Assembly Proceedings, April — May 1666. 45

The House at nine of the Clock met again Present as before

Then was sent to the Lower House the Answer to the
Reasons against a Cessation and ordered that the Lower
House be desired to consider of them & after Consideration
had to reassume the debate of the Act for Encouragement of
Trade & the other Act for advance of more staple Commoditys
than Tobacco

The Answer to the Reasons of the Lower House given
against a Cessation for Planting Tobacco are as followeth

To your first reason We answer that It is impossible our
Cessation should rather encrease than lessen the Quantity of
Tobacco because it is of so little value in itself & rendered so

U. H.

Journal
1659-98

Contemptible by the abundance made even to the Glutt of all
Marketts & lastly so difficult to preserve, in Expectation of a
future Vent, & therefore It can no way Encourage but must on
the Contrary discourage all men from planting it to Excess as
We do We do confess the other American Plantations are in
the same Plight We are for Want of Shipping but We deny
that their Commoditys are as Contemptible as Ours You
instance Sugar Ginger Cotton Indico & we will follow your
own Method Sugar will not only keep many Years in expecta-
tion of a Markett but grow better, Tobacco either will not keep
at all or if it do keep grow much worse Ginger will keep if it
have no other Quality, Cotton will not only keep but may be
& is wrought up in great quantitys into Clothing for the
Planter daily. And lastly Indico is a Commodity of great
Value & so long to be preserved that it may not improperly be
called imperishable, We appeal then to your own Judgments
whither it be probable that the American Plantations should
leave of Planting these Staple valuable & imperishable Com-
moditys though they have no present Vent for them only to
plant tobacco which We cannot live by having no greater Cer-
tainty of Vent for it than We have & as certain to have it rott
upon their Hands as We can be.
Besides were all that You alledge true which for the reasons
above given We flatly deny Yet by making an Act for a Ces-
sation now & sending the News home We shall get a good
supply of Clothing Arms & Ammunition for this next Cropp
which will be vented before the other American Plantations can
Plant any tobacco this We think sufficient to satisfy reasonable
Men but if this satisfy not We are ready at a Conference to
give more reason than can Conveniently be written at this
time
2. Did We not see that the greatest part of the World is
too little for the English Merchants Shipping & Seamen, & so

p. 111