in some public place in each and every town and plantation where any one or more of the said proprietors may reside, fourteen days at least before the time appointed for holding such meeting. at such meet money, elect and collecting SEC. 14. Be it further enacted, That the proprietors of such general fields respectively shall be and are hereby fully Proprietors authorized and empowered, in a proprietors' meeting for that ings may raise purpose regularly convened, by a major vote of the propri- cers, &c. etors then present, (the votes to be collected according to for assessing the interest of the proprietors) to agree upon and pass one or monies. more votes for the raising and collecting such sum or sums of money from time to time, as they shall judge necessary for defraying the charges aforesaid, and for carrying on, or managing any common affairs relating to such proprietors; and that they be alike empowered to choose three or five assessors for the assessing and apportioning such sum or sums so agreed on, and voted upon the proprietors of such fields, according to their several interests therein; and to appoint a collector or collectors to gather in and collect the same; which collector or collectors shall be, and are hereby fully empowered to levy and collect the sum or sums, so set and apportioned for such proprietors to pay, in the same manner as constables of towns within this State are empowered to levy and collect the public rates or taxes; and to pay in the same to the proprietors or their Clerk, who is hereby empowered to grant warrants, for the levying and collecting such assessment at such time as shall be by them appointed for the payment thereof: and such Clerk shall be accountable to the proprietors therefor; the person or persons so assessing the said proprietors, and the collector or collectors that shall be so appointed for the gathering and collecting the sum or sums so granted and agreed upon by the said proprietors to be assessed and collected as aforesaid, shall be under oath for the true and faithful performance of their services respectively; which oath shall be administered to them as the law provides for swearing town officers: Provided nevertheless, That any such proprietor, who apprehends himself aggrieved, or overrated in the making or apportioning such assessment, shall have liberty to apply to the Justices of the Court of Sessions in the respective counties, where such May choose field drivers fields lie, for relief; and in such case the said Justices are hereby fully empowered to grant relief accordingly; and their judgment shall be final. SEC. 15. Be it further enacted, That the proprietors hay wards and aforesaid, or the major part of such of them as shall be preswho are to be ent at a meeting legally warned for that purpose may choose Hay Wards or Field Drivers, who shall be under oath, and shall have the same powers as if they had been chosen by sworn. Penalty for pointed; or more than their proportion. a town. SEC. 16. Be it further enacted, That if any proprietor putting cattle in any common or general field shall put, or cause to be put &c. into such helds, before therein any horse, cattle, sheep or other creature, over and the time ap- above the number allowed him, or before the day agreed upon; or keep them longer there than the time set and limited by a major vote of the proprietors, he shall be deemed a trespasser; and his creatures so put in shall be proceeded with by any of the proprietors as creatures taken damage feasant, to all intents and purposes, as much as if he owned no land within such general field. Mode of esti- SEC. 17. Be it further enacted, That when and so often as mating damages done, or any trespass or trespasses, shall be done in any common or trespasses, &c. general field, by reason of the insufficiency of the fence belonging to any person owning the adjoining land, the party or parties injured shall forthwith procure two sufficient persons of good repute to view and adjudge of the damage done, giving notice of such trespass to the owner or claimer of the horse, cattle, sheep or other creature, that did the same (if he be known and resident in the same town, or near thereto) that he may be present, and nominate one of the appraisers of such damage, if he see cause: and the damage shall be answered according to such appointment. And where damage happens through the insufficiency of the fence, the owner or occupant of the land to which the defective fence belongs, shall be liable to answer and make good all such damage. SEC. 18. Be it further enacted, That each proprietor of lands lying unfenced, or in any common field, shall, once in two years, on six or more days warning, previously given once in 2years. him by the proprietor or proprietors of the land next ad Lines to be run and bounda ries marked neglect. joining, run the lines, and make or keep up the boundaries between their respective lands, by sufficient mete stones, on pain that every party so neglecting or refusing shall forfeit Penalty for the sum of two dollars to the party moving or requesting to run the line; the conviction of such neglect or refusal being had before any Justice of the Peace within the same county who is hereby empowered to hear and determine the case. may dissolve SEC. 19. Be it further enacted, That it shall and may be Major part of lawful to and for the proprietors who own the major part of proprietors the interest or property in any common or general field, at and discontina legal meeting to be warned for that purpose, to dissolve and mon and gendiscontinue such field; six months being allowed to elapse before such discontinuation. ue such com èral field. Provision for under existing SEC. 20. