Correspondence of Governor Sharpe. 165

Potuxent to acknowledge my Receipt of the long Letter you
were pleased to write to me Dated at the Top of the first Side
February the 29^th & at the Bottom of the last April 3^d 1764
also of two Letters which His Ldp did me the honour to
write to me from Pera in December & January last, & of your
several Favours bearing Date the 10^th 14^th & 28^th of April
besides a Letter of Doctor Wilsons to you concerning M^r
Bacon (to whom I will write) & a Cover inclosing sundry
Letters which had been transmitted to you from time to time
by one James Richard of Baltimore County whose Character
since you are again pleased to enquire after him I shall now
give you at large: He is I think by Birth a Frenchman &
came into the Province during Governor Bladen's Administra-
tion in the Capacity of a Factor for one of the Jansen's whose
Business he transacted in such a manner as that his Employer
suffered considerable Loss & then declined the Trade
altogether: Richard afterwards engaged in Schemes for him-
self & purchased some Land near Baltimore Town on which
he at present resides, being of a vexatious turbulent Temper
as well as of bad Principles he was almost constantly engaged
in Law Suits & has I think been more than once by that
means brought to a Jail: he is till known very plausible but
so addicted to Lying that he soon discovers the Cheat himself
or if he does not must be found out & convicted of Falsehood
as soon as one calls on him for Proof; Having often behaved
in such a manner as made it the Duty of the neighbouring
Justices to issue their Warrants against him & at times to
bind him over to his good Behaviour he has as it were
declared open War with the most active of them, sometimes
spreading false Stories concerning them at other times libel-
ling or putting up anonimous Sarcastical Advertisements
which thinking him beneath their Notice they have perhaps
too often overlook't. As I perceive the Man insinuates that
he is of some Consequence in his County I cannot help
observing to you that I am fully persuaded his appearance on
the behalf of any one at an Election so bad is his Character
would be doing such person a Disservice. It is now some
years since he first took the Liberty to write to me in pretty
much the same stile he has since wrote to yourself pretending
he could shew me that some Officers had misbehaved both
towards the Lord Proprietary & towards the people & that he
could communicate to me something which might conduce to
His Ldp's Interest whereupon I countenanced him so far
as to invite him to my House & ask him to dine with me, but
tho he spoke of many things he could not undertake to prove
any. That Col^o Lloyd & I did sometime ago supersede two
of the Mannour Stewards is true but we did not take the Step

Letter Bk. IV