Preservation of His Province & Tenants much depended on its
being passed I will give you as particular an Account as
possible of our Situation & the Circumstances that induced me
to give it my Assent & hope I shall suggest some Arguments
to you that may be urged in my Iustification. You know that
I have several times met, but in vain pressed the Assembly to
grant Supplies because His Ldp peremptorily forbad me to let
the Ordinary Lycence Fines be mentioned as one of the Funds
for sinking the money; to the Dispute concerning them you
are no Stranger, therefore I shall only observe that they were
mortgaged in the late War to repay some Money that was then
granted towards carrying on the Expedition agst Carthagena
& the intended one against Canada & that they still remain
mortgaged for the payment of that money. The Assembly
knew that His Ldp was averse to their being again appro-
priated otherwise than to his own private Use & therefore
made a point of mortgaging them for a longer term. This
Resolution of theirs & His Ldp's Instructions above mentioned
had occasioned five fruitless Sessions & much cxasperated the
people agst My Ld & his Governt Upon the Receipt of
Instructions last winter to wave that matter I again convened
the Assembly & laying before them the plan of Operations
concerted at New York once more exhorted them to exert
themselves & grant large Supplies. As to the Quantum they
seemed to Comply with my Requisition by voting £40,000 for
the Services I had desired them to provide for, but as some of
the Leading Men in the House were averse to giving more
than a small Sum for the immediate protection of our own
Frontiers tho they could not directly oppose the Vote & Sen-
timents of a great Majority yet as it is a new & difficult Matter
to raise large Sums in this Province, t'was easy for them to get
such Funds proposed & insisted on for raising the Money as
would damn the Bill & they hoped that by such a Step a
Clamour would be raised agst the Governt or that the Sum
voted might afterwards be reduced & made as small as them-
selves wished & desired. Accordingly when a Committee of
Ways & Means was appointed & Orders given for framing a
Bill among other exceptionable Matters a Land Tax was pro-
posed by these Gentn & that all His Ldp's Mannours &
Reserved Lands should be subjected to the payment of it as
his Tenants the Inhabitants Lands are was carried by a great
Majority. You may be assured the flaming Patriots or rather
inflaming Demagogues on this Occasion made great Use
of the Arguments that have by the Pensilvanians been urged
to Mr Morris; in. short at the End of 7 weeks the Bill made
its Appearance & was sent to the Upper House in such a Form
as was expected & was by them returned again after some
|
Letter Bk. III
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