Two Penny Act
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George Cooke's 1834 depiction of Patrick
Henry arguing the "Parson's Cause" case at the Hanover County
courthouse.
The Two Penny Act, enacted in 1758 by the Virginia Assembly, was a law that
affected the compensation of Anglican ministers in the Virginia colony. From
the controversy surrounding it arose the Parson's Cause trial, which is
regarded as an important event in the history of American Independence.
The act was issued after three years of drought which
produced a low-yielding tobacco crop. The one-year measure allowed Anglican ministers'
salaries to be paid at a fixed rate of two cents per pound of tobacco, as
tobacco was often used as currency. The market rate at the time was set at four
to six pence per pound of tobacco. Once the loss of value was factored in, a
clergyman was receiving about one-third of his normal, stipulated salary. The
colony's councilors had approved and with the House of Burgesses, convinced Francis Fauquier, the royal
governor, to allow the act to go into effect.
In doing so, Fauquier deviated from his royally mandated
instructions. He defended his royal malfeasance by arguing that, in reality, he
had no choice. "As the Bill," he wrote, "was a temporary Law to
ease the people from a Burthen [sic] which the Country thought too great for
them to bear...The country were intent upon it, and both the Council and the
House of Burgesses were almost unanimous in their pressing it. And I conceived
it would be a very wrong Step for me to take who was an entire Stranger to the
Distresses of the Country, to set my Face against the whole colony by refusing
the Bill which I had a Precedent for Passing. Whatever may be the Case now, I
am persuaded that if I had refused it, I must have despaired ever gaining any
Influence either in the Council or House of Burgesses."[1]
In May 1759 petitions were presented to the British Board
of Trade on behalf of the Virginia Clergy asking for its repeal. Lord Halifax
recommended the act be disallowed and demanded that Governor Fauquier "for
the future strictly observe and obey" his Royal instructions. It was
disallowed by the end of August 1759 by the Board.
Contents
Anglican objection[edit]
The Anglican clergy generally objected to the act, arguing
that they should benefit from the high tobacco prices on account of their
agreement to accept whatever their tobacco would sell for when the price was
low. But the Privy Council back in England
would allow the act to continue, had it not been for the persistent objections
of the Reverend John Camm of York County. When a slew of
pamphlets and lawsuits availed he and his counterparts nothing, Camm sailed for
England to present his arguments.
In England, Camm contracted the help of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London. He argued that
the Two Penny Act was a conclusion of the fading of royal and Anglican
authority in Virginia and the American colonies. However, the
focus on his own list of grievances ignored the act's purpose as a financial
relief measure. The King and his council, on the recommendation of the Board of Trade, dismissed the
measure and its predecessors.
Since the Two Penny Act had expired, repealing the law
would have been open for discussion had several clergymen not sued for back
pay. Two cases were rejected because the act was valid until it was disallowed
by the Privy Council. One court awarded a minister double his salary in
damages, but it was the case filed by Reverend James Maury of Louisa County that turned out
to be the most well known. This was the case most commonly referred to as the Parson's Cause.
Possible conspiracy[edit]
Some historians have questioned the actual need for the
Two Penny Act. There were some in Virginia who were happy to see the ministers
take a financial blow, though there is very little evidence that the House of
Burgesses deliberately set out to punish the clergy.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- Isaac,
Rhys. The Transformation of Virginia, 1740–1790. Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina Press, 1982.
- McCants,
David A., The Authenticity of James Maury's Account of Patrick Henry's
Speech in the Parsons' Cause. Southern Speech Communication Journal,
42 (1976).
- Nettels,
Curtis P., The Roots of American Civilization, A History of American
Colonial Life. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts, 1938.
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