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Lord and the King, and again fear God and honour the King,
for that a Divine Sentence is in the Lips of the King, and the
King by Judgment Establisheth the Land, and his mouth
Trangresseth not in Judgment, and the Kings Commands
We are by the Laws of God bound to keep, for that it is said
keep the Kings Commandmt and that in regard of the Oath
of God, for whoso keepeth the Commandment of the king
shall feel no evill thing. The King (Gentlemen) by his Order
in Council bearing Date the fourth Day of November 1687
hath required of Us that We with Virginia pass an Act pro-
hibiting Bulk Tobacco to be Exported out of this Province
&ca This Order (Gentlemen) should have been here Sooner,
but by some neglect or other of the Clerks in England it came
not to my Lords hands in time, so as to have been sent by the
last years Shipping, But sooner or later the King is and ought
to be Obeyed. Some perhaps will presume to question the
Advantage or Disadvantage that may arise by passing of such
an Act which is indeed unbecoming Subjects to call in Ques-
tion the proceedings of the King, as if the good and Evill
which thereby might or could arise were not fully and duely
Considered of in England by the Kings most honourable
Council from whom and by whose Advice that Order did pro-
ceed, But such is the Leven of Some, as always to treate with
dislike the best of things even proceeding from the best of
Kings, & best of Governments, and that for no other reason
but because it Came from the King.
Gentlemen I hope the ill advised proceedings of a late
Neighbouring Assembly on this Occasion will be no president
or of force to weigh with you But as Men of better principles
you will shew that in Alleigance and Loyalty to your King
you know better to obey. I say you will know better for that
it is Obvious to every man of Sense that they were Strangers
to their Duty in as much as they ought to know, that, Mercy
and truth preserve the King, and that in the Light of the
Kings Countinance is Life, and also that the Wrath of a King
is as Messengers of Death and that he who so provoketh the
King to Anger sinneth against his own Soul and who knows
what Just Resentments the King may have of such as well
Undutifull as Disloyall practices.
Therefore Gentlemen I am of Opinion that if it will become
as well the Duty as Allegiance of this Assembly to pass this
Act so as it may not be Binding to the People of this Province
till the same be also done and past in Virginia. And on other
Terms the King desires it not for that it can be of no Advant-
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Lib. W. H.
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