or any the Subjects of any King, Prince, Ruler, Governor, or State, being then in League or Amity with Us . . ., and that upon such Injury, or upon just Complaint of such Prince, Ruler, Governor, or State, or their Subjects, We . . . shall make open Proclamation, within any of the Ports of our Realm of England, commodious for that Purpose, That the said Person or Persons, having committed any such Robbery or Spoil, shall, within the Term to be limited by such Proclamations, make full Restitution or Satisfaction of all such Injuries done, so as the said Princes, or others, so complaining, may hold themselves fully satisfied and contented; And that, if the said Person or Persons, having committed such Robbery or Spoil, shall not make, or cause to be made, Satisfaction accordingly, within such Time so to be limited, That then it shall be lawful to Us . . . to put the said Person or Persons, having committed such Robbery or Spoil, and their Procurers, Abetters, or Comforters, out of our Allegiance and Protection; And that it shall be lawful and free, for all Princes and others, to pursue with Hostility the said Offenders, and every of them, and their and every of their Procurers, Aiders, Abetters, and Comforters, in that Behalf.

XVIII. AND finally, we do . . . GRANT and agree, to and with the said Sir Thomas Gates. . . [and others] . . ., and all others of the said first Colony, that We . . ., upon Petition in that Behalf to be made, shall, by Letters-patent under the Great Seal of England, GIVE and GRANT unto such Persons, their Heirs, and Assigns, as the Council of that Colony, or the most Part of them, shall, for that Purpose nominate and assign, all the Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, which shall be within the Precincts limited for that Colony, as is aforesaid, To BE HOLDEN of Us, our Heirs, and Successors, as of our Manor at East-Greenwich in the County of Kent, in free and common Soccage only, and not in Capite:

XIX. [Tenure of land under the second colony as in Section XVIII.]

XX. ALL which Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, so to be passed by the said several Letters-patent, shall be sufficient Assurance from the said Patentees, so distributed and divided amongst the Undertakers for the Plantation of the said several Colonies, and such as shall make their Plantations in either of the said several Colonies, in such Manner and Form, and for such

Estates, as shall be ordered and set down by the Council of the said Colony, or the most Part of them, respectively, within which the same Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments shall lye or be; Although express Mention of the true yearly Value or Certainty of the Premises, or any of them, or of any other Gifts or Grants, by Us or any of our Progenitors or Predecessors, to the aforesaid Sir Thomas Gates... [and others] [and others]. . ., or any of them, heretofore made, in these Presents, is not made; Or any Statute, Act, Ordinance, or Provision, Proclamation, or Restraint, to the contrary hereof had, made, ordained, or any other Thing, Cause, or Matter whatsoever, in any wise notwithstanding..

No. 2.

Second Charter of Virginia

May 23/June 2, 1609

IN January, 1609, Newport returned from Virginia, bringing various papers setting forth the condition of the colony. The first charter, in itself essentially experimental, had already proved defective; and this, together with the discouraging outlook for the Company, led to an application for a new charter, with larger and more specific privileges. The first drafts of both the second and the third charters, annexed to the petitions, were probably drawn by Sir Edwin Sandys, but the final form in each case was the work of Sir Henry Hobart, attorney-general, and Sir Francis Bacon, solicitor-general. With the second charter the connection between the Plymouth Company and the London Company ceased, and the latter became a separate corporate body.

REFERENCES. Text in Stith's History of Virginia (Sabin's ed., 1865), Appendix II. The Records of the Virginia Company of London, 1619-1624, have been edited by Susan M. Kingsbury; see also Brown's First Republic in America, 73–165.

[The charter begins with a recital of the grant of 1606, and continues:]

II. Now, forasmuch as divers and sundry of our loving Subjects, as well Adventurers, as Planters, of the said first Colony

have of late been humble Suitors unto Us, that (in Respect of their great Charges and the Adventure of many of their Lives, which they have hazarded in the said Discovery and Plantation of the said Country) We would be pleased to grant them a further Enlargement and Explanation of the said Grant, Privileges, and

Liberties, and that such Counsellors, and other Officers, may be appointed amongst them, to manage and direct their affairs, as are willing and ready to adventure with them, as also whose Dwellings are not so far remote from the City of London, but that they may, at convenient Times, be ready at Hand, to give their Advice and Assistance, upon all Occasions requisite.

III. WE . . . Do . . . GIVE, GRANT, and CONFIRM, to our trusty and well-beloved Subjects, Robert, Earl of Salisbury . . . [and others'] . . . ; AND to such, and so many, as they do, or shall hereafter, admit to be joined with them, in Form hereafter in these Presents expressed, whether they go in their Persons, to be Planters there in the said Plantation, or whether they go not, but adventure their Monies, Goods, or Chattels; THAT they shall be one Body or Commonalty perpetual, and shall have perpetual Succession, and one common Seal, to serve for the said Body or Commonalty; And that they, and their Successors, shall be KNOWN, CALLED, and INCORPORATED by the Name of, The Treasurer and Company of Adventurers and Planters of the City of London for the first Colony in Virginia:

VI. AND we do also . . . GIVE, GRANT and CONFIRM, unto the said Treasurer and Company, and their Successors, under the Reservations, Limitations, and Declarations, hereafter expressed, all those Lands, Countries, and Territories, situate, lying, and being, in that Part of America called VIRGINIA, from the Point of Land, called Cape or Point Comfort, all along the Sea Coast, to the Northward two hundred Miles, and from the said Point of Cape Comfort, all along the Sea Coast, to the Southward two hundred. Miles, and all that Space and Circuit of Land, lying from the Sea Coast of the Precinct aforesaid, up into the Land, throughout from Sea to Sea, West, and Northwest; And also all the Islands, lying within one hundred Miles, along the Coast of both Seas of the Precinct aforesaid. . . .

