Appendix. 423

places the power of such nomination in certain persons to be ap-
pointed by the house of delegates; and to be called trustees, but
also gives to such trustees the sole authority of paying such agent;
so that if this bill should be passed into a law, such an agent could
not be so properly stiled the agent of the Province, as the minister
of the trustees; for he must depend on their sole will and pleasure
for his being and continuance in the agency, and on their generosity
for his pay.

As to the trustees, the very nature of their power would change
their name, or title of trustees, into that of guardians, and what
relative term would best suit not only the legislative power, but the
whole Province, to answer that of guardian, we shall not presume
to mention; but there might be reason to wish (if such a bill should

Contempo-
rary Printed
Pamphlet
Md.Hist.Soc.

ever be a law) that the conduct of such trustees, represented by their
minister at the court of Great-Britain, (as you are pleased to ex-
press yourselves in your message) with that fund, might not deserve
a worse character, and more to the reproach of their constituents,
and danger of the whole Province, than that of guardianship.
Although a prettier scheme for power and profit, in our little
world of politics, could scarce be thought of, yet, far be it from
us to imagine that any persons, either in or out of your house,
had any share in this admirable project with a view of being trustees.
Should this ingenious contrivance ever take effect, the trustees might
play the game into each other's hands, and represent each other in
England: the authority which they would gain by their minister's
complaints in England, against whatever person or thing they pleased,
might very soon become terrible and dangerous to every person they
should be pleased to think and stigmatize as delinquents or malig-
nants in this Province: and when, after glutting their vanity with
a dictatorial power, and, under pretence of necessary uses and pur-

p. 37

poses, filling their pockets with money, they should perceive an ap-
proaching period to their greatness of authority and gain they
might, by their minister's consent, employ their power, and the
money entrusted with them, to their own private advantage, and
the very great prejudice of this Province: instances of this kind
have not been wanting in America. We could suggest many other
reasons against this bill, but, we doubt not, what we have already
said, will be sufficient to convince you of the necessity and justice
of our resolution not to pass it; and we are so little apprehensive
of what the world can say to our disadvantage in this particular,
that we shall think it an honour done us to have it known, by print-
ing the bill with this message: "That this House, with a firmness
becoming an Upper House of Assembly, rejected a bill, which not
only was big with the most dangerous consequences to every indi-
vidual person in the Province, and would render the government
contemptible in the eyes of our neighbours, but also might draw a
32

p. 38