obstruct work. or their servants, slaves or others, shall by any ways or means, hinder, oppose or obstruct the said Penalties commissioners, or either of them, or their succes-on persons sors, or either of them, or any person or persons ing or inby them employed or appointed, or any servant, juring the workman or labourer, of any person so employed or appointed, from making, cutting, sinking, clearing or keeping in repair either of the said drains or canals, or any part of either of them, or from cutting down any trees, filling up any hollows, ditches, drains or canals, or from making use of any timber, wood, earth or stones, situate near eitheir of the said canals or drains, which may be necessary for the making or keeping in repair the said drains or canals; or shall obstruct, stop, or in any degree prevent the free passage of water through either of the said drains or canals, or any part thereof, shall forfeit the sum of one hundred pounds sterling, to be recovered by action of debt, in any court of record having sufficient jurisdiction in this state, and to be applied to the making and keeping in repair the said drains and canals. board of And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if either of the commissioners above Vacannamed, or hereafter to be appointed, should leave cies in the this state, resign, or refuse or neglect to act; and commissiwhenever any vacancy may happen by death, the oners, how rest of the commissioners shall, within twelve to be filled. weeks thereafter, elect one or more proper persons to supply the place of such one or more commissioners as may have so departed this state, resigned, died, or refused or neglected to act; and in default of such election, the governor or commander in chief for the time being, shall fill up the vacancy; and the person or persons so elected by the remaining commissioners, or appointed by the governor, shall be invested with, and he and they may lawfully use, exercise and enjoy the same powers and authorities, and in as full and ample manner, to all intents and purposes whatsoever, as Time and place of mission ers meet the commissioners hereby appointed can or lawfully may do, or of right might or ought to do. And be it further enacted by the authority afore said, That the said commissioners shall hold their first meeting at such time and place as a majority the com- of them may agree upon for that purpose; and that at that and every meeting afterwards to be held, they shall adjourn to some certain time and place, by them to be then appointed; and they shall meet twice or oftener in every year; but the chairman of the board, or any four commissioners, shall however have power to call extraordinary meetings. ing. on com mission And be it further enacted by the authority aforePenalties said, That if any commissioner shall fail or neglect to attend any stated mecting, or any extraordinary ers for not meeting, after having had two days notice of such meeting. meeting, he shall forfeit the sum of ten pounds; and if, while the labourers are actually at work, he fail or neglect to attend at any place for that purpose appointed, for every days absence he shall forfeit the sum of two pounds; unless in either of these cases he shall offer, at the next stated meeting, such an excuse as the majority of the board shall determine to be good and sufficient. And be it further enacted by the authority aforeFour com- said, That any four of the said commissioners shall mission- be a board or quorum to do any business arising quorum. out of this act: And all acts, orders and resoluti ers to be a ers to em ploy a surveyor. ons, passed, carried or done, by the votes of a majority of the commissioners present at any board or meeting, shall be valid, legal and effectual, to all intents and purposes. And be it further enacted by the authority aforeCommissi- said, That the said board shall have power to employ a surveyor to lay out the drains and canals aforesaid, in as ample a manner as they may judge necessary or proper, and that the expenses thereof shall be paid in the same manner as other expenses incident to the said drains and canals; that they shall have authority to have any such banks made as they may deem necessary for the said drains and canals, and to have one or more locks made in the same; and to build, alter, renew, rebuild or enlarge any bridge or bridges that they may think proper or necessary, to cross the said drains or canals; the expense whereof shall be paid as other incident al expenses are to be paid; and that they shall be empowered to cut down or use for the said drains or canals, any trees or timber, or any earth, that may be found on or near the course of the same; and if any person shall fail or neglect to pay any assessment authorized by this act, within the time prescribed by the commissioners for that purpose, the same shall be recovered by warrant or execution, under the hand of either of the said commissioners, directed to any such person as he may name therein, or deliver the same to for that purpose; and the property levied, whether real or personal, shall be publicly sold any time after twenty-one days notice thereof shall be given by advertisement in any two gazettes in Charleston. their ne And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That every person owning or possessing any Owners of slave or slaves, residing upon the plantations which, land beneby the commissioners to be appointed according to make rethe second clause of this act, may be returned as turns of being benefited by the said drains and canals, shall, upon cath, return to the commissioners appointed hereby, and their successors, whenever by them required, the name of every such slave, male and female, from the age of sixteen to fifty years, both inclusive; and if any such person shall fail or neglect to make such return within the time for that purpose to be prescribed by the said board, he or she shall forfeit the sum of two dollars for every slave not so returned, to be recovered, levied and raised by warrant under the hand and seal of the chairman of the said board, or any four of the commissioners, directed to such person or persons as he or they may think fit to name for that purpose. D work on drains and canals. And be it further enacted by the authority aforeSlaves to said, That every slave within the description in the ninth clause of this act mentioned, shall be liable to work upon the said drains and canals; and whenever the said commissioners shall think proper to call out the said slaves upon work, they shall give at least two days previous notice thereof to their owners, if they then be upon the plantations, and if not, to the managers or overseers upon the said plantations; and if there should be no owner, manager nor overseer upon either of the said plantations, then to the driver belonging thereto; and after having given such notice, every such slave shall, at the time appointed by the board, repair to the place for that purpose appointed; each male shall carry with him a spade and an axe, and each female a hoe; and if any such slave shall fail or neglect to appear at the time and place so appointed, with the implements aforesaid, the owner thereof shall forfeit one dollar for every day during which such slave shall be absent, or be without those implements; to be levied, recovered and raised, in the same manner as is prescribed in the next preceding clause; unless such owners shall, at the next stated or regular meeting of the board, offer such excuse as they may think sufficient: Provided always, That the said commissioners shall not compel any slave to work upon the said drains or canals longer than twelve days in the course of any one year. And be it further enacted by the authority aforeFines ap. said, That every fine and penalty recovered by virpropriated tue of this act, shall be appropriated by the comto defray missioners, to defray such expenses as may be incurred in making and keeping in repair the said canals and drains, or erecting, altering, repairing or renewing any bridge to cross the same. expenses. And be it further enacted by the authority aforeCommissi- said, That the commissioners herein before named, oners to and their successors, shall keep a regular journal of journal their proceedings; which said journal shall be keep a 7 open at any time for the inspection of any person or persons concerned, who may take what extracts they please from the said journals. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That an ordinance, entitled, "An ordinance to Repeal empower commissioners therein named, to cut and of former acts. sink drains and water passages in Cawcaw swamp, Saint Paul's parish," passed on the twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four; and also so much of the ordinance, passed on the seventeenth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-five, entitled, “An ordinance to amend an ordinance, entitled, An ordinance to empower commissioners therein named, to cut and sink drains and water passages in the swamp and savannahs formed by the northeast branch of Stono river, passed the sixteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three; also to amend an ordinance, entitled, An ordinance to empower commissioners therein named, to cut and sink drains and water passages in Cawcaw swamp, Saint Paul's parish," passed the twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, as relates to the drains and water passages authorized or directed to be made by the ordinance last mentioned, shall be, and the same is hereby repealed. In the Senate House, the twelfth Day of December, in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, and in the twentieth Year of the Independ ence of the United States of America. DAVID RAMSAY, President of the Senate. An ACT to complete East Bay-strect, in Charleston, and for other purposes therein mentioned. HEREAS difficulties have arisen in completing East Bay-strect, from the want of concert among the proprietors of the land to be be W |