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by him for the Public would considerably exceed the Amount of
the Salary, tho in framing the Account some part of the Services
performed by him are not included, because not reducible to this
Kind of State, — All the above Facts are, we conceive, undeniable,
and therefore ought not to be conceald by Reserve or obscured by
Evasion, but, on the Contrary, ought to be candidly and explicitly
admitted, that all Men may be fully informed upon a Subject, which
hath become the more Important from the gross Deceptions which
have been practised, and the Discontents they have excited, that they
who have been injured by Aspersion may have their Character
vindicated by a full Detection of the Falshood and Malice of it.
You are pleased to say that "the Services done by the Clerk of
the Council may merit some Salary the Quantum of which you will
not undertake to ascertaine" We wish you had delivered your Senti-
ments on this Head with more Precision that we might run no
risque in our Construction of ambiguous Expressions, of mistaking
your real Meaning. May we presume to understand your meaning
to be, that he does merit some Salary by his Services ? but "you will
not undertake to ascertain the Quantum" Shall we presume that you
do not dispute the Quantum proposed by our Amendment, the Quan-
tum always heretofore allowed? A Demand hath been made upon
the Public, and the Amount of that Demand hath been expressly
ascertained — we thought it to be just, and proposed the Insertion of
it in the Journal. You do not deny that the whole ought to be paid,
and we infer therefore that you tacitly admit the Clerk of the
Council ought, in Justice & Equity, to be paid for his Services to
the Public, by the Public, and that only the Mode of Payment is to
be disussed and settled.
You farther observe that "under the peculiar Circumstances of
this Province, the Clerks Salary ought not to be inserted in the
Journal, nor in any Manner paid by a further Tax upon the People
you represent" What these peculiar Circumstances are, you have
not explained, and we are really at a Loss to ascertain; there is now
a large Sum of Money subject to the Application of the general
Assembly, there is also a large Public Debt due from the Province,
which including Mr Ross's Claim may be discharged by the Money,
in our Treasury, without any additional new Tax upon the People,
the Situation of the People is such, that the Failure of the Journal
must involve very many in great Distress, These, we presume, are
not the peculiar Circumstances you mean, if they are, they appear
to us to apply most powerfully in favour of the old Establishments,
by presenting to the View the indubitable Mischiefs that must arise
from your persevering in the Purpose of deviating from them, if they
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U. H. J.
Liber No. 36
Dec. 13
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