I. Whereas the Counties of Johnston, Granville, and Bladen, are now become so very extensive, that many of the Inhabitants thereof live very remote from the Places where the Courts of the said Counties are held; whereby a great many Difficulties and Hardships arise to the upper Inhabitants thereof, not only in attending their Ordinary Business in the said Courts, but as also by being compelled to serve as Jurymen, and often Times as Evidences, at the said Courts: for Remedy Whereof,

II. We pray that it may be Enacted, And be it Enacted, by his Excellency Gabriel Johnston, Esq., Governor, by and with the Advice and Consent of his Majesty's Council, and the General Assembly of this Province, and it is hereby Enacted, by the Authority of the same, That the upper Part of Granville, Johnston, and Bladen Counties, be erected into a County and Parish by the Name of Orange County, and the Parish of St. Matthew, and be divided by a Line, beginning on the nearest Part of the Virginia Line to Hico Creek, thence a direct line to the Bent of Eno River, below the Occanechas, near to the Plantation where John Williams now dwelleth; thence down the South side of Eno River, to Neuse River; thence down Neuse River, to the Mouth of Horse Creek; thence a direct line to the Place where Earl Granville's Line crosses Cape Fear River; thence along the said Line, to the Eastern Bounds of Anson County; thence along the dividing Line of Anson County to the End thereof: And that the upper Parts of the said Counties be divided and run accordingly, by the Commissioners hereinafter appointed: And that the said County and Parish shall enjoy all and every the Privileges which any other County or Parish in this Province holds or enjoys.

III. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful, for the Justices of the said County, to lay a Tax on all the Tithables in the said County, not exceeding One Shilling, Proclamation Money, per Annum, for the Term of Four Years, for running the Boundary Lines, and for building a Court House, Prison, and Stocks, in the said County, at such Places as the Justices shall agree upon and appoint at the County Court to be held at the House of John Greys, on the Second Tuesday in June next, after the passing of this Act, or the then next succeeding Court: and shall further divide the said County into Districts, and shall appoint Commissioners of the Roads for the same; Which said Tax shall be collected by the Sheriff of the said County, at such Times, and in the same Manner, as other Taxes are collected.

IV. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the Courts of the said County shall be held on the second Tuesdays in June, September, December, and March, Yearly.

V. And be it further Enacted, That Alexander Maben, be, and is hereby appointed Sheriff of the said County of Orange, until the Time prescribed by Law for appointing Sheriffs for this Province; and shall be commissioned by his Excellency the Governor, and vested with the same Powers and Authorities as any other Sheriff of any other County in this Province is vested with.

VI. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That Alexander Maben, James Watson, Mark Morgan, John Pattison, Andrew Mitchell, Thomas Loveletter, Lawrence Bankston, James Ellison, William Bolling, John Gray, John Pitman, and Joseph Tate, be, and they are hereby appointed Vestrymen of the said Parish of St. Matthew, until the General Election of Vestrymen according to Law, and that the said Vestrymen shall be summoned, by the Sheriff of the said County to meet at such Time and Place, as the Majority of the said Vestrymen shall appoint; and shall be qualified as a Vestry, and proceed to Parish Business.

VII. And be it further Enacted, That all County and Parish Taxes, already laid on any of the Inhabitants of the several Counties of Granville, Johnston, and Bladen, shall be collected by the respective Sheriffs of the said Counties of Granville, Johnston, and Bladen, and account for in the same Manner as tho' this Act had not been made.

VIII. And to the End, that no Action commenced in Granville, Johnston, and Bladen Counties be defeated, by the Division aforesaid, Be it Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That where any Action is already commenced in any of the said Counties of Granville, Johnston, and Bladen, and the Parties or Evidences shall be the Inhabitants of Orange County, all subsequent Process against such Parties or Evidences, shall be directed to be executed by the Sheriffs of Granville, Johnston, and Bladen Counties, to the End and final Determination of the said Causes; any Law Usage or Custom, to the Contrary, notwithstanding.

IX. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the County of Orange be, and is hereby obliged to send Jurors to the General Court, at New Bern, and the Sheriff of the said County shall account with the Treasurer of the Southern District of this Province, at New Bern, at the same Time, and in the same Manner, as other Sheriffs of Counties in the Southern District aforesaid are obliged to account.

X. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That Mr. James Pain, Mr. William Pugh, and Mr. James Watson, be appointed Commissioners, and are hereby impowered and directed, to run a dividing Line between the Counties of Granville, Johnston, Bladen and Orange agreeable to the Directions in this Act before-mentioned.

Signed by,

GABRIEL JOHNSTON, ESQ., Governor.
MATTHEW ROWAN, President.
SAMUEL SWANN, Speaker.