PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO AN ACT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY The Laws of a country are necessarily connected with every thing be- longing to the people of it; so that a thorough knowledge of them, and of their progress would inform us of every thing that was most use- ful to be known about them; and one of the greatest imperfections of historians in general, is owing to their ignorance of law." TO THE FIFTH VOLUME OF THE STATUTES AT LARGE. THE publication of this work, which had been suspended du ring Late war between the united kingdom of Great Britain andeland, and the United States of America, is now resumed, under the patronage of the Legislature. The lapse of every year evinced more clearly its importance. Almost every day were the unpublished sessions acts consulted, by some individual, whose rights depended on a statute no where else to be found. An enlightened legislature, at the last session, having gone through a revision of the laws, now in force, at once perceived that the work was not complete, until the sessions acts, from which these laws were originally taken, were also published. was essential, not only to a correct exposition of the public laws, by being enabled to trace the reasons, on which they were founded, but for the quieting of private rights, and the preservation of authentic documents in our early history. This By an arrangement with the editor, and sole proprietor of the Sessions acts of which the STATUTES AT LARGE are composed, the copy-right is exclusively vested in the state. The impression is limited to one thousand copies; eight hundred of which are taken by the Commonwealth, and two hundred reserved by the editor, for the purpose of supplying his original subscribers. After distributing to public officers, a certain proportion of those subscribed for by the state, the remaining copies will be disposed of on public account, under the direction of the Executive. Under the act of the fifth of February, 1808, the number of copies subscribed for by the state was so small, and consequently the impression so limited, as not to afford the editor any prospect of a just remuneration for the immense labour bestowed, and expenses incurred, in collecting the original materials. He |