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ceptionable, intimated our Apprehensions that it was too late to bring
it to perfection in the present Session, and further declared, that
our Motive for desiring the Bill might be returned to us with such
propositions for Amendments, as you might think expedient, was an
Intention to publish the whole, that it might undergo a Public Ex-
amination and discussion, & thereby enable us, in future, to render it
more perfect
Your Honours Say, that as you Observe by the Journal, the Affair
of a College was under the Consideration of the Lower House,
Several years ago, and that during the Session in April 1761, it was
again moved and deliberated on in that House, of which most of us
were Members, you can easily account for the Bills appearing at this
time to a majority of this house plain, Simple and perfect as to the
Consideration of the Affair of a College Several years ago, We must
observe, the Scheme was very different from that of the present Bill,
that very few of us were Members of the Lower house at that time,
and consequently that a great Majority of the present House cou'd
have no more lights from the proceedings on that Bill than your
Honours have, Since they appear on Our Journal so that this Con-
sideration has had no Weight in producing the Opinion you ascribe
to us. In April Session 1761. the Lower house had proceeded but very
little further in their plan, than Setling the funds, which are widely
different from those under the present Bill when they were Suddenly
Stopt in their proceedings by a prorogation, the motives to which, we
presume your Honours are at the least as well Acquainted with, as the
Reasons which induced us to think our Bill, plain, Simple and perfect,
if you can suggest no better than the groundless Conjectures above
mentioned
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L. H. J.
Liber No. 52
Nov. 25
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But We beg your Honours will puzzle yourselves no longer to
account for the Bills appearing to us plain, simple and perfect, because
we have not any where expressed Such an Opinion, plain and Simple
it does appear to us, but we have not alledg'd to be perfect, and must
beseech your Honours not to indulge yourselves in the Licence (Since
we do not think it of so long Standing, that none of the Gentlemen
who are at present, Members of either Houses, can remember when it
was introduced) of thus Misrepresenting us
These are disingenuous Arts, totally inconsistent with the dignity
which Should be maintained in a Parliamentary Intercourse between
the Several Branches of the Legislature If the only Reason of your
keeping the Bills is, that you may have an Opportunity of Considering
it. We think that end might have been as well an answer by sending
it down to us, first Ordering your Clerk to keep a Copy of it for your
Selves, but since you seem to be of a different Opinion We reject
your proposal, and must take care for the future not to Subject our-
selves to a like Inconvenience, tho' it may occasion a Considerable
additional Expence to our Constituents Upon the whole, Since both
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p. 215
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