secreting, carrying off, or destruction, of any books of accounts or papers belonging to any person in Great Britain.

Resolved, That the Committee of Safety, or the Executive power for the time being, permit the said Petitioners, or any other Natives of Great Britain whom they may think proper, to depart this Colony, on their complying with the above requisitions.

A Letter from Colonel Preston, on the subject of Indian Affairs, was laid before the Convention, read, and ordered to lie on the table.

The Convention then, according to the Order of the Day, resolved itself into a Committee on the Plan of Government for this Colony; and after some time spent therein, Mr. President resumed the chair, and Mr. Cary reported, that the Committee had, according to order, had under their consideration the Plan of Government for this Colony, and had gone through the same, and made several Amendments thereto; which he read in his place, and afterwards delivered in at the Clerk’s table, where the same were again twice read, and agreed to.

Ordered, That the said Plan of Government, together with the Amendments, be fairly transcribed, and read a third time.

Mr. Smith, from the Committee appointed, presented, according to order, an Ordinance for erecting Salt-Works in this Colony, and for encouraging the making of Salt; which was read the first time, and ordered to be read a second time.

Mr. Cary, from the Committee of the whole Convention, reported, according to order, the Amendments to the Ordinance for establishing a Board of Commissioners to superintend and direct the Naval affairs of this Colony; which he read in his place, and afterwards delivered in at the Clerk’s table, where the same were again twice read, and agreed to.

Ordered, That the said Ordinance, together with the several Amendments, be fairly transcribed, and read a third time.

Resolved, That the Treasurer, in case of danger, be at liberty to remove the publick Treasury to some part of the County of Hanover, near the centre thereof.

An Ordinance to amend an Ordinance intituled An Ordinance for establishing a mode of making Tobacco Payments during the discontinuance of the Inspection Law, having been fairly transcribed, was read a third time, and the blanks therein filled up.

Resolved, That the said Ordinance do pass.*

An Ordinance to enable the present Magistrates and Officers to continue the administration of justice, and for settling the general mode of proceedings in criminal and other cases till the same can be more amply provided for, was read the second time, and ordered to be committed to a Committee of the whole Convention.

Resolved, That this Convention will to-morrow resolve itself into a Committee on the said Ordinance.

Resolved, That this Convention will to-morrow proceed, by ballot, to the appointment of a Governour, Privy Council, and Attorney-General, for this country.

The Orders of the Day, for the Convention to resolve itself into a Committee on the state of the Colony, and for a call of the Convention, being read,

Ordered, That the same be put off till to-morrow.

An Ordinance for making further provision for the defence and protection of this Colony, having been fairly transcribed, was read a third time, and the blanks therein filled up.

Resolved, That the said Ordinance do pass.†

Adjourned till to-morrow, nine o’clock.

* An Ordinance to amend an Ordinance entitled An Ordinance for establishing a mode of making Tobacco Payments during the discontinuance of the Inspection Law, and for other purposes therein mentioned.

Whereas the mode for making Tobacco Payments, established by an Ordinance of the last Convention, has been found inconvenient to the inhabitants of this Colony, and renders the office of Collectors expensive, and their duty extremely difficult:

For remedy whereof, Be it ordained by the Delegates and Representatives of the people of this Colony, now met in General Convention, and by the authority of the same, That the several County Courts and Vestries within this Colony, where Collectors are not already employed, shall, and they are hereby, empowered and required to appoint such and so many places within their respective Counties and Parishes as to them shall appear convenient and necessary for the reception of all levies payable in tobacco, at one of which places all payments of the same shall be made by the respective debtors, on or before the last day of August; and the several Collectors, or some persons for them, shall constantly attend at the places so appointed, from the time of appointment until the said last day of August.

And be it further ordained, That the several persons chargeable with levies, who shall fail to make payments in tobacco at the places appointed for the reception of the same within the time above limited, shall, in lieu thereof, pay the said levies in money, at such price as shall be limited or appointed by the respective County Courts and Vestries of this Colony.

And be it further ordained, That so much of the said recited Ordinance as is contrary to this Ordinance, be, and the same is hereby, repealed.

† An Ordinance for making further provision for the Defence and Protection of this Colony.

