Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 1.djvu/568

 occur where the two contestants had been both induced by peculiar advantages of situation to select the same immediate locality as a suitable site for a home. In order to prevent cases of this kind from arising, the Assembly had from an early date passed a series of important laws, which, however, proved insufficient to accomplish the object which they had in view. First, it was enacted that all suits brought for the removal of persons who had encroached upon the grant of a neighboring patentee should be instituted before the expiration of five years after the illegal possession began, and a failure to do this was to operate as a bar to recovery. Secondly, the owners of land adjoining an unappropriated tract which it was proposed to survey for the purpose of securing a title to it, were required upon demand to show the boundaries of their properties, and if they neglected to do so, for a period of twelve months, the patent of the new plantation was considered to be valid in law, although it should afterwards be found to overlap the surrounding old plantations, provided only the inaccuracy in its measurements was not the result of design. In the session of 1661-62, the first of these laws was re&euml;nacted, orphans, married women, and persons of unsound mind being again exempted from its scope until five years had elapsed since the removal of their disabilities. Under the original law, persons who were absent from Virginia were not included in this number of privileged individuals, but in order to