17^th of Decem^r 1757—
Sir I am now to inform you that the Assembly of this Province
broke up Yesterday without having made the least Provision
for the Support of any of the Troops that have been & still
are posted at Fort Cumberland & Fort Frederick. In my
Letter dated the 21^st of Oct^r I advised you of the Resolution
the Lower House of Assembly had then taken & this Resolu-
tion they adhered to notwithstanding His Ldp's Letter or any
thing that could be offered to divert them therefrom. As the
Bill which they sent to the Upper House seemed to be pur-
posely crowded with every thing that tended to cramp the
Service (which you will I beleive be convinced of on perusal
of the inclosed Specimen of it) the Gentⁿ of the Upper House
rejected it without any hesitation & the Burgesses would not
afterwards be prevailed on to frame any other Bill whatever.
This being the Case I have ordered four Companies of
Militia to hold themselves in readiness to march on the first
notice, & after they have served a Month or two I shall order
four other Companies to relieve them & either Capt Alex^r or
Capt Ioshua Beall (whom I shall forthwith appoint Majors of
Militia) will be always at Fort Frederick to command them.
It remains with you to draft or to do with the Men that are now
at Fort Cumberland & Fort Frederick as you shall think fit.
I suppose they amount altogether to about 430 effective Men ;
of these I presume 250 or 300 are good Men engaged for
Life or a long Term. Most of the Soldiers in Capt Dag-
worthy's Company & some of the others were enlisted for
His Majesty's Service in general the Rest only engaged to
serve in the Maryland Forces. They are all paid to the 10^th of
Ocf & are pretty well cloathed. Those of them that may be
received into the Royal American Regiment will I suppose
expect their Arrears of Pay from the Officers into whose Com-
panies they may be drafted & to the Rest their respective
Captains will give Certificates to shew that they have served
this Province without Pay from the 10^th of Oct^r to the time
they shall be discharged which may perhaps procure them
their Arrears of Pay hereafter when our Assembly shall be
brought to pursue different Measures from those which they
have lately taken. I shall not order the Militia to march till
I receive Your answer & it will probably be ten or twelve
Days afterwards before they can reach Fort Frederick. I
shall issue Press Warrants & put it in their own Power to
supply themselves with Provisions but as they are in general
very ill provided with Arms they must be furnished out of