Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1753-1761. 59

I^st That the Inspection Act is repugnant to the Statute
made in the Sixth year of the late Queen Settling the rates of
Foreign Coins in the British Plantations.
2^d That the Act gives a Currency to Foreign Coins
3^d That the Currency given to foreign Coins may greatly
affect the Credit of the Provincial Currency
4^th That that part of the Act relative to Foreign Coins
does not Correspond with any part of the Title
5^th That the Act is an Infringement of your Lordships
prerogative in the Limitation of Officers fees, and the neces-
sity or Reasonableness of the Limitation does not appear.
The Statute made in the Sixth year of the late Queen in-
tended to Reduce the Coins Specified in the recited Procla-
mation to one Current Rate, for this Purpose a Table of the
intrinsick Value of those Coins according to their weight,
and the assays in the Mint, having been made, the Current
rate was Settled by the addition of 33^ thus these Coins as
a Silver Currency were regulated, upon this head it is mate-
rial to Observe to your Lordship that we have four Denom-
inations of Money Current within this Province

Sterling
Gold Currency
Silver Currency
Paper Currency

Which are received and demandable according to the Terms
of the Contract in Specie or the one is paid in lieu of the
other according to the Exchange, which being Variable
and precarious in its Nature, the Proportion which the Value
of one Denomination bears to that of an other can't be ex-
actly ascertained; as the one or other of the several Sorts of
Money happens to be wanted, the Possessor makes his Profit.
When Contracts are made in Sterling the Creditor is not
Compellable to receive Payment in any of the other Cur-
rencies, there being no legal Regulation of the Proportion
which the value any other Denomination bears to Sterling
& so of the Rest
The greatest part of your Lordships Quit Rents are pay-
able in Sterling and altho in Lieu thereof, Gold Silver &
Paper Currency is often received yet the Rate is determined
only by a Private Contract between the Tenant & the Re-
ceiver.
Sevil pieces of Eight considered as Sterling in respect of
Bills for Sterling fluctuate between 2 1/2 & 4 p Centum in
respect of Paper Currency (as well Since as before the In-
spection Act in every other Case except in the Payments to

Lib. J. R.

& U. S.