The Lower House. 451

deemed Severe, But such was the case of that particular
person, that frequent excuses brought on repeated transgres-
sions and pardoning instead of humbling him, made him so
much the more insolent.
Whereupon the Legislative power, seeing all Authority of
Government Slighted & contemned, took in hand the affair,

L. H. J.

and made the Act aforesaid as the only effectuall Discourage-
ment to such like practices for the future.
But forasmuch as your Lordships have been pleased to
disapprove of the Manner of tacking any particular clause, to
a Generall bill, We have so Just a Deference to your Lord-
ships' Opinion in the case that we have now proceeded to rem-
edy the s^d Evill by two distinct laws.

My Lords.
We make noe Question but that the Advancement of learn-
ing within this your Province will be a very Acceptable thing
to you yet forasmuch as the narrow Circumstances of an
Infant Countrey (all our funds raised for that purpose falling
farr Short of the end designed) will not alone afford Suffi-
cient Encouragment thereto, which lays us under a Necessity
of Addressing your Lordships upon this Occasion, for altho
the condition of most of the people here has little claim to a
truely Generous and Liberall education yet abundance of
Youth, now Growing up, are Unhappily destitute of those
Common Improvements which Nature hath made them very
Capable of for the rendering them better Christians better

p. 148

Subjects to his Majesty, and better Qualifyed persons for the
Just discharge of the Severall trusts, to which your Lordships
or your Successors may have occasion to Appoint them, as well
in the offices of State, as in the Destribution of Justice and all
other the Exegencys of Life.
We humbly begg leave to lay before your Lordships that by
an Act of Parliament of the 25* of King Charles the Second
a duty of one penny p pound was laid on all Tobacco trans-
ported from Plantation to Plantation the whole of which
revenue by the Royall Donation of the late King William the
third of Glorious Memory was Appropriated to the building
and maintaining a Colledge of learning in Virginia ever since
w^ch the good People of this Province have paid large Sumes of
Money towards the Encouragment of learning there w^ch the
distance of the Place and the great charge of Schooling chil-
dren hath made altogether useless to us, for such persons a
are of Ability to defray such charge choose rather to educate
their children in Great Britain, whilst the Middling Sort of
people who only Stand in need for the Education of their

p. 149