The Lower House. 243

our Station we must insist on your Making him the usual Allowance

for we are determined never to give it up" On a Division of 16 to 13

the Vote passed which you have been pleased to mention and the
Message you recite was framed and sent in Consequence of it
In October Session 1763 after the Journal had been returned
from the Up.^r Ho: the Message of the Lo: Ho: of the 25.^th Nov.^r
hath this Paragraph "If M^r Ross will lay before us a particular
Acco.^t of his Charge for Services pformed by Virtue of the Laws
of this Province and for which he ought in Reason to be paid by a
Tax on the People of this Province we will readily insert in the
Journal what may appear to us to be reasonable
Your Hon.^rs will be kind enough to excuse or at least the Necessity
will apologize for the long Quotations of Old Messages which when
fairly recited without any Comment sufficiently prove this Truth
that the Message recited by y.^r Hon.^rs as connected with that which
Occasioned it cannot fairly be construed to imply any other public
Services than those which M^r Ross might do as Clerk of the Council
required by the Laws in Force to be done by him

L. H. J.
Liber No. 53
Dec. 16

What Reasons your Hon.^rs have for believing that what did appear
from the Accounts before they were laid before us was pretty gen-
erally known as in any Manner relat^g to the Knowledge of this House
we are intirely ignorant for tho' we do admit that many of our Mem-
bers did hear by circulating Reports that an Account of M.^r Ross's
Services exceeding in the Amount the Usual Salary for the same
Time was in the Upper House there was equal good Authority to
believe he did not intend to make any Claim on the Public for his
Services as Clk of the Council and that the Journal would pass the
Upper House without such Allowance What was reported as to
his making no such Claim was confirmed by his not laying it before
our Committee as he had generally done for upwards of 30 Years
before but we believe when you consider the Consequences of this
House taking Notice in an unparliamentary Manner of any thing
that is before yours or the Conjectures of Idle People as to your
Resolutions you would be unwilling to dispense with the Practice
of Messages from the frequent groundless and unfavourable Reports
respecting your Conduct. The late Lo: Ho: had often refused to
make M^r Ross Journal Allowances of Annual Salaries as Clk of the
Council your House was often apprized of those Resolutions by
Messages M^r Ross did not make his usual Claim this Session you had
his Account before you sanctioned by a Report of your own Com-
mittee but this House it seems without any Parliamentary Knowl-
edge of its being there must ask for a Sight of it after you had
omitted the Opportunity of sending it down with the Journal We
may possibly be mistaken as to our Duty but we apprehend it to be
to liquidate according to Justice and do what we can towards the
Payment of Accounts laid before us against the Public without

p. 340