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Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
Act of the North Carolina General Assembly concerning the constructions of mills
North Carolina. General Assembly
1715
Volume 02, Pages 206-207

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[Laws of North Carolina, MSS. Revisal 1715, Chapter 3.]
AN ACT TO ENCOURAGE THE BUILDING OF MILLS.

Be it enacted by his Excellency the Pallatine and the rest of the true and absolute Lords Proprietors of Carolina by and with the advice and consent of the rest of the Members of the General Assembly now met at Little River for the No East part of the sd Province And it is hereby enacted that if any person or persons shall be desirous to build a Grist Mill, either Wind Mill or Water Mill, within this Governmt it shall be lawful for the Surveyor General or his Depty by a warrant from the Precinct Court to lay out for such person or persons so desiring to build a mill two acres of land for a Water Mill and half an acre for a Wind Mill in such manner as for that use shall be most convenient upon or out of any man's land which said land shall be appraised by four honest men of the neighborhood appointed by the Precinct Court who shall make a true return of their appraisement upon oath to the same Precinct Court and the owner of the said land for the consideration money by the said Appraisers appointed shall be bound to make a conveyance of the same land to him or them that build such Mill or Mills their heirs or assigns with liberty of egress and regress to and from the same under this condic̄on and express limitac̄on and provision that such person or persons to whom the said lands shall be conveyed do erect build and finish on the land so conveyed a substantial working Mill within the term of two years after the date of the conveyance to be void and of none effect.

Provided always that the Court shall first give the owner of the land notice of the moc̄on of any person to build a mill on his land and if the owner will give security to build a substantial working Mill on any part of his land then the moc̄on of such person or persons to be rejected. And also provided that in the laying out the aforemenc̄oned two acres or half acre no person's garden or orchard be injured thereby.

And it is hereby further enacted by the authority aforesd that whosoever shall build such mill or mills shall have liberty to make use of any timber for that purpose on any lands adjacent, making full satisfaction to the owners thereof and to be appraised as is aforesd. And it is further enacted that all such mills as are or shall be built as aforesd shall be deemed Publick Mills and the owner thereof or such as occupy and use the same shall be obliged as soon as their turn comes in course or as possibly they can to grind wheat and Indian corn for all such persons as shall require the same and shall take care that the same be forthcoming

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again to the owner on demand the lawful Toll only excepted under pain of double the value to be immediately levied by a warrant from the next Justice of the Peace and paid to the party injured which being well ground without any fraud or deceit they shall not have or exact any larger or greater toll than one eighth part of wheat and one sixth part of Indian corn under the penalty and forfeiture of ten times the value of the wheat or corn so brought to the mill, one half to the Poor of the Parish the other half to him or them that shall sue for the same to be recovered by acc̄on of Debt, Bill, Plaint or Informac̄on made to the Precinct Court, wherein no injunc̄on or wager of Law shall be allowed or admitted of.

EDWd MOSELEY
Speaker
CHA. EDEN
N. CHEVIN
C. GALE
FRANCs FOSTER
T. KNIGHT