Correspondence of Governor Sharpe. 173

happened in this Province but as I have heard that the Captain
is almost ready to sail again for Europe & I may not perhaps
have another Opportunity of getting a Packet conveyed to
him at the Wye before his Departure, I embrace one that now
offers to send him together with this Thirty six more Sheets
of the Acts of Assembly which are now printing here & also a
Copy of a Letter that I received a few Days ago from Mess"
Mason & Dixon. By this Letter of theirs it appears that they
had on the 18^th Inst extended their Line the Distance of
seventy miles from the Middle Point but as it deflects con-
siderably Westward from the last Line run by the former Sur-
veyors they must in pursuance of the Hints that you sent us
make Offsetts as they return to the Middle Point & then
endeavour to run a straight Line thro the Terminations of
such Offsetts so that I am afraid they will not proceed again on
the North Boundary before the End of the Summer. As I had
not Time when I last wrote to answer so particularly as I
should have otherwise done your Letter of the 29^th of Feb^y I
shall now take the liberty to communicate what else occurred
to me on a perusal & farther Consideration of its Contents.
In answer to your Enquiry whether any Lots have been
reserved to His Ldp in the Towns which have been estab-
lished in this province I must inform you that the Towns have
been always built on Land which had been before patented to
private persons so that a Reservation could not be made for
His Ldp in the same manner as Lots were reserved to the
Proprietors of Pennsylvania at the time that Phila^a was laid
out, all the Land whereon that Town stands being at the time
vested in the Proprietor who could therefore make his own
Terms, & by the surprizing Growth of that City had now
great property therein by means of his Reservations above-
mentioned, As the Land on which Baltimore Town in par-
ticular was built had been granted away by Patent long before
any Person thought of erecting a Town there I do not see how
any Lotts could have been secured therein for His Ldp unless
His Agent had purchased some while they were rated low &
thought of little Value, but as you seem to have been misin-
formed with respect to the Growth of Baltimore Town I must
observe to you that altho there is more Business transacted
there than at any other of our Maryland Towns, It is in point
of both its Trade & Buildings almost as much inferiour to
Philad^a as Dover is to London, nor do I suppose that it con-
tains at this time more than two hundred Families, it is how-
ever increasing & will probably very soon get the Start of
this City tho the number of Houses in this place also hath
increased considerably with these few years Having been
lately called on by the Lords of Trade for a particular Account

Letter Bk. IV