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being Perfons difinterested; which Free-holders, or any Two of fet up and fix them, being first fworn by the said Affiftant or Juftice of the the bounds, Peace, to act with impartiality therein, fhall have power, and are hereby empowered, to fet up and fix fuch bounds between them ; and the Bounds which fhall be fo fixed, fhall be entered in the Records of the Town where fuch Lands lie, and remain the Bounds of fuch Lands; and the whole Charge that fhall arife by the fettling fuch Bounds as aforefaid,fhall (being allowed by fuch Affiftant or Juftice of the Peace)be recovered if need be,by Diftrefs granted by the faid Affiftant or Juftice,against fuch Proprietor or Proprietors as fhall make Application as aforefaid.

2. Provided nevertheless, That if any fuch Proprietor or Proprietors of Land be diffatisfied with the Bounds fo fixed, nothing in this Act or any Proceedings thereon, fhall be understood to hinder fuch Proprietor from bringing any Action whatsoever, for the maintaining of his Right to, or recovering the Poffeffion of fuch Land, as by the fetting up fuch Bounds as aforefaid, fhall be taken br with-held from him.

Provife.

3. Provided alfo, That when the Bounds fo fet up fhall happen to take any Land from any Proprietor, which he has for any Time held Poffeffion of against the other Proprietor; nothing in this Aft, or any Thing done therein, fhall be taken to diffeize fuch Provi Poffeffor, but when foever any Action is brought against such Poffeffor, by the other Proprietor, to recover from him Poffeffion of faid Land; if fuch Poffeffor shall not prove upon the Trial, that the Bounds, or Line which he Claims to hold to, are the juft and true Bounds, Judgment in the said Action fhall be given for the faid Proprietor to recover the Poffeffion, according to the Bounds up as aforefaid.

fet

4. And it is further enacted, That the faid Three Free-holders Freeholders fhall take this following Oath, Viz.

YOU 1. B and C beinge Land of D. E. and F. G. at

TOU A. B. and C. being appointed to renew, revive, and set

up

according to the true, real, and juft Right of the faid Parties: You and each of you do fwear by the Name of the Everliving GOD,

to take an
oath.

that having heard the Pleas of the faid Parties,and Evidences given The form.
in by them relating to the faid Bounds; all Prejudice and Partial-
ity being laid afide, you will erect the faid Bounds according to
the true and juft Right of the faid Parties, by your best Skill and
Judgment. So help you God.

An A&t concerning Witneffes to Wills.

[ENACTED IN THE YEAR 1720.]

548

BE it enacted by the Governor and Council, and Howe Berfea- wills to he

tatives, in General Court affembled, That no Wills or Tefta- witneffed by ments bearing Date at any Time after the firft Day of January three witnellnext enfuing the End of the prefent Seffions of this Affembly, es, in prefence of the teftator, wherein there fhall be any Devife or Devifes of real Estate, shall

258

or elfe void, as to devifes

of real estate.

Preamble.

Guardians to minors to

Lands.

be held good and allowed for any fuch Devife or Devises, if they are not witneffed by Three Witneffes; all of them figning in Prefence of the Teftator.

An Act to enable Guardians to divide Lands, &c.

[ENACTED IN MAY 1720.]

WHEREAS there are many Parcels of Land in this Government, which have been, and ftill are held by feveral Perfons in Partnership, or as Tenants in Common, or in Joint-Tenancy: And it hath often fofallen out, that one of the Partners or Tenants have died before any Divifion hath been made, and their Heirs left to Inherit fuch Lands, being Minors; whereby the furviving Partners or Tenants are hinder ed in their Improv ment.

Which to prevent :

PAR. 1. BE ieengered by the Governor and Council, and Houfe of

Reprefentatives, in General Court affembled, That the Guardians of all Minors fhall, and are hereby (with the Affiftmake divifion ance of fuch Perfons as the Court of Probate fhall for that end apof lands with point) fully empowered to make Division of any fuch Land with furving part- the furviving Partners or Tenants as fully and amply as the original Partners and Tenants might or could have done: And all fuch Minors, their Heirs and Affigns fhall be firmly bound and concluded by any fuch Division made by their Guardians.

ners.

Court of probate to ap

2. And the feveral Courts of Probate are hereby directed, upon point perfons the Application of fuch Partner or Tenant, or Guardian to any Minor, to appoint any fuitable Persons to affift such Guardians in making Divifion as aforefaid.

to a ffift guar

dians, &c.

All perfons, &C.

490.

Lands held

in partnership to be divived

by writ of partition.

Provifo.

3. And all Persons having Right in any fuch Land, upon fuck Appointment, fhall forthwith come to a Divifion of the fame.

An A&t for the Partition of Lands, &c.

