I. Whereas by reason of the large extent of said county, it is greatly inconvenient for the inhabitants to attend the courts and other public duties by law required;

II. Be it therefore Enacted by the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina, and it is hereby Enacted by the authority of the same, That from and after the passing of this Act the said county of Duplin shall be divided into two distinct counties by a line beginning on the line that divides Duplin from New Hanover county where the main road crosses Bultail, a branch of Rockfish Creek; and running thence a straight line to the lower bridge on Stewart's Creek, from thence a direct line to Goshen Swamp at the mouth of Young's Swamp, thence due-north to the Wayne line; and all that part of the said county of Duplin which lies west of the above line, shall be established into a separate and distinct county by the name of Sampson.

III. And be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That Joseph Dickson, William Dickson, David Dodd, Edward Dickson and William Taylor, or a majority of them, be and they are hereby appointed commissioners to run and lay off the said dividing line between the said county of Duplin and Sampson, and the same shall be recorded in the courts of said counties.

IV. And for the due administration of justice, Be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That justices of the peace shall be nominated and commissioned, and courts shall be held in the said county of Sampson in the same manner and with the same jurisdiction as justices in other courts have and exercise, and that the courts of the said county of Sampson shall be held on the third Monday of June, September, December and March in every year; and the courts of the said county of Duplin shall be held by the justices thereof on the third Mondays of January, April, July and October in each and every year.

V. And be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That Thomas Hooks, John Whitehead, William Hubbard, Robert Southerland, Daniel Teachey, John Lanier, Edward Dickson and Daniel Hicks, or a majority of them, be and they are hereby appointed commissioners for fixing on the most centrical and convenient place in Duplin County for building a court house, prison and stocks, and for purchasing a quantity of land not exceeding five acres at such place and for the use and benefit of said county; and when the said place is fixed upon, and the said lands purchased, the said commissioners or a majority of them shall, and they are hereby impowered to contract with workmen for building and finishing thereat a court house, prison and stocks, and to take a deed or mesne conveyance for said land for the use of the county.

VI. And be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any of the said commissioners appointed by this Act die, remove or refuse to act, it shall and may be lawful for the remaining commissioners to appoint another person in his stead, who shall and may use and exercise the same power and authority as the commissioners appointed by this Act.

VII. And as it will be a considerabl time before the said buildings can be compleated, Be it Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the first court to be held for the county of Sampson shall be held at the house of James Myhand, and the justices when met and formed a court, shall either continue to hold their subsequent courts at the said house until the court house shall be built, or shall have power to adjourn to any place more convenient in the said county, they having first duly qualified themselves by the oaths prescribed by law in such cases, and the said justices being so qualified, are hereby declared during their continuance in office, as well within their county courts as without, to have the same powers and authorities, and to be subject to the same forfeitures and penalties as justices of the peace in this State are liable to.

VIII. And be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That Richard Herring, Thomas Thornton, John Fort, John Owens, John Holley, Jonathan Parker and Thomas Ivey, be, and they or a majority of them are hereby appointed commissioners to fix on a centrical and convenient place to erect the public buildings in the said county of Sampson, and purchase five acres of land, and take a deed for the same as is directed for the county of Duplin, and to agree with a workman to build a court house, prison and stocks for the use of the said county of Sampson.

IX. And be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the first court of the said county of Duplin shall be held at the public store of James James's, and the justices thereof may when met either continue to hold the courts there or adjourn to a more convenient place as they may judge best, and have, hold and exercise all the powers and authorities that county courts in this State hold or enjoy; and that all causes, pleas and suits, and every species of controversy and litigation whatsoever now in the county court of Duplin, shall continue and be finally determined in the court of the said county of Duplin.

X. And be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That a tax of one shilling specie be laid on every hundred pounds taxable property, and a tax of one shilling on every poll within the said counties of Duplin and Sampson who do not possess one hundred pounds taxable property for two years, for the purpose of defraying the expenses and purchasing said lands, erecting the public buildings thereon, and reimbursing the said commissioners what reasonable expences they may be at in the premises, which said taxes shall be collected in the same mannr as other taxes are, and shall be paid into the hands of the commissioners for building the court house, &c. for the counties of Duplin and Sampson, the collector or collectors first deducting his or their commissions for the trouble of collecting and paying the same to the commissioners; in case there shall remain any surplus after defraying the expences aforesaid, the same shall be applied by the county courts towards defraying the contingent charges of the same.

XI. And be it further Enacted by the authority, That the said commissioners shall from time to time when called on by their county court account for the monies by them received for the purposes aforesaid; and when the buildings shall be compleated and other expences paid, their said county courts on settlement with them may make a reasonable allowance for their trouble and expence, and apply the surplus if any as before directed.

XII. And be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to stop or hinder the sheriff or collectors of Duplin, as the same stood undivided, to make distress for fees or other dues which may be owing from the inhabitants of said county at the time of passing this Act, in the same manner as if it had never been made.

XIII. And be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said county of Sampson shall be and remain part of the district of Wilmington, and shall furnish four freeholders to attend the superior court as Jurors at Wilmington aforesaid; and the said county of Duplin shall after the passing of this Act nominate and appoint four jurymen to attend the said superior court of Wilmington.

Read three times, and ratified in General Assembly, the Second Day of June, Anno Domini, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four.

RICHARD CASWELL, S. S.
THOMAS BENBURY, S. C.