Difference between revisions of "Collection of All Such Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia (1803)"

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''A Collection of All Such Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, of a Public and Permanent Nature, as are Now in Force: to Which are Prefixed the Declaration of Rights, and Constitution, or Form of Government''}}
<big>''A Collection of All Such Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, of a Public and Permanent Nature, as are Now in Force: to Which are Prefixed the Declaration of Rights, and Constitution, or Form of Government''</big>
 
 
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==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
 
==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
  
View this book in [https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/law/Record/515843 William & Mary's online catalog.]
+
View the record for this book in [https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/law/Record/515843 William & Mary's online catalog.]
  
 
==References==
 
==References==

Revision as of 12:39, 16 March 2015


Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia (1803)

[[File:|center|border|300px]] Title page from A Collection of All Such Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, of a Public and Permanent Nature, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary.

Author {{{author}}}
Editor {{{editor}}}
Translator {{{trans}}}
Published Richmond: Printed by S. Pleasants, Jun. and H. Pace
Date 1803
Edition {{{edition}}}
Language English
Volumes {{{set}}} volume set
Pages v, 454, 72
Desc. 4to. (26 cm.)
Location [[Shelf {{{shelf}}}]]
  [[Shelf {{{shelf2}}}]]


Collection of All Such Acts, 1803: A Collection of All Such Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia was published in 1803 and authorized by a 1792 act of the General Assembly.[1] The Collection builds upon the 1794 edition, a work that had become “extremely scarce” and, although it costed eight dollars when it was published, had become “almost impossible to obtain . . . at any price whatever.”[2] Aside from being rare, the 1794 edition had also become obsolete; many of the laws contained within it had been revised and repealed.[3] This meant that the practicing lawyer needed to have the yearly-published folios containing the amendments to the 1794 edition in order to know the law.[4] It was partially in the interest of preventing practitioners from having to carry a “portmanteau large enough to contain such masses of print and paper.”[5] In order to prevent the scarcity that occurred for the 1794 edition, the legislature passed an act that ensured the printing of enough copies.[6]

The 1803 edition contains seven additional years of cases and covers the period from 1782-1802. The laws passed in these years, however, number 126 and comprise about 2/5 of the volume.[7] Important for George Wythe, the Collection contains laws setting the salary of the Judge of the High Court of Chancery at $1,556.67.[8] In 1802, this amount was reduced to $1,500 when the legislature dissolved the High Court of Chancery and created the Superior Courts of Chancery.[9] In addition, the Collection includes acts for regulating the militia, inspecting food, inspecting tobacco, and establishing public schools.[10]

The Collection also deals with slavery and freed slaves. One act required a yearly tax to be paid on slaves of 44 cents for every hundred dollars in value.[11] Another act outlined proceedings for persons believed to be illegally detained in slavery.[12]

Overall, the laws contained in the Collection reveal the increasing importance of the legislative body. The significant problems posed by the scarcity of the older volume demonstrate the pressing need for accurate and up to date editions in the early Commonwealth.


Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy

View the record for this book in William & Mary's online catalog.

References

  1. A Collection of All Such Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, of a Public and Permanent Nature, as are Now in Force: to Which are Prefixed the Declaration of Rights, and Constitution, or Form of Government (Richmond: Samuel Pleasants, Jr. & Henry Pace, 1803) i.
  2. Ibid.
  3. Ibid.
  4. Ibid.
  5. Ibid. ii-iii
  6. Ibid. 430.
  7. Ibid. ii
  8. Ibid. 353.
  9. Ibid. 428-429.
  10. Ibid. 331, 352, 365, 354.
  11. Ibid. 395.
  12. Ibid 346.