146 Assembly Proceedings, October 6-November 4, 1724.

L. H. J.

In Answer whereto the following message is prepared viz :

By the Lower House of Assembly Oct. 28^th 1724.
May it please your Honours
We have considered your Honours Remarks on the Bill for
relieving the Inhabitants of this province from some difficul-
ties they may lie under in paying their Levies officers ffees
and other Countrey Tobacco Debts this year and are Sorry
to find your Honours on your second thoughts should recede
from what was so fully debated on the conference (from
whence we doubt not but your Honours were inform'd from
time to time of what Resolutions were there made) and from
what your Honours fully Concurr'd with
And we desire your Honours to consider the Answers that
your objections naturally require We shall give them Articu-
lately thus Viz.
To the first every Case or Circumstance that requires an
oath is liable to an objection, that perjury may Ensue
To the 2^d An Amendment may be easily propos'd to remedy
the Inconveniencie your Honours object, Tho' we think it
none; For if any Debtor does at any time get in Tobacco after
the oath made such Tobacco is no ways Exempt from the
Execution of his Creditor. If therefore your Honours rest
only on that objection we shall readily proceed to make an
amendment
To the 3^d That people are only obliged to preferr the pub-
lick Credit to any other and in all other Cases the Rules of
payment proposed cannot be liable to objection being referr'd
to the Election of the Debtor which is his Right by the Com-
mon Law of England.
To the 4^th Liberty is a benefit to the poor, and the Act pro-
pos'd is to protect the poor against Imprisonment where
providence has disabled them to pay their Debts that they may
be Suffered to work for their Creditors and family
To the 5^th Tradesmen that have Earned Tobacco from
planters cannot pay the Tobacco they owe unless they receive
what is their due and when the planter has not made it the
Tradesmen he owes it to can't receive it And consequently
needs some provision to be made for him; And as the method
propos'd by the conferrees and agreed to by your Honours
is now objected to we should be Glad your Honours would be
pleas'd to propose a better
Sixthly. We cannot conceive that Law Suits will be En-
creast by the Act proposed when it will be apparent to the
Creditor that he cannot get what he sues for. And we cannot