The Virginia gazette (Williamsburg, Va.), 1773-06-03 00:00:00

VIRGINIA
GAZETTE.
Open to ALL PARTIES,
but influenced by NONE.
THE following letter was written during the last session of the General Assembly, and would then have been published, had not a fondness for peace in the writer prevailed over the desire of doing himself justice. The absurdity of the interpretation of the paragraph which is there defended was so glaring, that he was in no doubt, when passion had subsided, and prejudice given way to sound reasoning, his respectable adversary himself would easily discover his own precipitancy; and then, he is certain, he would not have been backward in acknowledging his mistake. But a few days ago he saw, by a letter to the Reverend Mr. Henley, that the same ideas of the passage in question were still predominant. He then considered that a defence of his own character was become absolutely necessary, and therefore finds himself obliged to lay the letter above mentioned before the public.
To ROBERT CARTER NICHOLAS, Esquire.
SIR,
IN a late debate concerning an American Episcopate, you thought proper to hold me up to the public as a despiser of christianity: For, speaking of a paper signed Hoadleianus, after a great deal of invective, you made use of this expression, "Doth he not set the christian religion at nought?" The reason you assigned for such extraordinary language was, that, in mentioning the qualifications requisite to entitle men to a toleration, I recommended an acknowledgment of the obligations of morality, and the being and providence of God, as a test which afforded ample security to the state; but subjoined, if this be not considered sufficient, add the truth of the christian religion. This declaration you said shocked you, and you was the more concerned at it, because it came, as you were informed, from the pen of a Clergyman. That circumstance you considered, I presume, an aggravation of my crime: But surely it behoved you to recollect that the more criminal infidelity is in a Clergyman the more culpable must be that man who brings such an accusation, unsupported by proper evidence. To prove that you stand exposed to this charge will not be difficult.
Had I written a theological treatise, and asserted that christianity was a matter of little or no importance, your censure would not have rested upon its present sandy foundation; but the subject of my letter was confined to civil toleration; my enquiry was not directed to matters which concern the eternal happiness of mankind. The most effectual method of encouraging population, promoting arts, sciences, commerce, and manufactures, was the object I had in view. In order to attain this salutary end, nothing but the peaceable behaviour of its subjects is the concern of government; for this the test I mentioned is full and sufficient. Where will you find a more inoffensive, industrious people than the Pagans who inhabit the banks of the Ganges? A considerable number of these Pagans are now subject to the government of the British India company. Doth christianity recommend their extirpation? Is it incumbent upon the Ministers of the gospel to teach such a horrid doctrine? I wish, Sir, you would point out the passages of holy writ, wherein we are forbidden to tolerate Infidels or Pagans of any denomination. The Clergy have been frequently and justly condemned for encouraging persecution; but I may venture to affirm that, in this Protestant country, I am the first Clergyman who ever was censured, and you the first Layman, who dared to censure a Clergyman, for inculcating UNIVERSAL TOLERATION.
The Jewish law, indeed, sentences every Israelite who apostatizes to be stoned to death; but what is the reason of this command? The Jews lived under a theocracy; God was their legislator, and the idolater was punished as a traitor. But do these circumstances take place in any government besides? However, these same Jews, in many cases, tolerated. They are expressly enjoined not to vex or oppress the stranger. Accordingly they received, as proselytes of the gate, all who professed the seven precepts of Noah, or, in other words, held the pure principles of deism. Further, although no Jew was permitted to become an idolater, yet we find the family of Rahab, and the nation of the Gibconites, were allowed a free toleration; and in the countries conquered by the Kings of Judea we do not read of a single instance of a person's being compelled to renounce the religion of his forefathers. Is christianity an institution which breathes a smaller portion of the spirit of benevolence than judaism? Or shall a minister of Jesus be treated with severity for discovering a degree of philanthropy which would have been commended in the disciple of Moses?
Constantine, the first christian Emperor, published an edict, in which a toleration is granted to infidels as well as christians. Et tum christianis, tum aliis omnibus liberam optionem omnino daretur eam religionem sequendi, quam sibi in animos inducerent. And
again, Cuique datur copia, suam mentem ei religionem addicendi, quam ipse sibi maxime convenire consuerit. How conformable this wise regulation was to the sentiments of several christian Divines, in the earlier ages of the church, will appear from the following citations. Tertullian says, Nova lex se non vindicat ultore gladio. The fathers of the Council of Toledo declare in favour of a universal toleration of infidels in these words: Statuit sancta synodus nemini ad credendum vim inferre. And Gratian, commenting upon them, says, concerning the Jews, Admonendi sunt, non cogendi, argumento opus est non baculo. Lactantius, speaking of the Pagans, argues thus: Non expetimus ut deum nostrum colat aliquis invitus, nec si non coluerit irascimur. St. Athanasius assures us, Pia religionis est non cogere sed suadere. And St. Chrysostom, in his commentary upon the gospel of St. John, expresses himself pretty nearly in the same manner.
St. Hilary, likewise, in his epistle, to the Emperor Constantine, gives attestation to our doctrine. His language would do honour to the warmest advocate for toleration, even in these modern ages of free enquiry. Intelligit singularis sapientia vestra, non decere, non oportere cogi, et compelli invitos ac repugnantes: Idecirco laboratis, ut omnes (meaning Jews, infidels, and heretics) quibus imperatis dulcissima libertate potiantur. Nec alia ratione quae turbata sunt componi, quae divulsa sunt coerceri possunt, nisi unusquisque nulla servitutis necessitate adstrictus, integrum habeat vivendi arbitrium. Permitat lenitas tua populis, at quos voluerint, quos elegerint audiant docentes, et divina mysteriorum solennia concelebrent. Then he concludes with this noble declaration, Deus universitatis est, obsequio non eget necessario, non requirit coactam confessionem; non fallendus est, non promerendus; nolit nisi volentem recepere, nisi orantem audire. To these I could add the authority of Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Minucius Felix, St. Augustine, and many others. These venerable ecclesiastics, who vanquished paganism, triumphed over arianism, donatism, pelagianism, and so many pernicious heresies, the very enumeration of which I should attempt in vain,
Miki si lingua centum sunt, oraque centum, Ferrea vox,
All unanimously agree that the belief of christianity is not necessary for the purpose of a civil toleration. Now, Sir, consider whether I, a simple Priest of Virginia, led by such respectable authority, even though I were in an error, merited so severe an animadversion as you was pleased to bestow upon me. This, at least, I can plead in my defence, Cum patribus erravi.
