78 Assembly Proceedings, October 6-November 4, 1724.

U. H. J.

A Message from the Lower House by M^r Bozman and M^r
Hawkins

By the Lower House of Assembly November 3^d 1724
May it please your Honours
In Answer to your Honours Message this evening by Col^o
Ward We desire you will please to read the Bill and take
notice of the Words of the Proviso which extend further
than the parts of the Bill your Honours mention in your
Message and Provide that the Act shall not in any ways affect
the Publick or County Levy or 40 p Poll due to the Clergy
which plainly shews that all the Inhabitants were intended to
be Affected by that Law or that Proviso was Useless And if
you please to compare this Bill with the part of Tobacco Law
relating to the same you will there find it was the Sense of
the Legislature that by the like Words in the Enacting part
all persons were affected as by the Proviso therein more fully
appears which words if your Honours approve them better
may be added to this Bill
But upon the whole the vote having been put with us
whether to recede from the rates proposed in the Bill it was
carried in the Negative and therefore we cannot recede
from it
Signed p Order M. Jenifer Cl Lo. Ho.

Adjourned till morning.

Wednesday November 4^th 1724
Present as yesterday.
Read yesterdays Message by M^r Bozman and M^r Hawkins
and the following Answer prepared thereto viz.

By the Upper House of Assembly Nov^r 4^th 1724.
Gentlemen.
In Answer to your Message of Yesterday by M^r Bozman &
M^r Hawkins we Assure you that we have many times read and
considered both the Bill and the Proviso and the more we read
the more We admire that you shou'd contend for such a
forc'd and improper construction of them As for your Argu-
ment drawn from the proviso in the Bill we think it carrys
as little Weight as those you have Used to maintain your sence
of the Clause in the Bill for if none but merchants were
mentioned in the Bill that Proviso would be necessary because