Part 5 (2/2)

The source of Mercer's newly made wealth is easily discovered. His ledger shows an income from legal fees in 1730 amounting to 291 10s.

10-1/2d. In 1731 the figure climbed to 643 18s. 2d., then leveled off to 639 11s. 2-1/2d. the following year. For a young man still in his twenties and self-trained in the law, this was a remarkable achievement.

His success perhaps is attributable to a single event that stemmed from youthful brashness and vigorous outspokenness. Early in 1730, in a daring gesture on behalf of property owners and taxpayers, he protested against privileges granted in an act pa.s.sed by the a.s.sembly the previous year ”for encouraging Adventurers in Iron Works.” Presented in the form of a proposition, the protest was read before the Stafford court by Peter Hedgman. The reaction to it in Williamsburg, once it had reached the ears of the a.s.sembly, was immediate and angry. The House of Burgesses

_Resolv'd_ That the Proposition from _Stafford_ County in relation to the Act past in the last Session of this a.s.sembly for encouraging Adventurers in Iron Works is a scandalous and Seditious Libel Containing false and scandalous Reflections upon the Legislature and the Justices of the General Court and other Courts of this Colony.

_Resolv'd_ That _John Mercer_ the Author and Writer of that paper and _Peter Hedgman_ one of the Subscribers who presented the same to the Court of Stafford County to be certified to the General a.s.sembly are guilty of a high Misdemeanour.

_Order'd_ That the said _John Mercer_ and _Peter Hedgman_ be sent for in Custody of the Serjeant at Arms attending this House to answer their said Offence at the Bar of this House.[64]

Mercer and Hedgman made their apologies to the House, received their reprimands, and paid their fines. But this protest, so offensive to the dignity of the lawmakers, had its effect in forcing amendments to the act, particularly in removing the requirement for building public roads leading from the ironworks to the ore supplies and s.h.i.+pping points. To those living in Stafford, particularly in the neighborhood of the proposed Acc.o.keek Ironworks, near Marlborough, this concession must have elevated Mercer to the level of a hero.[65]

Mercer's frank disposition led him into other difficulties during the first years of his practice. His insistence on the prompt payment of debts and his opposition to stays of execution following suits had won him enemies at Prince William court. Charges of improper legal activities were brought against him; these were investigated at Williamsburg, with the result that on June 13, 1734, he was suspended from practicing law in Virginia for a period of six months.[66]

FOOTNOTES:

[64] _JHB, 1727-1734; 1736-1740_ (Richmond, 1910), p. 66.

[65] Ibid., p. xxi.

[66] _Executive Journals of the Council of Colonial Virginia_ (Richmond, Virginia: D. Bottom, superintendent of public printing, 1925), vol. 4, p. 328.

TEMPORARY RETIREMENT, THE ABRIDGMENT, AND GUARDIANs.h.i.+P OF GEORGE MASON

Deprived temporarily of his princ.i.p.al livelihood, Mercer set out to write an _Abridgment of the Laws of Virginia_. The task completed, he pet.i.tioned the General Court on April 23, 1735, for ”leave to Print an Abridgment compil'd by him of all the Laws of this Colony & to have the benefit of the Sale thereof.” On the same day he pet.i.tioned for a renewal of his license, which was granted with the exception of the right to practice in Prince William, where he was to remain _persona non grata_ generally thereafter.[67]

Soon after these events his brother-in-law and old acquaintance, George Mason, drowned. Mercer was designated co-guardian of 10-year-old George Mason IV, who came to live at Marlborough. Young George later grew up to be the master of Gunston Hall and, as the author of the Virginia Bill of Rights, to stand among the intellectuals whose ideas influenced the Revolution and the framing of the Const.i.tution. In these formative years, young George Mason surely must have been affected by the strong legal mind and cultivated tastes of his uncle.[68]

On October 14, 1737, the _Virginia Gazette_ carried the following advertis.e.m.e.nt:

_This Day is Published_

An Exact Abridgment of the Laws of VIRGINIA, in Force and Use, to this present time. By

John Mercer.

At long last, after innumerable delays, the _Abridgment_ was in print.

From a financial point of view it was a conspicuous failure. Too few Virginians, apparently, were sufficiently interested to buy it.

FOOTNOTES:

[67] Ibid., p. 348.

[68] KATE MASON ROWLAND, _The Life of George Mason_ (New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1892), vol. 1, p. 49.

DOMESTIC FURNIs.h.i.+NGS AND SERVANTS

<script>