Let us now descend nearer to our own times. Luther, in his epistle to Jeshelinus, declares in favour of a toleration of the Jews; and adds, Se propter unum Judaeum crucifixum omnibus favere Judaeis. * Melanchton, the glory of the reformed churches, assigns this as a reason for their toleration, Quia Judaei antiquitus, etiam stante eorum politia ante christum natum, si civitatem aliquam, aut populum bello devicissent, legem mosaicam ipsi non imponebant. Osiander and Capito militate in the same cause. Grotius, that great luminary of the protestant world, likewise pronounces judgment in our favour. Besides many other arguments against persecution, he joins with the historian Ammianus Marcellinus, in commending the Emperor Valentinian's treatment of unbelievers, nec quemquam inquietavit, neque, ut hoc coheretur imperavit, aut illud; nec interdictis minacibus subjectionem cervicem ad id quod ipse voluit inclinabat. And Grotius, you know, lived and died in the faith. Episcopus in his treatise de causes incredulitatis Judaeorum , makes use of this expression: Tolerantia tanto salutarior paucae mihi esse videtur; quod etiam possit esse medium, quo judaeis aperiat ostium, per quod ad christum ingrediatur.
Bishop BARLOW says that neither the church nor state can justly punish such persons (i. e. heretics and infidels) with loss of livelihood, liberty, or life. He also tells us that force and compulsion may be means for a Pagan, but not for a christian. The same venerable prelate, in his case of the Jews, enquires whether we are not bound in conscience and equity to make them some satisfaction, by real kindness and civility, for the injuries done to their progenitors. Again, why may not Jews live in a christian state, though they be not baptised, and submit not to the gospel? And one paragraph runs thus: "The imperial and canon laws approve the living of Jews among christians, and why it should be thought unlawful amongst us I know not." Of infidels in general, he says, "We commonly say the mysteries of the gospel are such as cannot be understood without the assistance of the blessed spirit of God; so that those who want this assistance cannot possibly believe, and then it may be very questionable whether infidelity in such be a sin. Lastly, if christians turn infidels,
they do not forfeit their livelihood, much less their life or liberty."
The Reverend and learned Doctor *Geddes uses great freedom in censuring the Spaniards for their intolerant behaviour, both towards the Jews and Mahometans; nevertheless, he has always been considered as a shining ornament of the church of England. The following remark of an ingenious Mahometan had no small influence upon another christian writer in favour of toleration; and I am inclined to think it cannot fail making a lasting impression upon every sensible mind. "What instance have you upon record of any christian, Gentile, or Jew, being molested upon account of religion, throughout the extensive dominions of the Mussulman's, even from our great prophet's appearance upon earth to this very hour; yet the vast states of our invincible potentates swarm with numberless nations of the followers of Moses and Jesus. Did our victorious ancestors ever once attempt to extirpate christianity out of Spain, when it was in their power?"
I will now lay before you a few extracts from the incomparable Locke, an author whose sentiments are likely to have greater influence upon you than any other, because I have heard you publicly declare your approbation of him both as a writer and a christian. "a If any people, congregated upon account of religion, should be desirous to sacrifice a calf, I deny that that ought to be prohibited by a law. b It does not belong to the Civil Magistrate to make use of his sword in punishing every thing differently that he takes to be a sin against God. c The Magistrate ought not to forbid the preaching or professing of any speculative opinions in any church. d If a Jew do not believe the New Testament to be the word of God, he does not thereby alter any thing in mens civil rights. If a Heathen doubt of both the Testaments, he is not therefore to be punished as a pernicious citizen. e Neither Pagan, nor Mahometan, nor Jew, ought to be excluded from the civil rights of the commonwealth because of their religion. If we allow Jews to have private houses and dwellings amongst us, why should we not allow them to have synagogues?"
You see, then, how many and what great names I can produce in behalf of my opinion "that the belief of christianity is not necessary for the purpose of a civil toleration." Are these men to be numbered among the despisers of the christian religion? If they be, where must we look for a defence of it? In the writings of the intolerant Mr. Hobbs!
Now, Sir, let me entreat you to give these quotations a serious perusal. By them it appears that many of the greatest men of different ages, whose orthodoxy has never been called in question, have not scrupled publishing and defending the very doctrines for the maintenance of which I am branded with the name of infidel. Suppose I had been in an error, surely the circumstances that conspired to lead me into it pleaded for milder treatment. How was it possible for me to conceive that you had studied and confuted so many writers of distinction? High as my admiration of the abilities of the Treasurer of Virginia stands, I confess I did not imagine that saints, fathers, and philosophers, had fallen beneath the stroke of his all conquering arm!
But view the matter in another light. I am, you are informed, a Clergyman; I may, then, be desirous of obtaining a parish. I publish an opinion, defended by the greatest names; and yet in an assembly of Gentlemen, congregated from every part of the colony, you represent me as a person unfit for a charge of that nature. Certainly it behoves you to defend your argument, or to atone for the mischief you have done by publicly retracting it.
You, Sir, are possessed of the confidence of your countrymen; an office which puts you beyond the reach of fortune. Providence has placed me in a much lower, though, I hope, not a less useful, station; a stranger, dependent upon nothing but the good opinion of the inhabitants of this country, I offer myself a candidate for public favour. Surely neither your fortune, nor your elevated station, can give you a right to violate the eternal laws of truth and justice.
In this letter I have endeavoured to treat you with all the respect in my power. It is not the turn of a period, or the harmony of a sentence, upon which I depend; my appeal is to justice and equity. Let the candid and benevolent judge what I must feel when my livelihood and reputation were attacked at the same time. If the attack had been made by a set of persecuting Priests their censures should have been passed over in silent contempt; but as it came from a person respectable in private life, and, at the same time, belonging to a profession hitherto famous for a
* See his tracts passim .
† Morgan's Mahometanism explained.
First letter on toleration. Page a 45, b 52, c 55, d 56, e 76.
* The case of toleration.

a determined opposition to the encroachments of tyrannical hierarchy; a profession that has consecrated to liberty a Selden, a Somers, a Talbot, and a Hardwicke, I thought it merited some animadversion. You may learn from hence how much I esteem you.
In the mean time, let not the friends of liberty be discouraged by the treatment I have met with. Truth, though obscured for a season, can never be extinguished. But still there is a necessity for patience and resolution; and the young adventurer in her cause ought always to have before him the words of Tacitus: In ea tempora natus es, quibus firmare animum ex-pedit constantibus exemplis. I am, Sir, your most humble servant, HOADLEIANUS.
The TRAVELLER.
NUMBER III.
MOUNT DIKEA.
7. MERIWETHER SMITH, Esquire.
Vincit veritas.
