ix Introduction.

The Lower House countered in a message, dated October 31, in which it
strenuously objected to doing away with the alternate method of payment
permitted in the bill about to expire, declaring that payment only in sterling
would soon drain away from the Province all coins now in circulation, both
English and foreign (pp. 348-350). To this the Upper House replied that the
Lower House misunderstood the tenor of its amendment, as it was intended
under it that either gold, "dollars", or tobacco might be used for payments, the
bill merely fixing the value of "dollars" at four shillings sixpence and equivalent
to 60 pounds of tobacco. It added that the Governor had been enjoined by
the Crown to strictly obey the statute of 6 Anne fixing the value of foreign
coins, and had been ordered not to give his consent to any "new bill which
should rate the species of coin mentioned in the statute .... higher than
they are by that statute rated in currency" (pp. 246-247, 250-251). The Lower
House immediately sent a message to the Governor asking him to communicate
to it any instructions he had received from the Crown as to the regulation
of money ratios (pp. 356-357). The Governor replied that since he had in
1758 assented to the continuance of the Tobacco Inspection act now about to
expire, he had been repeatedly ordered by the Crown never to do so again, as
the act violated the statute of Parliament (pp. 357-358). On November 8,
the Lower House in a message to the upper chamber declared that its strictures,
contained in a former message, upon the exactions of certain officers in enforc-
ing the Inspection law were justified, and reaffirmed that the money ratios
established by the English statute would result in hardship to many (pp.
360-362). At the suggestion of the Upper House a conference between the
two houses followed, the ratios of the value of foreign coins in terms of tobacco
as established by the English statute was finally agreed upon, and concessions
were made to the Lower House as to sundry administrative details (pp. 250-251,
365-368). It was then thought desirable that further attempts to continue the
old act as such be abandoned, and after several votes were taken in the Lower
House, it was ordered that an entirely new Tobacco Inspection act be drawn
up along the lines agreed upon at the conference between the two houses
(p. 368), and the bill as redrawn was promptly passed by both houses. The
Lower House had made the best of necessity. The act is a very lengthy one
covering some sixty-four printed pages of this volume (pp. 433.497). It is
much too long to summarize here. To the official manuscript law as it is
inscribed in Liber H. S. no. I, have been added in brackets the marginal
notes as they appear in the Session Laws of 1763, printed by Jonas Green.
The arrangement in columns of the fees to be charged by public officials also
follows that used by Green (pp. 472.480). It was to continue in force until
December 1766, a period of three years.

LOAN OFFICE

Each house of the Assembly, as was usual, appointed at the 1762 session
members to serve on a joint committee to inspect the accounts and proceedings
of the commissioners of the "Loan Office", as it was popularly called, but