missioners shall return an account of their proceedings and disbursement of the subscriptions pursuant to this act, to the supreme court of the Kentucky district, there to be recorded; and shall cause the said road to be finished and compleated on or before the first day of January one thousand seven hundred and eightynine. If any subscriber shall fail or refuse to pay up his subscription at the time specified, it shall be lawful for the said commissioners to recover judgment against any such delinquent subscriber for the sum of money or value of the specific thing subscribed, in any court of record, upon motion, and ten days previous notice, upon which judgment execution shall go, endorsed by the clerk "no security to be taken.”

CHAP. XXVI.

An act imposing new Taxes.

New taxes

On carriages.

I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That there shall be paid by the owners of riding car- imposed. riages, an additional tax, over and above the taxes now by law imposed, on all such carriages as they shall be in possession of on the ninth day of March next, and also on the ninth day of March in each succeeding year, after the following rates, to wit: For every coach or chariot, an additional tax of five dollars a wheel; for all other riding carriages with four wheels, except those used for the purposes of agriculture, an additional tax of three dollars a wheel; for all other riding carriages with two wheels, an additional tax of one dollar a wheel. Every person failing to render and give in to the persons who now are or hereafter may be appointed by law to receive an account of the taxable property, a true and just account of the carriages he or she may be possessed of on the day above mentioned, shall for every such offence, forfeit and pay four times the amount of the tax that would have been due for the said carriage, if it had been given in agreeable to this act. Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to subject

On clerks of courts.

the maker of any such carriage to the payment of the said tax, during the time that any such carriage shall remain in his possession.

11. And be it further enacted, That the clerks of the court of appeals, court of chancery, general court, of the respective county courts, and each of the corporation courts, shall account for and pay annually into the treasury, one third of the amount of what they shall actually have received for their fees for services performed in the preceding year. And that the said amount may be justly ascertained, the said clerks shall, on or before the first day of September, in each year, make out a fair account of the amount of their fees for the preceeding year, as also of the sums that they may have received for the same, likewise of the sums that they may have received for arrears of fees that may become due after the passing of this act; which account the clerks of the court of appeals, court of chancery, and general court, shall give in to the commissioners of the tax (directed to be appointed by an act, "To amend the act for ascertaining certain taxes and duties, and for establishing a permanent revenue,") for the county of Henrico, and the other clerks to the commissioners, appointed as aforesaid, for the counties. where each of the said courts is held. And the said commissioners, or any one of them, having compared the said account with the fee book of the said clerks, shall certify the same to the county court; whereupon, the said clerk making oath that the said account contains a true list of all fees charged or received by him for services performed in the preceeding year, as also of all sums received by him since his last settlement for fees due for services performed after the passing of this act, and which were not accounted for before, the said court shall order the said account to be certified, and the said clerk shall on or before the first day of October, in each year, deliver in the said account so certified to the auditor of public accounts, and pay at the same time into the treasury, the sum which by the said account shall appear to be due from him. Every clerk failing to render such account, or to pay into the treasury the sum which he shall thereby appear to be indebted to the state at the time aforesaid, shall for every such offence, forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred pounds, to be recovered by motion of the so

licitor general, in the same manner that is used against delinquent sheriffs.

III. And be it further enacted, That every practis- On attornies. ing attorney, at any court within this commonwealth, before he shall be permitted to appear for the plaintiff or defendant in any matter depending in the said court, wherein a fee may be by law taxed in the bill of costs, shall pay down to the clerk of the said court, one tenth part of the amount of the said fee, which proportion of the legal fee shall be paid by every attorney appearing on either side. And that the said fees may be faithfully accounted for,

IV. Be it enacted, That the clerk of each court shall be answerable for the amount of the said tax, although ed and acHow collect, he may not have received the same; and the said clerk counted for shall, in the minutes of the proceedings of the said court, and also in his rule-book, in all such contests where attornies fees might be charged, enter the names of all the attornies who appeared on either side, and where no such entry shall be made by the said clerk, he shall be accountable for the amount of what ought to have been paid by two attornies, unless it shall appear that no attorney did appear. And the clerk of each of the said courts, shall, on or before the fifteenth day of March and the fifteenth day of September, in each year, settle with the commissioners of the tax aforesaid, in manner before directed; which account, having by the said commissioners been compared with his memorandum-book, rule-book, and minute-book, and found to be right, shall be certified to the courts, where the clerk having made oath to the same, it shall be certified by order of the court, returned by the clerk to the auditor within thirty days thereafter, and accounted for to the treasurer, under the penalties above directed.

