Shenandoah Valley; a prolonged debate on the need for a gallery above the present public space near the lobby, and how and when money could be raised for its intrusive construction.
Hugh waited patiently during those weeks for the House to take up again the matter of the proposed stamp taxes which Dogmael Jones wrote him were being prepared for passage in the Commons. On the 7th of November, Peyton Randolph, the colony’s attorney general, read to the House the most recent correspondence from Edward Montague, an English lawyer and the House’s agent in London, who discussed in detail the progress being made by the Grenville ministry in its pursuit of precedent and passage of a Stamp Act.
A special committee of the attorney general and seven of the House’s most respected members had been appointed by Speaker John Robinson to compose an address to the king, a memorial to the House of Lords, and a remonstrance to the Commons protesting the tax now under discussion in London. The language and points in the documents had been discussed and debated by a Committee of the Whole House. Hugh had objected to theobsequious language of all the documents, believing that it was too humble and meek, and rose a number of times during the debate to raise that issue, but the Speaker had not deigned to recognize him. The documents were now in the hands of the Council of State for correction and amendment, and would come back to the House for a formal vote in a few days.
In the meantime, Hugh waited patiently for that day to arrive, and assuaged his boredom by observing the character and conduct of his fellow burgesses. There was John Robinson, burgess for King & Queen County, a huge, stout man who had entered the House in 1727, and had been both Speaker and Treasurer of it for twenty-six years. He sat in a raised, high-backed chair at the front of the Hall, much as did the Speaker of the Commons, and performed the same functions and held the same powers. There was George Washington, burgess for Fairfax, the tallest man in the House, who sat directly across from Hugh in the other battery of benches. He was a hero of the late war, a favorite friend of the Governor’s, and occasionally appeared wearing his blue colonial officer’s coat. Burgesses who sat next to him did not crowd him. There was Richard Bland, burgess for Prince George, prematurely aged in his forty-fifth year from constant study of ancient and modern law; he rose often in debate to enlighten or correct the House on seemingly abeyant points of jurisprudence. There was Edmund Pendleton, burgess for Caroline, a prim, fussy man who raised, in Hugh’s estimate, too many objections during debates. There was Peyton Randolph, Attorney-General and burgess for Williamsburg, probably the most powerful man in the House after Robinson, chairman of the Committee of Privileges and Elections, and of the Committee of Propositions and Grievances. He was a handsome but stout man whose fastidious bearing and imperious manner approached the mien of a member of the House of Lords. As chairman of Propositions and Grievances, he and his fellow committee members controlled which bills would be introduced into the House for consideration, and which would be dismissed.
Except for his natural presence when the House was called into a Committee of the Whole, Hugh was not selected to sit on any of the standing or special committees, as some other new members were. He suspected that he was resented, or distrusted, or too much of a stranger to the ruling dynasties.
His election in September was hardly memorable. He was spared the effort of campaigning for the seat by Reece Vishonn, who even paid to entertain the voters with several pipes of ale and a round of suppers at the Gramatan Inn. Electors rode to Meum Hall all that month to meet him anddiscuss what was on their minds. Virginia law forbade him from actively soliciting a freeholder’s vote, so he had to content himself with receiving an almost
Hugh waited patiently during those weeks for the House to take up again the matter of the proposed stamp taxes which Dogmael Jones wrote him were being prepared for passage in the Commons. On the 7th of November, Peyton Randolph, the colony’s attorney general, read to the House the most recent correspondence from Edward Montague, an English lawyer and the House’s agent in London, who discussed in detail the progress being made by the Grenville ministry in its pursuit of precedent and passage of a Stamp Act.
A special committee of the attorney general and seven of the House’s most respected members had been appointed by Speaker John Robinson to compose an address to the king, a memorial to the House of Lords, and a remonstrance to the Commons protesting the tax now under discussion in London. The language and points in the documents had been discussed and debated by a Committee of the Whole House. Hugh had objected to theobsequious language of all the documents, believing that it was too humble and meek, and rose a number of times during the debate to raise that issue, but the Speaker had not deigned to recognize him. The documents were now in the hands of the Council of State for correction and amendment, and would come back to the House for a formal vote in a few days.
In the meantime, Hugh waited patiently for that day to arrive, and assuaged his boredom by observing the character and conduct of his fellow burgesses. There was John Robinson, burgess for King & Queen County, a huge, stout man who had entered the House in 1727, and had been both Speaker and Treasurer of it for twenty-six years. He sat in a raised, high-backed chair at the front of the Hall, much as did the Speaker of the Commons, and performed the same functions and held the same powers. There was George Washington, burgess for Fairfax, the tallest man in the House, who sat directly across from Hugh in the other battery of benches. He was a hero of the late war, a favorite friend of the Governor’s, and occasionally appeared wearing his blue colonial officer’s coat. Burgesses who sat next to him did not crowd him. There was Richard Bland, burgess for Prince George, prematurely aged in his forty-fifth year from constant study of ancient and modern law; he rose often in debate to enlighten or correct the House on seemingly abeyant points of jurisprudence. There was Edmund Pendleton, burgess for Caroline, a prim, fussy man who raised, in Hugh’s estimate, too many objections during debates. There was Peyton Randolph, Attorney-General and burgess for Williamsburg, probably the most powerful man in the House after Robinson, chairman of the Committee of Privileges and Elections, and of the Committee of Propositions and Grievances. He was a handsome but stout man whose fastidious bearing and imperious manner approached the mien of a member of the House of Lords. As chairman of Propositions and Grievances, he and his fellow committee members controlled which bills would be introduced into the House for consideration, and which would be dismissed.
Except for his natural presence when the House was called into a Committee of the Whole, Hugh was not selected to sit on any of the standing or special committees, as some other new members were. He suspected that he was resented, or distrusted, or too much of a stranger to the ruling dynasties.
His election in September was hardly memorable. He was spared the effort of campaigning for the seat by Reece Vishonn, who even paid to entertain the voters with several pipes of ale and a round of suppers at the Gramatan Inn. Electors rode to Meum Hall all that month to meet him anddiscuss what was on their minds. Virginia law forbade him from actively soliciting a freeholder’s vote, so he had to content himself with receiving an almost
Similar Books