[ENACTED IN OCTOBER 1720.]

E it enacted by the Governor and Conncil, and Houfe of Repre fentatives, in General Court affembled, That all Perfons having or holding; or that fhall at any Time hereafter have or hold any Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments as Coparceners, Joint-Tenants, or Tenants in Common, may be compelled by Writ of Partition to divide the fame, where the Partners cannot agree to make Partition among themselves.

Provided always, That this A&t extend not to Town-Commons or fequeftered Lands.

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An Act for preventing Trefpaffes on the Lands of this
Colony, by illegal Purchases thereof from the Indians.

[ENACTED IN OCTOBER 1722.]

WHEREAS this Affembly have been informed, that notwithstanding the ancient Laws of this Colony to the contrary, fome Perfons have pretended to purchafe of Indians their Rights as Natives, of many Preamble. confiderable Tracts of Land lying within this Colony: And although all fuch Deeds when obtained without the Leave and Confent of this Affembly, are by the faid Law declared to be ipfo facto, void. Yet under colour of fuch Deeds, Perfons unacquainted with the faid Laws may be impofed upon, deceived, and greatly wronged, as well as the Settlement of fuch Lands in Plantations, purfuant to the End expreffed in our Charter, hindred.

PAR. 1.

For the prevention whereof:

E it enacted by the Governor and Council, and Houfe of

B Reprefentatives, in General Court affembled, That Penalty of

whofoever fhall prefume to purchase any Lands within the 167 dol. to Bounds of this Colony, of any Indians whatsoever, without the prefume to Leave of this Affembly hereafter firft had and obtained, under purchase land colour or pretence of fuch Indians being the Proprietors of faid of Indians. Lands by a Native Right; or fhall having purchased of any Indians, Lands in fuch manner, without leave of this Affembly firft had, or the Confirmation of this Affembly afterwards obtained, prefume to make any Sale of, or any Settlements upon any Lands fo purchafed, every Perfon who fhall in any fuch manner tranf.. grefs, and be thereof convicted in the County Court, or in the Superior Court of that County where fuch Lands fhall lie, fhalt. incur the Penalty of One Hundred and Sixty Seven Dollars to the Treafury of this Colony..

2. And whatfoever Person or Persons fhall fuffer any wrong by Perfons who Means of fuch Sale or Settlement, as aforefaid, fhall recover in are wronged either of the faid Courts, upon Proof of fuch wrong by him fuffer- by fuch fales, ed, Treble Damages against the Person or Persons so wronging to receive

of him.

An Act for the better establishing and Confirmation of the Titles of Land anciently obtained in Townfhips, according to the manner or custom heretofore ufed and for preventing Contentions about the fame..

[ENACTED IN MAY 1723].

treble dama

ges..

WHEREAS it was anciently customary for Towns to be fettled, and
the Lands in them contained, to be difpofed of by Divifion, or other-
wife, to particular Perfons, or fpecial ufes by the Inhabitants of the Preamble.
faid Towns in Town-Meeting affembled; after which cuftom or Man-
ner, particular Perfons obtained to themfelves certain Quantities of

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Lands.

the faid Land, which they held and difpofed of as their own proper Eftate of Inheritance; and other Quantities, or Parcels of the faid Land in fuch Towns which remained in common, without being divided or difpofed of to any Perfon or Ufe whatfoever, were fill confidered and allowed to be in the difpofition of the faid Inhabitants affembled in fuch Town-Meetings, by the major Vote of thofe prefent.

And whereas it was afterwards thought needful that the Properties and Eftates obtained in the aforefaid Manner or Cuftom within our Townships, fhould be confirmed to the feveral Proprietors of them, and ratified by Deeds or Patents under the Seal of this Colony, to them and their Heirs forever, (inafmuch as His Majefty King CHARLES the Second, had under the Great Seal of England, granted the whole Tract of Land, comprehending faid Townships, to the Governor and Company of this Colony) that the Proprietors of fuch Eftates fo obtained and held by vote and confent of fuch Towns in their Meetings, might be thereby furnished with unconteftible Evidence of their having and holding the fame under the Crown of Great-Britain.

By means of which Deeds or Patents fo granted to fuch Perfons, who were alfo according to the ancient Cuftom or Manner of difpofing of Lands in our Town-Meetings, the true and lawful Owners and Poffeffors of fuch Eftates, the faid Lands which they held in fuch Towns, either in feveralty or in common, became both by Cuftom, and by Seal of this Colony, an undoubted lawful Eftate of Inheritance, to them and their Heirs; and the undivided and common Lands in fuch Town, fuch Proprietors might have divided immediately among themfelves, or otherwife difpofed of agrecably both to the ancient Cuftom, and the Title ratified and confirmed by the faid Deeds or Patents, and not fuffered any other Perfons to have Part in them or any Right or Title to vote or act in the dividing or difpofing of fuch common Land.