On physici

V. And be it further enacted, That there shall be a tax of five pounds paid by every practising physician, ans. apothecary, or surgeon, within this state; and that every person, coming under either of the above descriptions, shall enter himself as such in his list of property directed to be given in to the commissioners by the act aforesaid; and every such person failing so to do, shall forfeit and pay the sum of twenty pounds, to be recovered in the court of the county where he resides, on the motion of the said commissioners, or ei

On houses & Jots in towns.

On retail mer chante,

ther of them; the party moved against having had ten days notice of such motion.

VI. And be it further enacted, That instead of the tax now paid upon houses and lots in towns, from and after the passing of this act, there shall be paid on every such lot and house, five pounds in the hundred upon the amount of the rent of each house and lot respectively; the amount of the said rent, where any such house or lot is leased, to be ascertained by the rent paid by the tenant, and where such house and lot is in the occupation of the proprietor, the yearly rent or value shall be ascertained by the commissioners appointed as aforesaid, or either of them, by a comparison of its value with other houses or lots actually rented. Provided, That the owner or proprietor of any such house or lot, if he thinks himself aggrieved by such valuation, may appeal to the county court, whose judgment as to the yearly rent or value shall be final. And the said commissioners, or either of them, to ascertain the rent paid on houses or lots actually leased, may call on the tenant or proprietor to delare upon oath, or solemn affirmation, what is the amount of the rent paid for the same; and every person so called upon, and refusing to declare, shall forfeit and pay the sum of one hundred pounds, to be recovered by motion, on ten days previous notice to be made by the commissioners, or either of them.

VII. And be it further enacted, That every retail merchant within this state, shall annually take out a license for that purpose from the court of the county or corporation in which he resides; and if any such merchant shall after the first day of April next, retail any goods, wares or merchandise within this state, without having first taken out such license, or having renewed it at the end of each year, every such merchant so of fending, shall forfeit and pay the sum of forty pounds, to be recovered by the motion of the commissioners aforesaid, or either of them, on ten days previous notice. And the said retail merchants, shall each of them pay for the license aforesaid, at the time it is first granted, and on its renewal each year afterwards, the following rates: Every retail merchant, being a citizen of this state, or of any of the United States, or being a citizen of any nation, which hath entered or may hereafter enter into a commercial treaty with the United

States, shall pay the annual sum of five pounds; and every retail merchant, or factor, being a citizen of, or belonging to any nation not having entered into a commercial treaty with the United States, shall pay the annual sum of twenty pounds; to be received, accounted for, and paid by the respective clerks in the manner and under the penalties prescribed for the payment of the taxes imposed on attornies by this act. All penalties imposed by this act, shall go, one half to the use of the commonwealth, and the other half towards lessening the county levy, where the judgment shall be recovered. All acts contrary to this act, shall be, and are hereby repealed.

CHAP. XXVII.

An act to amend the act, intituled An act imposing new taxes.

new taxes amended.

I. WHEREAS it is judged expedient to explain Act imposing and amend an act passed at the present session of the general assembly, intituled "An act imposing new taxes;"

11. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That no clerk shall be obliged to account for any fees received or due for services performed prior to the first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and eighty

seven.

III. And be it further enacted, That no practising attorney shall be obliged to pay any proportion of the legal fee on any suit, which shall have been commenced in any court within this commonwealth, prior to the said first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven.

IV. And be it further enacted, That all clerks within this commonwealth, shall be allowed a commission of five per centum, on all monies paid by them into the treasury, by virtue of the said act.