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Correspondence of Governor Sharpe. 303
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& sit as ludge when he would otherwise be retained by one of
the Contending Parties & in the Caracter of an Advocate
receive a good Fee. This being the Case & the whole profitts
of the Office not very large, one cannot be very much sur-
prized at his asking leave to resign as I have already told you
he sometime since did. He continues as yet to Assist Mr
Tasker till I receive your Instructions for appointing some
Gentll to succeed him for Mr Tasker cannot (& will not I suppose)
undertake to execute the Duties of the Office alone. I shall
be glad to make Mr Darnal easy because you desire he
should be made so, but I hope he will not be approved of
as one of the Council lest it should Occasion great Uneasi-
ness & Dissatisfaction among the People One of the
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Letter Bk. I.
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Offices you mention will I hope satisfy his wishes as His being
Attorney Genl has gained him a good Deal of Practice in
the Law for which he was not educated. If ever I see a
Probability of carrying such an Act as you desire for the Col-
lection of the Quit Rents you may be assured I will embrace
the Opportunity. You seem to apprehend that much Income
is lost to his Ldp by his Tenants dividing & selling their
Land in seperate Parcells or bequeathing it in Moieties by
Testament. As all Wills are returned to & recorded in the
Commissary's Office, he makes out & returns to the Rent-Roll
Keepers every half year a List of Bequests specifying by
whom every Tract of Land was bequeathed & how divided, so
that each Share might be charged in the Rent-Roil & Debt
Book to the Person to whom it is bequeathed: & as all Deeds
of Bargain & Sale are to be recorded in the Courts before they
are valid the several Clerks return similar Lists of such Lands
as are sold whole or in Parcells to the Rent Roll Keeper & the
Lands so alienated are charged in the Rent-Roll & Debt-Books
accordingly. It is possible that Lands may sometimes be given
away by Deeds of Trust as I observed in my Letter of the 15th
Septr 1754, but as soon as such a Transaction is discovered a
proper Entry is made in the Rent Rolls, & till it be discovered
the Rents on the Land so made away remains charged to the
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p. 172
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old Possessor. As there is room to beleive from your Letter
& Mr Stewart's Memorial that that Memorial would not have
been presented if Mr Steuart had not been given to understand
by Mr Phil Hammond last December that a second Duty of
20/ was about to be imposed, I hope Mr Steuart will rest
contented when he finds no such second Duty was imposed &
that the Proposal to impose such a second Duty was made an
Objection to the Bill by the Upper House; I say on these
Considerations & your promise that he has nothing farther to
fear after the present Law expires which will be in four or five
years, I hope he will make no Objection to pay the^i a poll
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p.i?3
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