nversation I had delivered _viva voce_.

But during this delay, the Assembly having prevailed with Gov'r Denny
to pass an act taxing the proprietary estate in common with the
estates of the people, which was the grand point in dispute, they
omitted answering the message.

When this act however came over, the proprietaries, counselled by
Paris, determined to oppose its receiving the royal assent.
Accordingly they petitioned the king in Council, and a hearing was
appointed in which two lawyers were employ'd by them against the act,
and two by me in support of it. They alledg'd that the act was
intended to load the proprietary estate in order to spare those of the
people, and that if it were suffer'd to continue in force, and the
proprietaries, who were in odium with the people, left to their mercy
in proportioning the taxes, they would inevitably be ruined. We
reply'd that the act had no such intention, and would have no such
effect. That the assessors were honest and discreet men under an oath
to assess fairly and equitably, and that any advantage each of them
might expect in lessening his own tax by augmenting that of the
proprietaries was too trifling to induce them to perjure themselves.
This is the purport of what I remember as urged by both sides, except
that we insisted strongly on the mischievous consequences that must
attend a repeal, for that the money, L100,000, being printed and given
to the king's use, expended in his service, and now spread among the
people, the repeal would strike it dead in their hands to the ruin of
many, and the total discouragement of future grants, and the
selfishness of the proprietors in soliciting such a general
catastrophe, merely from a groundless fear of their estate being taxed
too highly, was insisted on in the strongest terms. On this, Lord
Mansfield, one of the counsel, rose, and beckoning me took me into the
clerk's chamber, while the lawyers were pleading, and asked me if I
was really of opinion that no injury would be done the proprietary
estate in the execution of the act. I said certainly. "Then," says he,
"you can have little objection to enter into an engagement to assure
that point." I answer'd, "None at all." He then call'd in Paris, and
after some discourse, his lordship's proposition was accepted on both
sides; a paper to the purpose was drawn up by the Clerk of the
Council, which I sign'd with Mr. Charles, who was also an Agent of the
Province for their ordinary