Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 1.djvu/526

During the existence of the Company, the ability to convey an interest in any portion of the soil of Virginia, that soil having been granted to the Company in free and common socage, resided under the charter of 1606 in the Council, and under the charter of 1609 in the Treasurer, Council, and general association of adventurers in England, and they could at their discretion prescribe not only the area to be included in each conveyance, but also the conditions to which the title should be subject in passing. The Company could delegate to the Governor and Council in the Colony the right to transfer land either in a single instance or in a series of instances, but at any time it could withdraw this right, if circumstances seemed to demand it. The delegation could only be made by the Company when it had come together in a Quarter Court, an occasion when the whole membership was either in attendance or fully represented, and when all matters affecting the welfare of the organization, which required the most thoughtful consideration, were presented for final judgment. The action of the Governor and Council in Virginia when they conveyed land in accord with the power thus formally and solemnly granted to them, was