till they had received the necessary information concerning it. tions, the abuses of which this bill was designed to regulate and redress." Now, whichever party was in the right, can it be said, that the king, or the supply for his service, or any one of the points in the preceding session agitated, had any concern in the rise, progress, or issue of this controversy? has it not been already observed, to the honour of the assembly, how cautiously and prudently they had avoided whatever could tend to widen the breach on any of these heads? is it not fresh before us, that, even for want of provocation, the governor himself was forced both to part with them, and meet them again in peace. And yet having declared as we have seen, that he had nothing to communicate to them, consequently nothing to ask of them, other than what related to this German bill; did he take the hint from hence to treat them by message in the following extraordinary manner, viz. It was in this manner they parted. The adjournment they made was only to the 12th of May, and yet the governor both complained of that term as too long, and said he should call them sooner if there was occasion. When they met, they gave the governor notice as usual, and that they were ready to receive whatever he had to lay before them. The governor's answer was, that he had nothing to lay before them at present but the German bill; a bill, that is to say, recommended by the governor himself, from the notorious necessity of it, for preventing the importation of German or other passengers or servants in too great numbers in one vessel, and for preventing the spreading of contagious distempers, imported by or together with them, &c. This had been prepared by the house at their last sitting, and sent up to the governor; had been returned with amendments by him; some of these amendments had been adopted: and "When I summoned you together on the then the bill had been again sent up, with a 17th of March last, I was in hopes you would desire from the house, that the governor would bring with you inclinations to promote the be pleased to pass the same as it then stood. public service, by granting the supplies exThis he had not been pleased to do, but on pected by the crown, and by putting this prothe contrary had referred it to the consideration vince into a posture of defence; but I am of his council, by whose advice he had been sorry to find, that neither the danger to which determined to adhere to his amendments; un- this country stands exposed, nor his majesty's der which declaration it was now again sent repeated and affectionate calls, have had any down to the house; who having appointed a weight with you. committee to draw up a message to the governor, representing the inconveniences to be apprehended from the said amendments, and agreed to that message, on the report of the same, came to a resolution of adjourning on the morrow to the first of September. To say this message was of the most pathetic, rational, and interesting kind, is to say the least that can be said of it: it explained the evil to be remedied, and the consequences to be apprehended from a continuance of it, in the most affecting terms; it demonstrated, that the amendments insisted upon by the governor were calculated to deprive it of all its vigour and utility; that in effect the province was to be as much exposed to the same nuisances and dangers as ever; and what gave the most offence of all, by the following paragraph the inhabitants were led to the very source of so crying a grievance. "Gentlemen, "The bill you sent me for striking twentyfive thousand pounds, was of a more extraordinary nature than that I refused my assent to in the winter sessions, as it gave general Braddock a power over no more than five thousand pounds, and subjected the remaining twenty thousand, and all the surplus of the excise, for eleven years to come, to the disposition of some of the members of your house, and to the assembly for the time being. "The offering money in a way, and upon terms that you very well knew I could not, consistent with my duty to the crown, consent to, is, in my opinion, trifling with the king's commands, and amounts to a refusal to give at all; and I am satisfied will be seen in this light by my superiors; who, by your bill above-mentioned, which I shall lay before them, and by the whole of your conduct since you have been made acquainted with the designs of the French, will be convinced, that your resolutions are, and have been, to take advantage of your country's danger, to aggrandize and render permanent your own power and authority, and to destroy that of the crown. That it is for this purpose, and to promote your scheme of future independency, you are grasping at the disposition of all public money, and at the power of filling all the offices of government, especially those of the revenue; and when his majesty and the na tion are at the expense of sending troops for the protection of these colonies, you refuse to furnish them with provisions and necessary carriages, though your country is full of both; unless you can, at the same time, encroach upon the rights of the crown, and increase your own power, already too great for a branch of a subordinate and dependent government, so remote