Correspondence of Governor Sharpe. 93

obtained from their exporting directly to foreign ports the
produce of this Country Enumerated Commodities only
excepted Liberty will be given them to import directly from
such Ports whatever is to be there purchased & that for the
more certain Collection of such Duties a few Troops will be
posted along this Continent in every Port of Trade & some
Frigates stationed at the Mouths of the several Bays & Navig-
able Rivers in order to search all Vessels that may pass &
repass so as that none may sail hence or come hither without
making due Entry of their respective Vessels & entire Cargoes
at the proper Offices or without paying all Duties to which by
the Act of Parliament they may be made liable. If such a
Plan should be carried into Execution the Inhabitants of this
Province will at least have this Benefit that they will be on a
footing with their Neighbours which they are not while such a
Contraband Trade is carried on from Rhode Island & several
other Ports in North America, & I am apt to think very con-
siderable Sums may be raised by such a measure without the
Inhabitants being sensible of any Burthen. With respect to
what you write concerning Col^o Lloyd I scarcely know what to
say having already at different times exhausted myself on that
Subject, but as I presume you have in the Letter you have
now addressed to him & recommended to my Care & which I
shall forward to him by the first Opportunity given him an
answer to his Proposition & signified to him what he may
expect or depend on I shall when I see him next week
take the Liberty to speak to him once more on the Subject
after which I shall be able to write to you more certainly &
more probably to Your Satisfaction than I could do at present.
I am glad to learn that you have foiled M^r Brerewood in all
his Attempts against His Ldp, I sent you all the Information
I could get relative to the Circumstances of the Mannour in
Baltimore & shall be pleased if it answered the End for which
you wanted it. You tell me in that part of Your Letter where
you acknowledge the Receipt of mine dated the 12^th of Sept^r
that " with regard to method of Running Boundary Lines
inclosed is Doctor Bevis's Judgment & Prescriptions" but was
sorry to find by your last Postscript that they were not sent, as
our Commissioners would have been very glad to see what he
has farther to say or propose with respect to this Business:
It is very strange methinks if D^r Bevis could evince the
Utility & Accuracy of the Transit Instrument that M^r Penn
was not as ready as His Ldp to procure it for us especially
when repeated Tryals have shewn the great Difficulty if not
Impossibility of running the Lines by the Instruments &
methods which have been hitherto used & which are as good
as any we can think of unless it be the Transit Instrument you

Letter Bk. IV