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We did not mean to give you any Offence by the Message You
have been pleased to chuse for the Subject of your Animadversions,
nor can we, on the Strictest Review, discover in it any Provocation
for all that Asperity of Language, and Acrimony of Resentment of
which it seems to have been the unfortunate Occasion
The Practice of retaining Bills sent to this House is founded upon
Numerous Precedents, as those were upon Reason when a Measure
is proposed, are we to be compelled at all Events either to give an
Assent, or Dissent to it, when we have not Sufficient time to deliberate
and determine upon the Propriety or Inpropriety of it, Is it not
reasonable to make a reference to a future Session that there may
be a Competent Interval for Consideration, when the Intricacy, and
Importance of the Subject, or the extensive Influence of a Determina-
tion may require it,
But the Bill, it seems, is in your Opinion as Simple and plain, as
the Object of it, is usefull and necessary, although it should appear
by your Votes and Proceedings that a very great Majority, or even
every Member of your House may be of that Opinion, must it there-
fore be a matter of such absolute Certainty as to exclude all possi-
bility of any real Diversity of Sentiment among other People if not,
why should our Hesitation provoke so great resentment? you are
pleased to observe that you did not in your Message of the 22.d
Instant desire us to come to any Determination upon the Bill, but
that it might be returned to you with such Propositions for amend-
ments as we might think Expedient, But surely, if you will stop
One Moment to Consider, You can't fail to discover that we could
not make any Propositions for Amendments till we had first de-
termined, what was Proper to be rejected, and what fit to be adopted,
or in other words, till we could come to a full and comprehensive
Determination upon the Plan of the Bill & every part of the execution
of it, To do this, we told you, we had not time, especially as several
of our Members were by Sickness rendered unable to attend the
Business of the House, you expressly said, in one of your Messages,
that the Bill was Plain and Simple, and we inferred it to be your
Opinion that it was perfect too, because we Presumed, that you would
not otherwise have offered it for our Concurrence, as without such
an Opinion it would have been a Strange Piece of Conduct to desire
it might have the force of a Law, perhaps you imagined that we
meant this Passage of our Message as a Citation from yours & that
we had foisted imperfect where it was not to be found, But a review
of our Message will evince your Mistake, and acquit us of Mis-
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p. 188
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