xlvi Introduction.

and paying one thousand men to act in conjunction with the King's regular
forces under General Stanwix; that £12 bounty money be paid to each man
who enlisted; that one hundred additional men be raised as rangers to patrol
the frontier, but it refused by a vote of 23 to 13 to require that they be sta-
tioned at Fort Frederick (pp. 166-167). It ^tnen adopted the same resolves
that it had passed at the preceding session: to pay the Maryland troops the
arrears due them, and to reimburse Forbes for the advances he had made; and
it further resolved to pay the militia and volunteers who since the Braddock
expedition had marched at various times to the defense of the frontier at the
Governor's request, as well as those who had supplied provisions and neces-
saries to them; and also to reimburse those who had quartered the King's
regular troops in winter in Cecil and Kent counties and in Annapolis. It also
resolved that £250 be spent for clearing a new road from Fort Frederick to
Fort Cumberland as recommended by a committee at the last session (pp. 167-
168).

A committee headed by Murdock of Prince George's County was appointed
to determine the amount required to carry out the above resolves, and on the
same day handed in its itemized report. It was estimated that a total of
£52,152—15—o would be required, of which £14,000 would be needed for
reimbursing the advances made by Forbes; £1,500 for the charges for quar-
tering five hundred regular soldiers in Annapolis during the winter of 1757;
£1,400 for quartering soldiers in Kent and Cecil counties in 1756 and 1757;
and £6,000 to pay the several companies of volunteers sent by the Governor
to the frontier; and that the balance, £29,252—15—0, would be needed to levy,
clothe, and pay one thousand troops and one hundred rangers for a period of
six months. It was resolved on April 7 that a total of £60,000 be provided
under this bill; and by a vote of 25 to 12, the Proprietary party voting solidly
against it, that this be raised "by an equal assessment on all estates, real and
personal, and lucrative offices and employments". A committee of six, again
headed by Edward Tilghman, was appointed to prepare a bill to this end (pp.
168-171).

On April 9 in a message from the Governor to the Lower House transmitting
letters from Pitt, Amherst, and Stanwix, he urged that the Assembly comply
at once with the reasonable requests of the Crown, but concluded by saying
that if, after mature deliberation, they intended to adhere to exactly the same
plan for raising the money required which had already been four times re-
jected by the Upper House, and would refuse to consider any of the methods
of taxations by which money had been raised in the past, they would oblige
him by so informing him at once, in order that Amherst and Stanwix might be
advised immediately and take measures accordingly (pp. 172-173). Irritated
by the Governor's message, the house voted, 26 to 19, to refuse to give a direct
answer in reply to his question whether it would agree to any other plan of
taxation for raising the funds needed. While it refused by a vote of 31 to
13 to reduce the number of men to be raised from one thousand to four hundred,
it did resolve by an unrecorded vote to reduce the number to six hundred, for
which it estimated £12,000 would be required (pp. 174-175). In a petulant