Multiplicity of Laws which by Degrees always change the right Foundations of the Original Government All Acts of Parliament whatsoever in whatsoever Form passed or enacted shall at the End of a Hundred Years after their Enacting respectively cease and determine of themselves and without any Repeal become null and void as if no such Acts or Laws had ever been made § 80. Since Multiplicity of Comments as we â—â—aâ— of Laws have great Inconveniences and serve only to obscure and perplex All manner of Comments and Expositions on any Part of these Fundamental Constitutions or any Part of the Common or Statute Law of Carolina are absolutely prohibited § 81. There shall be a Registry in every Precinct wherein shall be enrolled all Deeds Leases Judgments Mortgages and other Conveyances which may concern any of the Land within the said Precinct and all such Conveyances not so entred or registred shall not be of Force against any Person nor Party to the said Contract or Conveyance § 82. No Man shall be Register of any Precinct who hath not at least Three Hundred Acres of Freehold within the said Precinct § 83. The Freeholders of every Precinct shall nominate Three Men out of which Three the Chief Justice's Court shall chuse and commission one to be Register of the said Precinct whilst he shall well behave himself § 84. There shall be a Registry in every Signiory Barony and Colony wherein shall be recorded all the Births Marriages and Deaths that shall happen within the respective Signiories Baronies and Colonies § 85. No Man shall be Register of a Colony that hath not above Fifty Acres of Freehold within the said Colony § 86. The Time of every one's Age that is born in Carolina shall be reckoned from the Day that his Birth is entred in the Registry and not before § 87. No Marriage shall be lawful whatever Contract and Ceremony they have used till both the Parties mutually own it before the Register of the Place where they were married and he register â—â— with the Names of the Father and Mother of each Party § 88. No Man shall administer to the Goods or have Right to them or enter upon the Estate of any Person deceased till his Death be registred in the respective Registry § 89. He that doth not enter in the respective Registry the Birth or Death of any Person that is born or dies in his House or Ground shall pay to the said Register One Shilling per Week for each such Neglect reckoning from the Time of each Birth or Death respectively to the Time of Registring it § 90. In like manner the Births Marriages and Deaths of the Lords Proprietors Landgraves and Cassiques shall be registred in the Chamberlain's Court. § 91. There shall be in every Colony one Constable to be chosen annually by the Freeholders of the Colony His Estate shall be above a Hundred Acres of Freehold within the said Colony and such subordinate Officers appointed for his Assistance as the County Court shall find requisite and shall be established by the said County Court The Election of the subordinate Annual Officers shall be also in the Freeholders of the Colony § 92. All Towns Incorporate shall be governed by a Mayor Twelve Aldermen and Twenty Four of the Common-Council The said Common-Council shall be chosen by the present Housholders of the said Town the Aldemen shall be chosen out of the Common-Council and the Mayor out of the Aldermen by the Palatine's Court. § 93. It being of great consequence to the Plantation that Port-Towns should be built and preserved Therefore whosoever shall lade or unlade any Commodity at any other Place but a Port-Town shall forfeit to the Lords Proprietors for each Tun so laden or unladen the Sum of Ten Pounds Sterling except only such Goods as the Palatine's Court shall Licence to be laden or unladen elsewhere § 94. The first Port-Town upon every River shall be in a Colony and be a Port-Town for ever § 95. No man shall be permitted to be a Freeman of Carolina or to have any Estate or Habitation within it that doth not acknowledge a God and that God is publickly and solemnly to be Worshipped § 96. As the Country comes to be sufficiently Planted and Distributed into fit Divisions it shall belong to the Parliament to take care for the Building of Churches and the publick Maintenance of Divines to be employed in the Exercise of Religion according to the Church of England which being the only true and Orthodox and the National Religion of all the King's Dominions is so also of Carolina and therefore it alone shall be allowed to receive publick Maintenance by Grant of Parliament But since the Natives of that Place who will be concerned in our Plantation are utterly Strangers to Christianity whose Idolatry Ignorance or Mistake gives us no Right to expel or use them ill and those who remove from other Parts