Our First General Assembly.
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granted that there should be held in the Pawlett, Mr. Edward Gourgaing; for FlowerColony an annual General Assembly, " con dieu hundred, Ensigne Edmund Rossingham, sisting of the Governor, the Counsell of ' Mr. John Jefferson; for Captain Lawne's Estate and two Burgesses out of eache Incor Plantation, Captain Christopher Lawne, poration and Plantation, to be freely elected Ensigne Washer; for Captaine Warde's Plantation, Captaine Warde, Lieutenant by the inhabitants thereof." Gibbes." Some time after Governor Yardley's ar rival in Virginia, he sent out " his sumons "But forasmuche as men's affaires doe little all over the Country, as well to invite those prosper where God's service is neglected, all the of the Counsell of Estate that were absente Burgesses tooke their places in the Quire till a [from Jamestown], as also for the election prayer was said by Mr. [Richard] Bucke, the of Burgesses; " and these having been Minister, that it would please God to guide and chosen, the first representative legislative to sanctifie all our proceedings to his owne glory assembly ever held within the limits of the and to the good of this Plantation. United States convened at Jamestown, on "Prayer being ended, to the intente that as we had begun at God Almighty, so we might proceed Friday, Aug. 9, 1619. "The most convenient place we could finde to sitt in was the Quire of the Churche. Where Sir George Veardley, the Governonr, being sett dcnvne in his accustomed place, those of the Counsel of Estate sate nexte him on both handes, excepte onely the Secretary then appointed Speaker, who sate right before him; John Twine [Thine?]. clerke of the General Assembly, being placed nexte the Speaker; and Thomas Pierse, the Sergeant, stand ing at the barre, to be ready for any service the Assembly shoulde comaund him.
"The Council of State" were, probably, Capt. Samuel Macock (or Maycott), Capt. Nathaniel Powell, John Rolfe, Capt. Francis West, Rev. William Wickham, and possibly others. John Pory, " the Secretary of Es tate," was appointed the first Speaker of the General Assembly. The Burgesses, who appeared, were: "for James citty, Captaine William Powell, Ensigne William Spense; for Charles citty, Samuel Sharpe, Samuel Jordan; for the citty of Henricus, Thomas Dowse, John Polentine; for Kiccowtan (afterwards Elizabeth citty), Captaine William Tucker, William Capps; (for Martin Brandon — Capt. John Mar tin's Plantation, Mr. Thomas Davis, Mr. Robert Stacy); for Smythe's hundred, Cap tain Thomas Graves, Mr. Walter Shelley; for Martin's hundred, Mr. John Boys, John Jackson; for Argall's guifte, Mr. Thomas 28
with awful and due respecte towards the Lieu tenant, our most gratious and dread Soveraigne, all the Burgesses were intreatted to retyre them selves into the body of the Churche, which being done, before they were fully admitted, they were called in order and by name, and so every man (none staggering at it) tooke the oathe of Supre macy, and then enlred the Assembly."
The first business before the House was to consider the cases of several Burgesses to whom exception had been taken, and to de cide who were entitled to sit as members of the House. The Speaker " tooke exception" at the Burgesses from " Captaine Warde's Plantation," "as at one that without any comission or authority had seated himselfe," etc.; but, Captain Warde havingagreed to cer- ' tain orders of the Assembly, himself and his Lieutenant were admitted " by the voices of the whole Assembly." (Captain Ward had but recently returned from a fishing-voyage to Monhegan Island, New England.) Then " the Governor himselfe alledged that before we proceed any further it behooved us to examine whither it were fitt. that Cap taine Martin's Burgesses shoulde have any place in the Assembly, forasmuche as he hath a clause in his Patente which doth not onely exempte him from that equality and uniformity of lawes and orders which the Create Charter saith are to extend over the whole Colony, but also from diverse such
