Difference between revisions of "Collection of All Such Public Acts of the General Assembly, and Ordinances of the Conventions of Virginia"

Revision as of 10:27, 18 March 2014

A Collection of All Such Public Acts of the General Assembly, and Ordinances of the Conventions of Virginia, Passed since the Year 1768, as are Now in Force with a Table of the Principal Matters; Published under Inspection of the Judges of the High Court of Chancery, by a Resolution of General Assembly, the 16th day of June 1783

by Virginia

The Public Acts of the General Assembly was published in 1785 under the inspection of the judges of the high court of chancery. It covers the transition from monarchy into independence that occurred during the years from 1768 through 1783. It covers three distinct periods: the reign of George III, the Interregno, and the Republican Period. In 1769, under the reign of George III, the assembly met in Williamsburg and passed laws concerning various matters including a reform of the debtor law, a suppression of private lotteries, and the general regulation of an agrarian colony. ^[1] The General Assembly met in Richmond Town in 1775 during the Interregno and passed several laws for the mustering of troops and the gathering of supplies.^[2] In 1776, The Assembly met for a second time, this time in Williamsburg, and passed the highly influential ‘’Declaration of Rights.’’^[3] Largely written by George Mason, it circulated widely in the colonies and informed Thomas Jefferson’s drafting of the Declaration of Independence. ^[4] Later, it became the basis of the Bill of rights, to which some of its language and content bears a striking resemblance.^[5]The Declaration dissolved the former government and began the Republican period. The first meeting of the General Assembly in this period occurred in the fall of 1776 and their first act concerned religious freedoms.^[6]Although the legislature concerned itself with the setting up of a new government and supporting the ongoing war efforts, it continued to handle domestic issues including a law providing for the maintenance of the mentally challenged.^[7]

The Public Acts of 1785 reflect a period of change, but at the same time contain a few interesting traces of the past. For example many of the penalties remain in pounds of tobacco, even after independence. For example, in 1782 the legislature passed a law increasing the reward for killing wolves in some counties by two hundred pounds of tobacco.^[8] Laws like this, especially in comparison to legislation like the ‘’Declaration of Rights,’’ stand as a stark reminder of the comingling of modern ideas and colonial concerns that existed in late eighteenth century Virginia.

A Collection of All Such Public Acts of the General Assembly, and Ordinances of the Conventions of Virginia
Title page from A Collection of All Such Public Acts of the General Assembly, and Ordinances of the Conventions of Virginia, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary.
Author	Virginia
Editor	{{{editor}}}
Translator	{{{trans}}}
Published	Richmond: Printed by Thomas Nicolson and William Prentis
Date	1785
Edition	{{{edition}}}
Language	English
Volumes	{{{set}}} volume set
Pages	235
Desc.	{{{desc}}}
Location	[[Shelf {{{shelf}}}]]
	[[Shelf {{{shelf2}}}]]

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy

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References

1. ↑ A Collection of all such Public Acts of the General Assembly and Ordinances of the Conventions of Virginia (Richmond: Thomas Nicholson and William Prentis, 1785),3-29.
2. ↑ Ibid 30-38
3. ↑ Ibid 33
4. ↑ “The Virginia Declaration of Rights)”, Archives.gov (United States National Archives & Records Administration, 2014 ), accessed March 18, 2014.
5. ↑ Ibid
6. ↑ Public Acts, 39
7. ↑ Ibid 40
8. ↑ Ibid 163