and how many of these requisites are contained in the present act in dispute, I leave to any considerate judge to determine, and I take it, that this act falls under the said rules, of being impossible, and inconvenient, for the enacting persons to be disseised of their estates, and their bodies to be imprisoned, contrary to common right, and the law of the land, is legally impossible to be done, and it cannot be denied, but that it is very inconvenient, against common justice, to be stripped of our freedom, rights, and properties, without any judicial hearing; and what is the highest of injustice, and the greatest of hardships, that how unjust, irregular, and severe, any proceedings are, or may be, the party grieved is debarred of any remedy, either by writ of error, injunction of chancery, appeal to the government, or to her majesty herself, though the party lies under the greatest of grievances whatsoever.

These things I take to be legally impossible, and what no act of this island can lawfully establish.

Lastly, if the act itself was passed by a lawful authority, whether it is not of so extraordinary a nature, and so variant from her majesty's instructions, and contains so many insufficiencies, as is so repugnant, in most of its material parts, of the laws of the land, the rights of the kingdom, the liberty of the subject, your excellency's power and authority, and her majesty's prerogative, that

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it ought not to be put into effect, and have any force, till her majesty's pleasure and approbation, or disapprobation, shall be made known.

If these, my present thoughts on this, may be any way satisfactory to your excellency, and serviceable to the island, and her majesty's interest, I shall think myself happy to have acquitted myself of the duty incumbent on me, and pray your excellency would be pleased to accept of it, as my sincere opinion, according to the best of my judgment.

WILL. RAWL.IN. (10.) The objections of the attorney-general Northey, to the same act, creating paper money.

To the right hon. the lords commissioners for trade and plantations.

May it please your lordships.

In obedience to your lordships' commands, signified to me by Mr. Popple, I have perused and considered of an act, intitled, an additional act to the act intitled an act to ascertain the payment of such bills as have been issued, pursuant to a late act of this island, intitled an act to supply the want of cash, and to establish a method of credit for persons having real estates in this island, passed in Barbadoes, the 12th of July 1716, as also the said original act; and do humbly certify your lordships, that the said additional act is to constitute a new commissioner, and a new marshal, (those mention ed in the first act being dead or removed,) to exe.

cute the powers in the original; and this additional act, is part executed, or not executed, and provides several remedies, where monies bid on sales at outcries, pursuant to the first act, have not been paid; and lays several penalties on such bidders, not paying what they shall have bid ; and empowers a person to bid in behalf of the government, where no person appears to bid, by which I apprehend is meant a real bidder; for in the oath of the persons empowered to bid, he swears he will not bid, but where no other person will bid, or unless a person shall endeavour to purchase the laws at an under rate, and swears he will not exceed, in such bidding, two-thirds of what he shall, in his con science, esteem the land to be worth; which seems to be a penalty on the owner for keeping away bidders, otherwise I do not see why the bidder should not give the value of the estate.

And the said additional act gives several powers for the better executing the design of the former act, which was to discharge the debts and engagements, contracted by reason of an act, intitled an act to supply the want of cash by a method of credit, for persons having real estate in this island, (commonly called the paper act) which was repealed by her late majesty; and I have no objection, in point of law, against the said additional act. There is therein a pretty extraordinary punishment on persons bidding for lands, which they were then incapable of paying for, viz. imprison

ment for a year, to be set in the pillory, and to have their ears cut off; but that being only for persons who knew their own inabilities, I have no objection thereto.

Dec. 23, 1717.

EDW. NORTHEY.

(11.) The objection of the same lawyer to act of Barbadoes, as unreasonable.

To the right honorable the lords commissioners for trade and plantations.

May it please your lordships.

In obedience to your lordships' order of reference, signified to me by Mr. Popple, I have considered of the following acts passed at an assembly of Barbadoes, in March 1701-2, and April 1702, viz. "an act for the further supply of fire-arms, and other stores, &c., dated the 19th of March, 1701-2;” "an act to secure the peaceable possession of negroes, and other slaves, to the inhabitants of this island, and to prevent and punish the clandestine and illegal detinue of them, dated the 27th of April, 1702;" which laws, I conceive, are agreeable to law, and do not contain any thing prejudicial to her majesty's prerogative, except the act, to secure the peaceable possession of negroes, &c., as to which, I am of opinion, that though many parts of this law (which is not temporary but perpetual) may be of use to the planters in Barbadoes; yet that part of it, which prohibits the carrying away white servants, without consent of the owners, under the penalty of one hundred pounds, and obliges

masters of ships to swear not to carry them away, is not fit to be approved of; for that children stolen from England, and carried to the Barbadoes, cannot be reclaimed and carried away at the instance of their parents; and as it is worded (if otherwise fit) it is unreasonable, being, if any person shall directly, or indirectly, carry off, attempt, or cause to be carried off, any white servant without knowledge of the owner, which a man may innocently do; the words (knowing such person to be a servant) being omitted; and therefore I think this law, with these clauses in it, not fit to be approved.

EDW. NORTHEY.

Oct. 22, 1703. (12.) The report of Mr. West, in favour of a Jamaica act, upon general principles of colonial policy. To the right hon. the lords commissioners of trade and plantations.

My lords.

In obedience to your lordships' commands, signified to me by Mr. Popple, on the 27th of June 1723, I have reconsidered an act passed in the island of Jamaica, intitled, an act for encouraging the speedy settling of the plantation, commonly called Pero or Pera plantation, situate at Port Morant, in the parish of St. Thomas in the East, in this island; and for obliging all persons intitled to the equity of redemption thereof, to redeem the same by a prefixed time.

In the consideration of acts passed in the American colònies, when the governor, council, and as