xx Letter of Transmittal.

Province, to recur for a Liberal Education," and intimates that there may be
expected from the Lord Proprietary " Something more than his bare appro-
bation of such a Proposal."

William Rasin, sheriff of Kent County, a former member of the Lower
House, who resigned before this sitting to accept an appointment as sheriff,
was brought before the bar of the house to show cause why he had not re-
turned, as ordered by the House, a writ of election for a delegate from Kent
to fill the vacancy. Throwing the blame upon a deputy sheriff, his excuses and
submission were accepted, and upon paying £. 2-10-6 for fees and charges
due the officers of the house, Rasin, who had been brought before the house by
the Serjeant-at-Arms, was discharged.

The Lower House just one week after the session opened, gave favorable
consideration to the measures proposed by Sharpe in his message. After debate
as to the amount which should be granted to purchase gifts for the Indians
and to defray the expenses of the Commissioners to the Albany Convention,
the house voted in favor of an allowance of six hundred and fifty pounds as
against one of five hundred pounds, which was favored by a minority. Upon
the question as to whether three thousand or four thousand pounds current
money should be granted " for the Assistance of the Virginians," the smaller
amount was decided upon by a 39 to 12 vote. Ways and means of providing
the money were then considered. A bill was drawn up in the Lower House to
raise the necessary funds by increasing certain existing taxes and placing new
ones on carriages and ordinaries, on indentured servants and negro slaves
brought into the province, on hawkers, pedlars, and petty chapmen, and on
judgments rendered in the Chancery, Provincial and county courts. The
Upper House promptly objected to many of the provisions of the bill, and the
remainder of this session was taken up with the old struggle between the two
houses, the Upper House refusing to acquiesce in the use of money for public
purposes derived from sources which they claimed were reserved for the ex-
clusive use of the Proprietary. After many messages had passed between them
and several conferences had been held, no agreement was reached, and the bill
" for His Majesty's Service " failed of passage. Through its failure the funds
necessary to send forces to the Ohio for the " assistance of the Virginians "
were not appropriated, but the Assembly, from other funds in the treasury,
found six hundred and fifty pounds for the use of the commissioners to the
Albany Conference of which five hundred was to be expended upon presents
to the Indians and one hundred and fifty used to defray the expenses of the
commissioners.

The Albany Conference, which was to have such far-reaching consequences
in bringing the colonies into closer cooperation, met there June 19, 1754. The