Acts. 221

An Act for the Gauge of Barrels for Pork, Beef, Pitch, Tar, Tur-
pentine, and Tare of Barrels for Flour or Bread.

Session Laws
Chap. XV

For Prevention of Frauds and Abuses frequently practised by
greedy and avaritious Traders in Pork, Beef, Tar, Turpentine, and
Pitch, who, for their own private Lucre and Gain, not only make
and set up, or cause to be made and set up, small Barrels, and badly
made and hooped, but slightly pack and deceitfully fill the same, to
the great Prejudice of the Trade of this Province in the said Com-
modities and Merchandizes; for the Prevention of which ill Prac-
tices, it is humbly prayed that it may be Enacted,

Preamble
[Continued
by the Acts
of 1750,
Ch. 10; 1753,
Ch. 3; 1757,
Ch. 6; 1760,
Ch. 11; and
1763, Ch.

12]

And be it Enacted by the Right Honourable the Lord Proprietary,
by and with the Advice and Consent of his Lordship's Governor,
and the Upper and Lower Houses of Assembly, and the Authority
of the same, That from and after the first Day of October, which
shall be in the Year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and
forty-six, all and every Barrel or Barrels, which shall be set up to
put Pork, Beef, Pitch, Tar, or Turpentine, into; and also every
Barrel or Barrels, wherein Pork or Beef shall be packed, or wherein
Pitch, Tar, or Turpentine, shall be filled, either for Exportation out
of, or Sale within this Province, shall be of Size and Gauge to con-
tain at least the Quantity of thirty-one and a half Gallons Wine-
Measure; and that the Contents of every Pork Barrel, at Exporta-
tion or Sale, shall be at the least two hundred and twenty Pounds
of good net Pork, and of every Beef Barrel the like Quantity of good
net Beef, well salted and preserved; and that every Tar or Turpen-
tine Barrel shall be filled with good clean merchantable Tar or Tur-
pentine, and every Pitch Barrel with good true-made merchantable
Pitch.

Gauge of
Barrels as-
certained

And to the End that all and every Barrel or Barrels, to be here-
after made use of for any of the Purposes aforesaid, may from time
to time be set up, made, packed and filled, according to the Directions
of this Act, Be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That whatso-
ever Person or Persons shall wittingly or knowingly make or set up,
or cause to be made and set up, after the first Day of October, which
shall be in the Year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and
forty-six, any Barrel or Barrels for Pork, Beef, Pitch, Tar, or Tur-
pentine, of less Size, Gauge, or Dimensions, than is directed by this
Act, all and every such Person or Persons shall, for every such
Barrel, forfeit and pay the Sum of two Shillings and six Pence Cur-
rent Money, to be recovered and applied according to the Directions
of this Act herein after mentioned.

Penalty on
transgres-
sing therein

And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That what-
soever Person or Persons, from and after the said first Day of
October, shall pack Pork or Beef for Sale, in any Barrel or Barrels
made and set up contrary to this Act in Size, Gauge, and Dimen-
sions, or shall in any Barrel or Barrels pack less Pork or Beef than

p. 16
Penalty on
packing
Pork, &c.
contrary to
this Act