State agent, and whatever number greater than ten shall be so prescribed as a divisor to make the apportionment of no fractions of slaves either below or above such number selected as a divisor shall be considered or taken into the apportionment unless it is at least one-fifth or more of such divisor, and in such case the fraction of one-fifth shall be taken by requiring the party owning it to furnish one hand for two months, with the right of substitution as in case of whole numbers, and the same rule as to fractions, shall be observed when the numbers, and the same rule as to fractions shall be observed when the number ten is used as the divisor in making the apportionment.

SEC. II. It shall be the duty of His Excellency the Governor to appoint a State agent, such agent to be selected from the class of persons no liable to conscription in the Confederate military service, if the services of a suitable agent can be secured from said class, who shall receive for his services the pay of a lieutenant-Colonel of infantry, as allowed by the Confederate Government, during his employment, to be paid to him monthly by the State.

SEC III. That it shall be the duty of the State agent aforesaid, immediately on the reception of any order from His Excellency the Governor, to make impressment of slaves under this act, to extend such order to the sheriffs of the several judicial district of the State, whose duty it shall be to execute the same in their respective districts, and it shall be the duty of the commissioners of roads and the authorities of incorporated cities, towns, and villages, and such other person or persons as the State agent may appoint, to furnish to the sheriffs of their respective district within thirty days after the passage of this act a full and correct return of all male slaves liable to road duty within their respective jurisdictions, which returns shall be based on the statements furnished by the owners of such slaves, sworn to in writing, such statements to be returned to the secretary of the board of commissioners of roads, and by them kept on file' and it shall be the duty of the said sheriffs, upon being notified by the said State agent of any order for the impressment of slaves as aforesaid, thirty days before the summons, all prisoners at the under such order to furnish slaves to have the slaves so liable at the respective depots and at the proper time, giving ten days' notice thereof to the owners for transportation to the place of labor as may be directed by said order; and the said sheriffs shall in their respective districts, with the assistance of a respectable loyal citizen, to be chosen by the owner of each slave, if he will, and if not, by the sheriff, appraise said slaves on their delivery at said depots, and in case of their disagreement they shall selected a third citizen of like qualification, whose decision shall be final, and give receipts to the owners for them, specifying in said receipts the names of the slaves, the valuation put upon them, and term ofch they are impressed, a duplicate of which receipts shall also be furnished by the several sheriffs to the State agent; and if upon the day and at the place so notified any owner of slaves so liable shall fail to have them in readiness, then the sheriffs of the district where such owner resided shall immediately arrest such slaves, and the cost of such arrests, subsistence of slaves, and transportation to be paid by the defaulting owner, and to be taxed and collected as other costs now are by law, and when there is such default, failure, or refusal to send slaves, after due summons to the owners by the sheriff, the slaves of such defaulters shall labor and serve on the military defenses for twice the period of time specified in the call made by the Governor, provided that the slaves thus furnished shall not be detailed for any other service than such work as is intimately connected with the defense of this State.