IF I am tiresome to you, you must blame yourself as the origin of the evil. Had you been mindful of the good old maxim that it is more noble to retract than persevere in an error, you would have saved me trouble, and yourself (unless you be callous to the stings of remorse) much anxiety. But since, Sir, you are determined to bear the whole load of the injustice of Essex court on your own shoulders, lest one spark of such remarkable patriotic benevolence should be lost in obscurity, I will act the friendly part, and endeavour to lay it on with all the exactness in my power. Such virtue really deserves to be signalized. If you support the burden with fortitude you shall be the saint , or if you sink under it (as I am really doubtful you will, notwithstanding all your wonted audacity) you shall at least be immortalized as the glorious martyr of Essex county.
Your sage precepts of the importance of observing all due decorum, order, and dignity, in court, have sufficiently taught me one very useful, though lamentable truth, that we must not always trust a man from his words. Aliud est dicere, aliud facere. How unaccountable it is that, notwithstanding all the indecency and riot that characterized Essex court on a late decision, Mr. Smith did not even use one or two authoritative exertions to rectify the abuses . He here affords ample room to turn his own battery against himself, and I heartily wish he may not be in the very predicament he has properly enough ascribed as the basis of such disorders, that he has not taken care enough to support dignity out of court to support it in court, and that he has, by a prostitution of himself, given rise to a licentious behaviour of the people, which, when it was really requisite, he found himself unable to rectify; and unwilling to punish; at least from his conduct then, on his own principles, he gives no small reason for the presumption. If he be guilty, I shall leave him to be tormented by that inward shame which every Gentleman in office should feel who treats with levity the laws of his country, or permits others to trample upon them.
But I will not be worse than my promise. Since you seem so ardently to wish it, I shall take the liberty to present you with the following anecdote, by way of justification of an assertion in my first letter, that the proceedings in Essex court are too commonly irregular and unjust. I could wish, for your own sake, you would be more considerate, and not furnish me with materials against yourself.
Some few years since, a slave, the property of William Roane, Esquire, of Essex, stole an horse from Col. F. Waring, of the same county, and not long after was apprehended on his back, at a considerable distance from the place whence he had first taken him. The Negro and gelding were both conveyed into the county where the fact was committed. A court of Oyer and Terminer was held for his trial; the deputy King's attorney being unluckily absent, one Mr. Power, a lawyer at that bar, acted in his stead. The fact was proved, the slave found guilty, and sentenced to be hanged at a future day. The day arrives, and while the sheriff is about to put the sentence of the court into execution, is interrupted by Mr. Power, who, without pardon or reprieve from the Governor, or any assignable reason, demands of the officer to dismiss the slave, promising that he would indemnify him. The sheriff cautiously refuses to comply with Power's solicitation, unless some of the Right Worshipful Justices would enter themselves as his securities. This measure was readily embraced by two or three of them. The unhappy felon was released, at liberty to reiterate the crime, should his inclinations again induce him to the perpetration of it; and no farther notice has been taken of it by Judge, or any person else, except being made the topic of common conversation. It was afterwards suggested to the sheriff that by this release he had rendered himself liable to an indictment, who retorted, with indifference, that he was apprehensive of no harm's accruing from it in Essex county , since he had for his security some of the leading men of the court. Ye sons of Justice! Ye friends to the laws and constitution of your country! I invoke your attention, and demand of you whether this requires a comment! Let me tell you, while your laws are thus openly set at defiance, patience degenerates into a vice.
This fact I have received, from credible witnesses, as a most sacred truth. What law, what justice, there was in this proceeding, I candidly own is far beyond my penetration. Did Mr. Power mistake the law? Surely no! It would be highly injurious to suppose a person whose profession it is to give a just
interpretation of the laws should be entirely ignorant of their contents. The laws of this colony, which ought ever to be held sacred by its inhabitants, are particularly rigorous in offences of this nature; and in the preamble to the act respecting the crime and offence of stealing horses, setting forth the numerous and great losses and detriments many of his Majesty's good subjects sustain from this heinous vice, for want of due prosecution and punishment of offenders therein, very wisely enacts, "that all and every person or persons who shall apprehend and take any person guilty of the stealing of any horse, and shall prosecute him, her, or them, so apprehended and taken, until he, she, or they, be convicted thereof, such apprehenders, for his, her, or their reward, shall have and receive the sum of ten pounds, within two months after such conviction." And a little farther on observes, "that for as much as felons are much encouraged to steal horses, because a great number of persons make a trade to receive and buy of such felons the horses by them feloniously taken, and also do make it their business to conceal such offenders after the fact, knowing such felonies to be by them committed, be it therefore enacted, that if any person or persons shall receive or buy any horse that shall be feloniously taken or stolen from any other person, knowing the same to be stolen, or shall harbour or conceal any horsestealer, knowing him, her, or them, to be so, such person or persons shall be taken and received as accessory or accessories to the said felony, and being of either of the said offences legally convicted, by the testimony of one or more credible witness or witnesses, shall incur and suffer the pain of death, as a felon convicted." This law, whether we consider its end, origin, letter, or spirit, appears to me sufficiently plain and precise; without any ambiguity or saving clause to justify Mr. Power's conduct. But I do not pretend to be deeply read in the law. I sometimes, at a leisure moment, amuse myself in perusing the laws of a country, under whose happy establishment I live in such a free and perfect enjoyment of civil liberty. Perhaps an hour spent in this manner, now and then, when a vacation from more important employments will admit of it, would not be altogether useless to some of the Right Worshipful Bench of Essex . If it would not be deemed rather presumptuous, I would take the liberty to recommend it to you, Mr. Smith, to bestow a little of your truly Ciceronian oratory in elucidating and explaining the utility of such a plan. I am conscious it would be esteemed, by ingenious and disinterested persons, as a more prudent (though perhaps not so patriotic a) conduct than to expose yourself to universal derision, in defending the errors of an ignorant court.
I must beg my apology for this long digression from our main point. I hope, however, to meet with your pardon, since it was, in great measure, an exaction of your own. Do not be impatient, Mr. Smith; ere long you will hear again from THE TRAVELLER.
NEWPORT (Rhode Island) May 10.
Last Friday the Lower House of Assembly of this colony unanimously came into the measures proposed by the patriotic House of Burgesses of Virginia, and appointed the Speaker, the Honourable Steven Hopkins, Esquire, Mr. Moses Brown, John Cole, William Bradford, Henry Marchant, and Henry Ward, Esquires, a committee to obtain the most early and authentic intelligence of all such acts and resolutions of the British Parliament, and measures of the Ministry, as may relate to or affect the British colonies in America, and to maintain a correspondence and communication with the other colonies respecting those important considerations. They are also directed to request of his Honour the Governor a copy of the commission to the Judges of the court of Enquiry said to be held in this colony, and of all such other papers as were laid before the said court as he can consistently give, and to lay an account of their proceedings from time to time before the House.
