xxiv Letter of Transmittal.

of Virginia on the borders of Maryland and the attack upon Washington's
force, the bill provided that the money was to be expended by the Governor
for the defence of Virginia and his Majesty's dominions, and for the support
and relief of the wives and children of the Indian allies; that the funds for this
purpose be raised by licenses imposed on, and fines collected from, hawkers,
pedlars, and petty chapmen, by taxes on coaches, chairs, chaises, and chariots,
by duties on servants, slaves, and wine imported, and by an additional tax on
ordinaries. It will be recalled that the disposition of the license fees collected
from the keepers of ordinaries and from hawkers, pedlars, and petty chapmen,
and the fines imposed upon them, had been a bone of contention between the
two houses in recent sessions and had hitherto prevented the passage of an
adequate defense measure. At the 1752 session the Upper House had rejected
the bill because the Lower House insisted that the license fees and fines from
hawkers, pedlars, and petty chapmen should go to the support of county schools
instead of to " the support of the government," or as the public said, into his
Lordship's pocket. At the two previous sessions of 1754 and at the 1753
session the Upper House refused to assent to a bill " for his Majesty's service "
because the license fees from the same sources were to be used for other purposes
than for " the support of government." The action of the Upper House at this
session in reversing its former attitude is to be looked upon not only as a
victory for the Lower House but as a blow to a prerogative hitherto regarded
by the Proprietary as sacred. It is interesting to note that the Governor and
Council at a meeting held, July 24, 1754, warned the Proprietary that it would
be advisable in the present emergency to permit the licenses from ordinaries to
be used for purposes of defense (Arch. Md., xxxi, 38). A vote taken in
the Lower House as to whether an additional source of revenue for defense
might be provided by a special tax upon persons refusing to " take the oaths
to the government," a movement of course directed at the Roman Catholics,
was defeated by a vote of 26 to 12, the more conservative of the County party
voting with the Proprietary group.

The " act for his Majesty's Service " was the only new legislation passed at
this session, although eleven other acts were passed continuing in operation for
an additional three year period laws which were about to expire due to similar
time limitations, but these laws need not be severally referred to here.

The Governor presented to each house acknowledgments from Frederick,
the Lord Proprietary, to their respective addresses congratulating him upon
his coming of age and his marriage, and in his letter to the Lower House he
promised to lay before his Majesty's Board of Trade and Plantations, their
petition in regard to the importation, without restriction, of salt from foreign
countries. Sharpe closed the session, which was to be the final meeting of the