Correspondence of Governor Sharpe. 539

" There being some Livings on the Eastern Shore of consider-

able Value vacant at the time M^r Allen arrived here I imme-
diately offered him his Choice of them but tho one of them
was worth £230 stg a year he signified to Me that it would
be much more agreeable to him to be inducted into this Parish
which does not at most exceed £180 if I could vacate it by
the Removal of the then Rector which therefore I immedi-
ately did so that M^r Allen will continue to reside in this Place
until some more valuable Parish on this side the Bay becomes
vacant, which will I expect be the Case very shortly. It being
Enacted by a Law pass't here in 1702 that no Minister or
Incumbent shall at one time hold more than two Parishes nor
Two unless by the Desire or Agreement of the Vestry of the
said adjacent Parish & Consent of the Vestry where he
resides (which Consent None of the Vestries choose to give)
M^r Allen cannot in its full extent receive the Benefit of Your
Ldp's Instruction in his favour but your Ldp may be assured
that the Regard you express for that Gentleman will make
me ready & desirous to oblige him on every Occasion " In
a Letter I received from you some time afterwards without
Date you said " His Ldp is very well pleased with the Pro-
motion of M^r Allen to the Living of Annapolis as he has a
particular Regard for that Gentleman whom you will find
very deserving of it both from His natural & acquired Quali-
fications. His Ldp desires some further Notice may be taken
of him by presenting him at the first Opportunity to some
other Preferment tenable with & convenient to what he now
holds, to answer in some degree the Attention His Ldp bears
him" & again in your Letter of the 20^th of July 1767 you said
" His Ldp was well pleased I had inducted M^r Allen into this
Parish, he seems (added you) to have chose it for fear of being
rusticated but does not appear very well contented with it, I
wish some means might be found to help him to a better
Income, & if Difficulties arise in the Church you are desired
to consider whether there may not be some Civil Employment
which he can properly execute together with his Ecclesiastical
Function."
M^r Allen acquainted with what His Lordship had wrote to
me relative to his holding Two Livings seem'd to think I
used him ill in not presenting him to Two immediately on his
Arrival, in order to make him easy till a better Living on this
Side the Bay should become vacant or till I could receive
farther Orders from His Ldp in Consequence of what I had
mentioned to him with respect to the Provisoe against Plurali-
ties I told M^r Allen that if an Addition of £50 stg a year to
the Income of S^t Annes would satisfy him till he could be
better provided for it should be paid him (intending to pay it

Letter Bk. V