The Lower House. 277

And the following letter Viz.^t
Albany, Nov.^r 3.^d 1757
Sir.

Last night I had the favour of yours of Oct.^r 21st with an account
of the Proceedings of your Assembly and a Copy of their Address
to you. I must own the Restriction your Assembly endeavoured to
lay on the Troops raised by your Province last Spring Surprized me
as it interfered with the King's undoubted prerogative of Command-
ing all his Subjects in Arms either by himself or those he appoints
under him. However the Troops were wise enough to obey his Maj-

L.H.J.
Liber No. 49
Nov. 19

esty's Orders given them by those who alone had power to give them
and I was in hope the gentlemen that compose the Assembly had re-
considered that Affair and seen the Error of it, But your Letter and
their Address have shown me that I was mistaken and yet I cannot
help having that Charity for my fellow Subjects to believe that this
Affair has not appeared to them in its true light for I cannot think
that the Assembly of Maryland ever intended to Invade the King's
undoubted Prerogative nor can I possibly believe that they intend to
throw the Frontier Garrisons of his Majesty's Dominions into the
Enemies hands particularly when those Garrison's are in their own
Province and so essential to their own protection — and yet this mea-
sure is big with all those Consequences, both from its own Nature
and still more so from the season in which it is taken the account of
it arriving to me late on the 2.^d of Nov.^r in the back Country of the
Province of N. York by which measures they not only refuse their
Aid to the common Cause and desert the Interest and Security of
their own Province but by the Season they have taken this Resolution
it put it out of the power of the King's Servants to remedy the end
that the execution of such a Measure cannot miss to have — From this
light of things which is the true one I cannot doubt that your As-
sembly will immediately take such Resolutions as shall enable you
to provide effectually for the Security of that important Post at Fort
Cumberland so as to prevent its being abandoned and put into the
Enemies possession which would be the Effect of such a resolution. I
must further remind you of the uninterrupted Orders to have been
communicated to all the Governments in North America from his
Majesty's Secretary's of State from the year 1754 to this time to be
aiding and assisting to his Commander in Chief in North America
in supplying Troops &c.^a and in consequence of his Majesty's Com-

p. 92

mands to me of applying to the different Provinces for such aid as I
see necessary for the common Cause I do demand from the Prov-
ince of Maryland that the 500 men furnished for the common Cause
and employed by me this last Summer in the Defence of their Gar-
risons on their Frontiers be continued in the Service this Winter as
absolutely necessary for the Defence of their own Province and the
defence of his Majesty's Dominions, as to their disposing of the

p. 93