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State shall

have a right to withdraw their monies on notice.

Shares subscribed, not transferable.

Comptroller to furnished with statement.

State direct

or.

His powers.

This act not to prevent banks increasing the capital stock of private stockholders.

Banks may

issue post notes.

Not to emit

bills less than

one dollar.

and the state shall, at all times, on giving six months' notice, have the right to withdraw from said banks, the money, or any part thereof, which shall have been paid into said banks for said shares: but the shares subscribed by the state, shall not be transferable and the several shares, already subscribed by the state to any of said banks, shall continue to be holden, on the terms aforesaid.

SECT. 2. The comptroller of public accounts shall, after any monies shall be subscribed and paid to any of said banks, be furnished, from time to time, as often as he may require, not exceeding once a month, with a statement of the amount of capital stock of such bank, and of the debts due to the same; of the monies deposited therein, of the notes in circulation, and of the cash in hand; and shall also have a right to inspect such general accounts in the books of the bank, as shall relate to said statement.

SECT. 3. In case the monies subscribed and paid by the state, to any one of said banks, shall exceed the sum of five thousand dollars, and the state shall hold the stock of the bank therefor, the general assembly may, if they see fit, appoint some meet person to be a director in said bank, for and on behalf of this state, or provide by law for appointing or designating such director; the said person, thus designated or appointed, not to act as a director, at the same time, in more than one bank. And said director, so appointed on the behalf of the state, shall have the same powers as the other directors of said banks; and the state will not claim or exercise any other agency in the choice of the officers of said bank, or the management of its concerns, than is expressed in this act; and nothing in this act, shall be construed to prevent the stockholders of said banks, from opening new subscriptions, and enlarging the capital stock of the private stockholders in said banks, in the manner, and to the amount, as in and by their respective acts of incorporation, is provided.

CHAP. XII.

An Act relative to incorporated Banks.

SECT. 1.

BE

E it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened, That the several incorporated banks, shall have power to issue post-notes, payable to order, and at a time subsequent to issuing the same.

SECT. 2. No incorporated bank shall issue any bill for a sum less than one dollar; and every person passing any

Title 7. Barberry Bushes...... Title 8. Bastardy.

bill or note, issued by any bank, or corporation whatever,
for a less sum than one dollar, shall forfeit three dollars, Penalty.
to the use of the person who shall bring an action for the
same. And it shall be the duty of all informing officers,
to prosecute to effect, all breaches of this act; and in
such cases the penalties incurred and recovered, shall be
for the use of the town where the prosecution shall
be had.

91

banks. &c. to be considered

SECT. 3. All shares in banks, manufacturing, and Shares in other incorporated companies, shall be considered as personal estate, and may be disposed of as other per- personal sonal estate, unless otherwise directed in the act of estate. incorporation.

TITLE 7. Barberry Bushes.

An Act for destroying Barberry Bushes.

SECT. 1.

BE

bushes may be

destroyed.

E it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Assembly convened, That any person or persons, with the advice and consent Barberry of the civil authority, and select-men of any town, where any barberry bushes are, or may be growing, or in pursuance of the vote of any such town, passed in legal town meeting, may, at any season of the year, enter on lands, on which barberry bushes shall be growing, and dig up and destroy them, without being liable to an action therefor.

SECT. 2. The select-men of any town, in which such Select-men bushes are, or shall be growing, may, in pursuance of a may employ persons to devote of the town, passed in legal meeting, employ any suitable person or persons, to dig up and destroy such bushes, and defray the expence thereof from the treasury of the town.

TITLE 8. Bastardy.

An Act providing for the support of Bastard

Children.

E it enacted by the Senate and House of RepSECT. 1. resentatives in General Assembly convened, That any woman, who has been delivered of, or is pregnant with, a bastard child, may exhibit her complaint, on oath, to a justice of the peace, in the town where she dwells, against the person she charges with being the father of such child; and such justice of the peace shall, thereupon, issue a warrant, and cause such person to be

stroy them at the expence of the

town.

Mode of proceeding in

suits for maintenance.

Order of court.

apprehended and brought before him; and if, on due enquiry, he finds probable cause, he shall order such accused person to become bound, with surety, to appear before the next county court, in the county, and abide the order of said court; and, on his failing to do it, shall commit him to the common gaol in the county. And if the child should not then be born, the court may order the continuance of such cause to the next term, and the renewal of such bond, if necessary. And if such woman shall continue constant in her accusation, being examined on oath, and put to the discovery, in the time of her travail, such accused person shall be adjudged to be the reputed father of such bastard child, unless, from the testimony adduced by him, or otherwise, the court shall be of opinion that he is innocent of the charge, when they shall acquit him, and he shall recover his cost. And if the court find him guilty, they shall make an order, that he shall stand charged with the maintenance of such child, with the assistance of the mother, and that he shall pay a certain sum per week, for such time as the court shall judge proper, and that the clerk of the court shall issue execution for the same, quarterly and the court shall ascertain the expence of lying-in, and the nursing of such child, till the time of rendering judgment, and order him to pay one half thereof to the complainant, and grant execution for the same, and lawful cost of suit: and the court may direct, and require such person to become bound, with sufficient surety, to perform such order, and to indemnify the town, chargeable with the support of such child, from any expence for its maintenance; and if he fail to do it, to commit him to the common gaol, there to remain till he complies with the same. Providallowance to ed, that if it shall appear that such mother does not apply the mother, the weekly allowance, paid by the reputed father, toif not applied. wards the support of such child, and that such child is

Court may discontinue

When towns may prose. cute.

chargeable, or likely to become chargeable to the town where it belongs, the court, on application, may discontinue the allowance to the mother, for the support of the child, and may direct it to be paid to the select-men of such town, for that purpose, and may issue execution in their favor for the same accordingly.