to plant there will unavoidably be of different Opinions concerning Matters of Religion the Liberty whereof they will expect to have allowed them and it will not be reasonable for us on this Account to keep them out that Civil Peace may be maintained amidst the Diversity of Opinions and our Agreement and Compact with all Men may be duly and faithfully observed the Violation thereof upon what Pretence soever cannot be without great Offence to Almighty God and great Scandal to the true Religion which we profess and also that Jews Heathens and other Dissenters from the Purity of Christian Religion may not be scared and kept at a distance from it but by having an Opportunity of acquainting themselves with the Truth and Reasonableness of its Doctrines and the Peaceableness and Inoffensiveness of its Professors may by good Vsage and Perswasion and all those convincing Methods of Gentleness and Meekness suitable to the Rules and Design of the Gospel be won over to embrace and unfeignedly receive the Truth therefore any seven or more Persons agreeing in any Religion shall Constitute a Church or Profession to which they shall give some Name to distinguish it from others § 98. The Terms of Admittance and Communion with any Church or Profession shall be written in a Book and therein be subscribed by all the Members of the said Church or Profession which Book shall be kept by the Publick Register of the Precinct where they reside § 99. The Time of every ones Subscription and Admittance shall be Dated in the said Book or Religious Record § 100. In the Terms of Communion of every Church or Profession these following shall be three without which no Agreement or Assembly of Men upon Pretence of Religion shall be accounted a Church or Profession wiehin these Rules I. That there is a GOD. II. That GOD is publickly to be Worshipped III. That it is lawful and the Duty of every Man being thereunto called by those that Govern to bear Witness to Truth and that every Church or Profession shall in their Terms
and Voting in the Upper House and shall continue defective in the said Qualification for the space of Forty Years successively such Landgrave or Cassique his Heirs and Successors shall from thenceforth be for ever utterly Excluded and his or their Dignity Honour Priviledge and Title of Landgrave or Cassique shall cease and be utterly lost and the Letters Patents of Creation of such Dignity shall be vacated 15. AND in order to the due Election of Members for the Biennial Parliament it shall be lawful for the Freeholders of the respective Precinct to meet the first Tuesday in September every Two Years in the same Town or Place they last met in to choose Parliament-Men and there to choose those Members that are to sit next November following unless the Proprietors Court shall by sufficient Notice _____ Days before appoint some other Place for their Meeting 16. A New Parliament shall be assembled the first Monday of the Month of November every second Year and shall meet and sit in the Town they last sat in without any Summons unless by the Proprietors Court in Carolina they be summoned to meet at any other Place and if there shall be Occasion of a Parliament in these Intervals it shall be in the power of the Proprietors Court to assemble them in _____ Days Notice and at such Time and Place as the Court shall think fit 17. AT the Opening of every Parliament the first thing that shall be done shall be the Reading of these Fundamental Constitutions which the Palatine and the Proprietors and the Members then present shall subscribe Nor shall any Person whatsoever Sit or Vote in the Parliament till he has in that Session subscrib'd these Fundamental Constitutions in a Book kept for that purpose by the Clerk of the Parliament 18. ANY Act or Order of Parliament that is Ratifyed in Open Parliament during the same Session by the Governor and Three more of the Lords Proprietors Deputies shall be in Force and continue till the Palatine himself and Three more of the Lords Proprietors themselves signifie their Dissent to any of the said Acts or Orders under their Hands and Seals But if Ratified under their Hands and Seals then to continue according to the time limited in such Act. 19. THE whole Province shall be divided into Counties by the Parliament 20. NO Proprietor Landgrave or Cassique shall hereafter take up a Signory or Barony that shall exceed Four Thousand Acres or thereabouts for a Proprietor or Landgrave and Two Thousand Acres or thereabouts for a Cassique in one County 21. NO Cause whether Civil or Criminal of any Freeman shall be tryed in any Court of Judicature without a Jury of his Peers 22. NO Landgrave or Cassique shall be tryed for any Criminal Cause in any but the Chief Justices Court and that by a Jury of