Part 15

XXVIII. There shall be eight supreme courts. The first called the Palatine's court, consisting of the palatine and the other seven proprietors. The other seven courts of the other seven great officers, shall consist each of them of a proprietor, and six counsellors added to him. Under each of these latter seven courts, shall be a college of twelve assistants. The twelve assistants of the several colleges shall be chosen, two out of the landgraves, cassiques, or eldest sons of proprietors, by the Palatine's court; two out of the landgraves, by the landgraves chamber; two out of the cassiques, by the cassique's chamber; four more of the twelve shall be chosen by the commons chamber, out of such as have been, or are, members of parliament, sheriffs, or justices of the county court, or the younger sons of proprietors, or eldest sons of landgraves or cassiques; the two other shall be chosen by the palatine's court, out of the same sort of persons, out of which the commons chamber is to chuse.

XXIX. Out of these colleges shall be chosen at first, by the Palatine's court, six counsellors, to be joined with each proprietor in his court; of which six, one shall be of those who were chosen in any of the colleges by the Palatine's court, out of the landgraves, cassiques, or eldest sons of proprietors; one out of those who were chosen by the landgraves chamber; and one out of those who were chosen by the cassiques chamber; two out of those who were chosen by the commons chamber; and one out of those who were chosen by the Palatine's court, out of the proprietors younger sons, or eldest sons of landgraves, cassiques, or commons, qualified as aforesaid.

XXX. When it shall happen that any counsellor dies, and thereby there is a vacancy, the grand council shall have power to remove any counsellor that is willing to be removed out of any of the proprietors courts to fill up the vacancy; provided they take a man of the same degree and choice the other was of, whose vacant place is to be filled up. But if no counsellor consent to be removed, or upon such remove, the last remaining vacant place, in any of the proprietor's courts, shall be filled up by the choice of the grand council, who shall have power to remove out of any of the colleges, any assistant, who is of the same degree and choice that counsellor was of, into whose vacant place he is to succeed. The grand council also shall have power to remove any assistant, that is willing, out of one college into another, provided he be of the same degree and choice. But the last remaining vacant place in any college, shall be filled up by the same choice, and out of the same degree of persons the assistant was of, who is dead or removed. No place shall be vacant in any proprietor's court above six months. No place shall be vacant in any college longer than the next session of parliament.

XXXI. No man, being a member of the grand council, or of any of the seven colleges, shall be turned out but for misdemeanour, of which the grand council shall be judge; and the vacancy of the person so put out shall be filled, not by the election of the grand council, but by those who first chose him, and out of the same degree he was of who is expelled. But it is not hereby to be understood, that the grand council hath any power to turn out any one of the Lords Proprietors or their deputies, the Lords Proprietors having in themselves an inherent original right.

XXXII. All elections in the parliament, in the several chambers of the parliament, and in the grand council, shall be passed by balloting.

XXXIII. The Palatine's court shall consist of the Palatine and seven proprietors, wherein nothing shall be acted without the presence and consent of the Palatine or his deputy, and three others of the proprietors or their deputies. This court shall have power to call parliaments, to pardon all offences, to make elections of all officers in the proprietor's dispose, and to nominate and appoint Port Towns; and also shall have power by their order to the treasurer to dispose of all public treasure, excepting money granted by the parliament, and by them directed to some particular public use; and also shall have a negative upon all acts, orders, votes and judgments, of the grand council and the parliament, except only as in Paragraphs VI. and XII.; and shall have all the powers granted to the Lords Proprietors, by their patent from OUR SOVEREIGN LORD THE KING, except in such things as are limited by these FUNDAMENTAL CONSTITUTIONS.

XXXIV. The Palatine himself, when he in person shall be either in the army or in any of the proprietors courts, shall then have the power of general, or of that proprietor, in whose court he is then present; and the proprietor, in whose court the Palatine then presides, shall during his presence there be but as one of the council.

XXXV. The chancellor's court, consisting of one of the proprietors, and his six counsellors, who shall be called vice-chancellors, shall have the custody of the seal of the palatine, under which all charters of lands, or otherwise, commissions and grants of the Palatine's court, shall pass. And it shall not be lawful to put the seal of the palatinate to any writing, which is not signed by the Palatine or his deputy, and three other proprietors or their deputies. To this court also belong all state matters, dispatches, and treaties with the neighbour Indians. To this court also belong all invasions of the law, of liberty of conscience, and all disturbances of the public peace, upon pretence of religion, as also the licence of printing. The twelve assistants belonging to this court shall be called recorders.

XXXVI. Whatever passes under the seal of the palatinate, shall be registered in that proprietor's court, to which the matter therein contained belongs.

XXXVII. The chancellor or his deputy shall be always speaker in parliament, and president of the grand council, and, in his and his deputy's absence, one of his vice-chancellors.

XXXVIII. The chief justice's court, consisting of one of the proprietors and his six counsellors, who shall be called justices of the bench, shall judge all appeals in cases both civil and criminal, except all such cases as shall be under the jurisdiction and cognizance of any other of the proprietor's courts, which shall be tried in those courts respectively. The government and regulation of the registries of writings and contracts, shall belong to the jurisdiction of this court. The twelve assistants of this court shall be called masters.

