The Lower House. 169

again sent you; not doubting but that you will make it agree-
able to the true Intent and meaning of the alteracons
propos'd by us, when the Orriginall Bill past our House and
to which you have heretofore Consented.
Signd p ord^r Sam^ll Skippon Cl Up. Ho.

In Answer whereto the following message is prepar'd Viz.

By the Lower House of Assembly Novemb^r the 2^d 1724
May it please Your Honours
We cannot Imagine that your Hon^rs have had the least
Cause of concern or Surprize for any the Matters you are
pleas'd to impute to us by your message of the 31^st past by M^r
Bowles and of this day by M^r Tasker as unprecedented unpar-
liamentary or Violating any the priviledges of your House
which whatsoever they be we wish you always had and would
preserve as free from Violation as we do for tho' you are
pleas'd to Suppose a mistake in us we can hardly have that
Supposition of Your House since we so plainly by our message
of the 31^st past by M^r Tyler & M^r Taylor pointed out to
your Honours how those interlineations were made Viz. In
Conformity to your message endorst on the Bill and since
your Honours are pleasd to insist that we have apparently
Violated the priviledge of your House by our Artfully Excus-
ing (as you are pleas'd to term it) the merchants therein
menconed instead of Excluding the whole paragraph We take
the Liberty of insisting but we hope with much more Candour
and Justice that your messages could never bear the sense you
now Contend for never proposing to Exclude the whole

L. H. J.

paragraph nor to Exclude any others but the Secretary and

the merchants and the amendment we made which you are

pleas'd with so much freedom to upbraid us with was only to
Exclude the Secretary and the merchants. But if you in-
tended and hop'd to lead us into the Excluding all others when
your words & our Intentions plainly intimated to you, were
to Exclude none others we pray you to consider who were
Endeavouring to be the most Artfull especially considering
that yo^r Concurrence with the Bill on the Amendments you
propos'd was one great Inducement for this Houses post-
poning the further consideration of those unreasonable frees
to the Secretary.
We have indeed true Cause of concern when we find yo^r
Hon^rs that have so Long acted as a part of this Legislature
now Contending for Innovations in our parliamentary pro-
ceedings and treating us in the Manner you do for pursuing
the Constant practice of amending Bills on messages from

p. 182