niall that he hath received his ordination from some Bishopp in England; and if any person pretending himself a minister shall contrary to this act presume to teach or preach publiquely or privately, the Governour and councell are desired and impowered to suspend and silence the person soe offending, and upon his obstinate persistance to compell him to depart the country with the first conveniency, as it hath been formerly provided by the 77th act made at James Citty the second of March 1642." By act 9th, persons absent from the prayers and preachings of the parish churches on the Sabbath and the four holidays were subject to a fine of fifty pounds of tobacco. By act 4th, December 1662-"Whereas many scismaticall persons out of their aversenesse to the orthodox established religion, or out of the new fangled conceits of their owne hereticall inventions refuse to have their children baptized, be it &c. that all persons that, in contempt of the divine sacrament of baptisme, shall refuse when they may carry their child to a lawfull minister in that county to have them baptized, shall be amerced two thousand pounds of tobacco; halfe to the informer, halfe to the publique."

Governor Berkeley in 1671, in answer to the inquiry, "What course is taken about the instructing the people within your government in the Christian religion?" says "We have forty-eight parishes, and our ministers are well paid, and by my consent should be better, if they would pray oftener and preach less. But of all other commodities, so of this, the worst are sent to us, and we had few that we could boast of since the persecution in Cromwell's tyranny drove divers worthy men hither."

There is an excuse however, or rather a palliation for the condition of the established church. The executive officer of the Episcopal Church did not reside in Virginia; nor till after the revolution in England, in 1688, did a commissary reside in the province. Proper discipline therefore could not be kept up. Multitudes of cases, that could not be judged in England, required attention on the spot; and in their neglect the church suffered.

The Quakers came in for their share of legislative opposition. Uniformity in religion, after the manner of the Church of England, was the determined purpose of the majority of the colony. The estimation in which the Qakers were held, by the Legislature, can be best understood from the preamble of Act 6th, 1659, 60-" Whereas there is an unreasonable and turbulent sort of people, commonly called Quakers, who contrary to the law do dayly gather together unto them unlaw'll assemblies and congregations of people, teaching and publishing lies, miracles, false visions, prophecies and doctrines, which

have influence upon the communities of men both ecclesiasticall and civil endeavouring and attempting thereby to destroy religion, lawes, comunities and all bonds of civil societie, leaving arbitrarie to everie vaine and vicious person whether men shall be safe, lawes established, offenders punished, and governours rule, hereby disturbing the publique peace and just interest, to prevent and restraine which mischiefe be it enacted" &c. 1stthat any master of a vessel bringing a Quaker into the colony should be subject to a fine of one hundred pounds sterling: 2d-that all Quakers be arrested and imprisoned without bail, "till they do adjure the country, or putt in security with all speed to depart the colonie and not to return again;" 3d-if a Quaker returned, he was to be punished and sent away; 4thif he returned the third time he was to be proceeded against as a felon; 5th-that no one should entertain a Quaker or permit their assemblies at his housè under the penalty of one hundred pounds sterling; and 6th-" that no person do presume on their peril to dispose or publish their bookes, pamphlets or libells bearing the title of their tenets and opinions.'

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Act 9th of 1661, 2 after forbidding all unnecessary journeys on the Sabbath-" And that noe other thing, be used or done that may tend to the prophanation of that day,-but that all and every person and persons inhabiting in this country diligently resort to their parish church or chappell,"-imposes a fine of fifty pounds of tobacco for absence from the church on Sabbath, and the fower holy days," but excepts Quakers and others for a greater punishment "Quakers or other recusants who out of noncomformitie to the church totally absent themselves,--shall be liable to such fines and punishments as by the statue of 23d of Elizabeth are imposed on them, being for every months absence twenty pounds sterling, and if they forbeare a twelvemonth then to give good security for their good behaviour besides their payment for their monthly absences, according to the tenure of said statute. And that all Quakers for assembling in unlawfull assemblyes and conventicles be fined and pay each of them there taken, two hundred pounds of tobacco for each time they shall be for such unlawfull meeting taken or presented by the church wardens to the county court and in case of the insolvency of any person among them, the more able then taken to pay for them.'

More severity was, in the opinion of the legislature called for against Separatists. Act 1st, 1663, declares-" that certain persons under the name of Quakers and other names of separation have taken up and maintained sundry dangerous opinions and tenets, and-under pretence of religious worship, doe often assemble themselves in great numbers,--separating and dividing themselves from the rest of his Majesties good and

loyall subjects-Be it enacted,-that if any person or persons called Quakers, or any other separatists whatsoever in this colony, shall departe from the places of their severall habitations and assemble themselves to the number of five or more of the age of sixteen yeares or upwards at any one tyme in any place under pretence of joyning in a religious worship not authorized by the laws of England nor this country,-shall for the first offence fforfeit and pay two hundred pounds of tobacco, for the second offence forfeit and pay five hundred pounds of tobacco." Quakers or Separatists of ability were held responsible for those that were poor. For the third offence, the punishment was banishment "to the places the Governor and Councell shall appoint." The penalty for bringing in a Quaker was increased; and all persons were forbidden to-"entertaine any Quakers in or near their houses, that is, to teach or preach"-on penalty of five thousand pounds of tobacco. A proviso concluded the law-"if Quakers or other Separatists shall after such conviction as aforesaid give security that he, she, or they, shall for the time to come forbeare to meet in any such unlawful assemblies"-then they were to be discharged from all penalties.