The Speaker is requested to transmit an account of these proceedings to the Speaker of the House of Burgesses in Virginia, and to the Speakers of all the other Houses of Representatives in North America.
WILLIAMSBURG, June 3.
Last Tuesday Mrs. Cobb, of this city, aged sixty six, who for several years had been totally blind with a cataract in each eye, was couched by Doctor GRAHAM, oculist and aurist, and in less than five minutes was restored to the blessing of sight in both eyes. The first person who applied to the Doctor for deafness, on his arrival from Philadelphia, May 1, was Mr. Thomas Pleasants, that Gentleman was cured, and still retains his hearing. The first patient with a gutta serena (a disorder hitherto deemed incurable) was Miss Peggy Hay, likewise of this city; she too was happily restored, and still enjoys her sight perfect in both eyes; and Mrs. Cobb, as above mentioned, the first patient on whom the Doctor has operated in a cataract. To these we may add a young Gentleman, born deaf and dumb, the first likewise who applied for help under that great misfortune, and who, having received benefit in hearing, and in speaking, will, it is hoped, be equally fortunate. Thus the inhabitants of this colony have been presented with indubitable specimens of Doctor GRAHAM's art, and of the success which attends his practice in the three important branches he professes. Many other instances of success might be adduced; but the limited intelligence of a newspaper forbids it, and the Doctor's established reputation renders it unnecessary. We are, at the same time, informed that there are numbers of pitiable objects blind, deaf, and dumb, who croud daily for relief, whose misfortunes (deplorable indeed!) the Doctor pretends not to cure, nor even to palliate; but the above facts
are laid before the public in justice to Doctor GRAHAM, and to excite those who wish for assistance in distempers of their eyes and ears to apply immediately, as we hear he intends positively to set out on his return to Philadelphia on the fifteenth instant.
On Friday last died, at his house in Charles City, JOHN WAYLES, Esquire, attorney at law.
On Sunday last was married PHILIP LUDWELL, GRYMES, Esquire, of the county of Middlesex, to Miss JUDITH WORMELEY, daughter of Ralph Wormeley, Esquire.
The Jane, Captain Ashburn, from Liverpool, and the Arnold, Captain Waterman, from London, are arrived, the former in James river, and the latter in York.
FRIDAY, June 4.
This day was executed, at the gallows near this city, Eliphalet Musgrove, for murder.
WILLIAMSBURG, June 3, 1773.
JUST imported, from Liverpool, a very large quantity of loaf and lump sugar. The public may depend on being regularly supplied with any quantity of that article on as low terms as sugar from England can be sold for. Also an assortment of other goods, viz. Irish linens, thread stockings, threads of all sorts, cutlery, crockery ware, English soap, nails, Liverpool beer by the tierce or dozen, Cheshire cheese, &c. &c. on our usual moderate terms. We shall have a constant supply of Madeira wine in quarter casks, or bottled, of the New York quality. ALLAN & TURNER.
N. B. Those who have fine cotton or thread, and are inclinable to have it made into stockings, frame knit, may, at 5s. the mens, and 4s. the womens. Those that have been made are judged to be equal to needle knit, nay, superior.
JUST IMPORTED from LONDON, in the VIRGINIA, Capt. ESTEN, and to be SOLD, at my shop in Williamsburg.
A FRESH ASSORTMENT OF
DRUGS and MEDICINES,
CHYMICAL and GALENICAL; also fine sallad oil, pickles, spices, currans, prunes, figs, gold and silver leaf, ivory syringes, toothbrushes, and lancets; a great variety of patent medicines, as Doctor Norris's antimonial drops, Keyser's pills, James's fever powders, &c. &c. &c. WILLIAM PASTEUR.
*** I am in want of an apprentice for six or seven years, who must have a tolerable education, and be well disposed. A premium will be expected. W. P.
To be SOLD, on Saturday the 19th of June, on the premises,
A TRACT of 233 acres of LAND, whereon Mr. Thomas Booth lived, near Mr. Benjamin Hubbard's, in Caroline, which has been several times advertised, and sufficiently described. Possession will be delivered on the 1st day of December next, when the money is to be paid. Purchasers may be shewn the land by applying to James Weymouth, the present tenant. EDMUND PENDLETON.
To be SOLD, on Monday the 28th instant (June) for ready money, at Urbanna, being Middlesex court day,
THREE LIKELY YOUNG
NEGROES,
belonging to the estate of George Davis, deceased, one of which is an extraordinary good wheelwright, and understands the blacksmith's business belonging thereto; also will be sold, a very fine set of blacksmith's and wheelwright's tools.
JOHN JACKSON, } Executors. ROBERT DANIEL, }
On Monday the 19th of July next, being Fairfax court day, will be SOLD, if fair, if not, the next fair day, to the highest bidder, at Alexandria, in pursuance of a decree of the county court of Fairfax,
TWO third parts and the reversion of the other third (expectant upon a life) of a LOT of LAND, situate in the said town, whereof William Sewell, lately deceased, was seized. Nine months credit will be allowed, on giving bond, and approved security. HENRY GUNNELL, Sheriff.
To be LET, to the lowest bidder, at St Peter's church, in New Kent county, on Wednesday the 23d day of June, if fair, if not, the next fair day;
SOME considerable REPAIRS to be made to the CHURCH and STEEPLE. Bond and security will be required of the undertaker. About SIXTY POUNDS will be paid him in October next, and the balance in June 1774.
FOSTER WEBB, JOHN ARMISTEAD, WILLIAM CLAYTON, ROBERT BOWIS, WILLIAM MASSIE.
COMMITTED to the gaol of Amelia county a Negro woman who says her name is SUKEY, but will not, or cannot, tell her master's name; she is a slim wench, and speaks very bad English, her shift is of rolls, and her out dress Virginia cloth. The owner is desired to apply to
JOHN HOWSIN, goaler.
I INTEND to leave the colony shortly. GEORGE WILLIAM FAIRFAX.
TAKEN up, in York county, a brindled cow and calf, with a crop in the right ear, and a swallowfork in the left. DAVID BROOK.

By his Excellency JOHN Earl of DUNMORE , his Majesty's Lieutenant and Governor General of the colony and dominion of Virginia, and Vice Admiral of the same:
A PROCLAMATION.
VIRGINIA, &c.