SECT. 2. The town interested in the support of a bastard child, when sufficient security shall not be offered to indemnify such town against all charge and expence for the support of such child, and the mother neglects to bring forward her suit for maintenance, may, by their select-men, institute a suit against the person accused of begetting such bastard child; and may take up and pursue, in their name, by their select-men, any suit commenced by the mother, for the maintenance of such child,

in case she fails to prosecute the same to final judgment; and any bond, given by the defendant, in such case, to the complainant, shall have the same effect as if given to such town and, if the court shall find the defendant guilty, they shall make an order that he shall give a bond, with sufficient surety, to such town, to indemnify them against all expence for the maintenance of such child, and to pay the cost of prosecution; and, on failure thereof, may commit him to the common gaol, there to remain till he complies with such order.

SECT. 3. No prosecution shall be brought but within Limitation. three years from the birth of the bastard child; provided; the time any person accused, shall be absent from the state, shall not be computed.(1)

(1) In the revision of 1672, an act appears, subjecting the father of a bastard child to the maintenance of it, with the assistance of the mother, as the court shall order, and providing that the person charged by the mother to be the father, shall be adjudged to be the reputed father, upon her continuing constant in the charge, especially being put upon the discovery of the truth, in the time of her travail; with a proviso, that if no person should be accused. in the time of ber travail, it should not abate the conviction of the reputed father. This proviso is omitted in the revision of 1702. This statute does not prescribe the mode

SECT.

TITLE 9.

of prosecution, nor designate the prosecutor. or the mode of yielding the maintenance. The practice, however, has always been, for the woman to institute a suit in her own name; and it has been decided. that a discovery, in time of travail, is an indispensable part of the evidence. In the revision of 1784, the power was given to towns, chargeable with the support of a bastard child, to continue prosecutions begun by the mo ther, if she should neglect to proceed, and to bring forward prosecutions, where she should neglect. The present statute is made conformable to the practical construction of the old statute. See 1Day,278. 1Con. Rep.417.

Book Debts.

An Act concerning Book Debts.

1. B

E it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened, That in all actions of debt on book, tried on the general issue, the evidence of the parties, and of any other persons interested, taken in or out of court, in such manner and form as evidence in other cases is required by law to be taken, may be admitted by the court; and the triers shall well weigh and consider the credit of such witnesses, together with the entries of the parties in their respective books, and any other evidence given them, and all the other circumstances attending such cases.(1)

(1) In the revision of 1750, the statute directs, that the jury shall well weigh and consider the credit of the parties admitted to take their oaths. This, undoubtedly, refers to a well known practice, previously adopted, to admit the parties, in book debt actions, to testify; and which was

Evidence, of the parties,

and of persons inte ested, admissible.

probably co-eval with the government; and though repugnant to the principles adopted in other cases, yet it is consistent with the practice in matters of account, both in law and equity, from which it was probably borrowed.

Oyer of defendant's book.

Appointment of auditors.

Defendant may plead that plaintiff

owes him.

Removal of

the cause from justice of the

peace to county court.

SECT. 2. When the defendant, in any action of debt on book, shall have pleaded any plea, under which it shall be lawful to give in evidence any book account in favor of the defnedant against the plaintiff, the court may, on motion of the plaintiff, made in reasonable time, order that oyer shall be given to the plaintiff of the book of the defenddant, either forthwith, or within such time as the court may prescribe.

SECT. 3. In every action of debt on book, wherein the account shall be alleged to be above seventeen dollars, the court, before which such action is pending, shall have power to appoint not more than three able, judicious and disinterested men, to audit and adjust the accounts between the parties; who shall have the same power, and be sworn and proceed in the same manner, as auditors in a proper action of account; and their award being returned into court, judgment shall be rendered in pursuance

thereof.

SECT. 4. In every action of debt on book, it shall be lawful for the defendant to plead, in addition to the general plea that he owes the plaintiff nothing, that the plaintiff is indebted, or in arrear to him the defendant, to balance book accounts; and if it shall so be found, on the trial, judgment shall be rendered for the defendant, to recover of the plaintiff the sum so found to be due, with costs; and the party aggrieved by the judgment, on such plea, shall have the same right of appeal as he would have had, if the action had been brought by the defendant, demanding the same sum as that claimed in said plea: Provided nevertheless, that if in any such action brought before a justice of the peace, the defendant, in his plea, shall claim a greater balance than thirty five dollars, such plea shall not be received, unless the party making the same, shall pay to said justice, for the use of this state, a duty of thirty-four cents, and shall enter into a recognizance, with sufficient surety, to the adverse party, in a reasonable sum, to remove said cause to, and pursue his plea, before the county court next to be holden in the county, and to answer all damages in case he shall fail to make his plea good; which recognizance the said justice shall have power to take, and when taken, he shall record said plea; and if the party, so removing the cause, shall not recover final judgment for a greater sum than thirty-five dollars, he shall not be entitled to costs; and if final judgment shall be rendered against him, he shall be subjected to double costs.

SECT. 5. If any defendant, in any action of debt on In what case book, brought against him before any court in this state, no costs shall shall neglect to exhibit his account on trial, to be adjusted as aforesaid, and shall afterwards bring an action

be allowed.

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