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That nothing contained in this Act shall prevent or hinder common fields the proprietors of any such common field already fenced, rules and or from making and maintaining their fences according to rules ders. and orders formerly agreed on by them at any meeting legally warned, their interest, SEC. 21. Be it further enacted, That at every meeting of Proprietors to such proprietors the votes shall, by the Moderator, be col- vote in their meetings aclected and counted according to the interests of the pro- cording to prietors present, where such interests are known. And whereas it often happens that horses, cattle, and other creatures are clandestinely turned into general fields, or, being unruly, break into the same in places where the fence is good and sufficient according to law; and when, in such cases, proprietors of general fields, impound horses, cattle, or other creatures, the owners replevy them because the fence inclosing the general field is deficient in some distant place from that where the horses, cattle or other creature entered the same, and in consideration of such deficiency judgment is unreasonably recovered against such proprietors: be recovered if SEC. 22. Be it therefore further enacted, That whenever Damages may horses, cattle or other creatures, shall be clandestinely turn-fcale are ed into any general field, or, being unruly, break into the clandestinely same, and shall be taken and impounded by a proprietor break in where thereof and a writ of replevin shall be purchased by the the fence is owner of the horses, cattle or other creatures so impounded, other parts of turned in, or good-although deficient. the fence be for the purpose of replevying them, it shall be in the power of the Court or Justice, before whom the action shall be brought, to give judgment in favour of the proprietor of the general field, upon his producing satisfactory evidence to the said Court or Justice, that the horses, cattle or other creatures replevied as aforesaid, were either clandestinely turned into the general field, or broke into the same in a part thereof, where the fence was good and sufficient according to law, some other parts of the fence inclosing the general field being deficient, notwithstanding: And whereas it often happens in fencing general fields, for the conveniency of fencing considerable quantities of rocky and barren land not capable of tillage, are taken into such fields, the owners of which may be obliged to make fence, and also pay taxes equally with the other proprietors whenever an assessment is made by the proprietors of such field; which is very unjust: Barren and expenses of fences, and from taxes. SEC. 23. Be it therefore further enacted, That all lands now lying in general fields, or that hereafter, may be taken into to be excluded the same, that are so rocky or barren that the owners therein estimating of have never improved them, either by mowing, ploughing, or feeding, such owners shall not be obliged to make, on account of such lands, any part of the fence in compassing such general fields; nor shall they be taxed for them in any rate or tax, raised by the proprietors of such field, until they shall make improvement thereon. And whereas the minor part of the owners or proprietors of common fields, in some instances, have been and may be desirous of a partition of such field into two or more distinct fields, from a persuasion that their shares or lots might (if separated and fenced off from the rest) be improved much more to their advantage, in some manner different from that agreed on by the majority: To the end therefore that such of the owners as are or may be so minded, may not be unreasonably restrained by the rest from having such partition: When 3 or more SEC. 24. Be it enacted, That when any three or more owners of the owners or proprietors of lots in any common or in general field wish to im- general field, lying within one general fence or inclosure, prove their lots shall make application, in writing, under their hands to the the general proprietors of such field, (at any meeting legally warned for separate from ceedings in ing. Court of Ses sions to ap mittee to make that purpose) to have the lots or shares of the owners or field-proproprietors so applying, or theirs with other lots or shares such cases. (taken together) to make one entire field, to be separated from the rest by one common fence, and to be improved as a distinct and separate, but common field; in such case, if the proprietors, who have the greater part of the interest Case of proamong those who are present at such meeting, shall with- prietors refus hold or refuse their assent to such division or partition, it shall and may be lawful for the Justices of the Court of Sessions for the said county, upon application made to them, to appoint a committee of five freeholders within the said point a Comcounty (under oath) to make the partition prayed for, if it partition. shall appear to such committee to be expedient, and to assign to each field its part or proportion of the divisional fence in consequence of such partition, to be made, kept up and maintained by the proprietors of the respective common fields; and the return being made under the hands of the major part of such committee, and accepted by the said Court of Sessions, the fields so separated shall be considered as distinct and separate common fields, and the owners or proprietors of each field a distinct and separate propriety, as fully to all intents and purposes whatsoever, as the owners or proprietors of such general field were considered before such partition was made: Provided, That no order for partition be made, or committee appointed, until the rest of the proprietors have been duly notified of such applica- tice to the protion, and opportunity given them to make their objections prietors. thereunto; which notice shall be given by serving the Clerk of such proprietors with a copy of such written application, thirty days at least before such order or appointment be made; and every committee that shall be appointed and employed as aforesaid, shall make return of their doings, in writing, under their hands, unto the said Court, as soon after as may be, for acceptance and confirmation: and the proprietors, whose interest shall be so set off, as well as the remaining proprietors, shall have and enjoy all the powers and privileges which the proprietors of general fields are by law vested with. Proviso for no SEC. 25. Be it further enacted, That when the major part, When major in interest, of the proprietors of any tract of land, consisting proprietors of part of the |