WHEREAS the GENERAL ASSEMBLY stands prorogued to the third Thursday in next month, but I find no urgent occasion for their meeting at that time, I have therefore thought fit, by this proclamation, in his Majesty's name, farther to prorogue the said Assembly to the second Thursday in August next.
GIVEN under my hand, and the seal of the colony, at Williamsburg, this 20th day of May, 1773, and in the 13th year of his Ma- jesty's reign.
DUNMORE.
GOD save the KING.
By his Excellency JOHN Earl of DUNMORE , his Majesty's Lieutenant and Governor General of the colony and dominion of Virginia, and Vice Admiral of the same:
A PROCLAMATION.
VIRGINIA, &c.
WHEREAS  SAMUEL WALLACE , junior, was taken up and committed to the goal of Prince Edward county by a mittimus, signed by two of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace for that county, being charged with robbing Richard Day of sundries, and also with stealing from James Geddy , of the city of Williamsburg, six pair of gold sleeve buttons, of the value of seven pounds ten shillings, and the 15th day of this month was appointed for a court to be held in the said county, in order to examine the said Samuel Wallace , junior, upon the several matters laid to his charge, but before that day the prisoner made his escape, whereupon the court proceeded, at the time appointed, to the examination of witnesses; on con- sideration whereof it was their opinion that the said Samuel Wallace was not guilty of the robbery, but guilty as to the other charge of stealing from James Geddy as aforesaid, and that he ought to be tried for the same in the General Court: I have therefore thought fit, by this proclamation, in his Majesty's name, to offer a reward of TWENTY POUNDS current money to any person who shall apprehend the said Samuel Wallace , and deliver him to the keeper of the public goal.
And all his Majesty's officers, both civil and mili- tary, and all other his Majesty's liege subjects within this dominion, are requested to be aiding and assist- ing therein, as they shall answer the contrary at their peril.
GIVEN under my hand, and the seal of the colony, at Williamsburg aforesaid, this 22d day of May, 1773, and in the 13th year of his Majesty's reign.
DUNMORE.
GOD save the KING.
For SALE , at Mr. JOHN PRENTIS 's store in Williamsburg,
AN exceeding elegant SPINET , in a genteel mahogany case, with a music desk, spare wires, quills, &c. This instrument is entirely new, and was lately imported in the Virginia, Capt. Eften. The lowest price is TWENTY TWO POUNDS current money.
THE trustees appointed by an act of Assembly, for encouraging the making WINE in this colony, give notice that they, according to the di- rections of the said act, are ready to receive THREE POOR BOYS , to be bound apprentices to Andrew Estave , who is to teach them the art of cultivating vines, and making wine.
I SHALL attend at Alexandria, on the court day in June next, to dispose of two tracts of LAND in that county, for ready money, or bills of exchange: One of which contains upwards of 1100 acres, lies on Four Mile Run , adjoining to Col. Carlyle's mill, about four miles from Alexandria; the soil is equal to any in that neighbourhood, and needs no recom- mendation, and, I am told, will admit of as constant a water mill as any on this side of the Ridge. The other tract contains 1159 acres, lies on the waters of Pohick , about five miles from Colchester , and the same distance from Pohick warehouse . I am informed it is common forest land, but for pine and oak timber it is said to equal any in the county. A good title will be made at the sale.—The foregoing makes it unnecessary to say I am not one of the happy few who are not in great want of cash: I must, therefore, earnestly request those indebted to me, either on my own, or father's estate account, to make payment in time, to prevent further sales of my estate, or expence to themselves.
JAMES MERCER.
To be SOLD at Alexandria, on Potowmack river, on Wednesday the 9th of June, for cash, or good bills,
A SMALL cargo of choice GOLD COAST SLAVES , well assorted, and healthy; also a fine fellow, who understands the sailmaking business. BALDWIN MATTHEWS BUCKNER.
To be LEASED for a term of years, or for life, THREE thousand acres of valuable LAND in Hanover county, about eight miles from the courthouse. The land will be laid off in lots of one, two, and three hundred acres. For terms apply to GARLAND ANDERSON , and PAUL THILMAN.
TO BE SOLD,
ABOUT fourteen thousand acres of exceeding good LAND in the county of Pittsylvania . For terms apply to Mr. Hugh Rose of Amherst , who will treat with any person inclined to purchase, and be empowered to make a legal title.
THOMAS LOMAX.
ON serious consideration of the present state of our practice in the General Court, we find it can no longer be continued on the same terms. The fees allowed by law, if regularly paid, would barely compensate our incessant labours, reimburse our ex- pences, and the losses incurred by neglect of our private affairs; yet even these rewards, confessedly moderate, are withheld from us in a great propor- tion by the unworthy part of our clients. Some reg- ulation, therefore, is become absolutely requisite to establish terms more equal between the client and his counsel. To effect this we have come to the follow- ing resolution, for the invariable observance of which we mutually plight our honour to each other: "That after the 10th day of October next we will not give an opinion on any case stated to us but on payment of the whole fee, nor prosecute or defend any suit or motion, unless the tax, and one half the fee, be previously advanced; excepting those cases where we choose to act gratis." And we hope no person what- ever will think of applying to us in any other way. To prevent disappointment, however, in case this should be done, we think it proper to give this fur- ther warning, that no such application, either verbal, or by way of letter, will be answered or attended to in the smallest degree. We should feel much concern if a thought could be entertained that the worthy part of our clients could disapprove this measure. Their conduct has been such as calls for our ac- knowledgments, and might merit exemption from this strictness were such exemption practicable; but they will readily perceive this would defeat the pur- pose, and that no distinction of persons can by any means be attempted. We hope, therefore, from their friendship, a chearful concurrence in this our plan, since the requisition is such only as their punctuality would of itself prevent.
JOHN RANDOLPH, EDMUND PENDLETON, JAMES MERCER, THOMAS JEFFERSON, PATRICK HENRY, jun. GUSTAVUS SCOTT.
*** The subscriber by no means disapproves of the above resolution; but as he has long determined to quit his practice as an attorney, and practise only as a counsel in such causes as are ready for trial, he has declined signing the above, as he shall not en- gage in any cause for the future but such in which he shall previously receive an adequate satisfaction for his trouble, which they may be assured will not be less than the legal fees.
THOMSON MASON
Choice MADEIRA WINE,
A FEW CASES OF CLARET, BARBADOS RUM, BRANDY, RAISINS, AND MAHOGANY, SOLD BY PRESSON BOWDOIN, IN NORFOLK.
