accountable. With the advice of the council, he may lay an embargo, not exceeding thirty days in succession; he may grant pardons and reprieves in the recess of the general assembly, except when the prosecution is instituted by this body. The council consists of seven members, four of whom is a quorum, and their advice and proceedings are entered in a journal, which is authenticated by their signature, and, when called for, laid before the general assembly. The governor is captain-general and commander-in-chief of the militia. In case of death or absence, his place is filled by the speaker of the House of Commons, until his return, or a new nomination of this body. Each house chooses its speaker and other officers, passes judgment concerning the qualifications and election of its members, sits by its own adjournments, and adjourns jointly with the other by ballot. Neither house can proceed to business unless there be present a majority of the members. The following persons are excluded from a seat in the legislature; receivers of public money not accounted for, treasurers, regular officers in the army and navy, contractors or their agents, judges of the supreme court of law or equity, and of the admiralty, the secretary of state, clergymen and preachers of the gospel, infidels, and persons who deny the being of a God, the Divine authority of the Old and New Testament, the truth of the Protestant religion, or who hold principles incompatible with the freedom and safety of the state. Foreigners, who settle in the state, and take the oath of allegiance, may hold real estate, and, after a year's residence, are considered as free citizens. Delegates to congress are annually cho

sen by ballot of the general assembly; they may be suspended, and cannot be elected for more than three years successively. The treasurers of the state are chosen annually; the secretary for three years.

Judiciary. The judges are appointed by the joint ballot of the Senate and House of Commons, and are commissioned by the governor. The power of impeachment belongs to the assembly. Trial is by a special jury upon an indictment by a grand jury. The courts are of law, and equity, and of admiralty. In each county there is a sheriff, coroner, and constables. Justices of the peace are appointed by the legislature, and hold their office during good behaviour. The civil officers of the United States for this state are-1. A judge, whose salary is 1500 dollars; 2. An attorney, with 200; a marshal, with 400; and a clerk, whose remuneration is the fees of his office.

An Abstract View of the Value of Lands and Slaves in North Carolina, as Assessed for the Direct Tax of 1815.

Av. value Av. value Proportion of
of cach Tax paid by
Slave.
each County.

of Land
per acre.

Dlls. Cents. Dlls. Cents. Dlls. Cents.

3,429 52

2,603 66

*No particular return was made of the slaves in these counties. The tax is 47 cents per S. 100.

Military Force.-The officers of the regular army of the state are appointed by the senate and house of commons. While in service they are incapable of being members of the legislature. The militia, in 1815, according to the official return, amounted to 43,217, of which 36,043 were infantry, and 1475 dragoons. At Smithville, on the bank and near the entrance of Cape Fear river, the United States have erected a battery of eight twenty-four pounders, a brick building for the accommodation of officers, a block-house, guardhouse, and a range of buildings for the accommodation. of 100 artillery-men. *

Religion. No clergyman, while he continues in the exercise of his pastoral functions, can be a member of the legislature. There is no privileged or established church; every person is at liberty to follow the mode of worship he approves of. † The principal religious denominations are, Presbyterians, Moravians, Quakers, Methodists, and Baptists. The two last are the most numerous. According to the report of the general convention of Baptists, held in Philadelphia in May 1817, the number of churches was then 219, of members 11,711, but from eighteen churches there

was no return.

National Register, July 1816.

+ The first churches were established in 1705. L. 30 currency was granted for the support of a clergyman in each precinct or parish, and marriage was no longer solemnized by the magistrates. In 1741 the salary was increased to L. 133, and the fee for marrying with licence was ten shillings, and by publication five.

VOL. II.

Bb

1

Education.-The establishment of common schools being provided for by the constitution, the legislature, in 1808, passed a law for their organization. The masters were to receive such public salaries as might enable them to instruct the youth at low prices. It also provided for the establishment of one or more universities for the encouragement and promotion of useful learning. The University of North Carolina is situated on Chapel Hill, in Orange county, twentyeight miles west of Raleigh, and fourteen south of Hillsborough. The students from North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, were lately about 100. It is under the direction of forty trustees, five from each district. Its funds consist of all debts due to the state by sheriffs, or other holders of public money prior to the year 1783, of all escheated property within the state, and of lands given as a donation by the legislature. In 1791, L. 5000 were lent by the state to the trustees to enable them to erect the necessary buildings, consisting of a tenement of three stories 180 by 40 feet, and another of two stories 100 by 40, both of brick. There is a house for the president, and one for the steward, constructed of wood. There is but one professor for the sciences, and another for languages. The college contains a moderate library, and some philosophical apparatus.

There are academies of considerable reputation at Warrentown, Fayetteville, Williamsborough, Hillsborough, Guilford, Newbern, and Lumberton." The North Carolina Medical Society". was incorporated by the legislature in the year 1800.