The Upper House. 87

in from the Want of the Money now locked up from the Common
Use, we aim at an Advantage which would not be attempted at
another Crisis.

The first Instance, which occurs to us, of any Dispute between
the two Houses on the Subject of the Clerk of the Council's Salary,
happened in May Session 1756, when the last Journal, which passed

U. H. J.
Liber No. 36
Dec. 13

was under Consideration of the Assembly, and the Proceedings of the
Lower House then shew, that on considering a Message from the
Upper House, insisting the usual Allowance of his Salary should
be made to the Clerk of the Council on the Journal, a Question was
put in the Lower House "whether the Members would agree to
make the usual Allowance to the Clerk of the Council as by the said
Message was proposed, or not" and determined that the usual Allow-
ance should be made to the Clerk of the Council; however when the
Journal was returned to our House, it was attended with a Message
containing a Passage in the following Words, "We herewith send
you the Journal of Accounts, in which is inserted an Allowance to
M^r Ross Clerk of the Council, for public Services by him done, and
have resolved that for the future no such Allowance shall be made,
but upon having a particular Account laid before us by M^r Ross for
public Services by him done for this Province, we shall allow what
appears to us reasonable." Expecting that in Conformity with this
Resolve, a Request, would, this Session be made of an Account, and
being particularly desirous at this Time, when a Disagreement be-
tween the two Houses would prove extremely detrimental to the
whole Province, to manifest our Disposition to preserve a good
Understanding with your House, by giving you all the Satisfaction,
which we imagined you might desire, we directed M^r Ross and the
present Clerk, every early in this Session, to make out an Acco.^t
of their Services to the Public, and appointed a Committee to examine
and compare it with the Council Proceedings, that, if it was really
your View, as we hoped it was, to form an Estimate of the Degree
of Satisfaction M.^r Ross & the present Clerk might be entitled to for
their Services, and your Intention to settle his Claim, the Dispute
might be easily terminated between us; this Account, together with
the Report of our Committee, we communicated to you as soon as an
Account was requested, tho it Comprehends Articles beyond the
Duties performed under the Injunction of Acts of Assembly, and
your Message, narrowing the Principles adopted by the Lower House
of 1756, on which we flattered ourselves you would have proceeded,
and agreed to pay the Clerks for their Public Services, seemed to
intimate a Design of paying them only for some of their Services,
the first Step taken in this Controversy, in the Year 1756, implied
an Ignorance of the services done by M^r Ross for the Public, but
fully expressed a Resolution to allow him for all such, if appearing
by a particular Account. After the Clerks had exhibited their Ac-
11

p. 256