197. - 2. As to personal actions. 1st. Actions upon the case, covenant¹ and debt founded upon a specialty², or any agreement, contract or promise in writing, may be brought within fifteen years after the cause of action shall have accrued³.

198. - 2d. Actions upon the case and debt founded upon any simple contract, not in writing, and actions on the case for consequential⁴ damages, within six years.

199. - 3d. Actions of trespass⁵ upon property, real or personal, detinue, trover and replevin, within four years.

200. - 4th. Actions of trespass for any injury done to the person, actions of slander⁶ for words spoken, or for a libel, actions for malicious⁷ prosecution⁸, and for false imprisonment⁹; actions against officers for malfeasance or nonfeasance in office, and actions of debt qui tam, within one year.

201. - 5th. Actions for forcible entry and detainer, or forcible detainer only, within two years.

202. - 6th. All other actions within four years; and all penalties and forfeitures¹¹ given by statute¹² and limited by the statute, within the times so limited.

203. - 7th. Infants, femes covert¹³, persons insane or imprisoned¹⁴, entitled to an action of ejectment, may, after the twenty-one years have elapsed, bring their actions within ten years after such disability removed. They may bring all other actions, within the respective times Iimited for bringing such actions, after the disability removed.

204. - 8th. Actions, founded on contracts between persons resident at the time of the contract without this state, which are barred by the laws of the country where the contract was made, are barred in the courts of this state.

205. - 9th. In all actions on contracts express or implied, in case of payment of an part, principal or interest, acknowledgment of an existing liability, debt or claim, or any promise to pay the same, within the time herein limited, the action may be commenced within the time limited after such payment, acknowledgment or promise.

206. - 10th. If judgment¹⁵ be arrested or reversed, the suit abate¹⁶ or the plaintiff become nonsuit, and the time limited shall have expired, the plain-tiff may bring a new action within one year after such arrest, reversal, abatement¹⁷ or nonsuit.

207. - 11th. A person who has left the state, or resides out of it, or whose place of residence is unknown although in the state, at the time the cause of action accrues¹⁸, may be sued within the time limited by the act, after his return or to removal the state, or his place of residence, if in the state, becomes known. O. Stat. vol. 29, 214; Act of Feb. 18, 1831. Took effect, June 1, 1831. Swan's Col. Laws, 553, 4, 5, 6.

208. This act only operates upon causes of action accruing¹⁹ after the act took effect, and all causes of action previously²⁰ subsisting²¹ are governed by the statutes²² (and there have been several) in force when the respective causes of action accrued, none of the statutes being retrospective in their operation. 7 O. R. p. 2, 235, West's Adm'r. v. Hymer; Id. 153, Hazlett et al. v.Critchfield et al.; 6 Id. 96, Bigelow's Ex'r. v. Bigelow's Adm'r.

209. - 3. As to penal¹⁰ actions. Prosecutions²³ for any forfeitures under a penal statute, must be instituted within two years, unless otherwise specially²⁴ provided for.