602   Appendix to Council Proceedings, 1696—1729.

               c. P.    proposed, rejected by the Lower House. It were Needless

                  as well as tedious, to trouble you with the Grounds or rea

                  sons for those Amendments insisted on by the Upper House

                  and rejected by the Lower; since it would of Necessity lead

                  me into the Detail of the Country affairs in Generall, as well

                  in relation to the Publick as to the private Interests thereof,

                  in Various matters of trade and property, the which not being

                  necessary for the present I shall omit. I shall only therefore

                  observe to you, on the first Amendment proposed, and which

                  I Insisted on as a Sine qua non, to the Bill Viz, the sd Act

                  not to take place untill your pleasure therein should be

                  known; This being the Leading Amendment proposed and

                  known to be insisted on, over set the whole Bill, for while a

                  set of people in the Lower House, were disputing, or rather

                  Denying your right to Dissent to Laws, you may Easily

                  imagine they would not in the Eyes of their Deluded fol

                  lowers, so far weaken their pretention, as to admit of this

                  Clause, which must appear a tacite Confessione of the same

                  right they had pretended to Oppose.

               p. 3     The reasons which Induced me, to insist on this Amendmt

                  arose; First from the Consideration of the great importance

                  of the Act proposed, an Importance Indeed I thought too

                  great to be Suddenly Carried into Execution upon the hasty,

                  or Even most Considerate resolutions of as weak Legislators

                   Money, or somewhat to answer its Current Effects in trade,

                  is certainly much wanted here; wee may Barter between one

                  Another our Staple Tobacco, but to Carry on and Inlarge

                  our trade Abroad & to Invite Artificers, Shipwrights &c to

                  Settle amongst us, another Species of Currency in payments,

                  seems very desirable; New York, Pennsylvania &c are vastly

                  improved in foreign Trade, as well as home Manufactures,

                  by a Paper Currency; it is that, in lieu of Specifick Coin,

                  which seems, to give life, Expedition, and Ease to trade

                  and Commerce this has drawn them into Communitys or

                  Towns, they are daily growing more and more populous,

                  and are supposed to Increase as proportionably in Credit

                  and riches; In Virginia and Maryland, the Case is much

               p. 4     otherwise; Tobacco, as our Staple, is our all, and Indeed leaves

                  no room for anything Else; It requires the Attendance of all

                  our hands, and Exacts their utmost labour, the whole year

                  round; it requires us to abhorr Communitys or townships,

                  since a Planter cannot Carry on his Affairs without Consider

                  able Elbow room within his plantation; when All is done, and

                  our Tobacco Sent home, it is perchance the most uncertain

                  Commodity that Comes to Markett, and the management of

                  it there, is of such a nature and method, that it seems to be

                  of all other, most lyable and Subject to frauds, in prejudice