Past the Chief Governor the twenty-third of January, one thousand seven hundred and forty-three-four. WILLIAM MATHEW. ENLARGED Feb. 1765, An Act supplementary to an Act, intituled, An Act for No. 198. the better Regulation and Settlement of the Re- by Act of 8th gister's Office of the Island of Antigua, dated the third Day of November, one thousand six hundred and ninety-eight; and for altering and amending the said Act. (No. 275.) See also Nor. Register Acts; 5, 106, direct 39, 270, Act of the Leeward Islands, No. S2, relating incidentally to Registry. for registering WHEREAS in the said Act, intituled, An Act for the better Re- PREAMBLE. gulation and Settlement of the Register's Office, there is no Provision for No Provision making void parole Conveyances of Slaves, or to compel the Acknow- in No. 106, ledging and Recording of written Conveyances of Slaves in the Re- Conveyances gister's Office of this Island, or any other Publick Office of this Island: II. And whereas the Fortunes and Estates of most of the Inhabitants in this Island consist chiefly of Slaves, which are daily transferred from one Person to another, by Parole, or by Conveyances in Writing, not acknowledged and recorded; so that Disputes often arise touching the Titles of Slaves, and Purchasers and Creditors incur and receive great Loss and Prejudice, by reason of fraudulent and covenous Conveyances, Sales, Gifts, Grants, and other Assurances of Slaves; III. For Remedy of which Inconveniences, and for the better establishing Titles to Slaves, we Your Majesty's most loyal, dutiful, and obedient Subjects, the Governor in Chief of all Your Majesty's Leeward Caribbee Islands in America, and the Council and Assembly of the said Island of Antigua, most humbly pray Your Pp2 Most of Slaves. Аст. Conveyances of Slaves not in Writing ledged by Vender before Register in 20 Days from Date, to be void. See Exception in S. 4. Conveyances of Slaves ere cuted out of Antigua but within the Leeward Islands, recorded in a Conveyances No. 198. 19th GEO. II. IV. Provided always, That if any Bargains, Sales, Gifts, Grants, Mortgages, Conveyances, or other Assurances whatsoever, of any Slave or Slaves, shall hereafter be executed by any Person or Persons off this Island, and Proof of the Execution thereof, made in Manner herein after-mentioned, and the same, with such Proof thereof, Year; andsuch recorded in the Register's Office of this Island, within the Time hereexecuted out of after limited; that is to say, within twelve Calendar Months next the Leeward after the Date thereof, in the same are executed in any of the Leecorded in two ward Islands; and if executed in Europe, or any other Country or Years; to be Place whatsoever, within two Years next after the Date thereof; such Bargains, Sales, Gifts, Grants, Mortgages, Conveyances, or other Assurances, shall be good and effectual; any Thing in this Act contained to the contrary notwithstanding. Islands, re good. See No. 270, S. 3. 4. V. And be it further enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the Proof of the Execution of all Bargains, Sales, Gifts, Grants, Mortgages, Conveyances, or other Assurances whatsoever, of any Slave or Slaves, which shall be executed off this Island, shall be by Oath in Writing of any one of the Witnesses thereto, before the Person who shall be in Chief Command in this Island, or before any one of the Judges of the Common Pleas for the said Island, or before the Register of the said Island, or his lawful Deputy; which said Oath shall be indorsed on the Back of such Bargain, Sale, Gift, Grant, Mortgage, Conveyance, or other Assurances, and subscribed by such Witness. 19th GEO. II. No. 198. tend to im A. D. 1746. VI. Provided always, That Nothing in this Act. contained shall Act not to exextend, or be construed to extend, to any Bargain or Sale of any new ported Slaves Slave or Slaves which may or shall hereafter be imported and sold in sold as Mera publick Store as Merchandize. chandize. knowledgment not to part VII. And be it further enacted and ordained, by the Authority After Acaforesaid, That after any Bargain, Sale, Gift, Grant, Mortgage, of ConveyConveyance, or other Assurances of any Slave or Slaves, executed ance, Register in this Island, and acknowledged as aforesaid, the same, together with it till with such Acknowledgment, before the Register shall part therewith entered at out of his said Office, shall be fairly and duly entered and registered at large in the Books of the said Office. Length. knowledg Time of En Memorandum him, attested VIII. And to prevent all Disputes about the Priority of entering Time of Acsuch Bargains, Sales, Mortgages, Gifts, and other Assurances of ment to he Slaves, executed in this Island, the Time of Acknowledgment of the deemed the same shall be deemed and taken to be the Time of Entry or Record- try. ing thereof; and to prevent all Frauds touching all such Bargains, Sales, Gifts, Mortgages, or other Assurances of Slaves, which shall not be executed in this Island, be it further enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Register, or his lawful Deputy, shall, Register to inimmediately after Delivery of such Bargains, Sales, Gifts, Grants, sert on Deed Mortgages, Conveyances, and other Assurances, so proved as afore- of Date of its said, or after Proof thereof made, before such Register, or his lawful Delivery to Deputy as aforesaid, make a Memorandum upon the said Deed of by one