98 Assembly Proceedings, November 1-December 20, 1765.

U. H. J.
Liber No. 36
Dec. 19
p. 278

Future no such Allowances should be made. But upon having a par-
ticular Account from M^r Ross for public Services by him done for
this Province they would allow what should appear to them to be
reasonable" And as we expected an Account would be required this
Session according to the Resolve signified in the Message referred
to, we directed the Clerk to prepare it conceiveing that if upon a
View of the Account the Duties performed by Him would appear
there could not be any Dispute about his Payment.
The Construction we put upon this Resolve was, that the usual
Allowance in the Journal would be made in Future if on the Ex-
hibition of a particular Account the public Services done by the Clerk
of the Council appeared to deserve it. We did not nor have we yet
any Reason to infer from any Expressions in the Message or Resolve
referred to, that the Manner of Payment would be litigated. In
Directing therefore the Account to be prepared there was no Inten-
tion to support any Claim beyond the usual Salary if in forming it
there should appear to be a larger Sum from the Articles than the
Amount of the Salary or if on the other Hand the Articles admissibble
of precise Charges should fall short of the Salary to reduce it, if upon
a Consideration of the other Services not reducible to this Kind of
State the Clerk should appear upon the Whole to deserve of the
Public the usual Salary.
The giving Notice to the Members of the Council when their
Attendance is requisite, the Returns & Custody of Papers in which
the Public are concerned and the Obligation he is under of a strict
Attendance are so many Services that ought to be considered in
forming an Estimate of a suitable Salary to a Gentleman (for of
that Rank he is & ought to be) who is appointed to the Office of
Clerk of the Council. Wherefore if your superiour Penetration had
enabled you to discover as many Errors in the Account, you have
taken so much Pains to reduce, as would have brought the whole
Sum of all the Articles below the Salary, you would not have estab-
lished any Conclusion against the Justice of it. Your ingenious In-
sinuation, that Part of our Message was framed before the Report
of our Committee, wants the Foundation of Fact & will probably
appear so to your selves, when you consider more sedately with what
View the Account was sent to you and of what Articles it consists.
The first Article is that of 270^lb of Tobacco for Recording an
Indenture of Settlement of the Province between Lord Baltimore
and others, upon which you ask in a subsequent Part of your Message
with what Justice can he Charge the Recording Proprietary Settle-
ments ? As you only mean to state the Subject of our Dispute fairly
and Candidly, you will easily forgive us when we remark that the
Article you object to does not justify the Implication of your Ques-
tion.