soldier shall alienate or assign his title to the said land or slave, until his time of service shall expire. The

called upon to execute the various laws, upon this subject, naturally looked to the Chancellors' Revisal, as containing all the laws, in relation to land-bounties. But unfortunately, in that collection, which was a mere compilation, (See note to vol. 9. p. 176) a great number of acts were omitted, the titles only being published. Such was the case with the act before us. It is remarkable that, at this same session, the proportion of land bounty to officers was encreased one third, in addition to any former bounty, (see posɩ chap 27, sec, 4;) and it is but reasonable to suppose that the legislature intended the same liberality to the soldiers. But the title of this act, only, having been printed in the Chancellors' Revisal, and the act at large, granting an encrease of bounty to the officers, being published in that collection, the officers received their full quantity, while the soldiers have never received any land under this law.

Upon the whole, nothing seems clearer than that, all our soldiers who were in service at the passage of this act, who had already enlisted, or who might thereafter enlist by the first doy of April 1781, to serve during the war, and who continued to serve faithfully to the end of the war, are entitled to 300 acres of land, in lieu of all such bounties given by any former laws. The former bounty, we have already seen was 200 acres.

It may be asked, why was not this law practised upon after the revolution? And why has it been permitted to remain so long a dead letter upon our statute book? If the want of its publication in the Chancellors' Revisal already noticed should not be deemed sufficient, other reasons may be offered. The act itself, is a very long one, occupying nearly five quarto pages, in the original, not separated by sections, and wanting marginal notes; nor is there any thing in the title which would lead to the conclusion that it contained any such provisions, as those found to ckist in it. The Chancellors, in their compilation, no doubt, glancing at the title, and perceiving it to be "An act for recruit ing this state's quota of troops to serve in the continental army," had no difficulty in writing in the margin" Hud its effect" and directing the title only to be published. The editor of this work candidly acknowledges that, although for upwards of thirty years he has made the laws of Virginia an object of his peculiar research; although for several years of that period he was a mem, ber of the executive council, and often called on, in his official capacity, to pass on claims for land bounty, and sincerely thought he had examined and noted every law in relation to that subject; yet that he never did read more than the title of this act, until the present day (August 1822) when he was compelled to read the whole act, in order to annotate it for the press. But is it more extraordinary that this set should pass unnoticed, which was never published in the Chancellors' Revisal, than that the act of May 1782, chap. 47, sec 9, which gave an additional bounty for every year's service over six, and which found a place in that collection, should not have been acted upon until many years had elapsed, and many hundreds of warrants had been issued, without that addition to officers and soldiers, who, after the discovery of the law, received their additional allowance. Yet such was the fact.

be drafted

said recruiting officer shall not enlist a man out of any other division, until such division shall have procured a man for itself. The county lieutenant or other com- If quota not manding officer of the county or corporation shall as recruited, to semble, before the said fiftieth day after the receipt of for eighteen this act as aforesaid, his militia, at such place as he months. shall appoint; and if any division shall then fail to deliver a recruit as aforesaid, fit for present duty, between the ages of eighteen and fifty years, of able body and sound mind, who is neither a prisoner of war, a deserter from the enemy, nor engaged to serve for a longer term than eight months. The said commanding officer, together with the field officers and captains, or a majority of those present, shall immediately proceed to draft an able bodied man, by fair and impartial lot, out of such division, to serve in the continental army during the term of eighteen months, to be computed from the time of such draft, who may nevertheless be permitted to procure a substitute to serve for the said term of eighteen months, at any time within ten days after such draft. No man shall be drafted, unless it shall appear to the said commanding officer that he comes within the above discription of a recruit; neither shall any recruit or substitute be accepted of by him, unless he comes up to such discription. The said draft shall also be allowed the sum of four thousand dollars, to be paid him by the said commissioners, out of the funds hereby provided. The said commanding officer of the militia shall, within thirty days after such draft, make a return to the governour of the number of men raised within his county; and also the particular number of each division.

rendezvous

And be it farther enacted, That the commanding Troops, how officer of each county may, after the said day of draft, furloughed, furlough the soldiers obtained under this act for the reviewed, & space of ten days, after which they shall be marched ed. to such places, and under such regulations as the governour and council shall direct, at which place the said recruits shall be received by an officer to be appointed by the governour, with the advice of council, for that purpose, who shall give to the officer delivering the said recruits, a receipt in the name of the commanding officer of the county or corporation furnishing the men, specifying their number, and the time for which they are enlisted, and shall also transmit to the

Mutiny, or

this act, how

governour, a duplicate of such receipt. The officer delivering the said recruits shall, at the same time give to the officer receiving them, a return to be made out for him by the respective commanding officers of militia, specifying in distinct columns, the names, age, size, trade, county from whence sent, place of residence, time enlisted for, date of enlistment, and whether drafted or enlisted, of each man. Every person failing to do his duty as herein directed, shall forfeit and pay the following sums of tobacco, to wit: A county lieutenant or commanding officer of militia, shall forfeit fifty thousand pounds; a field officer, magistrate, or commissioner, forty thousand pounds each; and each captain, thirty thousand pounds of tobacco. All penalties imposed by this act shall be recovered with costs, in any court of record, on bill, plaint, or information, and be applied, one half to the informer, and the other towards lessening the levy of the county, or the whole towards lessening the said levy, where there shall be no informer, except in those cases where the mode of recovery and application are particularly declared.