Witthe Day, Month, and Year when the same was delivered to the said ness, and signRegister, or his Deputy; which said Memorandum shall be attested by one Witness, and signed by the said Register, or his Deputy; and the Date of such Memorandum shall be deemed, esteemed, and taken to be the Time of the Entry and Registry of such Bargains, Sales, Gifts, Grants, Mortgages, Conveyances, or other Assurances. IX. Provided always, That Nothing herein contained shall make void any Bargain, Sale, Gift, or Conveyance, whether in Writing, or not, heretofore made or executed, for any Slave or Slaves in this Island. X. And be it further enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That Copies of all Bargains, Sales, Gifts, Grants, Mortgages, Conveyances, or other Assurances of Slaves, acknowledged, proved, entered, and registered in the Register's Office as aforesaid, and attested by the said Register, or his Deputy for the Time being, shall be as good Evidence, and allowed to be pleaded in any Court in this Island, as if the Original was exhibited. Act not to affect previous Conveyances of Slaves. See Exception in S. 11. Copy of Contested by Register, as good veyance at Evidence as Mortgages of Slaves made before Act, 19th GEO. II. No. 198. A. D. 1746. XI. Provided always, and be it enacted and ordained, by the Authority aforesaid, That all Mortgages, heretofore made of any not registered Slave or Slaves, shall be recorded in the Register's Office of this void against Island, within two Years after the Date of this Act, or the same shall be null and void against Purchasers for valuable Consideration and Creditors; any Thing herein contained to the contrary thereof in any-wise notwithstanding. in two Years, Purchasers. See Docket of Fees in No. 275, S. 1. XII. And whereas the Docket of Fees appointed for the Register's Office in the said Act, intituled, An Act for the better Regulation and Settlement of the Register's Office, is become useless; the Method of Couveyancing being so much altered since the making of the said Act, that a new Docket for the said Office is absolutely necessary, be it therefore enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the Register, or his Deputy for the Time being, shall take and receive, for all Manner of Writings by him registered, copied, or attested, the several Sums following; videlicet, For every Writing brought to the Register's Office, of what Kind soever, to be recorded, the Register may demand and have the following Fee, that is to say, For every ninety-six Words, the Sum of Six-pence, current Money of Antigua; and if it be a Deed acknowledged before him, he shall also have, over and besides that, the Sum of three Shillings, like Money, settled, for the Attestation of the Acknowledgment thereof before him as Register; which Attestation Fee is settled by the said Act: And if the Deed happen to be a foreign Deed, and not acknowledged before the Register, then, instead of the Attestation Fee settled by the said Act, the Register may either take three Shillings for the Probate thereof, or Six-pence for every ninety-six Words of such Probate; and if there be an Acknowledgment by Attorney, before the Register, of such foreign Deed, by Power of Attorney, then the Register shall take only three Shillings for the Acknowledgment; and the Power of Attorney, if indorsed on the Deed, or contained in the Body of the Deed, shall be reckoned as Part of the Deed; but if the Power of Attorney be separately written on another Paper or Parchment, reciting or referring to the Deed or Deeds, then the same to be paid, at the Rate of Six-pence for ninety-six Words, at the Register's Office: For the copying any Paper Deed or Will, Six-pence for every Ninety-six Words: Two Shillings for Search, where any Person desires to have the Office searched, and to have the Records inspected, to be paid only for those Years the Searcher, shall require to be searched, and the Searcher to be obliged first to name the Years he will have searched, to be paid for the first Year Nine-pence, and every Year after Four-pence Halfpenny; which Fee is only to be paid where the Copy or Copies of Deed, Patent, Warrant, Return, or Claim, or Will not before bespoke; but if any such Copy is bespoke first, then, if the Thing bespoke 19th GEO. II. No. 198. A. D. 1746. bespoke be found, and a Copy taken and paid for, Nothing is to be paid for Search; but if no such Copy bespoke, or if bespoke, and no such Thing as searched for be to be found in the Office, the searching Fee shall be paid: To Attendance, where the Register is required to attend out of the Office, if in Saint John's Town, the Sum of seven Shillings, current Money; if in any other Place out of Saint John's Town, and not at the Office, fourteen Shillings, and also the further Sum of two Shillings, current Money, for every reputed Mile forward; but Nothing for the Way back again. S. 2. That the Register may demand and have all his Fees before he receives See No. 275, a Deed to be recorded, and before he makes his Attestation of the Acknowledgment, or may refuse to receive the Deed. Dated at Antigua, the tenth Day of April, one thousand seven hundred and forty-six, and in the nineteenth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord GEORGE the Second, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Past by the Chief Governor, the tenth Day of April, one thou sand seven hundred and forty-six. WILLIAM MATHEW. An |