Act of Mar. 2, 1631, no. 51, VA. CODE (R. & W. & G. Bartow 1823).
"ACT LI.
ALL men that are fittinge to beare armes, shall bringe their peices to the church uppon payne of every effence, yf the mayster allow not thereof to pay 2 lb. of tobacco, to be disposed by the church-wardens, who shall levy it by distresse, and the servants to be punished."
William Waller Hening, ed., The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of All of the Laws of Virginia from the First Session of the Legislature in the Year 1619, Published Pursuant to an Act of the General Assembly of Virginia, Passed on the Fifth Day of February One Thousand Eight Hundred and Eight, vol. 1 (New York, NY: R. & W. & G. Bartow, 1823), 174. Act 51. Passed March 2, 1631.