The Lower House. 377

But, before I proceed, I must desire you'll observe, That it is so far
from becoming the Duty of my Station to Oppress any Set of Men,
or any Individual, whether as an Officer or private Man, merely to
gratify the Desire of others, that I think myself, on the contrary,
obliged to prevent, to the utmost of my Power, every Act of Op-
pression and Injustice towards every Individual under my Govern-
ment, let the Attempt come from what Quarter it will; and that as
you claim the Right of Representing to me whatever you may be
pleased to call a Grievance, you must at the same Time allow, that
however clearly you may pretend any Transaction may appear to
you in that Light, I have still the Right of Forming a Judgment,
and coming to a final Determination, upon your Representations :
And this Right I shall always exercise, repeat your Representations as
often as you please, wherever they may injuriously affect either the
Life, Liberty or Property of any Individual in this Province.

L. H. J.

Liber No. 49
Dec. 16

And now, to remove as much as possible the Difficulty you are
under to account for my failure to sue the Naval-Officers and Com-
missioners Bonds, agreeable to the Desire of the last Lower House,
and to prevent your attributing that Failure to my Disregard to the
reasonable Complaints of the Representatives of the People, or to a
Want of Regard to their just Representations, I shall proceed, as
briefly as the Nature of the Subject will permit, to examine from
the Journals of the last Lower House, the Grounds for that Address,
now backed by yours of the loth Instant, and in an Instance or two,
compare that Address with it's Foundation; and shall then lay before
you such Reasons as have occurred since that Session, and have
greatly contributed towards fixing my Opinion, that neither are your
Complaints Reasonable, nor their Representations Just.
And if, to avoid any Imputation on my Conduct for concealing
or misrepresenting any Materials, upon which this Part of the present
Debate is founded, I shall give them in the Words of the Journal of
the Lower House of Assembly (with which you do not always seem
to be very well acquainted) I hope you will excuse me, tho' by that
Means my present Message should run into some Prolixity.
The first Entry which I find upon the Journal of the last Lower
House, relating to the present Complaints against the Naval-Officers,
is a Report of one of your Committees in the following Words :
" Your Committee further observe, that by the List of Entries
made by Stephen Bordley, Esq; Naval-Officer of Port Annapolis, it
appears, that on the 29th April, 1756, there was imported in the Ship
Greyhound, Capt. Alexander Stewart, 75 Convicts : And that on the
first Day of September, 1756, there was imported in the Ship Lyon,
James Dyer, 91 Convicts to serve for Seven Years: That upon
Clearance of the Ship Greyhound, Capt. Scott then Master of the said
Ship, refused to pay any Duty for the 75 Convicts imported by said
Stewart in that Ship; and that Capt. Dyer refused to pay any Duty
28

p. 219