CHAPTER 54.

AN ACT to amend an act entitled, An act for the benefit of the Tennessee Hospital for the Insane, passed February 7, 1856.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, That the annual tax of one and a half cents, allowed by the act passed February 7th, 1856, chapter 146, be reduced to nine-sixteenths of a cent on the hundred dollars, annually for the next two years; and that eight-sixteenths of the proceeds of said tax be applied by the trustees of said institution to finishing said institution and improving the grounds attached thereto, and for such other purposes as the majority of said trustees may direct for the benefit of said institution.

DANIEL S. DONELSON,

Speaker of the House of Representatives. JOHN C. BURCH,

Passed March 10, 1858.

Speaker of the Senate.

CHAPTER 55.

AN ACT supplementary to an act passed March 1, 1856, to regulate weights and measures in this State.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, That the Superintendent of Weights and Measures of this State shall receive an annual salary of three hundred dollars for his services; the salary of the present incumbent to date from October 9th, 1855, and to be paid at the rate herein established. He shall be a man of sufficient learning and mechanical skill to perform the duties of his office, which shall be to Salary, qualifica take charge of, and use every precaution for the perfect of Superintend- preservation of the State standards, furnished by the government of the United States; to keep them in the room of the Capitol now used for that purpose; to adjust and verify in conformity to them, all weights and measures used for standards in this State; and for no other than scientific purposes and the adjustment of such standards, shall the State standards be used.

tions and duties

SEO. 2. Be it further enacted, That the county courts

of this State are hereby authorized and required to appoint as standard keeper and sealer of weights and

measures, a suitable person who shall live at or as near to County court to the county town as a suitable person can be procured. He appoint keeper. shall hold his office during the pleasure of the court, or until his successor shall be elected and qualified; his duties shall be to take charge of, and use every precaution for the perfect preservation of the standards furnished by this State, and be responsible for any soiling, abrasion, or other injury thereto; he shall be provided with suitable substitutes or copies of the State standards in his charge, and he shall use the standards for no other purpose than to adjust and verify such substitutes or copies, which he is required to do at least once in each year; with such substitutes, he shall prove all weights, measures, and other Duties. apparatus used for weighing or measuring that may be brought to him for that purpose, and be responsible for the conformity of them to the standards, if sealed by him; he shall also be provided with suitable balances, brands, stamps, and such other apparatus as may be required for proving and scaling such articles; he shall be entitled to receive for his services the following rates, to wit: For proving each balance beam, patent balance, platform Fees. scales, steel-yards, or other weighing apparatus, requiring less than one hundred pounds to test, ten cents; for such as require from one to five hundred pounds, to test, twenty-five cents; and for such as require five hundred or more pounds to test, fifty cents; for proving and sealing each yard measure, five cents; for proving and sealing each capacity measure of less than one gallon, five cents; of one gallon or more, ten cents; for proving and sealing each weight or poise of less than ten pounds, five cents; of ten or more pounds, ten cents; he shall also be entitled to charge a reasonable compensation for labor and material employed in making such weights, measures, or balances as are not correct, conform to the standards.

SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That the corporate au- Corporation thorities of any city or town in this State are hereby appoint. authorized to appoint a suitable person as standard keeper and sealer of weights and measures, who shall have concurrent powers and privileges with the county sealers: Provided, That such corporation shall procure and have verified according to the provisions of this act, a suitable set of standards at the expense of such corporation.

SEC. 4. Be it further enacted, That the sealer of weights and measures shall brand or mark all such weights, measures, balances, &c., as upon trial or adjustment shall be found correct, with the letter T and the current year;

Fees forfeited in certain cases.

and they shall be the only persons authorized to use such Mark. seal or mark in this State; they shall prove all balances having poises, such as patent balances, steel-yards, platform scales, &c., with correct weights to the extent of the balance of such poise, if under five hundred pounds, and if over five hundred to at least that extent; and in no case shall they be entitled to receive fees without a fair trial of all articles; and if upon trial, they shall not be found correct or cannot be made to conform to the standards, they shall be forfeited to the sealer so trying them, except by the paymant of an amount equal to the charges for proving and sealing; and no apparatus used for weighing shall be sealed by them which will not weigh accurately within one-fourth of a pound in one hundred, or in such proportion; and for all such articles as from their cumbersome nature or otherwise, are not brought to the office of the sealer and he may prove them where used, he shall be allowed a reasonable charge for extra expense and trouble.

ure to have weights and measures scaled.

