with the Clerk of the Supreme Court, as contemplated in this section, it shall be lawful for the defendant in appeal or writ of error at any time after the thirtieth day from the time of the commencement of the term of the Supreme Court, next succeeding the taking of the appeal or writ of error, to file a copy of such record in said Supreme Court; and it shall be the duty of said court, on motion of the defendant in appeal or writ of error, as the case may be, to affirm the judgment against the appellant or plaintiff in error, as the case may be, and his, her or their securities in the appeal bond.

Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That this act take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

Approved, March 13, 1848.

CHAPTER 77.

An Act to define the boundaries of the County of Austin.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That the boundary line of Austin County, shall hereafter be as follows; beginning on Buffalo Bayou at the old crossing where the counties of Harris and Austin corner; thence in a direct line to the South East corner of Wm. Cooper's tract of land; thence along the said line until it intersects the line of William Wade's line; thence South along said line, to the South East corner of said tract; thence along the said Wade's line, a due West course to the Brazos river.

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That all laws conflicting with the provisions of this act, be, and the same are hereby repealed, and this act take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Approved, March 13, 1848.

CHAPTER 78.

An Act to be entitled an act to create the County of Williamson, in honor of Robert M. Williamson.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That all that portion of Milam County included within the following limits, to wit: Beginning on the dividing waters of Colorado and Brazos rivers, at the South East corner of a survey of nineteen and three-fourths labors, known as the Post Oak Island survey; thence North 71 deg. East, eight miles; thence North 19 deg. West, twenty miles; thence North 65 deg. West to the Salado; thence South 1 deg. West to the dividing ridge between the Brazos and Colorado waters; thence down said dividing ridge, with the meanders of the same to the beginning, be, and the same is hereby created a new county, to be known and called the county of Williamson, in honor of Robert M. Williamson.

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That John Berry, Senr., William C. Dalrymple, David C. Cowen, Washington Anderson, J. M. Harrell, and J. O. Rice, are hereby appointed Commissioners, who shall select from among their number a presiding officer, and shall proceed, (paying due regard to donations of land that may be offered,) to select two eligible sites, neither of which shall be more than five miles from the center of said county; and shall submit the same to the legal voters residing within the aforementioned limits, at public election, to be held on the first Monday in May next; and the place receiving the greatest number of votes, shall be named by the Commissioners, and declared the County Seat of said county. If no donations of land be offered, the Commissioners shall purchase on the best terms, for the interest of the county, a tract of land not to exceed three hundred and twenty acres, which they shall lay off into suitable lots, and shall proceed to sell all or a part of the same, as they may think best, on a credit of twelve months; reserving a sufficient amount thereof on which to erect the necessary public buildings. The proceeds arising from the sale of lots, shall be applied by the Commissioners to the erection of public buildings for the use of the county, reserving to themselves one dollar per day for each and every day they may be required to serve: the balance, if any, shall be turned

over by the Commissioners to the County Court, who shall afterwards superintend and control the same.

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That all civil suits which may have been instituted against any of the citizens of the county created by this act, in Milam county, shall be transferred, together with all papers thereunto belonging, to the proper officers of said new county, and be carried on in the same manner as if continued in the county in which they were originally instituted.

Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, That the person chosen by the Commissioners as their presiding officer, shall order an election to be held on the first Monday in May next, as named in the second section of this act, for the final location of the county site, giving at least ten days notice thereof in writing, to be posted up at four of the most public places in the county; which election shall be conducted according to law.

Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That the county of Williamson shall belong to the second Judicial District of the State of Texas.

Sec. 6. Be it further enacted, That the Chief Justice of Milam county shall organize said new county in conformity to law; and that this act take effect from and after its passage. Approved, March 13, 1848.

CHAPTER 79.

An Act better defining the marital rights of parties.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That every female under the age of twenty-one years, who shall marry in accordance with the laws of this State, shall, from and after the time of such marriage, be deemed to be of full age, and shall have all the rights and privileges to which she would have been entitled, had she been at the time of her marriage of full age.

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That all property, both real and personal, of the husband, owned or claimed by him before marriage, and that acquired afterwards by gift, devise, or de

scent, as also the increase of all lands or slaves thus acquired, shall be his separate property. All property, both real and personal, of the wife, owned or claimed by her before marriage, and that acquired afterwards by gift, devise, or descent, as also the increase of all lands or slaves thus acquired, shall be the separate property of the wife: Provided, that during the marriage, the husband shall have the sole management of all such property.

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That all property acquired by either husband or wife, during the marriage, except that which is acquired in the manner specified in the second section of this act, shall be deemed the common property of the husband and wife, and during the coverture may be disposed of by the husband only; it shall be liable for the debts of the husband, and for the debts of the wife, contracted during the marriage, for necessaries; and upon the dissolution of the marriage, by death, the remainder of such common property shall go to the survivor, if the deceased have no child or children; but if the deceased have a child or children, the survivor shall be entitled to one-half of said property, and the other half shall pass to the child or children of the deceased.

Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, That the husband and wife may be jointly sued for all debts contracted by the wife for necessaries furnished herself or children, and for all expenses which may have been incurred by the wife for the benefit of her separate property.

Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That upon the trial of any suit as provided for in the fourth section of this act, if it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court and jury, that the debts so contracted, or expenses so incurred, were for the purposes enumerated in said section; and also that the debts so contracted or expenses so incurred, were reasonable and proper, the court shall decree that execution may be levied upon either the common property or the separate property of the wife, at the discretion of the plaintiff.

Sec. 6. Be it further enacted, That the third and fourth sections of "an act to adopt the common law of England, to repeal certain Mexican laws, and to regulate the marital rights of parties," approved 20th January, 1840, be, and the same are hereby repealed; and that nothing contained in this act shall be so construed as to affect any other sections of said act than the said third and fourth sections; but that any other

section of said act that may control or affect the said third or fourth sections, shall have the like control and effect over the provisions of this act.

Sec. 7. Be it further enacted, That this act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

Approved, March 13, 1848.

CHAPTER 80.

An Act to establish a State Penitentiary.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That the Governor be, and he is hereby authorized and required to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, three competent persons as Commissioners, whose duty it shall be to select a proper site whereon to erect a State Penitentiary, to be convenient to navigable water, having due regard to health, materials for building, the importation of machinery, tools, materials to be wrought or manufactured, and for the transportation of articles made or manufactured by the convicts to a market for the

same.

Sec. 2. That the Commissioners shall procure by purchase or otherwise, land, not exceeding one hundred acres, to include the site selected: Provided the land shall not cost the State more than five dollars per acre; and they are authorized to pay a fair value with the consent of the Governor, for any water power adjacent to and connected with the site of the Penitentiary.

Sec. 3. That the Commissioners shall report their proceedings to the Governor within sixty days after receiving notice of their appointment, together with the title deed for the land herein required to be procured, after having the same recorded in the Recorder's office in the county wherein the land lies, which deed shall be recorded and filed in the office of Secretary of State: The Commissioners so appointed shall receive as compensation for their services three dollars per day each, for the time they shall be actually employed in selecting a site and making their report, as herein required.