested, or the tenants and occupiers of the premises respectively, at least ten days before such inquiry

or assessment.

19. The said assessments and verdicts shall be set down in Assessments writing under the hands and seals of the said freeholders or and verdicts any five of them, and shall be delivered to the said commis- to be in writing, &c. sioners, and shall be conclusive and binding to all intents and purposes on all concerned; and if any of the said persons Persons neshall neglect or refuse to pay their said assessments, it shall glecting to and may be lawful for the said commissioners or any two or pay assessmore of them, and they are hereby authorized and empowered, ment, levy to be made by from time to time, to issue out their warrant or warrants, un- distress and der their hands and seals, to be delivered to any constable sale of goods. or constables of the said parish, commanding him or them to levy the sum assessed, by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the person so refusing or neglecting to pay his or her assessment, returning the overplus to the owners thereof after such assessment, and the charges of such distress and sale shall be deducted: but in case it shall happen that the defaulter or defaulters shall have no goods on which levy can be made, then it may be lawful for the said commissioners,

TIT. 10.

A. A. 1787.

P. L. 425.

their successors, or the majority of them, to lease the aforesaid lands, or any part thereof, to such person or persons as may he willing to hire the same, for any term not exceeding four years, which leases are hereby declared to be valid, and of as full force and effect as if they had been made and execudefaulter has ted by the proprietors of the said lands respectively, any former or other lease to any other person notwithstanding.

In case the

no goods,

lands to be leased.

Male slaves

employed on lands benefit

ed thereby obliged to work on said drains.

Penalty.

Commission

overseers.

20. And that the said drains or passages may be more speedily finished, Be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That all the male slaves (from the age of sixteen to sixty years) residing years) residing or employed on any lands which may be benefited thereby, shall be and they are hereby obliged and required to work on the said drains or passages, at such time or times as the said commissioners or a majority of them shall appoint for that purpose; and in case the owner or owners of any such slaves shall neglect or refuse to send the same to work on the said drains or passages at any time when required so to do by the said commissioners or a majority of them, every such owner or owners shall forfeit and pay for every neglect or refusal, a sum not exceeding three shillings sterling per day for every such slave that he, she or they shall so neglect or refuse to send, to be recovered by warrant under the hands and seals of the said commissioners, or any two or more of them, and to be applied towards defraying the expense of making the said drains or passages, and keeping the same in repair.

21. The said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall ers empower- have power and authority, and they are hereby fully empowed to employ ered and authorized to employ overseers to inspect the making of the said drains or passages, and keeping of the same in repair, and to do all such matters as they the said commissioners shall be of opinion will best tend to carry this ordinance into execution.

Penalty in case of ob. struction.

22. If any person or persons whatsoever, by themselves, their servants or slaves, shall by any ways or means hinder or oppose the said commissioners, their successors, or such person or persons as they shall contract, agree with, or appoint, their servants or workmen, from cutting, sinking, clearing and making the said drains or water passages, or for cutting down, felling, or making use of any timber, wood, earth, or stones, in or near the said drains or water passages, or from mending or repairing the same as aforesaid, or shall stop either of the said drains, or prevent the free passages of water through the same, from the fifteenth day of September until the fifteenth day of July in each or any year, shall for every such offence forfeit the sum of one hundred pounds sterling, to be recovered by action of debt in any court of record in this state: and the monies so recovered to be disposed of for cutting, sinking, clearing, making and keeping in re pair the said drains or water passages.

See State Constitution, Art. 9. § 2:

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