And whereas notwithstanding the faid Deeds or Patents obtained,the Proprietors of fuch Common Lands, who had according to the ancient Cuftom fuch an Eftate in them, that they might divide them among themfelves, or otherwife difpofe of them; and had alfo obtained by Patenta Grant and Confirmation of the Eftate which they had in thofe common Lands, as well as in their particular Properties, to themfelves and their heirs forever, by Virtue of which they had juft Power and Right to act and do by way of dividing or difpofing of fuch common Lands without fuffering any other Perfons who fhould afterwards become Inhabitants of the faid Towns, to be concerned and act with them therein; the faid Proprietors did for a confiderable number of Years in many of our Towns, truly confent and agree that the faid common Lands might in whole or in part be actually divided or difpofed of by the major Vote of the Inhabitants of fuch Towns in Meeting affembled, and did themfelves act and vote with others in fuch Town Meetings, in the dividing and difpofing of fuch common Lands, by means of which Acts and Votes many Perfons have obtained particular Eftates to themfelves, which if they fhould be called in Queftion and defeated becaufe not obtained by the fole Act of the faid Proprietors, would be contrary to the true intent and meaning of the faid Proprietors, and prove very prejudicial to thofe Perfons or their Heirs, who have been brought into them with the real Confent of the faid Proprietors, by which real Confent, faid Proprietony

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and all that hold under them, ought to be eftopped and barred against all Pretenfions or Pleas of Right which they may alledge to the contrary.

B

heretofore

PAR. I. E it therefore enacted by the Governor and Council, and Houfe of Reprefentatives, in General Court affembled, That Grants, &c. all fuch Grants, Divifions, or Difpofitions of fuch common Lands, of Lands, made according to ancient Custom in any Town Meetings, fhall made at town be held and taken to be good and lawf., to all Intents, and as ef- meetings, to fectual in Law as if the full and ample Confent of the faid Pro- be good and prietors had been in any other Way than by fuch their Acting or valid. real Confent obtained; and all Eftates in Land obtained and holden in fuch Manner by the Votes and Acts of Town-Meetings, as well fince as before the Confirmation of the Proprietors in fuch Towns, in their Eftates there, by Patent under the Seal of this Colony, as aforefaid, are hereby declared to be.

2. And it is hereby Enacted, That they fhall be accepted and taken to be good and lawful Eftates to fuch as fo have and hold them, as they might or could be if the consent of the faid Proprietors in the granting of them could be proved under the Hand and Seal of fuck Proprietors.

3. And it is hereby alfo further Declared and Enacted, That whatfoever Part or Intereft the aforefaid Proprietors, by Custom as And to be well as Deed, have in any common or undivided Lands in any held fuch, as Towns, which they have not by their free Confent as before ex- if, &c. preffed, or otherwife difpofed of, or fuffered to be divided or difpofed of, is and fhall be allowed, and taken to be their proper Eftate: And that no Perfon whatsoever by becoming an Inhabitant of fuch Town, or by any other Means against or without the Confent of fuch Proprietors, fhall be taken or esteemed to have any Eftate, Title, Right or Intereft therein,

4. And all fuch Proprietors of any re.naining common or undivided Lands in any Town or Place whatsoever, or fuch as le- Undivided gally reprefent them, are hereby allowed to have their Meetings lands to bein fuch refpective Towns, to choose their Clerk, to enter and re- long to the cord their Votes and Doings, who fhall be fworn before an Affift- proprietors. ant or Juftice of the Peace: And all Records of their Votes and Doings, attefted by him, be admitted as lawful Evidence. And the faid Proprietors in fuch Meetings, fhall have full Power (after the ancient Cuftom and Manner in Towns) by their major Votes in fuch their Meetings, (to be reckoned according to their Intereft in fuch Common Land,) to regulate, improve, manage and divide fuch Common Land, in fuch Manner and Proportion as they fhall fee good.

5. Provided, That where the Proprietors in any Town have by any Vote of theirs upon Record in their Town, obliged themfelves to act for the future, in any other Method in dividing the undivided Land in fuch Townfhips, fuch Vote being the Act of faid Proprietors, fhall be and remain valid and binding against fuch Proprietors, and their Heirs; and the undivided Lands referred to in faid Vote, divided and held according to fuch Vote any Thing in this Aft to the contrary notwithstanding,

Provifo.

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