Though the poll tax usually was not excessive, it was a source of constant irritation. The poor planter who had worked hard to raise a crop of tobacco just large enough to buy necessities for his family, thought it hard indeed when the sheriff took the government's share. The quit rents paid to the King for all land were an even greater source of trouble. It was impossible to make men of large estates pay in full, there were frauds in disposing of the tobacco in which the rents were paid, at times the people were so far behind that to enforce payment of arrears would ruin them. The quit rent fund was drawn upon for war purposes, building of forts, paying salaries, etc. In 1693 Commissary Blair received a grant of L1985.14.10 from the quit rent fund to found the College of William and Mary. When Attorney General Seymour objected to paying the money, Blair explained that it was the chief purpose of the college to train young men for the ministry, and begged him to consider that they in Virginia had souls to be saved as well as those in England. "Souls! Damn your souls! Make tobacco," snapped Seymour.[30] Local government was administered by the county courts. Hartwell, Blair, and Chilton wrote: "There is a county court in every county, which consists of eight or ten gentlemen ... to whom the Governor gives a commission during pleasure to be justices of the peace for that county. He renews that commission commonly every year, for that ... gives him an opportunity to admit into it new favorites and exclude others that have not been so zealous in his service.... They have court once a month, ... and have a power of deciding all sorts of causes."[31] But they did not have jurisdiction in cases involving loss of life or limb. That the people had no voice in selecting the justices was greatly resented, especially since the courts had the power of levying taxes. The people of Charles City County complained in 1677 that the justices had "illegally ... taken upon them without our consent from time to time to impose, raise, assess, and levy what taxes, levies, and impositions upon us ... they liked, great part of which they have converted to their own use."[32] The people of Surry County made a similar complaint: "It has been the custom of the county courts at the laying of the levy to withdraw into a private room by which the poor people not knowing for what they paid their levy did always admire how their taxes could be so high."[33] In each county was one or more parishes, presided over by a vestry of twelve men each. Since the vestry had the right to lay the parish levy, it was of great importance that they should be elected by the people. This was the practice until Berkeley's second administration, when it became the custom for a vestry, when once chosen at the establishing of a new parish, themselves to fill vacancies in their ranks, and thus to become self-perpetuating.