Correspondence of Governor Sharpe. 507

[Sharpe to Baltimore.]

Annapolis the 20^th of April 1761.
My Ld
I now do myself the honour to acknowledge the Rec^l of
Your Ldp's Letter dated the 31^st of Oct^r which did not come
to my hands before the 21^st of last month, at which time I also
received a Letter from M^r Calvert signifying it to be Your
Ldp's pleasure that immediately on the Receipt thereof I
should convene the Assembly & transmit from myself & them
an Address of Condolance & Congratulation to His Majesty :
having also about the same time received Letters from the
R^t honble M^r Sec^y Pitt & from His Excellency Gen^l Amherst
requiring me to apply to the Assembly once more for Supplies
I issued Proclamations for their meeting the 7^th Inst but a suffi-
cient Number of Burgesses to make a Lower House did not
come together before the 13^th when I opened the Session with

the inclosed Speech which I hope Your Ldpwill approve of &
as soon as the two Houses had presented the inclosed Ad-
dresses in Answer thereto I expressed to them in a Message
my Desire to join with them in such an Address to His
present Majesty as Your Ldp had recommended whereupon
a Committee of both Houses was appointed to draw up such
Address but they have not agreed on one & I doubt whether
they will agree at all for to the Draft which the Gentⁿ of the
Upper House proposed the other House insist upon adding such
a Clause about Aggrievances as it would be extremely absurd
for either me or the Upper House to admit, in Case therefore
they should break off I shall join in a seperate Address with
the Members of the Upper House & will not fail to transmit
the same to your Ldp by the earliest Opportunity. A Vote
has been again carried in the Lower House by a Majority of
three Voices that the Assessment Bill shall be once more
brought in & sent to the Upper House for raising the Sum of
£40000 Curcy, £10000 thereof to be appropriated to the Sup-
port of 400 Men for the Service of the ensuing Campaign &
the Residue towards paying off the Arrears due to the Mary-
land Troops that served under General Forbes & the Pay due
to the Militia & to some other purposes, I doubt not but we
shall break up again without doing any thing & as I have fre-
quently observed this is likely to be the Case as often as we
may be called on for Supplies, especially as it is now become
the general opinion here that the Raising a Number of Men
at this time would be running into an unnecessary Expence,
Upon which principle it is said that the Pennsylvania Assembly
have absolutely refused to raise any more men or to support
any more than the 300 that they have already on foot & which
they agreed last Winter to keep up in order to garrison some