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Correspondence of Governor Sharpe. 503
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weaken the opposition at this Critical Juncture by offering
lucrative Employments to any of the opponents, His Ldp
may be assured that the Advantage procured thereby would
be of short Duration, & that in fact from that period the
Faction would gather Strength, & that he could have no
prospect of quiet while there should be any thing for them
to demand or any thing left in his power to give up —
You say " Of Alienation Fines mentioned in His Ldp's In-
structions I recommend to commune only with Mr Commis-
sary Dulany for fear of Alarm, he knows how the Conditions
can be improved, I have reasons for this Hint & it is quite
proper to discover no Hint of this to him from me to you "
which I apprehend refers to the following Clause in His Ldp's
Instructions " With regard to my Alienation Fines the trifling
annual Sums they produce is notorious, & of this I have too
much reason to charge from undoubted Intelligence that this
Article of Revenue was it levied & justly paid it would clear
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Letter Bk. IV
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if not more yet equal in Revenue as may my Quit Rents; this
unjust Grievance I understand has prevailed under all the
pecuniary Administrations of Agents that were in my Father's
Time & the same continues on me, Why ? It is my real Due
on the Death of my provincial Tenants by Virtue of their
respective Grants inheritable to be levied & paid by all Heirs
in its full Extent it is a reciprocal mutual Agreement by Grant
& Patent between the Lord & provincial Tenant, therefore
much Care ought & must be had as to just payment & that it
be enforced " In Answer to which I must beg Leave to
observe to you in the first place that His Ldp seems to have
been misinformed with regard to what would be the Amount
of the Alienation Fines were they rigorously exacted & punc-
tually paid upon every Devise or Descent of Land by the
Death of a Tenant as well as upon every Conveyance, for as
the Fine or Money payable to His Ldp on an Alienation of a
Tract of Land is as you will see by the patent no more than
One years Quit Rent of such Land, the whole Amount of
Alienation Fines could not amount to as large a Sum as the
Quit Rents amount to, unless there was once every year a total
& entire Change or Alienation of All the Lands in the Prov-
ince, An Event which can never be expected or conceived.
But tho the Alienation Fines upon Devises (could Heirs &
Devisees be compelled to pay) & the Alienation Fines which
are now paid would even together fall very far short of the
Annual Amount of Quit Rents yet they would doubtless
amount every year to a large Sum, & therefore it may be well
worth while to consider whether by the Tenour of His Ldp's
patents an Alienation Fine ought to be paid on the Death of
every Person that dies seized of Land in this province & if it is
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p. 178
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