44 Assembly Proceedings, March 17-April 21, 1762.

U. H. J.
Liber No. 36
April 24

likely to preserve the Tranquillity of the Province it self or its
Dependance upon the Mother Country as the Maintaining with
a Strict and Steady hand the Necessary Powers just Prerogatives
of the Crown and the Preferring an Uniform and Settled principle of
Government to an Occasional Departure from it for temporary
Convenience, every Days Experience convinces us that it is in vain
to Negotiate away His Majesty's Prerogative, every new Con-
sesion becomes the Foundation of some new Demand, and that my
Lords of some new Dispute Convinced of the Justice of their
Lordships Observation Cautioned by their Censure of the Pro-
prietors of that Province for suffering a popular Assembly to make
exorbitant Acquisitions of Power and encouraged by your Ex-
cellency's Example of Fortitude in withstanding the unwarrantable
attempts of those Men among us who are grasping at Powers which

p. 66

do not belong to them we shall on all Occasions oppose their
unjustifiable Measures and as far as shall be in our power preserve
for posterity our Constitution unaltered with regard to the latter
part of the Gentlemens Message we beg leave to observe that finding
the whole expence of raising Cloathing and Paying the Number of
Men which they had Voted in Consequence of your Excellency's
Recommendation would not amount to one third part of the Sum
they Proposed by their Bill to Raise and knowing that the Necessity
of raising a large Sum is the Principal Argument those of them
who are fond of Innovations urge to their Constituents in Justifica-
tion of their Conduct and in favour of such a Bill we could not
Help intimating to them our Sentiments on that head, we did
indeed perceive that by the Bill they had appropriated apart of the
money proposed to be raised towards defraying some other Ex-
pences viz:^t the arrears due to the Maryland Troops that Contrary
as we have Reason to believe to the Inclination of the Lower
House Served under Brigadier Forbes in his Expedition against
Fort Du Quesne and also the Arrears due or which have been paid
by his Majesty's General to the Gentlemen that victualled those
Troops during the Winter Before that Expedition, but as it was no
secret to either that House or Us, that when it was evident the
Troops were to expect no other pay from the Assembly besides
naked resolves An Order was thro your Excellency's humane and
kind Offices obtained from the Lords of the Treasury for the pay-
ment of such Arrears we could not see the Expediency of the
Assemblys now appropriating the Sum of £14,000 for that Purpose,
or view it in Any other Light than a contrivance to reserve so much
Money for some Particular Use which they did not at Present

p. 67

Choose to Mention, as to the Appropriation of £6,000 to pay the
Militia that Your Excellency was Pleased by Virtue of the Power
with which every Governor of this Province is invested to Order
to the Frontiers some of them at the Request of the then Lower