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By the House of Burgesses July the 9th 1696
We have with our utmost care and scrutiny considered the
Clause in the Law for Religion and as we are earnestly
desirous to Propagate the same out of the sence of our Duty
to God Loyalty to his most sacred Majesty and imitation of
his Excellencys most noble and worthy Example so we Con-
ceive we ought not altogether to be unmindful of the rights
and Liberties of our selves and those we represent
We are earnestly desirous rightly to understand his Excel-
lency and to be rightly understood by him and therefore have
endeavoured to find out an Accommodation of words that
may answer all intents by putting in the words Laws and
Statutes of England instead of the words Fundamental Laws
of England.
We are not in the least doubtful of our Liberties or rights
being infringed by our Gracious Sovereign or our noble and
worthy Governor and do Sincerely acknowledge that his
Excellency Governs by the fairest measures and freest Admin-
istration of the Laws that we are Capable of understanding
and therefore have not any Apprehension of his invading our
rights and Priviledges. We firmly believe ourselves and
those we Represent to be within the benefit of all Liberties
and Priviledges of English free born Subjects being Granted
to this Province by his Majestys Royal Predecessor Charles
the first King of England and Generally used in the Govern-
ment of this Province
We believe our Sacred Sovereign exposed his Royal Per-
son to hazard for Preservation and maintainance of the rights
and Liberties of those dominions to which we belong and
therein has been perpetually protected by an immediate
Finger of God against all the Attempts of his Enemies to the
contrary
And therefore as it has been always usual for Parliaments
under Gracious Good Kings to have reiterated and Con-
firmed to them their Antient Rights and Liberties both in
Church and State which we find by experience they have fre-
quently prayed for and Obtained we cannot distrust but his
Majesty will Graciously confirm the same to us at our humble
motion and therefore we humbly offer these reasons why that
Clause may be continued in the Law
1 We find that King Henry in his Grant of the Great Charter
annexed the Priviledges and Liberties of the Church and
State together by comprizing them in one Grant tho in sev-
eral Paragraphs or Chapters therefore we hope his Sacred
majesty will Accept of our imitation thereof and cannot but
believe us to be unmindful of ourselves if omitted by us.
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