480 Correspondence of Governor Sharpe.

Letter Bk. V

apparent from that as well as from a Letter he had had the
honour to receive from your Ldp that your Ldp intended he
should be appointed to the best place in the Province he pre-
ferred that of Agent whereupon I wrote to Col^o Lloyd that
M^r Alien would succeed him as Agent on the 25^th Inst & a
Commission was accordingly made out to him bearing Date
of that Day. As M^r Alien seem'd to be under some difficulty
about getting a responsible Person to become Surety here on
his behalf I apprehended your Ldp would be satisfied with his
own personal Bond which I therefore took in the penalty of
£5000 stg of which I transmit your Ldp a Copy together with
a Copy of his Commission, but he told me Security should be
given in England on his behalf to any Amount your Ldp
should require. M^r Hamersley having in the same Letter
intimated to Me that your Ldp did not desire to be involved
in any Dispute about Pluralities I have upon M^r Aliens
choosing to continue Rector of S^t James's Parish inducted into
this the Rev^d M^r Edmiston in pursuance of your Ldps pleasure
signified to Me by the Letter your Ldp was pleased to favour
me with the 15^th of April last. In the List of the Parishes &
Clergy I last year transmitted for your Ldps Information
there were some Clergymen mentioned as Officiating Curates
in Vacant Parishes untill your Ldp should be pleased to give
permission for their being inducted. One of these vacant
Parishes called Coventry was in the year 1766 vacated by the
Death of M^r Whitaker who by his Sottishness & immoral
Behaviour had long been considered as an intollerable Burthen
by the Parishioners. After his Decease I gave Lycence to a
M^r Reade to officiate there as a Curate till your Ldp should
permit me to induct him either into that or some other Parish,
but being told some time last Winter that the Vestry or at
least some of them had taken up a Notion that the Parishion-
ers as Founders of the Church had a Right to elect & present
their Rector as is the Practice in Virginia I thought it my
Duty to issue immediately an Induction for Coventry to a M^r
Ross Rector of All Hallows the next Parish which is not quite
so lucrative intending to appoint M^r Reade to officiate there
in his stead ; but when M^r Ross was preparing to remove into
Coventry such Threats were thrown out as deterred him, &
he desired me to let him remain where he was not choosing
to leave a Parish where he was on good Terms with the People
for one where he was not very likely to be very kindly
received or to live in harmony with his Parishioners. Upon
this I gave an Induction for Coventry to the Rev^d M^r Hughs
who officiated in a neighbouring Parish as your Ldp would
see by my List, This Gentleman having been Chaplain to the
44^th Regiment during the late War & being desirous to settle