from the principal seat of power. "You have, gentlemen, by a vote of your own house, without the consent of the government, impowered a committee of your members to borrow money upon the credit of the assembly, and to dispose of the same to certain uses in that vote mentioned. You have also, by votes and resolves of your own house, created bills or notes of credit, made payable to the bearers thereof, to the amount of fifteen thousand pounds, which you have issued in lieu of money, and they are now circulating in this province, without the approbation of the government. You have denied me access to your journals, and refused me copies of your minutes. And you have printed and published the secretary of state's letters to me signifying his majesty's commands, not only without my consent, but contrary to an order I had issued to the printers, expressly forbidding the publication of those letters. "Whether you have a right to the exercise of such extraordinary powers, his majesty and his ministers will judge, before whom it is my duty to lay your proceedings as soon as I can come at them, and to whom they will appear the more dangerous, as neither they nor you can know but a future assembly may use those powers against the government by which they are protected. "While I had any the most distant hopes of your coming into measures that might promote the public service at this critical conjuncture, I suffered some parts of your conduct to remain unobserved upon; but as I am now convinced, from the whole tenor of your behaviour, and from your message of yesterday, notifying your intentions to adjourn till September next, without granting the necessary supplies, that you have no design to contribute any thing towards the defence of this country, I thought it right to be no longer silent upon those heads. "Gentlemen, when the bill to prevent the importation of the Germans, &c. was under my consideration, I took such advice upon it, and made such amendments to it, as I thought would best answer the public purposes, and put that trade upon such a footing as to prevent the many abuses that had been practised in it, and at the same time secure this city and province against the coming in and spreading of infectious distempers. How far the bill, as proposed by you, or amended by me, would, VOL. II.... K or would not, have answered those ends, was a matter proper to be considered at a conference, which you might have desired if you had thought proper, as it is the only means of bringing a bill to perfection, when the branches of the legislature differ in opinion concerning any amendments proposed to it; but instead thereof, you have sent me a message filled with unjust reflections upon the amendments proposed by me, and plainly designed to represent me, as having no regard for the health or safety of the inhabitants of this country; in doing which, I cannot think you have paid a proper regard to truth. However, as it is not my intention to enter into a controversy with you upon that bill, which might have been agreed upon between us, had the usual method of proceeding in such cases been pursued by you, I shall say nothing more upon the head, especially as this matter seems purposely chosen to lead me and the public from considering that part of your conduct that must, in its consequences, most nearly affect the inhabitants of this province." It is in every reader's power to confute every article of this message from the materials before him, though not to account for the governor's reasons for so unseasonably exposing himself; but as we have heard one party, 'tis fit we should hear the other, and if they have been guilty of any partiality, or failed in any point of justice to themselves, let him supply the defect or correct the error that finds himself qualified so to do. The piece that ensues was their answer. To wit: "May it please the Governor, "When we met, in obedience to the governor's summons, on the 17th of March last, we really brought with us the sincerest inclinations to promote the public service, by granting the supplies expected by the crown; and we trust it will appear to all who impartially examine the proceedings of that session, that we did every thing in our power, as our affairs were then circumstanced; and conscquently that the danger to which this country stood exposed, and his majesty's repeated and affectionate calls, had great weight with us, whatever they had with the governor. "The bill we sent up, for striking the sum of twenty-five thousands pounds, and giving the same to the king's use, and for providing a fund to sink it, had nothing extraordinary in its nature, or differing from other bills heretofore passed or presented for like purposes in this province, excepting that the sum given was extraordinary, compared with the time proposed for sinking it; the sum for the Canada expedition, in the last war, being but five thousand pounds, to be sunk in ten years, and this sum, though five times greater, was to be sunk by the same fund, in the same number of years. In the bill five thousand pounds of the sum was appropriated to pay to the crown to refuse it; if we are mistaken, 6 for provisions bought and given for the use of 'tis an error in judgment; we have appealed the forces in Virginia, under