his Peers unless a sufficient Number of such cannot be legally had and then to be supplyed by the best and most sufficient Free-holders 23. IF upon the Decease of the Governor no Person be appointed by the Lords Proprietors to succeed him then the Proprietor's Deputies shall meet and choose a Governor till a new Commission be sent from the Lords Proprietors under their Hands and Seals 24. BALLOTTING shall be continued in all Elections of the Parliament and in all other Cases where it can conveniently be used 25. NO Man shall be permitted to be a Freeman of Carolina or to have any Estate or Habitation within it that does not acknowledge a GOD and that GOD is publickly and solemnly to be Worshipped 26. AS the Country comes to be sufficiently planted and distributed into fit Divisions it shall belong to the Parliament to take care for the Building of Churches and the publick Maintenance of Divines to be employed in the Exercise of Religion according to the Church of England which being the only True and Orthodox and the National Religion of the King's Dominions is so also of Carolina and therefore it alone shall be allowed to receive publick Maintenance by Grant of Parliament 27. ANY seven or more Persons agreeing in any Religion shall constitute a Church or Profession to which they shall give some Name to distinguish it from others 28. THE Terms of Admittance and Communion with any Church or Profession shall be written in a Book and therein be subscribed by all the Members of the said Church or Profession which shall be kept by the publick Register of the Precinct wherein they reside 29. THE Time of every one's Subscription and Admittance shall be dated in the said Book of Religious Records 30. IN the Terms of Communion of every Church or Profession these following shall be three without which no Agreement or Assembly of Men upon Pretence of Religion shall be accounted a Church or Profession within these Rules I. That there is a GOD. II. That GOD is publickly to be Worshipped III. That it is lawful and the Duty of every Man being thereunto called by those that govern to bear Witness to Truth and that every Church or Profession shall in their Terms of Communion set down the external Way whereby they witness a Truth as in the Presence of God whether it be by Laying Hands on or Kissing the Bible as in the Church of England or by holding up the Hand or any sensible way 31. NO Person above Seventeen Years of Age shall have any Benefit or Protection of the Law or be capable of any Place of Profit or Honour who is not a Member of some Church or Profession having his Name recorded in some one and but one Religious Record at once 32. NO Person of any Church or Profession shall disturb or molest any Religious Assembly 33. NO Person whatsoever shall speak any thing in their Religious Assembly irreverently or seditiously of the Government or Governour or of State-Matters 34. ANY Person subscribing the Terms of Communion in the Records of the said Church or Profession before the Precinct Register and any Five Members of the said Church or Profession shall be thereby made a Member of the said Church or Profession 35. ANY Person striking out his own Name out of any Religious Records or his Name being struck out by any Officer thereunto Authorized by each Church or Profession respectively shall cease to be a Member of that Church or Profession 36. NO Man shall use any reproachful reviling or abusive Language against the Religion of any Church of Profession that being the certain Way of disturbing the Peace and of hindering the Conversion of any to the Truth by engaging them in Quarrels and Animosities to the Hatred of the Professors and that Profession which otherwise they may be brought to assent to 37. SINCE Charity obliges us to wish well to the Souls of all Men and Religion ought to alter nothing in any Man 's Civil Estate or Right It shall be lawful for Slaves as well as others to enter themselves and be of what Church or Profession any of them shall think best and thereof be as fully Members as any Freeman but yet no Slave shall hereby be exempted from that Civil Dominion his Master had over him but be in all other Things in the same State and Condition he was in before 38. ASSEMBLYS upon what Pretence soever of Religion not observing and performing the abovesaid Rules shall not be esteemed as Churches but Unlawful Meetings and be punished as other Riots 39. NO Person whatsoever shall disturb molest or prosecute another for his Speculative Opinions in Religion or his way of Worship 40. EVERY Freeman of Carolina shall have Absolute Power and Authority over his Negro Slave of what Opinion or Religion soever 41. ANY Person at his Admittance into any Office or Place of Trust whatsoever shall subscribe these