248 Assembly Proceedings, April 22-May 10, 1718.

L.H.J.
p. 64

They return and say they delivered it
Esq^r Hall from the upper House delivers M^r Speaker the
following Message viz:

By the upper house of Assembly May 5^th 1718.
Gent.
His Excy having offered to this House th^t for three years
last past very few Patents have issued out of his L^pps Land
Office and that the Occasion thereof was that M^r Charles
Carroll would not pass any Patents [but] what bore Teste our
trusty and well beloved Charles Carroll Esq^r his L^pps Chief
Agent of our Land Affairs ; which being highly Derogatory to
the Office of Keeper of the great Scale of this Province His
Excy did not think Advisable to consent thereunto M^r Carroll
also refused to issue out any patents unless he might have one
half of the fees of the Scale notwithstanding that the Scale was
by their L^pps Especiall Order taken out of his hands and lodged
with the Governour and Keeper thereof by which means very
few patents have issued out of the Office since that Time to the
Manifest Prejudice of many the good People of this province
who as We have been informed has long since paid the fees
of the said Patents ; We therefore recomend this matter to-
gether w^th the inclosed Certificate to the Consideracon of
your House as a Publick Aggrievance of the whole province.
Signed p Order Jn^o Beard Cl. up. ho.

In Answer to which the following Message was Prepar'd
viz.

By the lower House of Assembly May the 5^th 1718.
May it please yo^r Honours
In answer to your Message of this day by Esq^r Hall ; as to

p. 65

M^r Carroll's insisting on the Patents issuing forth in the Style
therein menconed We agree in Opinion that the same is highly
derogatory to the Office of Keeper of the great Scale and like-
wise that his refusing and delaying to issue the Patents where
the People had taken the Proper Methods towards the obtain-
ing them unless he was to be paid the one half of the fees of
the Scale is a manifest Prejudice as well to my Lord in the dis-
couraging the Cultivacon of his Lands as to the People in
hindring them from making their proper Improvements, and
observe that if M^r Carroll has reced the fees where he has not
made out the patents the people may have their Remedy ag^t
him in Comon Law.
Signed p Order M: Jenifer Cl: lo ho: