Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1863-04-22

JAMES A. Seldom,
Secretary Of War
AN ACT
To amend an Act entitled sAn act to Pre-.
cent and Punish the Planting and Cml.
tiuatiag, IN this State, ouer a certain
quantity Of Cotton during the present
+ gear"
I. Bet te,,acted by the Senate and House
of Representatives R now met and sitting in
General Assembly, and by the authority Of
the same, That the Act entitled aAn Act
to prevent and punish the planting and
cultivating, in this State, over certain
quantity of cotton during the present year,
ratified on the 9th day Of February, in the
year Of our Lord one thousand eight hun.
dred and sixty.three, be, and the same is
hereby, altered and amended SO as to read
as follows, to wit That until the first day
of January next it shall not be lawful for
any person'or persons to plant, cultivate, or
gather, or allow the same to be done, more
1 than one acre of cotton for each hand em-
ployed inagrioulture by such person or per-
sons, between the ages Of fifteen and fifty
FIVE years; and where hands over ffty.fve
and under sixty five years of age, and over
twelve and under fifteen years of age, are
employed by any cultivator of cotton, two
of such hands shall be counted as one !:
Provided, That no employees shall be
counted as hand, or half hand, in any
case,' ,'but such as are engaged in agricul-
ture : And provided further, That white
persons shall have the right to plant and
cultivate like quantity of cotton, whether
exclusively engaged in agriculture or not
II. That every person who shall plant,
or be concerned in planting, cultivating, or
gathering, during the present year, more
cotton per hand than is hereinbefore speci.
fed, shall be deemed guilty of misde-
9meanor, and on conviction, be fined in the
sum of FIVE hundred dollars for each acre,
or fractional part of an acre, SO planted,
cultivated or gathered, above the quantity
SO specified; one half of.which shall go to
the iuformer, who shall be a competent Wit.
ness to prove the fact, and the other half to
the "Soldiers' Board of Relief of the dis.
trict in which the conviction shall be had.
III. That if it shall come to the knowl-
edge of his Excellency the Governor, or to
the knowledge Of any.of the Judges, So
licitors, Clerks of Courts, Magistrates, or
other public officers Of this State, by per-
sonal observation or information, on oath,
that any person or persons have violated the
provisions of this Act, it shall be the duty
of such public officer to cause warrant to
forthwith issue, for the apprehension of the
offender or offenders, to the end that they
may be held to answer to an indictment at
the next Court of Sessions of the District,
in which no Importance shall be allowed,
and after the issue Of such warrant, it shall
be the duty Of the Clerk of the Court of
Common Pleas and General Sessions of the
District, on the application Of either prose-
cutor or defendant, to issue rule Of sur
vey in the case, directed to some competent
surveyor, giving FIVE days notice to the op.
,posite party, and such surveyor is hereby
required, to go forthwith upon the premises
of the party or parties charged, and ascer.
tain by actual measurement, the quantity OF
cotton planted, cultivated or gathered by
such party or parties, and make return
thereof to the court from which the rule
issues, the expenses of such rule aud survey
to be taxed in the bill of costs on the final
adjudication of the case. -..
". That it shall be the duty Of all per-
sons who cultivate cotton to render in on
oath to the collector of the district in which
they reside, the number Of hands owned
or employed by them in agriculture, be-
tween the ages of twelve and fifteen, fifteen
and ffty.fve, and ffty.fVe and sixty.fge,
during the present year, under penalty Of
one hundred dollars to each hand omitted,
to be returned to the Tax Collector, to be
recovered as specified in the former section
of this Act, which returns the Tax Collec-
tors are hereby required to receive.
V. That it shall be the duty Of the
Judges of the Courts of General Sessions
to give this Act specially in charge to the
grand juries at each term of said courts,
during the present year.