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400 Correspondence of Governor Sharpe.
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Letter Bk. IV
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that I was not mistaken. Having appointed a Day for taking
the Letters & Opinion which I had communicated to them into
Consideration They passed just the same Votes & made the
same Resolves that were entered into by them last year (of
which you may see a Copy in the 32d 33d & 34th Pages of the
inclosed Journal) & on the 31st of March they sentto the Upper
House a Bill for Raising £60000 for the purposes therein
mentioned by just the same Mode that was proposed last year ;
nor would they pay so much Regard to Mr Pratt's opinion on
that old Bill of theirs as to alter it in any respect whatever.
After such a Proceeding there was not the least Room to
hope that any thing would be done relative to His Majesty's
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p. 72
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Service however as the two Houses had other Bills under
Consideration they continued Sitting till the 11th of April
when I passed in the usual Form five Continuing Acts &
three others of no great Consequence as on perusing them
you will readily perceive. Besides these & the Supply Bill
there were several others brought on the Carpet which mis-
carried, in particular the Naturalization Bill which being
approved of by His Ldp was by the Gentlemen of the Upper
sent to the Lower House where it was rejected because it did
not expressly exclude Papists from all the Advantages which
thro His Ldps Favour were to be by that Bill conferred on
Aliens & such as have by purchase or other means acquired
Lands that belonged to Aliens within this Province. The
Gentlemen of the Upper House sent down likewise a Bill for
Dividing All Saints Parish in Frederick County which was
refused as 'twas given out because some of the Burgesses
from that County thought the Parishioners would choose
to have it divided in a different manner from what the
Gentlemen of the Upper House had proposed. There
was likewise a Bill prepared in the Lower House & sent
to the Upper for extending the Duration of the Supply Bill
that was passed in 1756 & for continuing it three years longer
than it would otherwise remain in Force, in order to prevent
any extraordinary Tax being laid on the Lands throughout
the Province to make up what the other Funds & Duties
imposed by that Act have proved deficient. The Gentlemen
of the Upper House were inclined to continue the Act one
Year longer than it is now to endure & to aid it in some
measure by a Poll Tax for the reasons given in their Message
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p. 73
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to the Lower House (which is inserted in the 24th Page of their
Journal) they would not pass the continuing Bill in the Form
it was offered them. As I find by a Letter which I received
this Morning from General Amherst that he intends to trans-
mit to Mr Secretary Pitt one which I lately wrote to him on
our Assembly's breaking up without granting any Supplies, I
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