Correspondence of Governor Sharpe. 381

become due the Ld Proprietary may be at liberty to enter &
sell the Land to another Person ; If His Ldp thinks the Vacant
Land is at present sold on too easy Terms I should advise the
Raising the Caution Money from £5 p^r 100 Acres to £7 10
rather than Raising the Quit Rents, if he chooses to make the
Experiment an Instruction must, be sent the Agent to that
Effect & entered in the Land Office as it will make an Altera-
tion in the present Condition of Plantations. Since His Ldp
hath sent in Powers & Instructions for the Sale of his Man-
nours no new Leases have been granted except to those for
whom Tenements had been before surveyed or laid out nor
have any Leases for a longer Term than Twenty one years
been lately granted except for Tenements on Talbot Man-
nour & some very poor Land in the Reserve in Baltimore
County & should not the Mannours be all sold according to
His Ldps Instructions He might depend that no Lease will
be granted for the future for a longer Term than Twenty one
years. By the Copy I sent you of the Minutes of the late
Proceedings of the Commissioners appointed to have the
Dividing Lines run you would see that they had thought it
necessary to obtain the Indians Consent before the Surveyors
proceeded to extend the East & West Line beyond the Alle-
ganny Mountains in Consequence of this Opinion & their
Agreement S^r William Johnson was desired to make Applica-
tion to the Indians which he is now doing & will 'tis expected
at the Expence of £300 stg prevail on them to give their
Consent to the Lines being extended tho he thinks they will
raise some Difficulties & that the Running such Line without
their Consent previously obtained would certainly have been
productive of ill Consequences. If S^r William Johnson suc-
ceeds in his Negotiation the Surveyors will be ordered to pro-
ceed with the Line as soon as the Season will permit other-
wise We shall I suppose discharge them as soon as the Stones
or Obelisks you give me Room to expect here very shortly
can be set up. I have in Pursuance of His Ldp's pleasure
noted M^r Rob^t Harrison for the next Sheriff of Dorchester
County & inducted the Rev^d M^r Alien at his own Request
into this Parish which altho it is of less Value than two others
that were vacant on the Eastern Shore he preferred to either
of them, & as soon as a better Living on this Side the Bay
becomes vacant which will I expect be the Case very shortly
I shall make M^r Alien an Offer of it. His Ldp intimated
indeed that till I should have an Opportunity of inducting M^r
Alien into one of the best he might hold two of the less valu-
able Livings but that you will see by the Act of 1702 Chap I
Sec 16 could not be without the Consent of the Vestries,
which they would never give. Upon the Receipt of His Ldps

Letter Bk. IV