Act concerning the Appointment of Sheriffs, [28 December] 1784
Act Concerning the Appointment of Sheriffs
[28 December 1784]
Be it enacted by the General Assembly that if the Justices of the peace for any County within This CommonWealth shall fail to nominate persons for Sheriff according to the periods prescribed by Law every Justice so neglecting his Duty shall forfeit and pay the sum of pounds & more over shall be subject to be displaced by the Governor & Council. If any person hereafter to be appointed Sheriff of any County shall fail to give Bond in months after his appointment the Clerk of the Court shall within one month thereafter transmit to the Governor for the time being a certificate of such neglect or failure under the penalty of pounds. If any person hereafter to be nominated Sheriff of a County shall fail to make application to the Governor for a Commission within month after such nomination the Governor with the advice of the Council shall and may commission any Justice of the Peace of the said County to be Sheriff of the same.
And be it farther enacted that no under Sheriff shall continue in Office more than two Years.1
Ms (Vi). The first sentence is in JM’s hand, the remainder in a clerk’s. Docketed by a clerk with the title and dates of various readings.
1. This sentence was deleted in the final version of the measure. Instead a section was added to relieve sheriffs from damage suits for failing to collect the 1783 taxes owing to “the scarcity of money and other circumstances.” The amendments are on two pages accompanying the main manuscript. JM was on the drafting committee appointed 7 Dec. to prepare the bill. The legislation was introduced on 28 Dec., turned over to the Committee for Courts of Justice the next day, and finally passed 31 Dec. ( , Oct. 1784, pp. 60, 84, 92, 96, 98; , XI, 463).