The Lower House. 161

think the Customary free of five hundred pounds of Tobacco
for Peticon, order and making out the said warrant is an
unreasonable ffee Especially considering that the Secretary
or his Clerke does upon application (even of the most ignor-
ant) advise and form the necessary Recitalls to each war-
rant, without a Regular Petition Setting forth the Severall
Circumstances of the Case; and as to the Renewall of War-
rants it is the persons own neglect who applies for them, if he
does not make the proper Return or Renew them within the
time limited.
Secondly, that to oblige merchants who Trade for Tobacco
in Expectation of profit, to take another Commodity instead
of Tobacco which will not reimburse them half of their prin-
cipal, beside their Disappointment in Loading their Ships
must be Destructive to Trade without which We Cannot Sub-
sist, and inconsistent with Justice, w^ch ought to be our Guide
Wherefore we desire you to Exclude what relates to the
Secretary and merchant with which Alterations this Bill
will pass
Sign'd p order Sam^ll Skippon Cl Up Ho.

Whereupon Resolved that the Bill be amended accordingly
And the following message is prepar'd Viz.

By the Lower House of Assembly Oct^r the 31^st 1724.

May it please your Hon^rs
The Granting Speciall Warrants as observed by yo^r Hon^rs
message this day by Coll^o Addison was indeed a matter of
favour formerly when such warrants were to Affect all
Cultivations & Improvm^ts how valuable soever for the Com-
mon purchase of Rough Lands; and this gave the ffee or
Gratuity of 500^l of Tobacco a reasonable foundation, But
since the practice has been to value all Improvements and for
the Purchaser to pay the value of them it becomes mere mat-
ter of Contract between his L^pp and the people and therefore

as the favour which was the Consideration [for] the 500^l of
Tobacco Ceases, We must insist that the Gratuity it Self
ought to Cease. And we cannot find that the Clerks form or
draw any Petitions for purchasers of Speciall Warrants but
what they are otherwise Paid for And as to the fee for renew-
ing Warrants we never understood it was taken on pretence
of a fine for Neglect before your Honours Message gave us
the Intimation. We thought it had been only claim'd as a fee or
reasonable reward for the Service of renewing it and we are
well Satisfied the fee of fifty pounds of Tobacco propos'd
by the Bill was a Competency for it; But if such difficulties

L. H. J.