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L. H. J.
Liber No. 49
Dec. 16
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sensibly referring to the last Antecedent, to serve for Seven Years or
upwards, at the Time of Entry, since it might with so much Ease and
Propriety have been done, by only placing those Words, at the Time
of Entry, after the Words shall pay, and then it would have Read thus,
shall pay at the Time of Entry, or, shall at the Time of Entry pay ;
in either of which Positions the Sense would have been obvious, and
the Construction clear, as contended by the last Lower House, and
seconded by yourselves; and can't be imagined, that had this been their
Intention, the Abilities of the Lower House in 1754, not to mention
the other Branches of that Legislature, were so slight as not to hit
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p. 225
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upon so plain, easy, and clear a Manner of expressing that Intention.
But I will suppose, for Argument Sake, that it is not clear from
the Frame of that Sentence, that those Words, at the Time of Entry,
must relate to what precedes; yet it must be allowed me, that it is not
more so, that they must relate to what follows; and it being equally
uncertain to which Part of the Two, the Reference ought to be, I
hope it will never be contended that it shall have such a Relation, as
by Construction to destroy Two old Acts of Assembly, a long unin-
terrupted Course of Trade, and to introduce Inconveniencies to the
Trader, consequently a Discouragement to Trade itself, when it may,
upon my present Supposition, as well bear another Construction, clear
of all these Difficulties, by only giving those Words their natural and
proper Referrence, and thereby to shew that the Master is to pay the
Duty of Twenty Shillings p Head on all Servants, who have Seven
Years to serve, at the Time of Entry.
I have only hitherto considered such Part of that Paragraph as
relates to Seven Years Servants, and shall wave such Part thereof as
relates to Servants to serve for a less Time than Seven Years, because,
tho' I think that an Advantage might be made of some Expressions, in
that Part of it, yet since the Expression at the Time of Entry stands
there in much the same Position, as in the former Part, I am content
it takes the same Construction.
I shall make but one Remark more upon this Paragraph of that
Act; and I must own it is such as gives me the fullest Conviction,
that the Legislature in passing that Law, had no Intention to affect
those two old Acts of Assembly, or to alter the Course of, and intro-
duce a Discouragement to Trade, by obliging the Masters to pay the
Duties down at the Time of Entry; and that is, that the Expression
at the Time of Entry, is no where in that Paragraph made use of
but in such Parts of it as relate to Servants, and there it seems to have
been particularly useful, for there being Servants of Two different
Terms of Servitude, with a different Duty imposed on each, that
Expression, at the Time of Entry, seems thrown in, the better to
distinguish the Two Kinds of Servants, with the Duty imposed on
each, according to the Time of his Service : Thus, for every Servant
to serve for the Term of Seven Years or upwards, at the Time of
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