Fundamental Constitutions in this Form I A. B. do promise to bear Faith and true Allegiance to our Soveraign Lord King WILLIAM and will be true and faithful to the Palatine and Lords Proprietors of Carolina their Heirs and Successors and with my utmost Power will defend them and maintain the Government according to this Establishment in these Fundamental Constitutions THESE Fundamental Constitutions in Number Forty One and every Part thereof shall be and remain the Inviolable Form and Rule of Government of Carolina for Ever Witness our Hands and Seals this Eleventh Day of April 1698. BATH PALATINE A. Ashley CRAVEN BATH for the Lord Carterett William Thornburgh for Sir John Colleton Tho. Amy. William Thornburgh FINIS
so many Barbarous Nations and the Invasions as well of Salvages as other Enemies Pirates and Robbers may probably be feared Therefore We have Given and for Us Our Heirs and Successors do give Power by these Presents unto the said Edward Earl of Clarendon George Duke of Albemarle William Lord Craven John Lord Berkeley Anthony Lord Ashley Sir George Carterett Sir William Berkeley and Sir John Colleton their Heirs and Assigns by themselves or their Captains or other their Officers to Levy Muster and Train all sorts of Men of what Condition or wheresoever Born in the said Province for the Time being and to make War and pursue the Enemies aforesaid as well by Sea as by Land yea even within the Limits of the said Province and by God's Assistance to Vanquish and Take them and being Taken to put them to Death by the Law of War or to save them at their Pleasure and to do all and every other thing which unto the Charge and Office of a Captain General of an Army belongeth or hath accustomed to belong as fully and freely as any Captain General of an Army hath ever had the same Also Our Will and Pleasure is and by this Our Charter we give unto the said Edward Earl of Clarendon George Duke of Albemarle William Lord Craven John Lord Berkeley Anthony Lord Ashley Sir Gorge Carterett Sir William Berkeley and Sir John Colleton their Heirs and Assigns full Power Liberty and Authority in Case of Rebellion Tumult or Sedition if any should happen which God forbid either upon the Land within the Province aforesaid or upon the main Sea in making a Voyage thither or returning from thence by him and themselves their Captains Deputies or Officers to be authorized under his or their Seals for that purpose To whom also for Us our Heirs and Successors We do give and grant by these Presents full Power and Authority to exercise Martial Law against mutinous and seditious Persons of those Parts such as shall refuse to submit themselves to their Government or shall refuse to serve in the Wars or shall fly to the Enemy or forsake their Colours or Ensigns or be Loyterers or Straglers or otherwise howsoever offending against Law Custom or Discipline Military as freely and in as ample Manner and Form as any Captain General of an Army by virtue of his Office might or hath accustomed to use the same And Our further Pleasure is and by these Presents for Us our Heirs and Successors We do grant unto the said Earl of Clarendon George Duke of Albemarle William Lord Craven John Lord Berkeley Anthony Lord Ashley Sir George Carterett Sir William Berkeley and Sir John Colleton their Heirs and Assigns and to the Tenants and Inhabitants of the said Province of Carolina both present and to come and to every of them that the said Province and the Tennants and Inhabitants thereof shall not from henceforth be held or reputed a Member or Part of any Collony whatâ—oever in America or elsewhere now transported or made or hereafter to be transported or made nor shall be depending on or subject to their Government in any Thing but be absolutely separated and divided from the same And our Pleasure is by these Presents That they be separated and that they be subject immediately to our Crown of England as depending thereof for ever And that the Inhabitants of the said Province nor any of them shall at any Time hereafter be compelled or compellable or be any ways subject or liable to appear or answer to any Matter Suit Cause or Plaint whatsoever out of the Province aforesaid in any other of our Islands Collonies or Dominions in America or elsewhere other than in our Realm of England and Dominion of Wales And because it may happen That some of the People and Inhabitants of the said Province cannot in their private Opinions conform to the Publick Exercise of Religion according to the Liturgy Form and Ceremonies of the Church of England or take and subscribe the Oaths and Articles made and established in that Behalf And for that the same by reason of the remote Distances of these placees will we hope be no Breach of the Unity and Uniformity Established