...

VII. AND nevertheless, our Will and Pleasure is, and we do, by these Presents, charge, command, warrant, and authorise,

1 "The incorporators of this charter were 56 city companies of London and 659 persons; of whom 21 were peers, 96 knights, 11 doctors, ministers, etc., 53 captains, 28 esquires, 58 gentlemen, 110 merchants, and 282 citizens and others not classified." Brown's Genesis of the United States, I., 228, note 1. The list of incorporators is given in full by Brown. - ED.

that the said Treasurer and Company, or their Successors, or the major Part of them, which shall be present and assembled for that Purpose, shall, from time to time, under their Common Seal, DISTRIBUTE, convey, assign, and set over, such particular Portions of Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, by these Presents, formerly granted, unto such our loving Subjects, naturally born, or Denizens, or others, as well Adventurers as Planters, as by the said Company (upon a Commission of Survey and Distribution, executed and returned for that Purpose), shall be nominated, appointed, and allowed; Wherein our Will and Pleasure is, that Respect be had, as well of the Proportion of the Adventurer, as to the special Service, Hazard, Exploit, or Merit of any Person, so to be recompenced, advanced, or rewarded.

VIII. AND forasmuch, as the good and prosperous Success of the said Plantation cannot but chiefly depend, next under the Blessing of God, and the Support of our Royal Authority, upon the provident and good Direction of the whole Enterprize, by a careful and understanding Council, and that it is not convenient, that all the Adventurers shall be so often drawn to meet and assemble, as shall be requisite for them to have Meetings and Conference about the Affairs thereof; Therefore we DO ORDAIN, establish, and confirm, that there shall be perpetually one COUNCIL here resident, according to the Tenour of our former Letterspatents . .

XIII. AND further . . . we do . . . GIVE and GRANT full Power and Authority to our said Council, here resident, as well at this present Time, as hereafter from time to time, to nominate, make, constitute, ordain, and confirm, by such Name or Names, Stile or Stiles, as to them shall seem good, And likewise to revoke, discharge, change, and alter, as well all and singular Governors, Officers, and Ministers, which already have been made, as also which hereafter shall be by them thought fit and needful to be made or used, for the Government of the said Colony and Plantation:

XIV. AND also to make, ordain, and establish all Manner of Orders, Laws, Directions, Instructions, Forms, and Ceremonies of Government and Magistracy, fit and necessary, for and concerning the Government of the said Colony and Plantation; And

the same; at all times hereafter, to abrogate, revoke, or change, not only within the Precincts of the said Colony, but also upon the Seas in going and coming, to and from the said Colony, as they, in their good Discretion, shall think to be fittest for the Good of the Adventurers and Inhabitants there.

XVI. AND we do further. . . ORDAIN and establish, that the said Treasurer and Council here resident, and their Successors, or any four of them, being assembled (the Treasurer being one) shall, from time to time, have full Power and Authority, to admit and receive any other Person into their Company, Corporation, and Freedom; And further, in a General Assembly of the Adventurers, with the Consent of the greater Part, upon good Cause, to disfranchise and put out any Person or Persons, out of the said Freedom or Company.

XIX. AND for their further Encouragement. . we do . . YIELD and GRANT, to and with the said Treasurer and Company, and their Successors, and every of them, their Factors, and Assigns, that they, and every of them, shall be free of all Subsidies and Customs in Virginia, for the Space of one and twenty Years, and from all Taxes and Impositions, for ever, upon any Goods or Merchandises, at any time or times hereafter, either upon Importation thither, or Exportation from thence, into our Realm of England, or into any other of our Realms or Dominions, by the said Treasurer and Company, and their Successors, their Deputies, Factors, or Assigns, or any of them: EXCEPT only the five Pounds per Cent. due for Custom, upon all such Goods and Merchandises, as shall be brought or imported into our Realm of England, or any other of these our Dominions, according to the ancient Trade of Merchants; WHICH FIVE POUNDS per Cent. ONLY being paid, it shall be thenceforth lawful and free for the said Adventurers, the same Goods and Merchandises to export, and carry out of our said Dominions, into foreign Parts, without any Custom, Tax, or other Duty, to be paid to us. . . or to any other our Officers or Deputies: PROVIDED, that the said Goods and Merchandises be shipped out, within thirteen Months, after their first Landing within any Part of these Dominions.