16^th of March 1758.
Sir I do myself the honour to acknowledge the Receit of Your
two Letters dated the 30^th of Dec^r & to assure you that I will
to the utmost of my Power obey & execute His Majesty's
Commands thereby signified, but at the same time I think it
my Duty to tell you that I am very much afraid the Assembly
of this Province will not be prevailed on to exert themselves
in such a manner as you seem to expect. In my Letter dated
the 22^d of Octob^r I informed you that they were determined
to make no farther Provision for the Support of any Troops
that should be placed as a Garrison in Fort Cumberland &
that I had thereupon desired the Earl of Loudoun to take such
measures & to give such orders as he should think proper
for the Preservation of that place When I found by His
Ldp's answer that he could not just at that time order any
other Troops thither, I communicated it to the Gentlemen of
the Assembly & again press't them to comply with the Earl of
Loudouns Request by enabling me to pay the Garrison above-
mentioned, but they were so far from entering into His Ldp's
Measures that they not only insisted on our Troops being
withdrawn from Fort Cumberland, but likewise that they be
forthwith reduced from 500 to 300 Men & that none of such
300 should be subject on any account whatever to the Com-
mands of the Earl of Loudoun or any other of His Majesty's
Generals. — As the Gentⁿ of the Upper House thought this an
Infringement of His Majesty's Perogative & moreover were
of opinion that the Bill which was framed for raising the Sup-
plies was not only unreasonable but in some Respect imprac-
ticable they refused to give their Assent to it which laid me
under the necessity of proroguing them for a few Weeks as
the Lower House had upon the Bill's being returned to them
with a Negative come to a Resolution that they would not
enter on any new Business that Session. On the 13^th of Feb^y
we met again & I then laid before them some more Letters
that I had received from the Earl of Loudoun, by one of these
we were called upon to augment our Forces without Delay so
that we may have 400 Men ready in April to join his Majesty's
Regular Forces over & above the Number that might be
wanted to garrison Fort Cumberland & the other Fort that
has been built within the Limits of this Province but as the
Gentⁿ of the Lower House met determined to enforce the
Bill which the Upper House had before rejected or such a one
at least as differed not from that in any material Circum-
stances I soon found myself obliged to put an End to that
Session & the Assembly now stands prorogued to the 23^d