The Upper House. 77

your construction of that Paragraph in the Bill for reviving
the Act for Officers fees we take leave to represent to you a
State of the case in the manner following The Sentence from
whence the dispute arises stands originally in that Paragraph
of the Bill viz. (Be it Enacted that any Person or Persons
residing and Inhabiting this Province being Indebted in To-
bacco to any Merchant or other person trading or commercing
in or to this Province) & then provides that such Inhabitants
shall have a Liberty to pay such Merchants or Traders in
Flax or Hemp from whence we Observe that the persons here
intended to have the Benefit of making Payments in Flax
or Hemp are described to be Inhabitants or residents and the
Persons obliged to receive such Payments are distinguished
from them by the Character of Merch^ts or Traders in or to
this Province a plain demonstration to every mans Under-
standing that no other person could be Affected by that Clause
but Merchants or Traders Now to this Our House Objected
by the Indorsement on the Bill that it would be a Prejudice
to trade and desired that what related to Merchants might be
Omitted and to this [in] your message in Answer thereto you
consented but in the Bill when it came Engross'd we find
the Amendment made thus, to any Persons except Merchants
or others trading into this Province Now if you Alledge that
by this Clause in the Bill as it Originally stood all Persons as
well Merchants as Inhabitants of this Province were Obliged
to receive such payment then your Amendment is a plain
contradiction to it self for you seem to except some Persons
and yet exclude all Persons before mentioned in that Clause
and this plainly shews that your House had the same under-
standing of that Paragraph in the Bill that our House had
and therefore We Again Conclude that the Interlineation of
the Words Persons Except Is Introductive of a new provision
in the Bill which before that Interlineation Obliged only
Merchants and other trading Persons to receive Flax and
Hemp but as now Altered by your House Excludes Merch^ts
& Other trading Persons and Obliges all other Persons to

U. H. J.

receive Flax and Hemp in Payment of debts Thus we have
plainly shew'd the truth of what we have asserted in our
former Message relating to this Bill but to let you see we have
no Aversion to the thing but to the manner of doing it and that
we are willing to Conclude this Session by doing any thing
that might be thought necessary for the Good of the People
we propose that the Price of Flax in that bill be made five
Pounds of Tobacco p Pound and the price of Hemp three
pound of Tobacco p Pound with which Amendment we con-
sent to Pass it
Sign'd p Order S. Skippon Cl Up Ho.

p. 161