lx Introduction.

other American assemblies what they should do, but rather to obtain an ex-
pression of their opinion, and ends with the usual protestations of "Firm con-
fidence in the King, our common Head and Father" which was felt by "his
distressed American Subjects" (ibid, Arch. Md. XXXII, 240-243).

No action whatever was taken upon this letter by the Lower House until near
the close of the session, when a preemptory command by the King that the
letter must be ignored, inflamed the Assembly. On June 20, 1768, before ad-
journing, Governor Sharpe, who had just received orders from the ministry in
London in regard to the Massachusetts letter, sent a message to the Lower
House in which he declared that the King "hath been pleased to order it to be
signified to me that he considers such measure [the Massachusetts Letter] to
be of a most dangerous and factious Character calculated to inflame the minds
of his good subjects in the colonies, to promote an unwarrantable combination
to excite and encourage an open opposition to, and denial of the authority of,
parliament, and to subvert the truest principles of the constitution." The Gov-
ernor was also directed to say to the Lower House that the King had no doubt
that the repeated evidences of respect shown by Maryland to the Crown, Parlia-
ment, and law would cause them to show a proper resentment to this attempt
to divide the colonies and the mother country, and that "by taking no notice of
such letter—will be treating it with the contempt it deserves" (p. 399). What
the Governor did not divulge to the Lower House, although it is certain that
knowledge of it had leaked out, was that not only was his message based on
instructions sent him in a circular letter from the Earl of Hillsborough, Secre-
tary of State for the Colonies, addressed to him and the other colonial gover-
nors, dated Whitehall, April 21, 1768, but that Hillsborough had further directed
him under orders from the King, that if the Governor failed in his endeavors,
and "there should appear in the Assembly of your Province a Disposition to
Receive or give any Countenance to this Seditious Paper, it will be your Duty
to prevent any proceeding upon it by an immediate prorogation or Dissolution"
(Arch. Md. XXXII, 239-240). The letter from Hillsborough to the Governor
will also be found printed in the Maryland Gazette for July 14, 1768. This
order of Hillsborough, commanding the several colonial governors to dissolve
their assemblies if any notice were taken of the Massachusetts Letter made
prompt prorogation mandatory if any notice were taken by the Lower House.
Thus warned the house timed its moves most cautiously.

It is not clear what formal action, if any, the Lower House would have taken
on the Massachusetts Letter at this session had this threat of the King not been
made, but from the timing there is some reason to believe that a petition to the
King was contemplated, or had actually been prepared, before matters were
brought to a head by the message of June 20th from Sharpe to the Lower
House. Be that as it may, events moved rapidly following the receipt of the
message. These may be summarized as follows. The Sharpe message, communi-
cating the commands of the King, was read on June 20th (p. 399). On the
following morning it was read again and a committee headed by Matthew Tilgh-
man was appointed to draft an answer to the Governor (pp. 405-406). Imme-
diately thereafter, Tilghman, from the committee appointed June 8 to draft a