Acts relating to Courts. A. D. 1786. AN ORDINANCE FOR ESTABLISHING A COUNTY AND COUNTY COURTS No. 1325. IN THE NEW CEDED LANDS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF SALUDA RIVER. WHEREAS, the inhabitants of the new ceded lands on the north side of Saluda river, below the Indian line, have experienced many inconve niencies, by being annexed to some of the counties heretofore established; I. Be it ordained by the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives, now met and sitting in General Assembly, and by the authority of the same, That a county shall be established in the new ceded lands, by the name of Greenville, and shall be bounded by Saluda river and the south fork thereof, the old Indian boundary, and the North Carolina line, and shall be entitled to county courts, to be held on the third Monday in Feburary, May, August and November; which courts shall hold, exercise and enjoy the several powers and jurisdictions which are by law vested in the said county courts heretofore established. In the Senate House, the twenty-second day of March, in the year of our Lord one thou- JOHN LLOYD, President of the Senate. Speaker of the House of Representatives AN ACT TO ALTER AND AMEND AN ACT ENTITLED "AN ACT FOR ES- MENTIONED. WHEREAS, it is found necessary to make some further alteration and amendments to the county court Act; I. Be it therefore enacted, by the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives, now met and sitting in General Assembly, and by the authority of the same, That the number of justices in each county may be increased to eleven, for each and every county. II. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the grand juries for the respective counties shall be liable hereafter to be summoned only twice a year, instead of four times, as heretofore; and that the time of their being summoned, be regulated by each court, respectively. III. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That all fines and forfeitures which are recoverable in the county courts, shall be hereaf ter applied to the use of the county in which they are so recovered, and no other. IV. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the powers heretofore vested in church wardens, and the court of sessions, respecting bastardy and taking recognizances for the maintenance of bastards, be henceforward likewise vested in each and every county court. No. 1377. A. D. 1788. Acts relating to Courts. V. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and immediately after the passing of this Act, the powers and authorities heretofore used and exercised by the Ordinaries of the districts where county courts are established, shall be, and the same are hereby, vested in the judges of the said county courts; any law, usage or custom to the contrary, notwithstanding. VI. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the power and jurisdiction of a single magistrate, where county courts are established, shall extend to the trial of all cases of debt not exceeding three pounds; and law or usage to the contrary notwithstanding: Provided nevertheless, the party conceiving himself aggrieved may have an appeal to the county court, but it shall be in the descretion of the justices to award double costs against the appellant, in case it shall appear to them the appellant had not just grounds to appeal. In the Senate House, the twenty-eighth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thou- JOHN LLOYD, President of the Senate. Speaker of the House of Representatives. No. 1387. AN ACT AUTHORIZING JUSTICES OF THE PEACE, WHERE THERE ARE NO COUNTY COURTS ESTABLISHED, TO ISSUE ATTACHMENTS AGAINST THE WHEREAS, by the fourth clause of the Act for establishing county courts, the justices, where those courts are established, are authorized to issue attachments against the property of persons who are absconding or removing privately out of a county; and the said Act hath omitted to give the like authority to the justices where county courts are not established. I. Be it enacted, That all and every authority contained in and given by the fourth or other clauses of the said Act to the county courts, and to any justice, sheriff or constable, concerning the issuing, serving, returning attachments, or disposing of such property, shall be, and the same is by virtue of this Act, given to the district courts, justices and other officers, as in the first mentioned Act specified. In the Senate House, the twenty seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, and in the twelfth year of the Independence of the United States of America. JOHN LLOYD, President of the Senate. JOHN JULIUS PRINGLE, Speaker of the House of Representatives. Acts relating to Courts. A. D. 1788. AN ACT TO CARRY INTO EFFECT THE ORDINANCES OF CONGRESS, FOR No 1396. IN ORDER to carry into execution two Ordinances of Congress, the one passed the fifth day of April, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-one, the other, the fourth day of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three, for establishing courts for trial of piracy and felonies committed on the high seas, I. Be it enacted by the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Assembly now met, and by the authority of the same, That where any person or persons have heretofore or shall hereafter commit any piracy or felony on the high seas, or who shall be charged as accessaries before or after the fact, and have been or shall be brought into this State for trial, the grand and petit jurors for the district of Charleston, who have been or shall be summoned, and shall appear for the trial of offenders before the court of sessions, or not appearing, any tales jurors who shall be drawn out of the special jury list for the said district, shall enquire of, try and adjudge every such offender, in such manner as if the offence had been or shall be committed within the said district; and every such grand and petit juror shall thereupon be subject for non-appearance or misdemeanor, to the fines and penalties to which such jurors are liable by any law of this State. In the Senate House, the twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord one JOHN LLOYD President of the Senate. Speaker of the House of Representatives. AN ACT TO ALTER AND AMEND THE SEVERAL COUNTY COURT ACTS. No. 1411. I. Be it enacted by the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives, now met and sitting in General Assembly, and by the authority of Deeds, how to the same, That from and after the passing of this Act, it shall not be nebe proved. cessary for the grantor or grantors of any deed or conveyance, to acknow. ledge the same in open court, or for the witnesses attesting the same, to prove them in open court, for the purpose of their being recorded in the county courts; but the acknowledgment of the deed by the grantor, before a judge of the supreme court, or oath of one witness before a magistrate out of court, swearing that the deed was duly and legally executed, as heretofore has been the practice to make proof, shall be sufficient for that purpose; and that this provision shall extend to the proving all deeds which have been executed at any time prior to the establishment of county courts. II. