VIRGINIA IN 1671. Enquiries to the Governor of Virginia, submitted by the Lords Commissioners of Foreign Plantations, with the Governor's Answers to each distinct head. [We copy this paper from Hening's Statutes at Large, vol. 2nd, p. 511, for convenient reference, and for the sake of the important and interesting information it contains. "These enquiries," says Mr. H., "were propounded in the year 1670, and received their answers in 1671, while Sir William Berkeley was Governor of Virginia. A more correct statistical account of Virginia at that period, cannot, perhaps, any where be found. The answers appear to have been given with great candor, and were from a man well versed in every thing relating to the country, having been for many years governor."] 1. What councils, assemblies, and courts of judicature are within your government, and of what nature and kind? Answer. There is a governor and sixteen counsellors, who have from his sacred majestic, a commission of Oyer and Terminer, who judge and determine all causes that are above fifteen pound sterling; for what is under, there are particular courts in every county, which are twenty in number. Every year, at least the assembly is called, before whom lye appeals, and this assembly is composed of two burgesses out of every county. These lay the necessary taxes, as the necessity of the war with the Indians, or their exigencies require. 2. What courts of judicature are within your government relating to the admiralty? Answer. In twenty eight yeares there has never been one prize brought into the country; so that there is no need for a particular court for that concern. 3. Where the legislative and executive powers of your government are seated? Answer. In the governor, councel and assembly, and officers substituted by them. 4. What statute laws and ordinances are now made and in force? Answer. The secretary of this country every year sends to the lord chancellor, or one of the principal secretaries, what laws are yearly made; which for the most part concern only our own private exigencies; for, contrary to the laws of England, we never did, nor dare make any, only this, that no sale of land is good and legal, unless within three months after the conveyance it be recorded in the general court, or county courts. 5. What number of horse and foot are within your government, and whether they be trained bands or standing forces? Answer. All our freemen are bound to be trained every month in their particular counties, which we suppose, and do not much mistake in the calculation, are near eight thousand horse: there are more, but it is too chargeable for poor people, as wee are, to exercise them. 6. What castles and fforts are within your government, and how situated, as also what stores and provisions they are furnished withall? Answer. There are five fforts in the country, two in James river and one in the three other rivers of York, Rappahannock and Potomeck; but God knows we have neither skill or ability to make or maintain them; for there is not, nor, as far as my enquiry can reach, ever was one ingenier in the country, so that we are at continual charge to repair unskilfull and inartificial buildings of that nature. There is not above thirty great and serviceable guns; this we yearly supply with powder and shot as far as our utmost abilities will permit us. 7. What number of privateers do frequent your coasts and neighbouring seas; what their burthens are; the number of their men and guns, and the names of their commanders? Answer. None to our knowledge, since the late Dutch war. 8. What is the strength of your bordering neighbours, be they Indians or others, by sea and land; what correspondence do you keep with your neighbours? Answer. We have no Europeans seated nearer to us than St. Christophers or Mexico that we know of, except some few ffrench that are beyond New England. The Indians, our neighbours are absolutely subjected, so that there is no fear of them. As for correspondence, we have none with any European strangers; nor is there a possibility to have it with our own nation further than our traffick con cerns. 9. What arms, ammunition and stores did you find upon the place, or have been sent you since, upon his majestyes account; when received; how employed; what quantity of them is there remaining, and where? Answer. When I came into the country, I found one only ruinated ffort, with eight great guns, most unserviceable, and all dismounted but four, situated in a most unhealthy place, and where, if an enemy knew the soundings, he could keep out of the danger of the best guns in Europe. His majesty, in the time of the Dutch warr, sent us thirty great guns, most of which were lost in the ship that brought them. Before, or since this, we never had one great or small gun sent us, since my coming hither; nor, I believe, in twenty years before. All that have been sent by his sacred majesty, are still in the country, with a few more we lately bought. 10. What monies have been paid or appointed to be paid by his majesty, or levied within your government for and towards the buying of armes or making or maintaining of any ffortifications or castles, and how have the said monies been expended? Answer. Besides those guns I mentioned, we never had any monies of his majesty towards the buying of ammunition or building of fforts. What monies can be spared out of the publick revenue, we yearly lay out in ammunition. 11. What are the boundaries and contents of the land, within your government? Answer. As for the boundaries of our land, it was once great, ten degrees in latitude, but now it has pleased his majesty to confine us to halfe a degree. Knowingly, I speak this. Pray God it may be for his majesty's service, but I much fear the contrary. 12. What commodities are there of the production, growth and manufacture of your plantation; and particularly, what materials are there already growing, or may be produced for shipping in the same? Answer. Commodities of the growth of our country, we never had any but tobacco, which in this yet is considerable, that it yields his majesty a great revenue; but of late, we have begun to make silk, and so many mulberry trees are planted, and planting, that if we had skilfull men from Naples or Sicily to teach us the art of making it perfectly, in less than half an age, we should make as much silk in an year as England did yearly expend three score years since; but now we hear it is grown to a greater excess, and more common and vulgar usage. Now, for shipping, we have admirable masts and very good oaks; but for iron ore I dare not say there is sufficient to keep one iron mill going for seven years. 13. Whether salt-petre is or may be produced within your plantation, and if so, at what rate may it be delivered in England? Answer. Salt-petre, we know of none in the country. 14. What rivers, harbours or roads are there in or about your plantation and government, and of what depth and soundings are they? Answer. Rivers, we have four, as I named before, all able, safely and severally to bear an harbour a thousand ships of the greatest burthen. 15. What number of planters, servants and slaves; and how many parishes are there in your plantation? Answer. We suppose, and I am very sure we do not much miscount, that there is in Virginia above forty thous and persons, men, women and children, and of which there are two thousand black slaves, six thousand christian servants, for a short time, the rest are born in the country or have come in to settle and seat, in bettering their condition in a growing country. 16. What number of English, Scots or Irish have for these seven yeares last past come yearly to plant and inhabite within your government, as also what blacks or slaves have been brought in within the said time? Answer. Yearly, we suppose there comes in, of servants, about fifteen hundred, of which, most are English, few Scotch, and fewer Irish, and not above two or three ships of negroes in seven years. 17. What number of people have yearly died, within your plantation and government for these seven years last past, both whites and blacks? Answer. All new plantations are, for an age or two, unhealthy, 'till they are thoroughly cleared of wood; but un |