in this Nation Our Will and Pleasure therefore is and We do by these Presents for Us Our Heirs and Successors Give and Grant unto the said Edward Earl of Clarendon George Duke of Albemarle William Lord Craven John Lord Berkeley Anthony Lord Ashley Sir George Carterett Sir William Berkeley and Sir John Colleton their Heirs and Assigns full and free License Liberty and Authority by such Legal Ways and Means as they shall think fit to Give and Grant unto such Person and Persons Inhabiting and being within the said Province or any Part thereof who really in their Judgments and for Conscience sake cannot or shall not Conform to the said Liturgy and Ceremonies and take and subscribe the Oaths and Articles aforesaid or any of them such Indulgences and Dispensations in that Behalf for and during such Time and Times and with such Limitations and Restrictions as they the said Edward Earl of Clarendon George Duke of Albemarle William Lord Craven John Lord Berkeley Anthony Lord Ashley Sir George Carterett Sir VVilliam Berkely and Sir John Colleton their Heirs or Assigns shall in their Discretion think fit and reasonable and with this Express Proviso and Limitation also that such Person and Proviso to whom such Indulgencies and Dispensations shall be Granted as aforesaid do and shall from Time to Time Declare and continue all Fidelity Loyalty and Obedience to Us Our Heirs and Successors and be Subject and Obedient to all other the Laws Ordinances and Constitutions of the said Province in all Matters whatsoever as well Ecclesiastical as Civil and do not in any wise Disturb the Peace and Safety thereof or Scandalize or Reproach the said Liturgy Forms and Ceremonies or any Thing relating thereunto or any Person or Persons whatsoever for or in respect of his or their Use or Exercise thereof or his or their Obedience or Conformity thereunto And in Case it shall happen That any Doubts or Questions should arise concerning the True Sense and Understanding of any Word Clause or Sentence contained in this Our Present Charter We will Ordain and Command that at all Times and in all Things such Interpretation be made thereof and allow'd in all and every of Our Courts whatsoever as Lawfully may be Adjudged most Advantageous and Favourable to the said Edward Earl of Clarendon George Duke of Albemarle William Lord Craven John Lord Berkeley Anthony Lord Ashley Sir George Carterett Sir William Berkeley and Sir John Colleton their Heirs and Assigns although Express Mention be not made in these Presents of the True Yearly Value and Certainty of the Premises or any part thereof or of any other Gifts and Grants made by Us our Ancestors or Predecessors to them the said Edward Earl of Clarendon George Duke of Albemarle VVilliam Lord Craven John
with all things whatsoever which to a Court Leet or view of Franck Pledge do belong the same Courts to be holden by Stewards to be Deputed and Authorized by the said Edward Earl of Clarendon George Duke of Albemarle William Earl of Craven John Lord Berkeley Anthony Lord Ashley Sir George Carterett Sir John Colleton and Sir William Berkeley or their Heirs by the Lords of the Mannors and Leets for the Time being when the same shall be Erected And because that in so remote a Country and Scituate among so many Barbarous Nations the Invasions as well of Salvages as other Enemies Pirates and Robbers may probably be feared Therefore We have Given and for Us Our Heirs and Successors do give Power by these Presents unto the said Edward Earl of Clarendon George Duke of Albemarle William Earl of Craven John Lord Berkeley Anthony Lord Ashley Sir George Carterett Sir John Colleton and Sir William Berkeley their Heirs or Assigns by themselves or their Captains or other Officers to Levy Muster and Train up all sorts of Men of what Condition soever or wheresoever Born whether in the said Province or elsewhere for the Time being And to make War and pursue the Enemies aforesaid as well by Sea as by Land yea even without the Limits of the said Province and by God's Assistance to Vanquish and Take them and being Taken to put them to Death by the Law of War and to save them at their Pleasure And to do all and every other thing which to the Charge and Office of a Captain General of an Army belongeth or hath accustomed to belong as fully and freely as any Captain General of an Army hath had the same Also Our Will and Pleasure is and by this Our Charter We do give and grant unto the said Edward Earl of Clarendon George Duke of Albemarle William Lord Craven John Lord Berkeley Anthony Lord Ashley Sir Gorge Carterett Sir John Colleton and Sir William Berkeley their Heirs and Assigns full Power Liberty and Authority in Case of Rebellion Tumult or Sedition if any should happen which God forbid either upon the