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the jurisdiction of a single magistrate, where county courts are established, shall here. Jurisdiction of after extend to the trial of all cases of debt, not exceeding five pounds; trate. a single magis A. 1). 1788. Fees. Constables. As to retailing of spirituous liquors. certain districts. Acts relating to Courts. any law to the contrary notwithstanding; with the same right of appeal as is given in the sixth clause of an Act entitled "An Act to amend the county court Act," passed the twenty-eighth day or March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven. III. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the fol lowing fees, and no other, be allowed the clerks of the several county courts, for performing the duties of ordinary, viz:-for a citation, one shilling and six pence; for each administration bond, one shilling; for letters of appraisement, one shillling; for a dedimus, one shilling; for the probate of a will, one shilling; for granting letters testamentary, one shilling and six pence; for granting letters with the will annexed, one shil. ling and six pence; for recording of any of the above instruments and the appraisement, three pence per copy sheet. IV. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That a quorum of each and every county court be authorized to appoint as many constables as such quorum shall deem necessary, and that the said constables be subject to the same regulations, fines and penalties, as the constables of the superior court are now liable to by law. V. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the authori ty and superintendance of the county courts over taverns and tavern keepers, shall extend to all persons who shall retail within the jurisdiction of any county court, any wine, brandy, rum, gin, beer, cider, punch, or other spirituous liquors or strong drink whatsoever, in any quantity less than three gallons; Provided always, that it shall and may be lawful for any person to sell any spirituous liquors distilled from the produce of his own land, in any quantity not less than one gallon; and that every person, on taking out a tavern license, shall pay the sum of thirty shillings to the court, and five shillings to the clerk, from whom such license is obtained. VI. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That so much of Boundaries of the Act entitled "An Act for laying out the State into counties," as respects the dividing line between the districts of Ninety-Six and Orangeburgh, be repealed; and that the county of Newberry, in Ninety-Six district, be hereafter bounded by the old Ninety-Six line, and that so much thereof as was under the above mentioned Act declared to be included in Ninety-Six district, viz: the eight miles below the district line, be included in Lexington county, Orangeburgh district. VII. And whereas, the seizing of property under attachment, is at preProperty taken sent confined to the sheriffs alone, Be it enacted by the authority aforeunder attach said, that from and after the passing of this Act, any constable, within each and every county, may take property under attachment; provided, the same do not exceed the value of twenty pounds. ment. VIII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any attorney shall advise, bring up or prosecute any appeal from the judgment of a county court, which, by the superior court, may be deemed frivolous and groundless, the costs incurred by such appeal shall be taxed on every such attorney; any law to the contrary notwithstanding. IX. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the attor. ney's fee in all prosecutions in the county court, on behalf of the State, shall be one pound, and on prosecution of each appeal from such county court, in the supreme court, shall be two pounds, and no more. X. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the court of the county of Winton shall be held on every first Monday in May, August, November and February, in every year, instead of the third Tuesdays Acts relating to Courts. of April, July, October and January; and that the county court of Darlington shall be held on the third Monday in March, June, September and December, instead of the days at present established by law. XI. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the county of Abbeville shall be entitled to three magistrates, in addition to the number heretofore prescribed by law, and that they shall be appointed in that part of the county lying above the old Indian boundary. A. D. 1789. Abbeville. XII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That a quorum of the justices of the several county courts shall have power and authority Quorum. to qualify magistrates appointed for their respective counties. XIII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the late Ordinaries of the several districts where county courts are established, are hereby directed and authorized to deliver up all records in their respective offices, to the clerks of the pleas of the several circuit courts in the said districts, respectively; and to which said records, all and every person and persons shall and may have recourse when and as often as they may think proper, upon paying the sum of one shilling for each and every search or examination; and the ordinary or ordinaries refusing or wilfully neglecting so to do, within six months after the order of the county court, served on him or them, shall be liable to the penalty of fifty pounds, to be recovered in any court of record, for the use of the county whose order he or they may have disobeyed or neglected, as aforesaid. In the Senate House, the twenty-ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, and in the twelfth year of the Indepen⚫ dence of the United States. JOHN LLOYD, President of the Senate. JOHN JULIUS PRINGLE, Speaker of the House of Representatives. Ordinaries. AN ACT TO REMEDY THE DEFECTS OF THE COURTS OF ORDINARY IN No. 1444. TRICTS MAY BE RESPECTIVELY INTERESTED. WHEREAS, there are no persons or courts having prerogative or peculiar jurisdiction in cases or matters in which the Ordinaries of the several districts where there are no county courts established, are respectively interested, by reason whereof, the said Ordinaries are at a loss, and unable to qualify as executors of the last will and testament of any person or persons deceased, when they are respectively nominated and appointed, or to obtain administration of the goods and chattels, rights and credits of any person or persons dying intestate, to which administration the said Ordinaries may be respectively entitled. I. Be it enacted by the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives, now met and sitting in General Assembly, and by the authority of the same, That the Ordinaries of Charleston, Georgetown and Beaufort VOL. VII.-32. |