The Lower House. 465

your Lordships acceptance of an Equivalent for your Quit Rents
and Alienation fines will greatly Contribute and as we propose to
ease the People in Their payments on the one Side so we Humbly
Hope your Lordship will be of Opinion that four Thousand pound
Sterling p Annum Clear of all Charges and Expences to your Lord-
ship is such an Offer as Shews we Have that Regard to your Interest
which in Justice we ought to have this Sum of four Thousand pounds
Sterling which we now offer Your Lordship we hope may be raised

in Such a manner as will Burthen Trade very Little if at all and be

a means to raise the Credit of our paper Currency now very much
Depricated which we Humbly Conceive will appear to your Lord-
ship upon perusal of the Scheme for raiseing the money and Col-
lecting the rents which we begg leave to Lay before you as we have
it in our View to give your Lordship this Equivalent as it may be
most agreeable and Satisfactory to you to ease Your Tennants in
the manner of Discharging their Quit Rents and Alienation fines
and to raise the Credit and Value of Our Currency upon which the
Wellfare and Prosperity of the People of Maryland in great measure
depend so we humbly Hope for your Lordships Acceptance and Ap-
probation of what we propose and that you will Please to give his
Excellency the Governour Instructions to pass a Bill to Establish
the Offer now made we are with the greatest Respect and Sincerity.
May it Please your Lordship your Lordships most faithfull Ten-
nants and most Obedient Humble Servants.
And the following Scheme Proposals for paying the Right Hon^ble
the Lord Proprietary an Equivalent for his Quit Rents and Alienation
fines without Burthening Trade and for easing the Inhabitants of
Maryland in the manner of Paying the said Rents and fines.

L. H. J.
Lib. No. 45

That My Lord be paid Clear of all Charges p Annum
the Sum of 4000.. — .. —
Which Sum is proposed to be raised without Bur-
thening Trade in the following manner Viz.
That there be a Duty paid of 2/6 Sterl p hh^d on
all Tobacco to be Exported and that the one
penney halfe penney Steri now Applyed to Sup-
port Schools be Added to the said 2/6 which will
make the whole Sum 2/7! Sterl p hh^d and
will amount Supposeing the Exportation to be
28500 hh^d of Tobacco p annum which was the
Number Exported Annually in an average for

p. 678

seven years to. 3741 — 2 — 6
That a Duty of 5 p Cent Steri ad Valorem be paid by
the purchasers of Negroes which Supposeing the
Importation of Negroes to be no more than 300
Annually and that they sell in average at £15

Sterl Each will amount to 225.. — .. —
30