Just to show how far into the past that someone might go in questioning a law that the Virginia Assembly had passed, William Byrd of Virginia, who was now in England on 1 May 1716, presented a memorial to the Board of Trade, relating to an Act passed in 1663. The Commissioners agreed to consider the matter. The next day, the Commissioners asked Byrd for more information.
7 May 1716. The Commissioners considered the seating and planting of land in Virginia, with special reference to the Act passed in that colony in December 1713, entitled "An Act declaring what shall be accounted a sufficient seating, planting, cultivating and improving of lands already granted or hereafter to be taken up and patented". Again the Commissioners decided to ask Byrd to appear and testify on the subject.
[Notice the constant interference in the internal affairs of Virginia. Also note the need for, and the desire to get, information. People in England were basically in the dark about the Plantations.]
10 May 1716. The Commissioners received a petition submitted by several merchants and planters of Virginia and Maryland, complaining of an Act of the Virginia Assembly related to the Indian trade. The Commissioners decided to ask M. Perry to attend a later meeting to discuss this.
11 May 1716. The Commissioners considered an act passed by the Virginia Assembly in 1712, relating to the lapsing of land from Infants due to failure to seat, plant or pay Quit Rent.
15 May 1716. Byrd explained the objections to the Act of the Virginia Assembly entitled "An Act for preventing frauds in Tobacco payments and for the better improving of the Staple of Tobacco". He said no improvement had resulted.
17 May 1716. Mr. Offley, who had been invited, gave the Commissioners his views and his friend's views on the merits of the Act relating to Indian trade, whereby all such trade was in the hands of 17 or 18 traders selected by the Governor. [The Governor was also an investor in the Indian trading company, which had a monopoly.] A week later, Mr. Robert Carey (agent for the Virginia Indian Company) submitted opposite views.
12 June 1716. The Commissioners gave orders for Mr. Martyn, Inspector General of H.M.'s Customs, for two accounts, one for Virginia and one for Carolina, asking for the imports of peltry in the period Christmas 1698 to Christmas 1715. The Customs office first asked what peltry was but within ten days they were able to supply the report which had been requested. Several more rounds of discussion ensued on the Indian Trading Company question. The Commissioners decided the act was to remain probationary while they sought the opinion of Col. Spotswood.
(25 Aug 00)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.