At a General Assembly, held at Wilmington, in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Forty One. Gabriel Johnston, Esq., Governor.
I. Whereas the County of Bertie is very extensive, and its Inhabitants more numerous than any County in this Province; which renders the Public Business of the said County very difficult to be transacted: For Remedy whereof:
II. We pray that it may be Enacted, And be it Enacted, by his Excellency Gabriel Johnston, Esq., Governor, by and with the Advice and Consent of his Majesty's Council, and General Assembly of this Province, And it is hereby Enacted, by the Authority of the same, That that Part of Bertie County which lieth North and West of Sandy Run, and in a direct Line from the Head of the said Run, to the Head of the Beaver Dam Swamp, and down the said Swamp and Meherrin Creek and River be, and is hereby erected into a County, by the Name of Northampton County; and that the said Bounds shall, henceforward, be the Limits between Society Parish and the Northwest Parish of Bertie.
III. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That from and after the Passing of this Act, the said County of Northampton shall be invested with as full and ample Powers, Privileges, Advantages and Immunities as any other County in this Province, saving only, that the said County shall send to all Assemblies, after the Dissolution of this present Assembly, Two Representatives, and no more.
IV. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, that Bertie County shall, in all future General Assemblies which shall be held after the Dissolution of the present Assembly, choose and send to the General Assembly, three Representatives, and no more.
V. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the present Representatives who have been sent by Bertie County, shall, for and during the Continuance of this present General Assembly, sit and vote as the Representatives of Bertie and Northampton Counties.
VI. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the Court of the said County of Northampton shall be holden on the Fourth Tuesdays of the Months of November, February, May and August, annually: Which said Court, at their First Term or Session, shall recommend to his Excellency the Governor, proper Persons to execute the respective Offices of Clerk and Sheriff of the said County, according to Law.
VII. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Court shall, at the Charge of the said County, in their First or Second Term or Session, make Orders and Rules, agreeable to the Laws of this
Province, for erecting a sufficient Court-house, Prison, and Stocks, near the upper Pottakasey Bridges, as the said Court shall deem necessary.VIII. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the Court of Bertie County shall, at the Charge of their County, on the first or second Term or Session, next after the passing of this Act, make Orders and Rules for erecting a sufficient Court-house, Prison and Stocks, at such Place as to them shall seem most convenient; and the levy lately laid by the Court of Bertie, for building a Gaol, shall be appropriated for the Uses aforesaid, in the County in which the Tithables are resident; and the County of Northampton shall pay a proportion of County Taxes with Bertie, to be laid to discharge all Arrears which the said County of Bertie is now in, for building their several Warehouses and paying the Wages of their several Inspectors, and of running the said Line: And that the Levy on the Northwest Parish of Bertie, already laid, shall be paid and accounted for to their Vestry.
IX.. Provided always, That nothing in this Act shall be construed to extend to alter or vacate any Judgment or Judgments already had or obtained, or any Suit already commenced in the Court of Bertie County, but that the said Court may proceed, as usual, to Judgment and Execution thereof.
(Omitted.)