Whereas it hath become expedient and necessary that further provision should be made for the support and maintenance of such Regular forces, Minute-men, and Militia, as now are, or at any time hereafter may be, occasionally employed in the defence of the frontiers, and other parts of this Colony, and of such troops as now do, or may henceforward remain, upon the Colonial establishment and pay, for the purpose of defraying the expenses of building vessels, furnishing them with seamen and marines, supplying all necessaries for the Navy, and satisfying publick claims, and the contingent charges of Government; and whereas, from the many unavoidable disbursements hitherto made out of the Treasury, the balance in the hands of the Treasurer is inadequate to the several purposes aforesaid:

Be it therefore ordained by the Delegates and Representatives of the several Counties and Corporations within the Colony and Dominion of VIRGINIA, now met in General Convention, and it is hereby ordained by the authority of the same, That an additional tax or duty of 1s. 3d. shall be paid for every tithable person in this Colony, to the Sheriff or Collector of the County where such person shall be inlisted, by the person inlisting the same, on or before the 10th day of June, 1777; and the further tax or duty of 1s. 3d. shall be paid in like manner for every such tithable person, during the six following years, on or before the said 10th day of June, in each respective year.

And be it further ordained, That an additional duty or tax of 1s. for every hundred acres of land in this Colony, and after that rate for a greater or lesser quantity, whether of patented land, or land in the County of Fincastle and District of West-Augusta, for which no patents have been obtained, the rights of the holders whereof to vote at elections of Delegates and Committee-men have been stated and allowed by an Ordinance of Convention, shall be paid on or before the 10th day of June, 1777, to the Sheriff or Collector of the County or District where such lands may lie, by the proprietor, or parents or guardians of infants, if resident in the County or District where such lands may be situated, or by their respective tenants, stewards, or overseers, in case such proprietor, parent or guardian, shall live in another County, to be repaid them by the proprietor, parent or guardian; and the further tax or duty of 1s. shall be paid in like manner for every such hundred acres of land, and after that rate for a greater or lesser quantity, during the six following years, on or before the said 10th day of June, in each respective year. Provided, always, That nothing herein contained shall be construed so as to alter any contract heretofore made between landlords and their tenants, whereby the payment of taxes shall have been stipulated to be made by either of them.

But forasmuch as the taxes or duties imposed by this Ordinance, being necessarily and unavoidably made payable at so distant a day, cannot answer the immediate exigencies of this Colony, for which they were imposed, Be it therefore ordained, by the authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful for Robert C. Nicholas, Esq., or the Treasurer for the time being, appointed by or pursuant to an Ordinance of Convention, to issue and emit Treasury notes to satisfy the demands which shall be made upon him for the purposes aforesaid, so as the whole sum of such notes, so to be issued, shall not exceed £100,000, which several notes shall be prepared, printed, and engraved, in such form, after such method, or on such paper, as the said Treasurer shall judge most safe against counterfeits and forgeries; one thousand of which notes shall be of the value or denomination of £4, one thousand of £3, one thousand of £2, and one thousand of 20s.; all of which shall be numbered by John Pinkney, Gentleman, and signed by Richard Morris and George Seaton, Gentlemen; also ten thousand of the denomination of 12s. 6d., ten thousand of 10s., ten thousand of 7s.6d., and ten thousand of 5s.; all of which shall be numbered by John Pinkney, Gentleman, and signed by Richard Morris and George Seaton, Gentlemen; also thirteen thousand three hundred and thirty-three of the denomination of 2s. 6d., to be numbered by Adam Craig, Gentleman, and signed by John H. Norton, Gentleman; and thirteen thousand three hundred and thirty-three of the denomination of 1s.3d., to be numbered by Adam Craig, Gentleman, and signed by John Dixon, Gentleman; and the residue of the said £100,000 shall consist of bills or notes of the denomination of dollars, and parts of dollars, each dollar to be of the value of a Spanish milled dollar, and the parts of dollars of the same proportionate value, to be numbered by John Pinkney, Littlebury Mason, or Jacob Bruce, Gentlemen, and shall be signed as follows, to wit: All of the value of two dollars and upwards, by Richard Morris and George Seaton, and the residue by John Carter Littlepage, Gentleman. And William Pierce and John Carter Littlepage, Gentlemen, shall be, and are hereby, appointed to overlook the press during the time of printing the notes to be