Two Penny Act - Anglican Objection

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 back in England would allow the act to continue, had it not been for the persistent objections of the Reverend John Camm of York County. 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 and the Bishop of London. He argued that the Two Penny Act was a conclusion of the fading of royal and Anglican authority in Virginia 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 and his council, on the recommendation of the Board of Trade, 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 of Louisa County that turned out to be the most well known. This was the case most commonly referred to as the Parson's Cause.