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U. H. J.
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likely than the former Act to lessen the quantity of Tobacco, as
much as was hoped it would have done, that Reduction would not
indicate our being dishonourable unjust or ingrateful to his Lord-
ship, since nothing was taken from him, that his Lordship was enti-
tled to by any former Law, nor anything more done but passing a
Bill to pay his Lordship a Duty on Tobacco instead of his Rents &
Alienations for One Year, which if passed into a Law, is a voluntary
Contract, the Terms whereof are understood on both Sides, & the
Contracting Partys have it in their Power to agree or disagree to
it; thus the Case stands, & how it or any other Case so circum-
stanced, will warrant a Charge of Injustice or Ingratitude against
any of the Contracting Partys, We recommend it to your Honours
seriously to consider
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p. 60
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Since the Provision made by the former Act would not answer
the End of making it, We thought it absolutely necessary (in Re-
gard making too great Quantitys of Tobacco, is universally allowed
to be One & a very great Cause of the Calamitys the People of
Maryland labour under) to supply (at least) in part the Defects
therein; And We think it very probable that the Reduction proposed
to six thousand plants & the other Restrictions contained in the Bill
for that purpose, would be of Service to the Country, by greatly
lessening^ the Quantity of Tobacco; And if Tobacco Debts were not
subject to a Defalcation in Proportion to the Reduction in the Crops
Your Honours cannot but know, that several, even a very great
number of the Inhabitants would have very little Tobacco left,
wherewith to procure themselves necessarys, & consequently the
Amendment of the Trade would rather encrease than lessen their
Miserys. As to obliging some People to take money for Part of
their Tobacco Debts, it is but the same Provision that was made last
Session, which Your Honours, then agreed to, and the Reason (we
conceive) still subsists. How it is possible to avoid some Inequality
in the proposed Deduction, We know not, the making of Laws that
may be beneficial to Our Country in General (tho disadvantageous
to some particular Persons) being the highest Perfection We can
hope to arrive at.
We are extremely surprized & indeed alarmed at the Reasons
Your Honours alledge, as more particularly inducing you to reject
the new Tobacco Bill Viz. that is a Bill of the same Nature (some
few Circumstances excepted) with the former, against the Sanction
to which in Great Britain publick Oppositions it is well known, are
made. That any Opposition is made against the Sanction to it, We
never knew or heard of, nor can we conceive the End or Purpose of
such Opposition; for We beg Leave to acquaint Your Honours that
an ample & full Power of Legislation is lodged in this Province, &
that a Law enacted in the usual & customary form here by the legis-
lative Authority has all the force & Effect of a Law, without any
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