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Foundation in Law or Reason, but that the King has an absolute
uncontroulable Title to this Branch of his casual Revenue; the Pro-
prietary of this Province to the Common Law &ca or any other un-
appropriated Fines here; and Lords of Manors in England, to those
in their Courts and in their Manors, and may dispose of them with
as much Liberty, as any Person in the World can his own private
Fortune and Estate: nor can your Supposition of the Proprietary
being divested of the Government alter the Case; for it would be
no otherwise, than if the Lord of a manor, or Possessor of an Estate
should alienate or be deprived of that Estate, the Rents Privileges
and Emoluments of that manor and Estate would be vested in the
next Possessor; but surely that Change would not give a Right in
those Rents, Privileges, or Emoluments, to any other person than
to such Possessor; For although the King is intitled to the Common
Law Fines Ratione Corona, the Proprietary Ratione Domini, the
Lords of Manors Ratione Manerie, and private Persons to their
Rents by Reason of their Estates; yet none of those Considerations
make them accountable either to Parliament, People, Tenants, or
any other Person, for what they so receive; for those Fines accruing
by Breaches of the King's Peace and Violation of his Laws, where
they are not particularly appropriated by positive Laws, must in the
nature of them belong solely to his Majesty, who is reckoned in the
Eye of the Law to be solely injured by such Transgression.
As to the Fines &c arising by Acts of Assembly, a bare Recourse
to the Acts themselves will answer your Observation on that Head,
and Charge of the several Officers not having done their Duty in
their Payment to the Lord Proprietary: For pray, to whom do those
Acts direct the Payment to be made ? The Acts expressly declare to
the Lord Proprietary; and yet you think fit to contend, the Officers
ought to pay them to some Body else, or into some other Place than
into his Lordship's Hands; tho' indeed you do not plainly say who
ought to receive them, but content yourselves with talking of the
Publick Treasure [r]: But since none of the Acts make mention of
any such Payment to be made to any such Treasurer, I am certain
your sense or wish in this Point cannot alter the Law; and it will be
Time enough to charge the Officers with a non Compliance in their
Duty, when they make such Payments to Persons not directed by the
Acts to receive the same. I acquainted you by my former Message,
that I could not learn that ever any other Fines than such as arose at
the common Law were by the present Agent received, and they being
Part of his Lordship's Estate, he was not accountable for them:
And as to the Representatives of any Agents who are dead, I am
unacquainted with them, and indeed if they were known to me, I
could not oblige them to lay any Account before your House, unless
they were Officers under his Lordship, and by that means under
his Direction; but I cannot forbear hinting to you, that if his Lord-
ship should be pleased to enter into an Account of his Expences for
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L. H. J.
Liber No. 46
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