teste and return of writs and process issued and made returnable therein, but all such writs and process which have or may be issued in the county of Essex, and made returnable at the block-house in the town of Essex, on the second Tuesday of May next, shall be deemed and taken to be returnable to the court house in Elizabethtown on the first Tuesday in May next; and all such writs and process which have or may be issued in the county of Clinton, and made returnable on the first Tuesday of May next, shall be deemed and taken to be returnable on the second Tuesday in May next; and all such writs and process which have or may be issued in the county of Franklin, and made returnable on the third Tuesday of April next, shall be deemed and taken to be returnable on the third Tuesday of May next.

IV. And be it further enacted, That the limits of the gaol-yard in 4 the county of Franklin shall be extended the distance of half a mile in every direction from the place where said court is held.

V. And be it further enacted, That the courts of oyer and termi- 5 ner and general gaol delivery in and for the county of Essex shall, after the passing of this act, instead of being holden at the blockhouse in Essex, be holden at the court house in Elizabethtown, and all writs and recognizances which have been or may be made returnable at the block-house in Essex shall be considered and made returnable at the court house in Elizabethtown, any law to the contrary notwithstanding.

VI. And be it further enacted, That the court of common pleas 6 within and for the county of Essex shall and they are hereby authorized and directed, at the next term of their courts, to appoint the liberties of the said gaol in said county, according to the directions of the act, entitled "an act relative to gaols."

VII. And be it further enacted, That the May term of the court 7 of common pleas and general sessions of the peace in and for the county of Rockland shall, from and after the passing of this act, be abolished, and that instead thereof a term of the said court shall hereafter be held on the third Tuesday in April in every year hereafter, and shall be called April term, any law to the contrary notwithstanding.

VIII. And be it further enacted, That all writs, process and other proceedings that are or may be returnable in the said court on the first Tuesday of May next, shall be returned on the said third Tuesday of April, and shall be deemed and taken as effectual and valid as though the same had been returned on the first Tuesday of May next.

And whereas it appears that Ichabod Ransom, collector of the town of Chazy, in the county of Clinton, for the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, was so unwell as to be unable to attend at the treasurer's office of said county and make oath to his return of the unpaid taxes of the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, as the law directs, but made oath to the same before a justice of the peace : Therefore,

9

IX. Be it further enacted, That the said return be and the same is 10 hereby declared to be as valid as if the same had been made in the mode prescribed by law, any thing in any former law to the contrary hotwithstanding.

1

2

CHA P. LXXX.

CONTENTS.

1. Standard of long measure, what to be-2. Secretary's duty in relation to.

7. A&t, former act repealed.

6. Expense of secretary, treasurer to pay.

4. Fees for comparing yard-fticks with the standard.

3.

Clerk's of counties, their duty in relation to the fame.

5. Surveyors not allowed to give evidence unless their chains are conformable to standard. 8. Towns, may procure ftandards.

AN ACT relative to a Standard of Long Measure, and for other Pur

WHE

poses.

Passed March 24, 1809.

HEREAS the corporation of the city of New-York did, in the year one thousand eight hundred and three, procure a brass yard measure, engraved and sealed at the exchequer in Great Britain, and have presented the same to this state, which has been deposited, together with the documents authenticating it, in the secretary's office: Therefore,

I. BE it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That the said brass measure is and shall be the standard yard measure of this state.

II. And be it further enacted, That as soon as may be after the passing of this act, it shall and may be lawful, and it is hereby made the duty of the secretary of this state, to cause the said standard measure to be engraved with the words State of New-York thereon, and that he cause to be made and procured two brass yard measures, for the city and county of New-York, engraved with the words city and county of New-York, one for the assistant state sealer in the village of Utica, engraved with the words State of New-York, and one for each of the respective counties of this state, engraved with the name of the proper county, similar to the aforesaid standard, and that he cause the measure so procured and marked for each county delivered to the 3 clerk thereof, who shall keep the same for the use of the county, as the standard yard measure of this state for such county, and compare therewith all yard measures or rods which may be presented to him for that purpose.

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III. And be it further enacted, That the assistant state scaler and clerk of each county shall be paid twelve and an half cents for comparing each yard-stick or rod that shall be presented to him for that purpose, over and above the expense of maling such stick or rod exactly compare and agree with the said standard measure of the county, when so presented.

IV. And be it further enacted, That no surveyor, for any survey made after one year from the passing of this act, shall give evidence, as a surveyor, in any court or elsewhere in this state, in any cause wherein lands is in dispute, respecting the survey or measurement thereof, unless such surveyor shall make oath, if required, that the chain or measure used by him, when surveying or measuring such land, was conformable to the standard measure of this state.

V. And be it further enacted, That the treasurer, on the warrant of the comptroller, shall pay to the secretary the expenses incurred by virtue of this act.

VI. And be it further enacted, That the act entitled "an act to di- 6 rect the secretary to procure a state standard of long measure, and for other purposes," passed the 11th day of April, 1808, be and the same is hereby repealed.

VII. And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for 7 the inhabitants of any town in this state, for their convenience, and by a vote at their annual town meeting, to direct the clerk of such town to procure and deposit in his office a standard brass yard, to be sealed by the person authorized to seal and compare such yard, and to be considered as the true yard for all the purposes aforesaid.

AN ACT declaring Part of the Outlet of Crooked Lake a Public High

I.

B

way.

Passed March 24, 1809.

E it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That all that part of the outlet of Crooked lake, as low down as Waggoner's mills, in the town of Snell, county of Ontario, be and hereby is declared a public highway.

II. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall, after the passing of this act, dam up or obstruct the navigation of the said out let, by erecting any wier, or by cutting or falling therein any wood or timber, or otherwise obstructing the same, every person so offending shall forfeit, for every such offence, the sum of twenty-five dollars, to be recovered with costs of suit, by any person who shall prosecute for the same, the one half to be paid to the overseers of the poor of the town where the offence shall be committed, and the other half for the use of the person who shall sue for the same, to be recovered before any justice of the peace in the said county.

CHA P. LXXXIII.

AN ACT to amend the Act, entitled " An Act to amend an Act concerning Mortgages."

BE

Passed March 24, 1809.

E it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That where any mortgaged estates shall be advertised for sale, after the first day of May next, by virtue of a power therein contained, notice thereof shall be given six months previous to the sale thereof in one of the newspapers published in the county where the mortgaged premises lie; and if no newspaper be published in the said county, then and in that case the notice aforesaid shall be published in one of the newspapers in the county nearest to the mortTM gaged premises where a newspaper is printed.

A ACT for raising a further Sum of Money for completing the Court House and Gaol in the County of Essex.

I.

IBE

Passed March 24, 1809.

E it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That the supervisors of the Kkk

VOL. V.

county of Essex be and they are hereby empowered and directed to raise and levy on the freeholders and inhabitants of the said county a sum not exceeding seven hundred dollars, with the additional sum of five cents on each dollar for collecting the same, and one cent on each dollar for treasurer's fees; which sum shall be raised, levied and collected in the same manner as the other contingent charges of said county are raised, levied and collected.

II. And be it further enacted, That the treasurer of the said county shall pay out of any monies that are in or that may come into the treasury, not otherwise appropriated, the above sum of seven hundred dollars to the commissioners appointed to superintend the said building, or majority of them. And the said commissioners, who shall superintend the finishing the said court house and gaol, shall account with the board of supervisors for the expenditure of the said money when thereunto required.

CHA P. LXXXV.

CONTENTS.

1. Poles may be set in the river for catching fish-2. With provise. May not be set in channel of fishing place.

5.

3. Penalty, for not taking and filing affidavit.

4.

On persons who do not take up their poles by the 10th of June 6. Part of former act repealed.

AN ACT to amend an Act, entitled "An Act to regulate Fishing with Set Nets in Hudson's River, and to prevent Obstructions in the Navigation thereof."

WH

Passed March 24th, 1809. THEREAS, by an act of the legislature of the state of NewYork, passed the 20th day of March, 1807, to regulate the fishing with set nets in Hudson's river, and to prevent obstructions in the navigation thereof, the setting of set nets with poles set in the bed of the said river was prohibited. Therefore, 1 I. Be it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That from and after the passing of this act, it shall and may be lawful for any person or persons to set any number of poles in the bed of said river for the purpose of affixing set nets thereto between the city of New-York and the 2 village of Troy, in the county of Rensselaer: Provided always, nevertheless, That every person or persons who shall, at any time hereafter, set or affix any pole or poles in the bed of the said river, for the purpose of affixing any net or nets thereto, shall, within eight days thereafter, mark on each pole, and as near the top as conveniently will admit, the initial letters of his or their name or names, and also make and subscribe an affidavit before some justice of the peace in said county, setting forth the number of poles that he or they have so set or affixed in the bed of the said river, and that he or they have marked the initial letters of his or their name or names near the top of each pole, and shall file the said affidavit in the office of the clerk of the town on that side of the river and opposite to where the said poles were set.

II. And be it further enacted, That if any person or persons 3 shall, at any time after the passing of this act, set or place any pole or poles in the bed of the said river, and shall not, within eight days thereafter, take and subscribe such affidavit, and file the same in the manner herein before mentioned, he or they shall forfeit the sum of twenty dollars, to be recovered with costs of suit, by and for the use of any person who may sue for the same, in any court having cognizance thereof.

III. And be it further enacted, That from and after the passing 4 of this act, any person or persons who shall set or place in the bed of the said river, between the said city of New-York and the said village of Troy, any number of poles for the purpose of affixing any net or nets thereto, and shall omit, neglect or refuse to take up and remove the same from out of the bed of the said river, on or before the tenth day of June then next, shall forfeit and pay, for every pole that he or they shall so leave standing in the bed of the said river, the sum of ten dollars, to be recovered and applied in the manner described in and by the second section of this act; and every person so offending shall be moreover liable to pay all damages to individuals in consequence thereof.

IV. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act shall be 5 50 construed as to authorize the setting of any pole or poles in the bed of the channel of the aforesaid river, or in any place which heretofore hath been used or occupied as a fishing place for the purpose of drawing seines.

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V. And be it further enacted, That so much of the act hereby 6 amended as relates to the setting of set nets, by poles set in the bed of the said river, be and the same is hereby repealed.

CHA P. LXXXVII.

AN ACT to regulate the Width of Waggons in the County of Suffolk.

BE

Passed March 24, 1809.

E it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That it shall not be lawful for any person to travel on the highways in the county of Suffolk, after the first day of November next, with any waggon, unless such waggon be so constructed as that when the wheels are placed upon the axletrees the outside of the felloes of the two wheels on the same axletree shall not be less than five feet asunder; and if the owner or owners of any waggon, not constructed as above mentioned, shall travel on any public highway in the said county, or shall suffer any other person or persons to travel with his or their waggon on any public highway aforesaid, such owner or owners, or other person so travelling, shall forfeit three dollars for every day he shall use such waggon upon any of the public highways in the said county, to be recovered with costs of suit, by and for the use of any person who shall sue for the same, before any justice of the peace of the said county. Provided always, That no person shall be liable to said penalty, unless such suit be commenced within twenty days after said offence.