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You complain of being kept out of any Session for Three Years
past, meerly upon pretence (as you say) for the sake of this one
Law; Pray, Gentlemen, what Foundation have you to urge, that we
ever made such a pretence ? This we possitively deny, and we further
tell you, that it is notorious, the Assembly in 1738, was Prorogued
and afterwards Dissolved on account of a Difference which pre-
vented an Intercourse (as things then stood) between the two
Houses; it is true the last meeting of Assembly in 1739 did end
without a Session principally because you would not pass A Bill for
Arms, &c and we are satisfied your Refusal at that Juncture will
lay the blame of no Session on the proper Persons; so that only one
Year and not three years, has yet passed without a Session on
account of that Bill, and your own Journals will shew that we have
not lost one Act of a publick nature by there being no Session at those
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U. H. J.
Calvert
Paper
No. 735
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two meetings (except a Bill that was brought in relating to Pork)
for all such Acts still do and will Continue in Force tho there shou'd
be now no Session, but if there had been more Laws lost, that might
have been really useful to the Country, it must and ought in Justice
solely to be imputed to your House, who chose to expose the Country
to any Inconveniences rather than continue the only Fund established
for it's necessary Defence and Security
You insinuate as if there were some other real Obstacle or not
agreing to a Session than the plausible Pretence of Three Pence
per Hogshead; we are glad you will allow it a plausible Pretence, but
we do most solemnly and sincerely assure you, and all those
Strangers you speak of, that our true and only motive of not passing
any Bill, is, lest a Session should be made and the Act of Three
Pence for Arms &c should be dropt, and the Country be left desti-
tute of the least Supply, perhaps when a War with France and Spain,
by being continued longer than the time to which you limit the Bill,
may require the greatest Fund we can raise for our defence; and
of this Truth we doubt not you are convinced, otherwise you would
have acquiesced with our Choice, if for no other Reason but to dis-
cover the Obstacle you hint at, and which you do not care to name ;
and this brings us to tell you why that Money has been hoarded up
(as you call it) at London for these last seven years; you are sen-
sible this Act can raise (communibus Annis) but about 300£ Ster-
ling per Annum; If this money should be disposed of as fast as this
Act raises it, there would not be till the end of the succeeding year,
any money to supply any immediate necessary call in the Inter-
mediate Time; besides the Annual Sum would certainly be too little
for many sudden emergent occasions which might immediately
require a large Sum of Money for our Defence Further you must
allow that had the Money now in Bank laid out in Arms and Ammu-
nition although we should perhaps have had many more Arms, and a
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p. 62
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