Correspondence of Governor Sharpe. 349

His Ldp's, at least at his sole Disposal as much as any other
part of his Estate for your better Information I have desired
M^r Ridout to get & herewith transmit you a Copy of what
pass't, this Session between the two Houses on this Subject &
as soon as I return from Kent County will communicate to
you any Thing else which might pass between the two Houses
relative to this or any other Matter of Consequence. An Act
for the farther Continuance of the Inspection Law is already
pass't, & hitherto there has been the greatest Harmony between
the two Houses, which I flatter myself will continue to the
End of the Session & I expect they will then join in an

Address to His Majesty on Occasion of the late Proceedings of

Parliament in favour of the Colonies. I am with the greatest
Regard &c.

Letter Bk. IV

[Riggin and others to Sharpe.]

Tuesday 25^th Novem^r 1766 Country Parish Som^t C^ty
Sir
The Rever^d Nathaniel Whitaker departed this life on Sun-
day Evening last, which occasions us to trouble you with this
Express, as we think it our duty to give you the earliest
Intelligence of that event, and as we have repeatedly peti-
tioned your Excellency that on such an event hapening you
would in compassion to our long unhappy Circumstances use
your endeavours to prevent the like imposition & as you have
as often given us the strongest assurances to be of all the
Service in your power, we shall continue in an expectation
that no Minister will be inducted into our parish until we can
have the tryal and that such person from his good conduct
may become esteemed & receive the Aprobation of the Con-
gregation.
We hope Sir that you will not conceive that we claim this
as an absolute right, but that we expect it and hope your
Excellency will be perswaded to think we merit this Indull-
gence when you recolect that we have been more than twenty
years without having the Gospel preached to us or any other
religious exercise performed, unless when Providence hath
been pleased to through a Clergyman in our way and by
gaining his labour on a Subscription greater then our circum-
stances would admit. Your Excellency may remember we
some small time past Petitioned you in favour of the Rev. M^r
Andrew Morton a Gentleman who we had some small
tryal of, and as far as oportunity admitted we aproved, should
your Excellency permit us to have a further Tryal of him we
would esteem it as a particular favour (in case we can procure
him for that purpose) and should we fail in him there is

Original.