IMPORTED , last fall, in the EMPEROR, THOMAS COCKERILL , master, two parcels of GOODS , marked M G , No. 1, a truss; and 2, a case, which have not yet come to hand: I shall, therefore, be much obliged to any one who will inform me where I may get them; or if the person in whose care they may be will be kind enough to send them, by a safe craft, to my store at Lay- ton's warehouse , on Rappahannock river , I shall esteem it a particular favour, and thankfully pay charges.
MUSCOE GARNETT.
STOLEN , or strayed, from Robert Clopton's , near Bottom's Bridge , in New Kent county , about the last of December, a dark bay horse, about 4 feet 5 or 6 inches high, with a star in his forehead, his mane has been roached, and tail bobbed, but were almost grown out, paces quick, and branded on the near buttock with a heart, but scarcely per- ceivable. Whoever brings the said horse to Mr. William Talman's , in said county, near the Long Bridge , or to Mr. Thomas Anderson , in Hanover county , shall have FORTY SHILLINGS reward.
HANNAH HEWLETT.
TEN POUNDS REWARD.
RUN away, last night, three English convict ser- vants, viz. JOHN EATON , by trade a shipcar- penter, about 23 years of age, and 5 feet 3 or 4 inches high; had on, and took with him, a blue broadcloth coat and breeches, a Damascus waistcoat , a pair of ticken trousers, worsted stockings, three striped cotton shirts, one oznabrig over shirt, a felt hat, and a pair of old shoes. ALICE EATON , alias WALKER (who goes for the said John Eaton's wife) a low, well set woman, about 20 years of age, and has sandy coloured hair; had on a brown stuff gown, a red stuff petticoat, and four red silk hand- kerchiefs. JOHN STEEL , by trade a cabinetmaker, about 18 years of age, 5 feet 5 or 6 inches high, his face is much bruised, and his eyes very black, occa- sioned by fighting; had on a light coloured waist- coat and breeches, a check shirt, an old hat, and an old pair of shoes, but no stockings. Whoever secures the above servants in any gaol, so that we may get them, shall receive FIVE POUNDS , and if brought to Mr. Sampson Matthews , in Richmond , the above reward.
*** All masters of vessels are hereby forewarned from carrying either of the said servants out of the colony.
TAKEN up, in Bedford , a likely bay mare, about 8 or 9 years old, has a small star in her forehead, and a saddle spot on her left side, has no perceivable brand, and paces naturally. She had with her a foal about two years old next spring, her left hind foot white, and not branded.
MARY CHENAULT.
Doctor GRAHAM,
OCULIST and AURIST,
TAKES this method of apologizing to several of the respectable inhabitants of this city, who having applied to him for assistance in disorders of their EYES and EARS , have not as yet been attended to. The great number of pitiable objects, blind, deaf, &c. who come daily for relief from all parts of the colony, has hitherto prevented him from com- plying with what he hath ever considered, not as his interest only, but as a duty, in the exercise of which he frequently experiences the most exalted pleasure that the human mind is perhaps capable of enjoying.
ANY Gentleman in want of a person to carry on any sort of CARPENTER'S or JOINER'S WORK may be supplied by one who understands both branches by applying to the printer hereof.
*** There are two more, under the said person's directions, that would also engage at the same time.
VIRGINIA, &c.
At a GENERAL COURT , held at the Capitol May 5, 1773.
John Upshaw , and John Ren- nolds , plaintiffs; against
John Bland , late of London , merchant, John Bland , junior, and Messrs. Field and Call , defendants,
in chancery.
THE defendant John Bland being beyond sea, and not having entered his appearance accord- ing to the rule of this court, on the motion of the plaintiffs, by their counsel, it is ordered, that the other defendants, who have effects of the said Bland in their hands, as is suggested, do not pay, convey away, or secrete, such effects, until the further order or decree of this court concerning the same; but that they deliver up such effects, or so much thereof as will be of value sufficient to satisfy the demand of the plaintiffs unto the said plaintiffs, upon their giving security to the clerk of this court for the return of such effects, in such manner, and to such persons, as the court shall hereafter adjudge. And it is fur- ther ordered, that the said defendant John Bland do appear here on the 1st day of next court, to answer the bill of the plaintiffs, and that a copy of this order be, within fifteen days, inserted in the Virginia Ga- zette , for two months successively, and published on some Lord's day, immediately after divine service, in the church of the parish of Martin's Brandon , in the county of Prince George , and be also posted up at the front door of the Capitol, in the city of Wil- iamsburg .
BEN: WALLER.
ARCHIBALD DIDDEP,
T A I L O R,
WILLIAMSBURG,
TAKES this method of informing the public that he has removed from his former habitation to a house contiguous to Doctor Pasteur's , where he carries on his business in all its different branches. He returns his most grateful acknowledgments to all those who have hitherto been pleased to favour him with their custom, and hopes for a continuance of it, as they may rely upon their work being executed with the greatest care and punctuality, and on the most reasonable terms.
*** He also makes LADIES
RIDING HABITS
in the neatest and most genteel manner.
To be SOLD , at public auction, on Monday the 14th of June next, if fair, if not, the next fair day, pursuant to a decree of the worshipful court of King William county , to satisfy a debt due from Thomas Adams to the estate of John Russell , deceased,
A VALUABLE tract of LAND containing 200 acres, about six miles above King William courthouse, whereon is a good new dwellinghouse, kitchen, and other convenient outhouses, garden, &c. This is the place commonly called the Burnt Ordinary , and where the sale will be. Also 200 acres, adjoining the aforesaid, and 50 acres, whereon the said Adams formerly lived, about four miles above the courthouse. The whole is good level grain land. Twelve months credit will be allowed, giving bond, with good security.
CARTER BRAXTON, JOHN QUARLES, ARCHIBALD GOVAN, WILLIAM AYLETT, JAMES Q. RUSSELL, Trustees.
COMMITTED to the gaol of Prince George county, on the 11th of this instant ( May ) a Negro man who calls himself JACK , about 5 feet 5 or 6 inches high, appears to be about 50 years old, and says he belongs to James Holy , of Norfolk ; had on, when committed, an oznabrig shirt, a linen jacket, black breeches, a light duroy close bodied coat, and an old great coat. The owner is desired to apply to
HENRY BATTE.
TAKEN up, in King William , a small bay mare, with a blaze in her face, about 4 feet 4 inches high, appears to be about 12 or 13 years old, and has a colt, but no perceivable brand. Posted, and appraised to 7l.
THOMAS BUTLER.
TAKEN up, in James City county , three white weathers, one marked with a crop, hole, and underkeel, in each ear, another with a flower-de-luce in each ear; the other is unmarked, and was a lamb last year. Posted, and appraised to 1l. 12s. 6d.