And be it farther enacted, That if any person on the resistance to day appointed for the draft shall behave himself mutipunishable. nously or riotously, or endeavour to excite mutiny, riot, or resistance to the execution of this act, each person so misbehaving shall be, and he is hereby declared a soldier for the war, in this state's quota of continental troops. And for the purpose of enquiring into such offences, if any such there shall be, the commanding officer of any county where such misconduct shall take place, shall call a court-martial of field officers and captains of the county, or a majority of them, within six days after such draft, and upon due enquiry and proof produced of any such offender, the said court shall have power, and they are hereby directed to cause such offender or offenders to be arrested and conveyed, with the recruits obtained by this act, or sent to the army as speedily as the case can admit; Be it farther drafted, ex- enacted, That any quaker or menonist, who shall be empted from so drafted, shall be discharged from personal service; personal serand the commanding officer at the time of such draft vice, but a substitute to shall, and he is hereby required to employ one or more be furnished discreet persons to procure, on the best possible terms, at expense a proper substitute or substitutes, to serve in his or their room for eighteen months; towards which the said sub

Quakers and menonists

of society,

ed against.

stitute shall be paid the same sum to which a draft is enitled; and the overplus of the charge, if any, shall be adjusted and divided among all the members of the society of quakers or menonists in the county, in proportion to their assessable property, and to authorize the sheriff of the county, by warrant under his hand, to levy such charge by distress, in case any member refuses or neglects to make payment thereof within five days after the same is demanded, upon the goods or chattels of the person so refusing or neglecting. Where any desertion shall happen before the recruits, Desertions, how guardare marched from the place of rendezvous within the county in which they were raised, the commanding officer of the militia, on notice thereof with a description of the deserter, shall take the necessary measures for his apprehension and delivery at the nearest place of general rendezvous within the state. Any soldier Sick soldiers falling sick at the place of rendezvous, or in his march provided for. may, at the request of his officer, be delivered to any justice of the peace within the county, who shall grant a certificate of such delivery, and make provision for his maintenance and recovery, the charges whereof being adjudged reasonable by the court of the county, shall be paid at the publick treasury. It shall be lawful for any justice of the peace, upon application from cured by imWaggons se the commanding officer of any detachment, to autho- pressment. rize such commanding officer to impress into the publick service as many waggons, teams, and drivers as the nature of the service may, in the opinion of the magistrate, require; the owner of which shall be allowed fifty pounds of tobacco per day, and be found as usual, for each waggon, team, and driver; provided that no such impress shall extend to a longer period than six days, besides a reasonable time for returning home,

considera

And whereas it has been a practice of many tradesPenalty on men to entice their apprentices to enlist as soldiers, masters reand to sell them as substitutes for large sums of mo- ceiving any ney; Be it enacted, That if any tradesman or other tion for the person to whom any infant is, or shall be bound as an enlistment apprentice, shall directly or indirectly take or receive, of their apor agree to take or receive any money or other gratu- prentices. ity in consideration of such apprentice, his enlisting as a soldier or sailor in any corps whatsoever, every such tradesman or person so offending, not being an able

:

Penalty for selling recruits.

Additional penalties for concealing deserters.

bodied man under the age of fifty years, shall forfeit and pay double the sum of money or worth of such other gratuity so taken, received, or agreed for, to be recovered by action of debt or information, in any court of record within this state, one moiety thereof to the use of the informer, and the other moiety to the use of the commonwealth, to be applied as a bounty to enlist a soldier in the continental army during the war; and every such offender, being an able bodied man under the age of fifty years, and being thereof convicted before a court-martial, shall be deemed a soldier to serve in this state's quota of continental troops during the war, and shall be by the commanding officer of the militia of his county, delivered to some continental officer belonging to this state.

Ana whereas a practice has prevailed of enlisting men for small bounties and afterwards selling them to districts or divisions for higher bounties than was given such soldier, which has greatly injured the recruiting service; Be it enacted, That every person guilty of such offence, shall be subject to the same penalties as tradesmen and others enlisting or selling their ap prentices are subject to. And whereas the penalties imposed by the laws now in force, have been found not sufficient to prevent evil disposed persons harbouring or concealing deserters, to the great injury of the ar my; Be it enacted, That if any person or persons whatsoever, other than a son harbouring or concealing his father, a wife her husband, or a mother her son, knowing the person so harboured or concealed to be a deserter from the continental army of this or any other of the United States or from the troops of this commonwealth, every person so offending, over and above the penalties heretofore inflicted by law, if a woman, or not being an able bodied man, under the age of fifty years, for every such offence shall suffer six months imprisonment or forfeit and pay five thousand pounds of tobacco, to be recovered by action of debt or on information in any court of record within this state, one moiety thereof to the use of the informer, and the other moiety to the use of the commonwealth, to be applied as a bounty to enlist a soldier in this state's quota of the continental troops during the war; and every such offender, being an able bodied man under the age of fifty years, being convicted thereof before a court-mar