he clerk of the court, yet sate as judge of that court.

The governor signed all patents or deeds of land, and there was a
recital in them that he granted the land "by and with the consent of the
council," yet the patents were never read by the governor, nor did the
council take any notice of them. He likewise countersigned the patents
after the words "compared, and agrees with the original," yet the
secretary never read or compared them, and indeed the patent which he
signed was itself the original. "Men make laws, but we live by custom."
The sheriffs collected all money duties. The auditor audited the
accounts of the collectors, and was receiver-general of all public
moneys. The parish levy, for the support of the church and of the poor,
was assessed by the vestry, about the month of October, when tobacco was
ready; the whole amount assessed was divided by the number of tithables
of the parish, and collected from the heads of families. The county levy
for county expenses was assessed by the justices of the peace, and the
sum divided by the number of tithables in the county. The public levy
was assessed by the assembly for the general expenses of the colony, and
the sum was divided by the number of tithables in the colony, amounting
in the year 1690 to about twenty thousand. The three levies were all
collected by the sheriffs; they averaged about one hundred pounds of
tobacco for each tithable, the aggregate amounting to two millions of
pounds per annum.

The revenues and customs that came into the auditor's hands were of four
kinds: First, the quit-rents, being one shilling per annum on every
fifty acres of land, payable in tobacco, at one penny per pound, or
twenty-four pounds of tobacco for every hundred acres. In the Northern
Neck, lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock, the quit-rents were
paid by the heirs of Lord Culpepper. The tobacco due for quit-rents was
sold by the auditor to the several members of the council, who paid for
it in money, or bills of exchange, according to the quantity. The
quit-rent revenue amounted to about eight hundred pounds sterling per
annum. The second source of revenue consisted of two shillings per
hogshead, export duty, on tobacco, and fort duties, being fifteen pence
per ton on all vessels arriving. These amounted to three thousand pounds
sterling per annum. Ten per cent. of this amount was paid to masters of
vessels, to induce them to give a true account. The collectors recei