RICHARD BRACK.

VIRGINIA, sc. At a GENERAL COURT, held at the Capitol May 5, 1773.
Arthur Edie, and James Laird, of London, merchants and partners, plaintiffs, against Robert Jardine, late of London, merchant, and George Mitchell, defendants, In chancery.
THE defendant Robert being beyond sea, and not having entered his appearance according to the rule of this court, on the motion of the plaintiffs, by their counsel, it is ordered, that the other defendant, who hath effects of the said Robert in his hands, as is suggested, do not pay, convey away, or secrete, such effects, until the further order or decree of this court concerning the same; but that he deliver up such effects, or so much thereof as will be of value sufficient to satisfy the demand of the plaintiffs unto the said plaintiffs, upon their giving security to the clerk of this court for the return of such effects, in such manner, and to such persons, as the court shall hereafter adjudge. And it is further ordered, that the said defendant Robert do appear here on the 1st day of the next court, to answer the bill of the plaintiffs, and that a copy of this order be, within fifteen days, inserted in the Virginia Gazette, for two months successively, and published on some Lord's day, immediately after divine service, in the church of the parish of St. George, in the county of Spotsylvania, and be also posted up at the front door of the Capitol, in the city of Williamsburg. BEN: WALLER.
TAKEN up, in New Kent, a grey mare, 4 feet 5 inches high, about 5 years old, and paces well, but has no perceivable brand. Posted, and appraised to 8l. WILLIAM WILKINSON.
STRAYED from King George courthouse, the 4th of March last, a black mare, about 15 hands high, with a switch tail and hanging mane, trots and gallops, paces slow, and clumsy made, about 12 years old, not branded, as remembered; she was bred in the upper end of Stafford by one Mr. Balls, and is supposed will make that way. Whoever will deliver the said mare to Thomas Jett, Esquire, merchant at Leed's town, shall receive TWO PISTOLES, or if to the subscriber, in Gloucester county, THREE POUNDS. JOSEPH SEAWELL.
A SOBER, DILIGENT, JOURNEYMAN BARBER, WHO UNDERSTANDS WIGMAKING AND HAIRDRESSING, WILL MEET WITH ENCOURAGEMENT BY APPLYING TO THE PRINTER HEREOF.
RUN away from Eltham, on Sunday the 10th of January, a light Mulatto fellow named OTHO, about 5 feet 9 inches high, freckled in the face, has light grey eyes, and brown hair, which he wears tied behind, his skin under his clothes is very white, and had on, when he went away, a blue cloth waistcoat, and a coat of the same, with a red velvet cape. I expect he will endeavour to pass for a white man. All masters of vessels are forewarned from harbouring or carrying the said slave off at their peril. I will give FIVE POUNDS to any person who will deliver him to me, or secure him in any gaol, and give notice thereof. BURWELL BASSETT.
FOR SALE, THE plantation whereon the subscriber lives, in King and Queen, about a mile and a half from Todd's warehouse, containing 657 acres, in good order for cropping, with a large peach and apple orchard thereon beginning to bear, and a quantity of low grounds, which may be made good meadow with very little expence. The dwellinghouse, kitchen, and other outhouses, have been built between four and five years. Any person inclinable to purchase, may know the terms by applying to ROBINSON DAINGERFIELD.
To be RENTED, for a TERM of YEARS, THE MILLS at the falls of James river, in the town of Manchester, which consist of a double sawmill, a gristmill, with two pair of stones, for country work, which is worth about 400 barrels of corn the year, a merchantmill with four pair of best French burstones, and all conveniencies necessary for carrying on the manufacturing business in the best manner; likewise a good dwellinghouse with two rooms on a floor, and a cellar and large fireplace in it; as also a large store house, cooper's shop, stable, blacksmith's shop and tools, and a lot of two acres and a half enclosed about the works. The stream affords water enough for as many more mills, and the works are so situated that they are out of danger from freshes, having never received any damage but from the unparallelled one in May 1771. These works, being placed within a few yards of navigation, and in the most flourishing part of the country, where any quantity of wheat may be purchased, the business of manufacturing, as well as the West India trade, may be carried on to as great advantage as any where on the continent, and a ready market may be had for any quantity of plank, scantling, &c. The saw and gristmills are now finished, and the merchantmill will be finished by the 1st of September next. Any person inclinable to rent the said works may know the terms by applying to JOHN MAYO.
WILLIAMSBURG, May 6, 1773
Qui visum vitam dat.—Cic.
THE infinitely wise AUTHOR of nature has assigned to the EYES and EARS the most useful and important offices of life. The structure of those delicately tender organs is so exquisitely minute, the mechanism and properties of their various parts so admirably curious, that they may be stiled, with propriety, the miracles of nature. The great variety of dangers and diseases, manifest and occult, to which those precious senses are exposed, the little attention that hitherto has been paid to the improvement of this noble science, and so few, properly qualified, have engaged in its practice, that to study them in any degree suitable to their importance is full business for life.
The inestimable blessing and great advantages which attend a perfect enjoyment of the sight and hearing are obvious to all; but the deplorable and truly pitiable condition of the blind and deaf is attended with such solitary discomfort, such gloomy ideas, and constant uneasiness of mind, as no one can be truly sensible of who has not, in some measure, experienced it himself. How noble, therefore, how deserving of the nicest cultivation, must that art be, that can restore sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the dumb, and keep in order the springs of those masterpieces of creative wisdom! That art must needs be divine, because, thus assisted, our minds are inspired with the grandest apprehensions of Almighty GOD!
To the INHABITANTS of VIRGINIA.
Doctor GRAHAM, Oculist and Aurist, MOST respectfully offers his best services, and acquaints them that he may be consulted at his apartments at Mr. Hyland's, in this city, in all disorders of the eye and its appendages, and in every species of deafness, hardness of hearing, ulcerations, noise in the ears, &c. Those persons, who have had the unspeakable misfortune of being born deaf and dumb, and those who labour under any impediment in their speech, by applying personally, will probably be assisted. Those persons, likewise, whose eyes are utterly perished or sunk in their heads may have the deformity removed by artificial eyes, so curiously fixed and adapted to the orbits, as to have, in appearance, the beauties, motion, &c. of a natural eye in its healthy state.
Medicine and surgery have always been his favourite study; but the structure and diseases of those tender, sympathetic, and nearly connected organs, just mentioned, have for many years particularly engaged his attention and practice; whence, regardless of vague conjectural hypothesis, he hath on rational principles, deduced methods of cure, improved and confirmed by the most accurate observations in a course of practice, the most extensive, and, perhaps, the most successful of any of his cotemporaries in Europe, or on this vast continent.
