Assembly Proceedings, March 1641/2. 123

An Act For Granting of one Subsedye

The Freemen of this Province out of their desire to return
his Lordship some testimony of their gratitude for his Lord-
ships great charge & solicitude in meinteining the Goverm^t &
protecting the Inhabitants in their persons rights and liberties
and to contribute some support toward it so far as the young
& poor estate of the Colony will yett beare doe desire that it
may be enacted and be it enacted by the Lord Proprietary of

Liber
C & W H

the Province of and with the advice & assent of the Freemen
of the same that every freeman or freewoman & every Servant
belonging to some master or dame out of the Province now
being or w^ch at any time hereafter shall be an Inhabitant of any
County of the Province for the space of three months at the
least afore the tenth of November next shall at the said tenth
of November pay unto such person or persons or one of them
as shall be appointed & authorized in that County to Collect
the same by the Lord Proprietarie or his Leivten^t Generall 15^l of
Tobacco for him or her Self & other 15^l Tobacco for every
person which shall belong to his her or their family or sojourne in
the same for the greatest part of the time between this & the 25^th
of July next (Children excepted under the age of 12 years) and
shall pay the said Tobacco with Cask (or allow for Cask after
the rate of 10^l p hundred) at some such plantation or plan-
tations as Shall be appointed or well liked of in the hundred
by the Collector or Collectors or one of them as aforesaid and
the Inhabitants of Kent shall be Chargeable to pay it at Kent
ffort
And such Collector or Collectors or any of them may distrein
for the said right upon any p^rson or persons chargeable to the
said Levy's as aforesaid & refuseing or delaying to pay the
same or upon any his or her lands debts goods & Chattells or
w^ch shall be in his or her possession at the time of such dis-
tresse
Provided that where any house keeper or house keepers
payes for any freeman or freewoman as belonging to his her
or their family such house keeper or house keepers so paying
may charge the said Paym^t to the account of such freeman or

p. 77

freewoman or recover it by accon^t of debt in which Case a
freeman or freewoman is to be judged such as are in covenant
for wages or hyre for their work or Service And where any
house keeper as aforesaid payes for any apprentice as belong-
ing to his family w^ch apprentice as hyred of or belonging to
some other person such house keeper so paying may charge
the said Paym^t to the acco^t of the person whoes the apprentice
is And where it is uncertain to what family any artificer Sea-
man or other person haveing no certain abideing place doth

p. 78