liv Introduction.

the Governor's information as to this was without foundation, as Mr. Cresap
had been absent from attendance in the house since November 22 (a period
of three weeks), at which time he could not have foreseen the difficulty between
the two houses, and that it was fair to the public and to Mr. Cresap that the
Governor examine the evidence and submit it to the house (p. 222).

The Governor in his message in reply transmitted two depositions. One from
Captain Evan Shelby, a veteran of the late war, declared that when in Frederick
Town a few days before there were 300 or 400 men armed with guns and
tomahawks, and he understood they were about to march to Annapolis on
account of the dispute about the Journal, and would remain there until action
was taken. Shelby had been informed by two men that Colonel Cresap had
said nothing would be done unless this course were followed. There was another
deposition by Dr. David Ross that he had been in Sharpsburg about October
27 in his capacity as magistrate, and that he was there shown a paper said to
have been sent by Colonel Cresap for signatures, of which at that time there
were about thirty-five. The paper expressed approval of the action of the
Lower House in opposing the Stamp Act, and expressed the reliance of the
signers that the house would resist further encroachment upon their liberty,
such as the attempt by a certain gentleman [John Ross, former Clerk of the
Council] in Annapolis to prevent the payment of just claims to the public, un-
less a large, unjust, and dishonorable claim to him were also paid; and that
if this course were further persisted in and the Lower House would notify them
they would come down to that city and cause justice to be done. Dr. Ross, the
deponent, said further that no one signed the paper in his presence, but that he
remembered "that M^r Chapline jocularly asked Col.^o Beall if he would sign,
who answered that he did not like Hanging or Words to that Effect and this
Depon^t saith that observing the Writing to be of a threatening Nature he
jocularly asked if no more Rifle Men could be got from above and that it
was then said by some of the Company that it was one of the Old Col.^s
Schemes by whom he understood Col.^o Cresap to be meant" (p. 224). It may
be added that there was also a rumor that the mob intended to burn the An-
napolis house of John Ross. On December 14, a certain Martin Kirshner
(Casner), a miller of Conecocheague Creek, Frederick County, appeared before
the bar of the Lower House and made a deposition to the effect that he had
heard rumors that the people were inflamed because the public debts were not
likely to pass, but that he had not himself seen "any People collected or arming
but hath understood that there have been Deliberations whe^r for a number of
People to come to Annapolis" (p. 234). Here inquiry seems to have been
dropped by the Lower House.

The dispute between the two houses about the Journal of Accounts now
took the form of an exchange of three long and bitter messages between them
occupying in all some thirty-three printed pages of this volume. Every argu-
ment, analogy, precedent, and loophole for attack which could be brought
forward in support of either side was tediously labored, both sides often
going far afield to support their legalistic arguments. The interested reader
is referred to the messages themselves for light upon these arguments. It may