Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 1.djvu/625

 In some cases, the trade of the criminal led to his transportation. When Samuel Rogers was convicted and sentenced to be hung for manslaughter during the administration of Sir Thomas Smyth, permission was obtained for his removal to Virginia on the ground that he was a skilful carpenter who would be of great use in the Colony, trained mechanics being in demand there.

The prudence exercised by the Company in preventing even dissolute persons from being conveyed to Virginia, that is to say, persons who had been guilty of trivial offences or who led the lives of vagabonds, appears from the conduct of that body with reference to the letter of James I, which was considered in the Quarter Court held October 20th, 1619. In this letter the King had ordered that one hundred persons of dissolute character should be accepted for transportation to the Colony. Action upon this demand was deferred on the ground that shipping was now lacking. This proved unsatisfactory to the King, and the Company were commanded to convey one-half of the persons consigned to them to Virginia at once. A committee was appointed to procure vessels, but in the meanwhile a petition was offered to the Secretary of State, urging that the Company of the Somers Isles should be enjoined to relieve the London Company of a part of the contingent, an indication of the small degree of anxiety which the members felt to secure this class of persons, although the need of laborers in the Colony was growing so rapidly in importance. One objection to receiving them was, that their maintenance would entail a considerable expense before shipping could be made ready for their removal. The disinclination of the Company, however, was not due entirely to fear of the expense which would