THE CHANCELLOR'S CASE. 641

of which the same committee made a further report to the House,
specifying sundry articles as being, in their opinion, " proper
objects of taxation for establishing permanent funds, for the pay-
ment of moneys that become due on the civil list." But on the
second reading of this report, the laying of taxes on the proceed-
ings in courts of law and equity, which was considered as the
most productive of the ways and means for raising the proposed
fund, was rejected; and the aggregate of the residue not being
sufficient for the payment of the civil list, the whole project failed.
Hence, owing solely to the declared inability to provide funds, the
judicial salaries were again settled for the current year and no
longer.

At the next session leave was given, in the House of Delegates,
to bring in a bill to establish a permanent fund for the payment of
salaries to the chancellor and judges, during the continuance of
their commissions; and a bill was accordingly reported to the
House; but it seems to have been virtually superseded or nega-
tived by the civil list bill, in which, as reported, the salaries of the
chancellor and judges were to have been secured to them, " dur-
ing the continuance of their commissions ;" but, those words were
stricken out on the second reading, by a majority of only one vote,
and the bill was thus passed, bestowing the judicial salaries " for
the current year only." At this session the propriety of giving to
judicial salaries the requisite constitutional security had been intro-
duced and pressed upon the attention of the General Assembly by
the Intendant of the Revenue in the conclusion of his report, in
which he says, " Permit an old servant to recommend to your most
serious consideration, the increasing of the chancellor's and the
judges of the General Court's salaries. Their present allowance
will not support them, whilst provisions and other necessaries con-
tinue at their present prices. Your lives, liberties and properties,
depend much more upon the abilities and integrity of gentlemen
who fill these judicatories than perhaps at first view may be ima-
gined. These officers ought to be put above want, and whatever is given
ought to be absolute, and without control, and not be obliged to look
up annually to the legislative body for their next year's support.
The increase I would recommend would be £150 to each, amount-
ing in the whole to only £600; a small tax upon law proceedings
would bring in much more than this sum to the treasury."

At the session of the General Assembly held in November, 1785,
there were convened, as our statute book will show, the most

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