CHAP.
XXXI.
Rangers shall
not take up,
&c. unmarked
Cattle under
3 Years
old.
Penalty.
This Act to
be read in
November and
March Courts
yearly, in open
Court,
&c.
Penalty on
Persons ranging
the
Woods after
wild Cattle,
without Licence
from
the Governor.
Licenced
Rangers shall
not range,
&c. within
Islands, &c.
without
Leave of the
Owner, on
Forfeiture of
5000 lb Tobacco
for every
Beast
therein killed
or taken up.
Stallions that
have been
broke, found
out of Inclosure,
may be
taken up and
impounded,
and the Owner
to pay 5 s.
to the Impounder.
Stallions unbroke,
above
18 Months
old, found |
VII. And forasmuch
as it is necessary to declare
at what Age Horses, Mares
and Cattle shall be deemed Wild; Be
it Enacted, by the Authority
aforesaid,
by and with the Advice and Consent aforesaid, That
it shall not be lawful for any
Ranger within this Province, to take up and mark, or otherwise dispose
of,
any unmark'd Horse, Mare, Bull or Cow, which shall not exceed the Age
of Three Years, under Penalty of
suffering as any other Person ought, that
hath not such Commission; any Law, Usage or Custom to the contrary
notwithstanding.
VIII. And
be it further Enacted, by
the Authority aforesaid, by and with the
Advice and Consent aforesaid, That
the Justices in each respective County within
this Province, shall, Yearly, and every Year, at their County Courts in
the
Months of November and March, during the Continuance of this
Act, cause
it to be read in open Court, and likewise give it in Charge to the Grand-Juries,
to inquire of any Breaches thereof committed by Wood-Rangers in that
County.
IX. And
be it further Enacted, by
the Authority aforesaid, by and with the
Advice and Consent aforesaid, That
no Person whatsoever, shall presume to
range in the Woods or Forests after wild Neat Cattle or Horses without
a
Licence from his excellency the Governor in Chief, for the Time being,
under
the Penalty of Five Thousand Pounds of Tobacco, for every such before
mentioned wild Creature that every such unlicensed Ranger shall kill, take,
or convey away alive or dead; one Half to his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors,
for the Support of Government of this Province, the other Half to
the Informer, or him or them that shall sue for the same, by Action of
Debt,
Bill, Plaint or Information in any Court of Record in this Province, wherein
no Essoin, Protection or Wager of Law to be allowed.
X. And
be it further Enacted, by
the Authority aforesaid, That if any Ranger
or his Deputy shall presume to range, take up, or kill, any wild Neat
Cattle, Horse or Mare, in any Island or Islands, Pasture, or other inclosed
Grounds belonging to any of the Inhabitants of this Province, without the
Leave of the Owner of the same, shall forfeit, for every Beast to be taken
up or
killed as aforesaid, the Sum of Five Thousand Pounds of Tobacco; one Half
to his sacred Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, towards the defraying
the
County Charge where the said Offence or Offences is committed, the other
Part to the party grieved, or to him, her, or them, that shall sue for
the
same; to be recovered as aforesaid.
XI. And
whereas the extravagant Multitude
of useless Horses, Mares and
Colts, that run in the Woods, are found very pernicious and burthensome
to
the Inhabitants of this Province; it is thought necessary that some suitable
Remedy be provided in that Behalf, and therefore, Be
it Enacted, by the Authority
aforesaid, by and with the Advice and Consent aforesaid, That
from and
after the End of this present Session of Assembly, all Stoned Horses shall
be
kept within good sufficient Inclosures: And in case any Stoned Horse
or Horses
that have been taken up and broke fit for Use, shall happen to be found
loose,
and out of such Inclosures, it shall and may be lawful for any person or
Persons
whatsoever, to take up and impound, or cause to be taken up and impounded,
in some open Pound; and there to detain him, on the Risque of
the Owner thereof, or cause him to be so detained, until the Owner or Owners
of such Horse, having speedy and convenient Notice of such Impounding,
shall satisfy unto the Person so impounding, or causing such Horse to be
impounded, the Sum of Five Shillings, or Sixty Pounds of Tobacco.
XII. And
that in case any Stoned Colt,
above Eighteen Months old, or
Stoned Horse unbroke, shall, at any Time after the End of this present
Session
of Assembly, be found loose in the
Woods, or out of such Inclosure, |