Correspondence of Governor Sharpe. 301

[Sharpe to Forbes.]

Annapolis the 6^th Nov 1758 —

Sir
I do myself the honour to acknowledge my Receit of the
Letter you were pleased to write to me from Rays Town the
22^d of Oct^r which I shall lay before the Assembly agreeable to
Your Desire but I shall not have an Opportunity of doing so
before the 20^th Inst some extraordinary proceedings of the
Gentⁿ of the Lower House last week having laid me under
the necessity of proroguing them to that time. As the mem-
bers of the present House are for the most part the same
Men that composed the last I am much afraid they will not be
prevailed on to alter their Measures & indeed they almost tell
me as much in an Address which they were pleased to pre-
sent in Answer to the Speech that I made them at the
opening of the Session, they have however as the inclosed
Paper will more particularly shew resolved that out of the first
Supplies which shall be granted for His Majesty's Service
they will appropriate a Sum of Money to reimburse Your
Excellency what you have advanced on the Credit of this
Province & also to pay off all the Arrears that shall be due to
the Maryland Forces at the End of the Campaign. The
Gentⁿ of the Upper House have likewise on their part pro-
fessed that they are very desirous Your Excellency should be
reimbursed & our Troops paid off, but notwithstanding these
Resolves & Determinations I am persuaded as I have already
intimated that if the Lower House insists on the Bill they
formerly offered & will not frame one on a different Plan, No
Money will be raised here on this Side Christmas for any
purpose whatever; And with regard to what Your Excellency
says of the Expediency of these Colonies supporting Troops
to garrison the several Forts mentioned in Your Letter I am
apt to think that if the two Houses of Assembly do agree to
raise money the Gentlⁿ of the Lower House will be very
averse to supporting a Garrison at Fort Cumberland or any
other more advanced Post & I found my opinion on some
Resolves of the late Lower House & on an Address which
they desired me to send last year to the Earl of Loudoun
wherein they peremptorily declared that they never would,
nor do I believe they will agree to any Augmentation of our
Troops at least during the Winter, Not knowing whether
you have yet received the last Pens^a Paper I take the Liberty
to inclose you one & also to send Your Excellency a Copy of
a Letter which I received last Saturday from Doctor Ross as
prolix I think as the Letter he wrote to Your Excellency was
Laconic if at any time You shall have Leisure & will take the