Ordered, That the Paper intituled “Substance of the Peace agreed to between the Earl of Dunmore, Governour of Virginia, on the part of that Colony, and the Corn Stalk, on the part of the Shawanese Indians, intended to be ratified at a general meeting of the Ohio Indians at Fort Dunmore,” referred to in the Governour’s written Message to this House, which, upon Monday, the fifth day of this instant, June, was ordered to lie upon the table, be communicated to the Council at the conference.

Then the names of the Managers were called over, and they went to the conference.

And being returned,

Mr. Treasurer reported that the Managers had been at the conference with the Council, and communicated to them the Paper intituled “Substance of the Peace agreed to between the Earl of Dunmore, Governour of Virginia, on the part of that Colony, and the Corn Stalk on the part of the Shawanese Indians, intended to be ratified at a general meeting of the Ohio Indians at Fort Dunmore,” and that the Council proposed that an Address should be presented to the Governour, that his Excellency would appoint persons to ratify the Treaty with the Indians, and recommended it to this House to vote a sum of Money, not exceeding Two Thousand Pounds, for that business.

Mr. Attorney-General reported to the House that he had shewn the engrossed Bills and Resolves to the Governour, and that his Excellency was pleased to deliver to him a written Message, which he read in his place, and which is in the words following, to wit:

Mr. Speaker, and Gentlemen of the House of Burgesses:

The bill for appointing Commissioners to settle the accounts of the Militia lately drawn out into actual service, and for making provision to pay the same, inasmuch as it imposes duties upon slaves imported, I cannot assent to; which, by the royal disallowance of an Act of Assembly for that purpose, passed in the tenth year of his present Majesty’s reign, you must have been sensible of; and as the bill has no suspending clause, though I made it my business to intimate, by several of your members, to the House, that, without such a clause, I could not pass an act for emitting paper money, the miscarriage of a bill I had very much at heart cannot be attributed to me. And if still those objections can be removed, I should be happy to concur in an act for the rewarding of the brave people who are the particular objects of it, without delay. If not, all I can do is to transmit the bill to His Majesty, and to desire leave to assent to it; though, in regard to the duty upon slaves, I should not, I think, obtain it.

I see no objection to any other of your bills or resolves, and I am therefore ready to give my assent to them whenever the House desires. If you have any other bills ready, I must desire they may be sent in like manner, that the whole may be passed together; and I must beg that your Clerk may be ordered to lay before me a copy of the Journals of the House, before the time fixed for passing the bills.

DUNMORE.

Resolved, That an Address be presented to the Governour, in answer to his said written Message.

Ordered, That a Committee be appointed to draw up an Address to be presented to the Governour, upon the said Resolution.

And a Committee was appointed of Mr. Treasurer, Mr. Bland, Mr. Mercer, Mr. Banister, Mr. Digges, and Mr. Munford.

Mr. Treasurer reported, from the Committee appointed to draw up an Address to be presented to the Governour, that the Committee had drawn up an Address accordingly, which they had directed him to report to the House; and he read the same in his place, and afterwards delivered it in at the Clerk’s table, where the same was read, and is as followeth, viz:

MY LORD: We, His Majesty’s dutiful and loyal subjects, the Burgesses of Virginia, cannot sufficiently express our concern that your Lordship should be under any difficulty in giving your assent to the bill for appointing Commissioners to settle the accounts of the Militia lately drawn out into actual service, and for making provision to pay the same; which hath received the approbation of the other two branches of the Legislature We beg leave to remind your Excellency, that you particularly recommended those brave people, who are the objects of this bill, to our attention. Sensible of their important services, we seized with much pleasure the first opportunity afforded us of doing justice to their singular merit. Upon considering the most probable ways and means of effecting this desirable purpose, we soon found, from the extreme scarcity of cash in the country, that there was no possible method of doing it but by a speedy emission of paper money. The opinion has since been confirmed by transactions during the present meeting of the merchants, which have evinced, that the scarcity is even greater than we at first supposed.

We do not find, my Lord, any thing in the bill which contravenes any law, or royal instruction, which hath ever been communicated to us. A suspending clause, we conceive, would defeat the very purpose for which the bill was intended; as it would withhold that relief so immediately necessary to the comfort and support of many of our poor inhabitants, who are in the utmost distress for want of it.

In order to support the credit of our paper currency, we thought it incumbent on us to establish such funds as would effectually secure the redemption of it. In aid of others, we were of opinion that a duty of ten per cent on slaves would be the least burdensome to the people. We do not know that such a duty was ever objected to by His Majesty; on the contrary, we understand that a duty not exceeding ten per cent was perfectly agreeable to his royal will and pleasure. The five pounds per poll on slaves imported from the West-Indies was intended to prevent the many tricks which had been practised in this Country to avoid payment of all duties on such slaves, and amounts to no more than ten per cent., valuing them at the moderate average of fifty pounds current money.

We are pleased to find your Excellency approves the other bills and resolves submitted to your inspection. All others, which we propose to trouble your Lordship with, we have consented may undergo the earliest examination, and flatter ourselves that they will meet with the like approbation.

We still hope, my Lord, that upon reconsidering the matter, you will see sufficient reasons to after your first opinion respecting the Militia Bill, which we have much at heart, considering it of the last importance.

We have before, in conjunction with his Majesty’s Council, intimated to your Excellency how very necessary a recess is at this critical season, our harvest demanding our immediate presence at home. We must, therefore, entreat your Excellency to meet us at the Capitol to-morrow, in order to give your assent to such bills and resolves as are ready to be presented. We hope your Lordship cannot still entertain any groundless fears that your person can be in the least danger. If it is possible that you remain under such a strange influence, we pledge you our honours, and every thing sacred, for your security. Should your Lordship decline complying with this just request, we hope you will be pleased to grant your commission to the President of the Council to give your assent to such bills and resolves as you may approve, and we may present to him.

Since it hath been customary for our Governours to signify their pleasure as to adjournments, we wish not to take things out of their old channel; we therefore hope your Excellency will at the same time express your approbation that we adjourn ourselves to some convenient day in October next, when our convenience will best admit an absence from our homes, and the sickly season of the year will be over.

We do not wish to conceal from your Excellency one tittle contained in our Journals; but a full and immediate transcript of them would require more time than we can possibly devote to the publick business at present. We must observe, that this demand of us is unusual; however, we have ordered all such of our proceedings as have been printed, to be immediately transmitted to your Lordship.

The said Address being read a second time,

Resolved, That this House doth agree with the Committee in the said Address to be presented to the Governour.

Ordered, That the said Address be presented to his Excellency by Mr. Attorney-General and Mr. Lewis.

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