These laws were not dead letters. The Quakers suffered as the Puritans years before. Their historians complain much of fines levied under these laws. That their complaints are not without foundation will appear from the record of the House of Burgesses given by Hening, Sept'r 12, 1663-" Whereas Mr. John Hill high sheriff of Lower Norfolk hath represented to the House that Mr. John Porter, one of the Burgesses of that county was loving to the Quakers and stood well affected to them and had been at their meetings, and was so far an Anabaptist as to be against the baptizing of children, upon which representation the said Porter confessed himself to have and be well affected to the Quakers, but conceived his being at their meetings could not be proved, upon which the oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy were tendered to him which he refused to take; whereupon it is ordered that the said Porter be dismissed this house." The refusal to swear allegiance to the King, or to acknowledge him as head of the Church visible, in the English dominions, was a political offence, of which all the nonconformists in Virginia might be made guilty.

Others besides Puritans and Quakers, or for other offences than Puritanism or Quakerism, suffered under the laws of Virginia as will appear from Hening, vol. 1st, "Oct. 7th, 1634, Henry Coleman excommunicated forty days, for using scornful speeches and putting on his hat in church, when according to an order of court, he was to acknowledge and ask forgiveness for an offence. In 1640, Stephen Reekers put in pillory two

hours with a paper on his head expressing his offence, fined £50 sterling and imprisoned during pleasure for saying that his Majesty was at confession with the Lord of Canterbury. March 25th, 1630, Thos. Tindall to be pillory'd two hours for giving my Lord Baltimore the lye and threatening to knock him down. 1640, Francis Wildes, clerk of Charles River Court, turned out of his place and fined for speaking against the laws of the last Assembly and the persons concerned in making them." A State religion can be maintained only by severe laws.

The Governor and Council acted out to the extent of their ability, the state and parade of the King and his Lords. The House of Burgesses filled, in the colony, the place of the House of Commons in the mother land, and the wealthy planters according to their means, that of the nobility and gentry. The more wealthy planters flocked to the seat of government, particularly during the meeting of the House of Burgesses, and sessions of the General Court, and learned to imitate the profusion and elegance of the Governor. All the elements of the Virginia character, in its excellencies and follies, were in operation in 1688, wealth, love of ease, profusion of expense, generosity, unrestrained passions, chivalric attention to the fair, high sense of honor, personal independence, carelessness of money, sense of superiority and easy manners. These governed by devoted attachment to the crown, and the religion of the State because it was the religion of the State, and of their fathers, and of the King, formed a state of society interesting and peculiar. It exhibited in strong contrast the scholar and the unlearned; the vulgar and the gentleman; the African slave and his Anglo-Saxon master. Compelled by their location, and the nature of their society, to the daily use of the horse, the Virginians became lovers of that noble animal, and daring in his exercise. Self-possessed from their daily exposures, they were in danger of over-confidence in their own judgment and capabilities. They knew nothing in America greater and grander than their own beautiful and luxuriant colony. They talked independently to the mother country, bowing to the majesty of the crown, from whose splendor the ocean alone separated them.

In civil matters, there was, in 1688, the idea and the exercise of Liberty. From the first meeting of the Legislature in 1619 the colonists enjoyed all the priviliges of Englishmen. They were Royalists. They were loyal to the king. The inconveniences, arising from their distance from the throne, were counterbalanced by advantages resulting from the same distance and their wilderness home. The king could raise a revenue only through the house of Burgesses. They were

always slow to load their fellow-citizens and themselves with duties and imports. Act 8th of the first assembly, whose records are preserved, 1623, 4, declares-"The Governor shall not lay any taxes or ympositions upon the colony their lands or commodities other way than by the authority of the General Assembly, to be levyed and employed as the said assembly shall appoynt.' And by the next act they declare that the Governor should not withdraw the inhabitants from their labours for his own services-"and in case the publick service require ymployments of many hands before the holding a General Assemblie to give order for the same, in that case the levying of men shall be done by order of the Governor and whole body of the counsell and that in such sorte as to be least burthensome to the people and most free from partiality." To save the expense of calling the assembly-"the charge of which doth most times equal itt, if not exceed all other taxes of the country"-the house gave permission in the years 1660 and 1661, to the governor and council to lay the taxes, provided he did not exceed twenty pounds of tobacco per poll. "November 9th, 1666, Die Jovis-The honourable Governour sent knowledge of his pleasure to the house that two or more of the councel might join with the house in granting and confirming the sums of the levy. The humble answer of the house is, that they conceive it their privilege to lay the levy in the house, and that the house will admit nothing without reference from the honourable Governour and councel unless it be before adjudged and confirmed by act or order, and after passing in the house shall be humbly presented to their honors for approbation or dissent. Mr. Ballard, major Weir and captain Bridger are appointed to present this answer to the honourable Governour and councel. This is willingly assented to and desired to remain on record for a rule to walk by for the future, which will be satisfactory to all. William Berkeley."

The Legislature of Virginia early showed respect to age and enterprise. Act 10th, 1623, 4, says "That all the old planters that were here before or came in at the last coming of Sir Thomas Gates they and their posterity shall be exempted from their personal service to the warrs and any public charge (church duties excepted) that belong particularly to their persons (not exempting their families) except such as shall be ymployd to command in chief." In 1631 this act was amended by leaving out the words "they and their posterity." The spirit of this exemption law reserved an aged Quaker from the penalties of the law enacted against that sect,-as the Quaker accounts say that the first born male that grew to adult years became a Quaker, and in compliment to his birth was liberated from the penalties of the law..