Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 1.djvu/621

, who were subject to the regulations for the disposal of the poor, to leave England except with their own consent. In requiring that the amplest provision should be made for them upon the termination of their years of service, the authorities of London had regard to the natural anxiety of the parents, that the arrangement concluded with the Company should be such as to ensure the happiness and prosperity of their offspring.

In 1621, it was estimated that the cost of sending fifty boys to Virginia was five hundred pounds sterling, or ten pounds to the boy, this including not only the charges for transportation but also the cost of food and clothing. The Company looked forward to recovering this amount by the sale of the youths, the price which was expected for each one being sixty-six hundred weight of tobacco at three shillings a pound. It was discovered that this quantity did not always meet the expense incurred in the case of each boy, and in this event, the rule was enforced that the purchaser should make good the difference, since it was unjust that the Company should be exposed to any loss when it was considering only the benefit of the planters in undertaking to supply them with servants.

The preference displayed in the introduction of so many young persons had its origin in considerations, the influence of which lasted throughout the century. Boys were not only more easily controlled, but their terms continued for a greater length of time than those of persons who had reached maturity, and in consequence, their masters were not called upon to supply their places so often or so