Correspondence of Governor Sharpe. 559

Far be it from me to endeavour to invalidate your Excel-
lency's powers, but I may, with great deference observe, that
there is an absolute distinction made in the Act of Assembly
of 1704 between a delegated Commission & a Commission
flowing from her Majesty, her heirs & Successors, and M^r
Harnersley takes up the distinction in his Instructions of the
10 Nov. 1767 & says, that the Lord Proprietary is to be con-
sider' d loco Regis in this respect. It is evident that the same
power that gives, can alone take away, & that therefore a
person holding under an immediate Commission cannot be
removed by another holding under the self same powers. It
has been urged to me, that I do not hold under the immediate
Commission but under one derived from your own authority.
This argument is at best evasive, & too unworthy of your
Excellency even to be urged by you because the Commission
might have been made use of, & it would be highly ungen-
erous to make me a sufferer by such omission & therefore I
do consider myself as holding under the powers of the imme-
diate Commission as much, as if it had been filled up, and my
Lord himself is of the same opinion otherwise he would not
have thought it necessary to supersede mine by another imme-
diate Commission, but would have acted as usual by instruc-
tions to y^r Excellency.
Your Excellency informs me, that you have nominated
Major Jenifer to be Agent & Receiver general in my Room.
Yet in whatever light I may now stand in his Lordship's
opinion, I cannot think my Lord thinks Major Jenifer more
worthy of the office of Agent than myself, otherwise his Lord-
ship would not have turned him out of the office of Keeper
of the Rental. It is evident by this action that he did not
intend him for Agent, otherwise he would have mention'd
him in the Commission or instructions, but His Lordship
mention'd none other but M^r Tilghman, & therefore none
other can act but he or I ; He if he had accepted & I upon his
declining the acceptance. My Lord orders me to resign to
M^r Tilghman whom he has appointed, his Lordship has not
order'd me to resign to M^r Jenifer, whom he has not
appointed. To refuse the one would be flying in the face of
his authority to do the other would be a breach of Trust.
How far M^r Jenifer's Security may weigh I cannot determine
— my personal security may be as good as his — & M^r Morris
a Gentleman worth 40.000^l & my Brother Chaplain to the
Duke of Montague a Pluralist with an Estate in Expectancy,
would have given any Security required as soon as they
arrived in London in the Winter, & letters had passed
between My Lord, M^r Harnersley & those Gentlemen upon
the subject, my removal therefore appears equally unex-
pected & precipitate.