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500 HISTORY OF MARYLAND.
While Sharpe was thus urging his favorite measure, and, aided by Secretary Calvert, endeavoring to gain the assent of the Board of Trade to an act
which would have been a flagrant violation of the charter, Pitt, the
secretary of state, though solicited to interfere, regarded the whole contention
with calm impartiality, and looked on both proprietary and assembly as to
blame for the disputes which kept Maryland from contributing her quota to
the expenses of the war. In October, the governor wrote to Pitt, reciting the
difficulties of his position, and adds that he has recently received a letter'
from Admiral Holburne, "wherein he required me to furnish him with a
number of seamen for the fleet that his majesty had been graciously pleased
to order to America under his command. As soon as the assembly met, I
submitted the admiral's letter as well as yours to their consideration, and
pressed them to enable me to comply with the admiral's demand. In answer
to my message they were pleased to assure me that they were sorry it was not
in their power to comply with my request; but that the trade of the province
must be entirely ruined if any more of our seamen should be taken away \
and indeed so many of those that have been usually employed in our trade
have left us to serve on board his majesty's ships or privateers, that it is not
without the greatest difficulty the masters of our vessels homeward bound
can engage a few seamen to navigate them."
To Secretary Calvert he writes on November 9th, still pressing his
pet scheme of a poll-tax imposed by parliament, which he has good hopes
of seeing adopted, now that Lord Loudoun has represented the state of
affairs to government. And by way of putting arguments in the secretary's
mouth, he adds:
" You will be pleased to remember that no considerable sum of money (except what
has arisen from the duty on tobacco), has ever been raised in this province otherwise than
by a poll-tax ; that as the people have been always accustomed to that mode of taxation,,
they all prefer it to any other, except some few leading men of the Assembly who desire
nothing more than to throw things into confusion, and thereby to exempt themselves and
their constituents from all taxes whatever, and that in fact it is the most equitable way of
raising money in this colony that can be proposed, because as our estates consist for the
most part in servants and negroes, those who have most property pay the greatest share
of the tax; that the Assembly-men's wages (which amounts annually to a considerable sum),,
and other public charges, are always paid and defrayed by a poll-tax; that by a perpetual
law of this province it is enacted and provided that whenever the governor shall find it
necessary to order the militia to inarch for the defence of the province, a poll-tax shall belaid for the payment of such militia, and that they shall not be paid after any other-
manner whatever.
" These hints you will make use of as you shall see occasion. I can truly say that
nothing would have given me so much pleasure as the Assembly's making the interposition of Parliament unnecessary; but really if an Act of Parliament is not made for us
very shortly, instead of reducing the power of the French in America—which, if these
colonies exerted themselves properly, might be easily done—we shall be ready to fall a.
prey to their first attempts."
As we are now approaching a period when the political agitations in
Maryland led to results far more important than the exasperation of a.
| Title | History of Maryland - 1 |
| Creator | Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas) |
| Publisher | J. B. Piet |
| Place of Publication | Baltimore |
| Date | 1879 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000533 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 500 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. While Sharpe was thus urging his favorite measure, and, aided by Secretary Calvert, endeavoring to gain the assent of the Board of Trade to an act which would have been a flagrant violation of the charter, Pitt, the secretary of state, though solicited to interfere, regarded the whole contention with calm impartiality, and looked on both proprietary and assembly as to blame for the disputes which kept Maryland from contributing her quota to the expenses of the war. In October, the governor wrote to Pitt, reciting the difficulties of his position, and adds that he has recently received a letter' from Admiral Holburne, "wherein he required me to furnish him with a number of seamen for the fleet that his majesty had been graciously pleased to order to America under his command. As soon as the assembly met, I submitted the admiral's letter as well as yours to their consideration, and pressed them to enable me to comply with the admiral's demand. In answer to my message they were pleased to assure me that they were sorry it was not in their power to comply with my request; but that the trade of the province must be entirely ruined if any more of our seamen should be taken away \ and indeed so many of those that have been usually employed in our trade have left us to serve on board his majesty's ships or privateers, that it is not without the greatest difficulty the masters of our vessels homeward bound can engage a few seamen to navigate them." To Secretary Calvert he writes on November 9th, still pressing his pet scheme of a poll-tax imposed by parliament, which he has good hopes of seeing adopted, now that Lord Loudoun has represented the state of affairs to government. And by way of putting arguments in the secretary's mouth, he adds: " You will be pleased to remember that no considerable sum of money (except what has arisen from the duty on tobacco), has ever been raised in this province otherwise than by a poll-tax ; that as the people have been always accustomed to that mode of taxation,, they all prefer it to any other, except some few leading men of the Assembly who desire nothing more than to throw things into confusion, and thereby to exempt themselves and their constituents from all taxes whatever, and that in fact it is the most equitable way of raising money in this colony that can be proposed, because as our estates consist for the most part in servants and negroes, those who have most property pay the greatest share of the tax; that the Assembly-men's wages (which amounts annually to a considerable sum),, and other public charges, are always paid and defrayed by a poll-tax; that by a perpetual law of this province it is enacted and provided that whenever the governor shall find it necessary to order the militia to inarch for the defence of the province, a poll-tax shall belaid for the payment of such militia, and that they shall not be paid after any other- manner whatever. " These hints you will make use of as you shall see occasion. I can truly say that nothing would have given me so much pleasure as the Assembly's making the interposition of Parliament unnecessary; but really if an Act of Parliament is not made for us very shortly, instead of reducing the power of the French in America—which, if these colonies exerted themselves properly, might be easily done—we shall be ready to fall a. prey to their first attempts." As we are now approaching a period when the political agitations in Maryland led to results far more important than the exasperation of a. |
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