§ 118. In his first assembly he passed several acts very obliging to the country, viz., First, an act of naturalization, whereby the power of naturalizing foreigners was placed in the governor. Secondly, an act for cohabitation and encouragement of trade and manufactures; whereby a certain place in each county was appointed for a town, in which all goods imported and exported were to be landed and shipped off, bought and sold. Which act was kindly brought to nothing by the opposition of the tobacco merchants of England. Thirdly, an act of general pardon and oblivion, whereby all the transgressions and outrages committed in the time of the late rebellion were entirely remitted; and reparation allowed to people that should be evil spoken of on that account.
§ 119. By passing some laws that obliged the country, the Lord Colepepper carried one that was very pleasing to himself, viz., the act for raising a public revenue for the better support of the government. By this he got the duties contained therein to be made perpetual; and that the money, which before used to be accounted for to the assembly, should be from thenceforth disposed of by his majesty's sole direction, for the support of the government. When this was done, he obtained of the king out of the said duties a salary of two thousand pounds per annum, instead of one thousand, which was formerly allowed. Also one hundred and sixty pounds per annum for house rent, besides all the usual perquisites.
§ 120. In those submissive times his lordship reduced the greatest perquisite of his place to a certainty, which before that was only gratuitous; that is, instead of the masters of ships making presents of liquors or provisions towards the governor's house keeping, as they were wont to do, he demanded a certain sum of money, remitting that custom. This rate has ever since been demanded of all commanders as a duty; and is twenty shillings for each ship or vessel, under an hundred tons, and thirty shillings for each ship upwards of that burden, to be paid every voyage, or port clearing.
§ 121. This noble lord seemed to lament the unhappy state of the country in relation to their coin. He was tenderly concerned that all their cash should be drained away by the neighboring colonies, which had not set so low an estimate upon it as Virginia; and therefore he proposed the raising of it.
This was what the country had formerly desired, and the assembly was about making a law for it: but his lordship stopped them, alledging it was the king's prerogative, by virtue of which he would do it by proclamation. This they did not approve of, well knowing, if that were the case, his lordship and every other governor would at any time have the same prerogative of altering it, and so people should never be at any certainty; as they quickly after found from his own practice. For his drift was only to make advantage of paying the soldiers; money for that purpose being put into his lordship's hands, he provided light pieces of eight, which he with this view had bought at a cheap rate. When this contrivance was ripe for execution, he extended the royal prerogative, and issued forth a proclamation for raising the value of pieces of eight from five to six shillings; and as soon as they were admitted current at that value, he produced an order for paying and disbanding the soldiers. Then those poor fellows, and such as had maintained them, were forced to take their pay in those light pieces of eight, at six shillings. But his lordship soon after himself found the inconvenience of that proclamation; for people began to pay their duties, and their ship money in coin of that high estimate, which was like to cut short both his lordship's perquisites; and so he was forced to make use of the same prerogative, to reduce the money again to its former standard.
§ 122. In less than a year the Lord Colepepper returned to England, leaving Sir Henry Chicheley deputy governor.
The country being then settled again, made too much tobacco, or too much trash tobacco, for the market; and the merchants would hardly allow the planter any thing for it.
This occasioned much uneasiness again, and the people, from former experience, despairing of succeeding in any agreement with the neighboring governments, resolved a total destruction of the tobacco in that country, especially of the sweet scented; because that was planted no where else. In pursuance of which design, they contrived that all the plants should be destroyed, while they were yet in the beds, and after it was too late to sow more.
Accordingly the ringleaders in this project began with their own first, and then went to cut up the plants of such of their neighbors as were not willing to do it themselves. However, they had not resolution enough to go through with their work.
This was adjudged sedition and felony. Several people were committed upon it, and some condemned to be hanged. And afterwards the assembly passed a law to make such proceedings felony for the future, (whatever it was before,) provided the company kept together after warning by a justice.