EC A DIGEST OF THE STATUTE LAW OF THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA FROM THE YEAR 1700 TO 1894 ORIGINALLY COMPILED IN 1811 BY JOHN PURDON, Esq. TWELFTH EDITION COMPILED, ANNOTATED, AND REVISED BY FRANK F. BRIGHTLY, ESQ. OF THE PHILADELPHIA BAR; AUTHOR OF "BRIGHTLY'S PHILADELPHIA DIGEST," 66 BRIGHTLY'S "" ETC. VOLUME I. 356 PHILADELPHIA KAY AND BROTHER LAW BOOKSELLERS, PUBLISHERS, AND IMPORTERS ZA395 12 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-six, by THOMAS DAVIS, in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, by JAMES KAY, in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, by JAMES KAY, in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, by KAY & BROTHER, in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, by KAY & BROTHER, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, by KAY & BROTHER, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-four, by KAY & BROTHER, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C. PREFACE. THE author of this, the twelfth edition of Purdon's Digest, has endeavored to give to his professional brethren a digest of the statute law of Pennsylvania, so arranged and annotated that they can, with the greatest possible dispatch, obtain any act of Assembly sought for, together with the decisions of the courts relating to the same. It is natural that each edition of such a book should contain features which are improvements upon the previous edition, and it has been the aim of the present author to improve the value of this digest over previous editions as a book of ready reference. governor's discretion to have On the 18th of November, directing the Master of the Of this edition (if the reso Many digests of our laws have heretofore been published, both in the chronological and alphabetical arrangements. So early as the 23d of May, 1683, it was proposed in council that the laws of the province should be printed; but after debate the question was negatived. On the 26th of July, 1784, it was left to the the laws and charters printed in London. 1701, however, a resolution was passed Rolls to have the laws printed forthwith. lution was carried into effect, which the Master of the Rolls engaged to do), no copy is known to exist, so far as the author can learn upon diligent inquiry. But there were two editions published in chronological form by Andrew Bradford, the colonial printer, in 1714 and 1728; one by Benjamin Franklin in 1742, two by Peter Miller in 1762, one by Hall & Sellers in 1775, one by Thomas McKean in 1781, one by Alexander J. Dallas in 1797-1801, one by Carey & Bioren in 18031808, one by Smith & Reed in 1810-1844, and three by James Dunlop in 1846-1852. 44993 The first attempt to make an alphabetical arrangement of the laws of Pennsylvania was the work of Collinson Reed in 1801. This was |