428 Appendix.

Contempo-
rary Printed
Pamphlet
Md.Hist.Soc.
p. 50

be so inattentive to our own rights, regardless of propriety, and neg-
ligent of all order, as to suffer any of them to pass into law.
"By the uniform scheme of these bills, your excellency, ourselves,
and every man in the province without distinction, who has any
property in tobacco, were to be taxed, and the money arising from
this tax was to> be lodged in the hands of such persons as the Lower
House might appoint, to be applied as the Lower House only should
direct, and the agent to be employed was to be nominated also by
them, to act by their instructions only, to correspond with them
alone, and to be removed at their displeasure.
"In these bills, aggrievances and oppressions have been in a general
manner mentioned; but they have not yet been specified, much less
has their existence or reality been proved, or any application made to
his lordship for a redress of them.
"Our rejection of these bills has been loudly sounded as an ag-
grievance, but we cannot help observing, that whilst men are pos-
sessed with such transcendant ideas of priviledge, as these very bills
testify, they will have an inexhaustible spring of aggrievances, 'till
they are at length complimented with a surrender of all authority into
their hands, and the other branches of the legislature will be content

p. 51

with the honour of becoming their conduit pipes for the passage of
such regulations into the forms of laws, as they shall be pleased in
the plenitude of their power to dictate."
The bill aforecited, with the replies of the Upper and Lower
Houses, for and against that bill and other bills, about an agent, &c.
similar to that inserted, will easily lead the mind of the reader how
to determine which of the two Houses are right or wrong in their
arguments; whether sense does not so far preponderate with sound
reason and justice on the side of the Upper House, as to warrant
their return of negative to such extraordinary unfair propositions
from the Lower House.
The Lower House says, "The people of Maryland think the Pro-
prietor takes money from them unlawfully." The Proprietor says,
"He has a right to take that money.'' This was in the late Lord-
proprietor's time a dictum of the Lower House; if they meant the
money raised by the perpetual act of 1704, for the support of gov-
ernment, that money his Lordship's present Lieutenant-governor
receives. — I remember an opposition was made by the Lower House

p. 53

in the year 1732, to that act of 1704. The Lower House of Assembly
were then apprized of that act of 1704; and that the government of
Maryland would rely on that act for a support, if that government
should not be by another perpetual law at least as well supported:
notwithstanding which notice of this act, the matter was debated in
the Lower House, and a temporary bill for support of government
was sent by the Lower House to the Upper House, who returned
the bill to the Lower, with amendment to this effect, viz. to leave