Notwithstanding it has ever been a custom with the professed oculists and aurists of Europe to conceal their method of practice and to refuse to communicate to any one the knowledge they possessed, yet, as his concerns in England will not permit him to remain long in America, and in order that his method may be rendered of as diffusive utility as possible, he proposes to instruct and appoint, after a series of actual practice, one person in every province, through which he may pass, to succeed him in treating, after the most improved method, the diseases of the eyes and ears, and to communicate to them, from time to time, such discoveries and improvements as may result from future practice. A premium will be expected, and none need apply but those who have been regularly bred to the profession of physic or surgery.
The candid and intelligent inhabitants of these parts of the British colonies can readily distinguish true merit from pretended knowledge: To conciliate, therefore, their favour, Doctor GRAHAM begs leave to assure them that, with tenderness and moderation, even to the poorest individual, his best abilities shall at all times be exerted to serve them; and as the success which daily attends his practice is a better testimony of his skill than any thing he might advance in his own behalf, let it suffice only to mention that, after several years study at the justly celebrated University of Edinburgh, he has travelled in pursuit of knowledge, in his favourite branches, attending the infirmaries and hospitals, as well as the lectures of the most eminent professors in Europe. In the course of his practice at Philadelphia, several hundred patients have been cured or relieved of the following disorders, many of which had been of long standing, and deemed incurable by other practitioners, even by Gentlemen who otherwise do honour to the profession, the success attending their practice sufficiently evincing that they are worthy and capable of the great, the important charge with which they are entrusted. The chief disorders are as follow, viz. Total, partial, and periodical blindness; weakness and dimness of sight; squinting; pain, swelling, and inflammation of the eyes; spots, specks, pearls, or films, occasioned by the smallpox, blows, or extraneous substances; weak, watery, red, spongy, and ulcerated eyelids; spasmodic twitching of the muscles; involuntary weeping of the tears; tumours and excrescencies; fistula lachrymalis. Total and periodical deafness; thickness of hearing; pain and inflammations; painful sensations in consequence of loud sounds; cracking, itching, continual, and remitting noises in the ears; offensive runnings occasioned by colds, swelling, swimming, picking, and
improper applications, or by long and severe sicknesses; insects and extraneous bodies getting into the ears; ulcerations with caries of the bones, polypi, &c. and several persons born deaf and dumb; impediments in their speech, &c.
Business in Philadelphia will not permit the Doctor to remain in this city longer than the 14th of June. Those, therefore, who have occasion for his assistance will be pleased to apply immediately. The poor who apply, properly recommended, will be assisted gratis, with advice, medicines, or manual operations, as their respective cases may require; and for that purpose he will appropriate every morning, Sundays excepted, between the hours of five and seven.
Equé pauperibus prodest, locupletibus equé.
Equé neglectum pueris senibusque nocebit. Hor.
The Doctor, next fall, on his progress from Philadelphia to Charlestown in South Carolina, will tarry a few days at each of the places hereafter mentioned, where those persons whose circumstances or situation have hitherto precluded them from the benefit of applying for assistance in their respective complaints, may have an opportunity of consulting him, viz. Alexandria, Fredericksburg, Newcastle, Hobb's Hole, Urbanna, Petersburg, Richmond, Norfolk, Suffolk, &c.
FOR SALE,
SEVEN or eight, unimproved LOTS in the town of Charlottesville, Albemarle county, several of them lying on the main street, one very near the courthouse, and several others very convenient. Also several tracts of land lying on the branches of Buck Mountain creek, upon Doyle's and Morman's rivers, in the said county; to wit; one of 322 acres, one of 650 acres, one of 400 acres, one of 364 acres, one of 300 acres, one of 260 acres, one of 144 acres, and one of 130 acres. Great part of the said lands are very rich, and are allowed, by those who know them, to be as good as any in Virginia for producing fine, large, clean tobacco, are convenient to church, courthouse, and mills, and are well watered and timbered. Those who chuse to purchase will be allowed a reasonable credit, and may view the lands, and know the particulars, by applying to the subscriber, living near the upper end of Hanover county. BENJAMIN BROWN.
FOR SALE,
THE tenement at present occupied by Captain James Gunn, in that part of the town of Richmond called Shockoes, on the north side of the falls of James river, with a number of convenient houses upon it, well adapted for either a merchant, tavern-keeper, or private Gentleman, rented at forty pounds a year; also the public storehouse at the same place, rented at fifteen pounds a year; the two half acre lots, No. 400 and No. 676, in the same town; the valuable lot of one hundred acres of timbered land, near the same, known by the description of No. 799; also the two half acre lots, No. 116 and No. 267, in the town of Manchester or Rocky Ridge, on the south side of the falls of James river. For terms apply to Joshua Storrs of Richmond, or to the subscriber. THOMSON MASON.
Fauquier, May 1, 1773.
HAVING administered on my deceased husband John Ball's estate, I do hereby appoint Richard Lee, and Henry Lee, Esquires, or either of them, to transact the business of that estate; to whom all persons that have demands against the said estate are to make them known, and those that are indebted are to make payment. MARY BALL, Administratrix.
FOR SALE,
Several valuable tracts of land, adjoining each other, on both sides of Chappawamick Run, in the counties of Stafford and Prince William, containing 2600 acres, being the seat whereon the subscriber formerly resided. These lands are situate four miles above Aquia warehouses, and four miles below the town of Dumfries, the soil of more than half of it exceeding good; there is on it as fine a mill seat as any in the colony, upon a large and never failing stream. There is a great appearance of iron ore, and a large quantity of white oak and pine timber, a tolerable commodious dwellinghouse, a great number of convenient outhouses, good orchards, and several tenements in order for cropping. There are also 200 acres of fine meadow ground, half of which was sowed in timothy last fall and this spring. A more particular description will be unnecessary, as it is presumed that any person inclinable to purchase will view the premises; and the subscriber earnestly entreats all such to form their ideas of the value of this estate from their own observations, and not from any accounts they may receive from others, as there are some persons, who are thought goodnatured, worthy men, amuse themselves with decrying the property of their neighbours, even at the expence of truth, and under the mask of friendship to the person injured. And the subscriber is more particular in this caution, as he hath formerly received several severe injuries of that kind from one in that neighbourhood. The above lands are under the incumbrance of two mortgages; the one for a considerable sum, made by the subscriber himself, the other for an inconsiderable sum, made by the person of whom he purchased one of the small tracts, which mortgages are to be first paid out of the money arising from the sale. For terms apply to THOMSON MASON.