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That you have been indeed informed by the several Naval Officers
that they levy that money by Virtue of An Act of Assembly made in
the year 1704 Entituled An Act for settlement of An Annual Revenue
upon her Majestys Governor within this province for the time being
This manner of expressing your selves would really have inclined
me to believe, that you had not before known by what Law the said
twelve Pence p hhd had been collected till the Information above
mentioned from the said Naval Officers; was it not so notoriously
known that the said law of 1704 was not only under the Consid-
eration of the Lower House of Assembly in the year 1733 but has
been greatly canvassed in Conversation by the members of every
Assembly that has met since that time, and that it has been univer-
sally looked upon by every part of the Legislature since that time
as a law in force and being till some Gentlemen of new light (for
I find We have new Light in Politicks as well as in Religion)
lately undertook to undeceive us in this particular
If the said Law should be found not to be in force I must own
I should be greatly surprized, as I believe many others would be of
far greater knowledge and Experience than myself, but shall with
all duty & Submission be at all times ready to submit myself to the
Judgment of Superiors at home where neither the Artful Prac-
tices of Arbitrary and corrupt Governors nor the causeless clamours
of self Interested and ill designing men can cover themselves with
those disguises which are but too often put on before less Pene-
trating Judges, but everything must appear in its true and proper
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L. H. J.
Lib. No. 45
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light and be judged of accordingly
I must confess indeed that the opinion of the Lower House of As-
sembly for which I must at all times have the greatest Regard
would have had more weight with me upon this occasion, had you
not laid before me the Grounds and Reasons of it, set forth at large
in the report annext to your address in which without taking upon
me to determine what must be left to the Judgment of our Superiors
as I mentioned before I hope I shall be able to point out a few Mis-
takes and misapprehensions that will be a sufficient excuse for me
even with your House, for not considering the several Acts for rais-
ing money for the support of this Government in the same light that
you have done
It might tire your Patience was I to follow you in the Recital of
the several Acts of 1671, 1674, 1676, 1692, 1699, 1704, 1715, 1716,
1717 which take up many pages therefore shall only take notice of
some mistaken Facts, and your Conclusions from them of so very
Material a Nature that they seem to destroy the whole Foundation
of your long Argumentation
In order to destroy the Validity of the Act of 1704 your Chief
Argument is that tho a Law of the very same nature was given to the
Crown in the year 1692 the said Law of 1692 was not deemed by
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p. 880
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