XXXIX. The constable's court, consisting of one of the proprietors and his six counsellors, who shall be called marshals, shall order and determine of all military affairs by land, and all land-forces, arms, ammunition, artillery, garrisons, forts, &c. and whatever belongs unto war. His twelve assistants shall be called lieutenant-generals.

XL. In time of actual war, the constable, while he is in the army, shall be general of the army, and the six counsellors, or such of them as the Palatine's court shall for that time or service appoint, shall be the immediate great officers under him, and the lieutenant-generals next to them.

XLI. The admiral's court, consisting of one of the proprietors, and his six counsellors, called consuls, shall have the care and inspection over all ports, moles, and navigable rivers, so far as the tide flows, and also all the public shipping of CAROLINA, and stores thereunto belonging, and all maritime affairs. This court also shall have the power of the court of admiralty; and shall have power to constitute judges in port-towns, to try cases belonging to law-merchant, as shall be most convenient for trade. The twelve assistants, belonging to this court, shall be called proconsuls.

XLII. In time of actual war, the admiral, whilst he is at sea, shall command in chief, and his six counsellors, or such of them as the Palatine's court shall for that time and service appoint, shall be the immediate great officers under him, and the proconsuls next to them.

XLIII. The treasurer's court, consisting of a proprietor and his his counsellors, called under-treasurers, shall take care of all matters that concern the public revenue and treasury. The twelve assistants shall be called auditors.

XLIV. The high-steward's court, consisting of a proprietor and his six counsellors, called comptrollers, shall have the care of all foreign and domestic trade, manufactures, public buildings, work-houses, high-ways, passages by water above the flood of the tide, drains, sewers, and banks against inundations, bridges, post, carriers, fairs, markets, corruption or infection of the common air or water, and all things in order to the public commerce and health; also setting out and surveying of lands; and also setting out and appointing places for towns to be built on in the precincts, and the prescribing and determining the figure and bigness of the said towns, according to such models as the said court shall order; contrary or differing from which models it shall not be lawful for any one to build in any town. This court shall have power also to make any public building, or any new highway, or enlarge any old high-way, upon any man's land whatsoever; as also to make cuts, channels, banks, locks, and bridges, for making rivers navigable, or for draining fens, or any other public use. The damage the owner of such lands (on or through which any such public things shall be made) shall receive thereby, shall be valued, and satisfaction made by such ways as the grand council shall appoint. The twelve assistants, belonging to this court, shall be called surveyors.

XLV. The chamberlain's court, consisting of a proprietor and his six counsellors, called vice-chamberlains, shall have the care of all ceremonies, precedency, heraldry, reception of public messengers, pedigrees, the registry of all births, burials, and marriages, legitimation, and all cases concerning matrimony, or arising from it; and shall also have power to regulate all fashions, habits, badges, games and sports. To this court also it shall belong to convocate the grand council. The twelve assistants, belonging to this court, shall be called provosts.

XLVI. All causes belonging to, or under the jurisdiction of, any of the proprietors courts, shall in them respectively be tried, and ultimately determined, without any farther appeal.

XLVII. The proprietors courts shall have a power to mitigate all fines, and suspend all executions in criminal causes, either before or after sentence, in any of the other inferior courts respectively.

XLVIII. In all debates, hearings, or trials, in any of the proprietor's courts, the twelve assistants belonging to the said courts respectively, shall have liberty to be present, but shall not interpose, unless their opinions be required, nor have any vote at all; but their business shall be, by the direction of the respective courts, to prepare such business as shall be committed to them; as also to bear such offices, and dispatch such affairs, either where the court is kept or elsewhere as the court shall think fit.

XLIX. In all the proprietors courts, the proprietor, and any three of his counsellors, shall make a quorum; provided always, that, for the better dispatch of business, it shall be in the power of the Palatine's court, to direct what sort of causes shall be heard and determined by a quorum of any three.

L. The grand council shall consist of the Palatine and seven proprietors, and the forty-two counsellors of the several proprietors courts, who shall have power to determine any controversies that may arise between any of the proprietors courts, about their respective jurisdictions, or between the members of the same court, about their manner and methods of proceeding; to make peace and war, leagues, treaties, &c. with any of the neighbour Indians; to issue out their general orders to the constable's and admiral's courts, for the raising, disposing, or disbanding the forces, by land or by sea.

LI. The grand council shall prepare all matters to be proposed in parliament. Nor shall any matter whatsoever be proposed in parliament, but what hath first passed the grand council; which, after having been read three several days in the parliament, shall by majority of votes be passed or rejected.

LII. The grand council shall always be judges of all causes and appeals that concern the Palatine, or any of the Lords Proprietors, or any counsellor of any proprietor's court, in any cause, which otherwise should have been tried in the court in which the said counsellor is judge himself.

LIII. The grand council, by their warrants to the treasurer's court, shall dispose of all the money given by the parliament and by them directed to any particular public use.

LIV. The quorum of the grand council shall be thirteen, whereof a proprietor or his deputy shall be always one.

LV. The grand council shall meet the first Tuesday in every month, and as much oftener as either they shall think fit, or they shall be convocated by the chamberlain's court.