In 1649, Hill then resumed his seat in the House of Burgesses, again representing Charles City County, this time alongside Charles Sparrow. Burgesses elected Thomas Harwood as their Speaker and John Corker as their clerk, since former clerk John Carter was representing "Nansimum" county in that assembly.Leonard p. 27 However, in 1650 the Virginia Governor's Council summoned Hill to explain the authority under which he had collected fifty men to accompany him on an expedition to land west of the fall line of either the James, Rappahannock, or Potomac river, "with the avowed intention of finding gold or silver in these parts."Tyler p. 120 The next assembly at which Charles City County was represented was from April 26 til May 6, 1652, and Hill not only represented the county alongside John Bushopp, but again became its Speaker, with John Corker continuing as clerk.Leonard p. 29 However, Hill's election as Speaker prompted former Henrico burgess William Hatcher to complain to the Governor and Council that Hill was an atheist and blasphemer, since similar charges in the Quarter Court had been dismissed. Not only did the burgesses clear Hill of that charge, they forced Hatcher to on bended knee before the bar of the House to acknowledge his offense against Hill and the Burgesses, similar to the practice in the House of Commons.Warren M. Billings, A Little Parliament: The Virginia General Assembly in the Seventeenth Century (Richmond: The Library of Virginia, Jamestown 2007 and Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation 2004) p. 38 In late 1654, Hill again not only represented Charles City County (alongside Stephen Hamlin, Henry Perry and Abraham Wood), but the Burgesses again elected him Speaker, this time with Charles Norwood elected as the clerk.Leonard p. 32 On March 31, 1654, Hill had also begun serving on the governor's advisory council (normally a lifetime appointment, to what later became the legislature's upper house).