Land within the Province aforesaid or upon the main Sea in making a Voyage thither or returning from thence by him and themselves their Captains Deputies or Officers to be authorized under his or their Seals for that purpose To whom also for Us our Heirs and Successors We do give and grant by these Presents full Power and Authority to exercise Martial Law against mutinous and seditious Persons of those Parts such as shall refuse to submit themselves to their Government or shall refuse to serve in the Wars or shall fly to the Enemy or forsake their Colours or Ensigns or be Loyterers or Straglers or otherwise howsoever offending against Law Custom or Military Discipline as freely and in as ample Manner and Form as any Captain General of an Army by virtue of his Office might or hath accustomed to use the same And Our further Pleasure is and by these Presents for Us our Heirs and Successors We do grant unto the said Edward Earl of Clarendon George Duke of Albemarle William Earl of Craven John Lord Berkeley Anthony Lord Ashley Sir George Carterett Sir John Colleton and Sir William Berkeley their Heirs and Assigns and to the Tenants and Inhabitants of the said Province or Territory both present and to come and to every of them that the said Province or Territory and the Tennants and Inhabitants thereof shall not from henceforth be held or reputed any Member or Part of any Collony whatsoever in America or elsewhere now transported or made or hereafter to be transported or made nor shall be depending on or subject to their Government in any Thing but be absolutely separated and divided from the same And our Pleasure is by these Presents That they be separated and that they be subject immediately to our Crown of England as depending thereof for ever And that the Inhabitants of the said Province or Territory nor any of them shall at any Time hereafter be compelled or compellable or be any ways subject or liâ—â—â—â— to appear or answer to any Matter Suit Cause or Plaint whatsoever out of the Province or Territory aforesaid in any other of our 〈◊〉 Collonies or Dominions in America or elsewhere other than in our 〈◊〉 of England and Dominion of Wales And because it may happen That some of the People and Inhabitants of the said Province cannot in their private Opinions conform to the Publick Exercise of Religion according to the Liturgy Forms and Ceremonies of the Church of England or take or subscribe the Oaths and Articles made and established in that Behalf And for that the same by reason of the remote Distances of those Places will as we hope be no Breach of the Unity and Conformity Established in this Nation Our Will and Pleasure therefore is and We do by these Presents for Us Our Heirs and Successors Give and Grant unto the said Edward Earl of Clarendon George Duke of Albemarle William Earl of Craven John Lord Berkeley Anthony Lord Ashley Sir George Carterett Sir John Colleton and Sir William Berkeley their Heirs and Assigns full and free Licence Liberty and Authority by such Ways and Means as they shall think fit To Give and Grant unto such Person and Persons Inhabiting and being withi the said Province or Territory hereby or by the said recited Letters Patents mentioned to be granted as aforesaid or any Part thereof such Indulgencies and Dispensations in that Behalf for and during such Time and Times and with such Limitations and Restrictions as they the said Edward Earl of Clarendon George Duke of Albemarle William Earl of Craven John Lord Berkeley Anthony Lord Ashley Sir George Carterett Sir John Colleton and Sir VVilliam Berkely their Heirs or Assigns shall in their Discretion think fit and reasonable And that no Person or Persons unto whom such Liberty shall be given shall be any way molested punished disquieted or called in question for any Differences in Opinion or Practise in Matters of Religious Concernment who do not actually disturb the civil Peace of the Province County or Colony that they shall make their abode in But all and every such Person and Persons may from Time to Time and at all Times freely and quietly have and enjoy his and their Judgments and Consciences in Matters of Religion throughout all the said Province or Colony they behaving them selves peaceably and 〈◊〉 this Liberty to Licentiousness nor to the Civil Injury or outward Disturbance of others Any Law Statute or Clause contained or to be contained 〈◊〉 or Customs of our Realm of England to the contrary hereof any 〈◊〉 notwithstanding And in Case it shall happen That any Doubts or Questions should arise concerning the True Sense and Understanding of any Word Clause or Sentence contained in this Our Present Charter We will Ordain and Command that at all Times and in all Things such Interpretations be made thereof and allow'd in