416 Minutes of the Board of Revenue, 1768-1775.

Lib. No. 86

spect to the other Commissions, as M^r Meriwether inform'd
me saying, that you deferred giving him possession of his 'til
the arrival of the new Governor) to receive an Order to
deliver up the Papers to Major Jenifer, as Agent appointed by
your Excellency.
I explained to you my Sentiments in general upon the Sub-
ject of the Agency founded upon the best opinions I could
obtain and maturely digested by myself. If that Paper should

p. 38

be thought worthy a second perusal as you only skimmed
lightly over it on Thursday night, I would remit it.
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 and a Commission
flowing from her Majesty her Heirs and Successors, and M^r
Hamersley takes up the distinction in his Instructions of the
10^th November 1767, and says, that the Lord Proprietary is to
be considered loco Regis in this respect. It is evident that the
same Power that gives can alone take away, and 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 and too unworthy of your
Excellency ever to be urged by you, because the Commission
might have been made use of, and it would be highly ungener-
ous to make me a sufferer by such omission, and therefore I do
consider myself as holding under the Powers of the immediate
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 immediate
Commission, but would have acted as usual by Instructions
to your Excellency.
Your Excellency informs me that you have nominated
Major Jenifer to be Agent and 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 turn'd 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 mentioned him in the
Commission or Instructions, but His Lordship mentioned none

p. 39

other but M^r Tilghman and therefore none other can Act but
He or I. He, if he had accepted and I upon his declining the
Acceptance. My Lord orders me to resign to M^r Tilghman
whom he has appointed: His Lordship has not ordered me to