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

U. H. J.

Sent to the Lower House by Col Ward.
A Message from the Lower House by Captain Mariarte &
M^r Hudson viz.

By the Lower House of Assembly October 28^th 1724.
May it please Your Honours
We have considered your Honours Remarks on the Bill
relieving the Inhabitants of this province from some diffi-
culties they may lye under in paying their Levies Officers
fees and other Country 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 informed from
time to time of what Resolutions were then made and from
what your Honours fully concurred with
And we desire your Honours to consider the answers that
the Objections naturally require We shall Give them Articu-
lately thus viz.
To the I^st 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 proposed to rem-
edy the Inconveniency your Honours Object though 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 pro-
pose an Amendment

p. 135

To the third that people are only Obliged to prefer the
Publick Credit to any Other and in all other cases the Rules
of payment proposed cant be liable to Objection being re-
ferred to the Election of the debtor which is his right by the
common Law of England.
To the fourth Liberty is a Benefit to the poor and the Act
proposed 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 & Family
To the fifth Tradesmen that have earn'd Tobacco from
the planters cannot pay the Tobacco they owe unless they
Receive what is their due and where the Planter has not
made it the Tradesman he owes cant receive it & consequently
needs some Provision to be made for him and as the method
proposed by the conferees & Agreed to by your Honours is
now Objected to We should be glad your Honours would be
pleased to propose a better