SEC. 5. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of each and every sealer in this State to advertise each year, by posting at the court house door, or in any other public manner, where he may be found with his apparatus for proving and sealing. It shall also be the duty of every person or persons keeping any store, grocery, Penalties for fail- Ware house, merchant mill, commission house, railroad depot, or for any person or persons keeping any scales, &c., for weighing or measuring for the public, once in each year, to have the weights, measures, and other apparatus used by them, proved and sealed under a penalty of five dollars and all costs, for every such neglect, to be recovered before any justice of the peace, one-half of the penalty to the use of the town or county, and one-half to the person who may prosecute therefor. All other persons in this State, not enumerated in this section, who shall use weights, measures or other apparatus in buying or selling which have not been once sealed according to the provisions of this act, shall be subject to a penalty of one dollar and costs, recoverable as above; and if any person or persons shall use any such weights, measures, &c., which have not been scaled according to the provisions of this act, or have been altered after being sealed, whereby any person or persons shall be defrauded, they shall be subject to an action at law, in which the defrauded person or persons shall recover three times the amount of damages and all

costs.

SEC. 6. Be it further enacted, That whenever the State Superintendent of Weights and Measures shall resign, be

removed from office, or remove from Nashville, he shall deliver the State standards to his successor, or to the Secretary of State; whenever any city, county, or town sealer shall resign, be removed from office, or remove from the city, county, or town, in which he shall have been appointed or elected, it shall be the duty of the person so resigning, removed, or removing, to deliver to his successor in office, or if county sealer, to the chairman of the county court, all the standards in his charge, and all such beams, balances, weights and measures, &c., that he may have in his possession, belonging to the State, county, or town; or in case of the death of any such person, his representatives shall in like manner, deliver as above directed, all such standards, weights, measures, &c.

Work done for

SEC. 7. Be it further enacted, That all contracts hereafter made within this State, for work to be done, or for State. anything to be sold or delivered by weight or measure, shall be taken or construed according to the standards adopted in this act.

SEC. 8 Be it further enacted, That each standard keeper, when elected, shall take an official oath, as follows:

"I, A. B., do solemnly swear or affirm (as the case may be) that I will not stamp or seal any weights or measures, Oath of office. but such as shall, as near as possible, agree with the standards in my keeping; and that I will, in all things duly and faithfully discharge the trust reposed in me to the best of my skill and judgment, so help me Gol."

SEC. 9. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of all surveyors in this State to have the chains and other measures used by them in conformity to the standards; Surveyors. for which purpose, they are authorized to copy from the standard of length in charge of the standard keeper of their county and in his presence, a suitable rod or measure for the purpose of testing such chains or measures as they may use.

Power of corpo

SEC. 10. Be it further enacted, That the corporate towns in this State are hereby authorized to pass such laws rations. as may require all articles now usually sold by dry or heaped measure, to be sold by weight within their corporate

limits.

Src. 11. Be it further enacted, That the Governor of the State cause to be made, as soon as practicable, under the direction of the Superintendent of Weights and Measures, and furnish to the order of each county court of this State, the substitutes or copies, and such other apparatus as is directed in the second section of this act, to be used by the county sealers in testing and sealing; and that the

Comptroller be authorized to issue his warrant for the payment of the expenses attending the same.

SEC. 12. Be it further enacted, That all laws and parts of laws contrary to this act are hereby repealed.

DANIEL S. DONELSON,

Speaker of the House of Representatives. JOHN C. BURCH,

Passed March 10, 1858.

Speaker of the Senate.

CHAPTER 56.

AN ACT to authorize courts of law to afford relief to persons exposed to the claim of two or more adverse parties, and for other purposes.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, That hereafter, in all suits where the defendant or defendants shall make application to the court, by petition and affidavit, showing that the right in the subject matter in controversy, is in a third party; and that he, she or they, have no interest in the subject of the Scire facias to be suit, and may be exposed to the claim of two or more adissued in certain verse parties, whether the subject matter came into the

cases.

possession of said defendant or defendants by bailment or otherwise, it shall be lawful for the court before whom said cause may be pending, provided said application be made after declaration and before plea, to order scire facias to issue to such third party, to appear at the next term of the court, and maintain or relinquish his claim, and all further proceedings shall be stayed in each action, until the order of the court, in the premises, shall be complied with.

SEC. 2. Be it enacted, That the provisions of the first Justices of Peace section of this act, shall apply to suits before justices of the peace, as well as to other courts.

Have equity ju risdiction.

SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That the act of 1817, chapter 86, section 1, be so amended, as to authorize justices of the peace, and any of the courts of this State, before whom any cause may be pending, by appeal or otherwise, where the subject matter does not exceed fifty dollars, to hear and determine such cause upon principles of equity,