AT a session of assembly, begun and held at the
town and port of Annapolis, on the twenty eighth day of
June, in the eleventh year of the reign of our sovereign lord
William the third, by the grace of God, of England,
Scotland, France and Ireland, king, defender of the faith, &c.
annoque domini 1699, and ended the twenty-second day of
July following. His excellency NATHANIEL BLACKISTON,
esquire, governor.
Amongst others the following law was enacted to wit:
[No. 18.] AN ACT ASCERTAINING THE BOUNDS OF LAND.
Whereas at the first taking up of lands in this province
necessity constrained his lordship to commissionate such
persons to be surveyors as was but very meanly skilful in the art
of surveying; and for the windings, courses and turnings of
the several rivers, rivolets, creeks and coves, many times, by
these branches folding one in another, were unknown to the
surveyors, nor, for fear of the indian enemy, then numerous
and strong, darst they freely stay on shore to examine the
windings and courses aforesaid, but marking some trees by the
side of such rivers, creeks, &c. did without further trouble
proscribe certain bounds and courses to the several tracts by
them surveyed or intended to be surveyed, and the said
bounds are generally expressed in such uncertain terms, and
being many times contradictions and inconsistant in
themselves, whereby it comes to pass that at this time is very
uncertain and many chargeable and tedious suits in law happen
about such bounds, which are most times (as it were) by the
favour and inclinations of jurors, arbitrarily determined
differing ways in paralell cases. To prevent which, for the
future, and that judgment may go more direct, and that
neighbours may more certainly know their bounds and avoyd
trespassing upon one another, and for the more generall
ascerteining the meets and limitts of every particular man's
land, then can be no better way then by a law, to put one certein
interpretation upon such contradictory expressions observed
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