ck such of their fellows
as they met on the road, and prevented most of them from coming up, or
from being discovered.

Four of these rogues were hanged. But Birkenhead was gratified with his
freedom, and a reward of two hundred pounds sterling.

Sec. 82. For the discovery and happy disappointment of this plot, an
anniversary thanksgiving was appointed on the 13th of September, the day
it was to have been put in execution. And it is great pity some other
days are not commemorated as well as that.

Sec. 83. The news of this plot being transmitted to king Charles the
second, his majesty sent his royal commands to build a fort at
Jamestown, for security of the governor, and to be a curb upon all such
traitorous attempts for the future. But the country, thinking the danger
over, only raised a battery of some small pieces of cannon.

Sec. 84. Another misfortune happened to the plantations this year, which
was a new act of parliament in England, laying a severer restraint upon
their supplies than formerly. By this act they could have no foreign
goods, which were not first landed in England, and carried directly from
thence to the plantations, the former restraint of importing them only
by Englishmen, in English built shipping, not being thought sufficient.

This was a misfortune that cut with a double edge; for, first, it
reduced their staple tobacco to a very low price; and, secondly, it
raised the value of European goods to what the merchants pleased to put
upon them.

Sec. 85. For this their assembly could think of no remedy, but to be even
with the merchants, and make their tobacco scarce by prohibiting the
planting of it for one year; and during that idle year to invite the
people to enter upon manufacturing flax and hemp. But Maryland not
concurring in this project, they were obliged in their own defence to
repeal the act of assembly again, and return to their old drudgery of
planting tobacco without profiting by it.

Sec. 86. The country thus missed of their remedy in the stint of tobacco,
which on the contrary multiplied exceedingly by the great increase of
servants. This, together with the above mentioned curbs on trade,
exasperated the people, because now they found themselves under a
necessity of exchanging their commodities with the merchants of England
at their own terms. The assembly therefore again attempted the stint of
tobacco, and passed another act against planting it for one year. And
Carolina and