The Two Penny Act, enacted in 1758 by the Virginia Assembly, is the act in which the Parson's Cause

Parson's Cause

The "Parson's Cause" was an important legal and political dispute in the Colony of Virginia often viewed as an important event leading up to the American Revolution...

 trial surrounded. The act was issued after three years of drought which produced a low yielding of tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

 crop.

The one-year measure allowed Anglican ministers' salaries to be paid at a fixed rate of two cents per pound of tobacco, as tobacco was often used as currency. The market rate at the time was set at four to six pence per pound of tobacco. Once the loss of value was factored in, a clergyman was receiving about one-third of his normal, stipulated salary. The colony's councilors had approved and with the House of Burgesses

House of Burgesses

The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America...

, convinced Francis Fauquier

Francis Fauquier

Francis Fauquier was a Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Colony , and served as acting governor from 1758 until his death in 1768. He was married to Catherine Dalston....

, the royal governor, to allow the act to go into effect.

In doing so, Fauquier deviated from his royally mandated instructions. He defended his royal malfeasance by arguing that, in reality, he had no choice. "As the Bill," he wrote, "was a temporary Law to ease the people from a Burthen [sic] which the Country thought too great for them to bear...The country were intent upon it, and both the Council and the House of Burgesses were almost unanimous in their pressing it. And I conceived it would be a very wrong Step for me to take who was an entire Stranger to the Distresses of the Country, to set my Face against the whole colony by refusing the Bill which I had a Precedent for Passing. Whatever may be the Case now, I am persuaded that if I had refused it, I must have despaired ever gaining any Influence either in the Council or House of Burgesses."

In May 1759 petitions were presented to the British Board of Trade on behalf of the Virginia Clergy asking for its repeal. Lord Halifax recommended the act be disallowed and demanded that Governor Fauquier "for the future strictly observe and obey" his Royal instructions. It was disallowed by the end of August 1759 by the Board.

Anglican Objection

The Anglican clergy generally objected to the act, arguing that they should benefit from the high tobacco prices on account of their agreement to accept whatever their tobacco would sell for when the price was low. But the Privy Council

Privy council

A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...

 back in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 would allow the act to continue, had it not been for the persistent objections of the Reverend John Camm

John Camm

Rev. John Camm served as the seventh president of the College of William and Mary. He was a fierce Tory advocate of the prerogative of the Crown and the established Church.-Education:...

 of York County

York County, Virginia

York County is a county located on the north side of the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. Situated on the York River and many tributaries, the county seat is the unincorporated town of Yorktown...

. When a slew of pamphlets and lawsuits availed he and his counterparts nothing, Camm sailed for England to present his arguments.

In England, Camm contracted the help of the Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

 and the Bishop of London

Bishop of London

The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...

. He argued that the Two Penny Act was a conclusion of the fading of royal and Anglican authority in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 and the American colonies. However, the focus on his own list of grievances ignored the act's purpose as a financial relief measure. The King

King

- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...

 and his council, on the recommendation of the Board of Trade

Board of Trade

The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...

, dismissed the measure and its predecessors.

Since the Two Penny Act had expired, repealing the law would have been open for discussion had several clergymen not sued for back pay. Two cases were rejected because the act was valid until it was disallowed by the Privy Council. One court awarded a minister double his salary in damages, but it was the case filed by Reverend James Maury

James Maury

The Reverend James Maury was a prominent Virginia educator and minister during the American Colonial period.He was the son of Matthew Maury, a French Huguenot, who was born in Castel Mauron, in Gascony, and his wife, Mary Anne Fontaine, daughter of Rev. James Fontaine and Anne Elizabeth...

 of Louisa County

Louisa County, Virginia

Louisa County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 33,153. The county seat is Louisa.- History :...

 that turned out to be the most well known. This was the case most commonly referred to as the Parson's Cause

Parson's Cause

The "Parson's Cause" was an important legal and political dispute in the Colony of Virginia often viewed as an important event leading up to the American Revolution...

.

Possible Conspiracy

Some historians have questioned the actual need for the Two Penny Act. There were some in Virginia who were happy to see the ministers take a financial blow, though there is very little evidence that the House of Burgesses deliberately set out to punish the clergy.