general Brad- to our gracious king on this head, and we dock; ten thousand pounds more was given hope for a favourable determination. We are to buy provisions for the New England forces charged with trifling with the king's comunder his command; five thousand pounds mands, and refusing to give at all, though more was subjected to his order, and to be we have actually given great sums in obedidisposed of for the king's service as he should ence to those commands, and earnestly enthink fit; and the remaining five thousand deavoured to give much greater, which the pounds was appropriated for the subsistence governor refused, unless we would give in a of Indians taking refuge in this province, manner which we think inconsistent with our payment of posts or expresses, hire of car- present just liberties and privileges, held unriages, clearing of roads, and other necessary der the royal charter. We are charged with contingent expenses for the king's service, as resolving to aggrandize our own power, and might be incumbent on this government to destroy that of the crown;' a charge as we discharge. Thus the whole twenty-five conceive, utterly groundless, and for which thousand pounds was appropriated to the we have never given the least foundation. king's service; and almost all of it to the im- We are charged with a scheme of indemediate use of general Braddock, or to such pendency.' We have no such scheme, nor purposes as were by him especially recom- ever had; nor do we, as a part of the legis mended in his letters, laid before the house lature, desire any independency but what the by the governor. The members of the house, constitution authorises, which gives us a right mentioned by the governor, were to have no to judge for ourselves and our constituents, share in the disposition of it; it was disposed of the utility and propriety of laws, or modes of of by the bill, and they could only have the laws, about to be made; and does not yet, and we trouble of laying it out according to the ap- confide never will, oblige us to make laws by dipropriation, and keeping the accounts. This rection. We are charged with grasping at the is truth, and well known to the governor, if disposition of all public money, and at the he perused our bill with any degree of atten- power of filling all the offices of government: tion; yet how differently is it represented in a charge, as we conceive, equally groundless the governor's message! it is called only, 'a and invidious; we have, by law, a right to bill for striking twenty-five thousand pounds;' dispose of some public money, and we cannot which is but a part of the title, the words, be properly said to grasp at what we are in and for giving the same to the king's use, possession of; that part of the public money, being (as it would seem) carefully omitted, which the governor receives, arising by lilest they might militate against the assertion censes, &c. great as it is, he disposes of as he which immediately follows, that, 'twenty pleases, and we have never attempted to inthousand pounds of it was subjected to the dis- terfere in it; nor can one instance be given position of some members of the house, and of of our attempting to fill any office, which we the assembly for the time being.' Then it are not by some express law impowered to is said, it gave general Braddock a power fill. But the heaviest charge of this paraover no more than five thousand pounds,' be- graph concludes it; the governor is pleased cause it gave him a power to draw for, and to say, 'when his majesty and the nation are appropriate as he pleased, no more than that at the expense of sending troops for the prosum, though all the twenty-five thousand tection of these colonies, you refuse to furnish pounds (except a small part for the support of them with provisions and necessary carriages, Indian refugees, which is likewise for the though your country is full of both; unless king's service) was appropriated for his, and you can at the same time encroach upon the his army's use, or services by him required; rights of the crown.' This charge is really and we cannot learn that any other colony | amazing! it requires, however, no other anbesides, hath given, or offered to give, that swer, than a simple relation of fact. In the gentleman a power over as many pence. same session, and as soon as it appeared there Great subtilty and dexterity appear in this was no hope of obtaining the bill for giving manner of disguising truths, and changing ap- twenty thousand pounds to the king's use, and pearances, but we see in it very little candour many weeks before the forces arrived, we and ingenuity. voted and gave five thousand pounds to purchase provisions and other necessaries for those forces; these provisions were accordingly bought, and are sent to Virginia, being the full quantity required of us: we have since given ten thousand pounds to purchase provisions for the New-England forces; it was given as soon as requested, and before the troops were raised; those provisions are most "In the next paragraph of the governor's message, there are many assertions in which we think we are equally misrepresented; we are charged with offering money in a way, and upon terms which we knew the governor could not, consistent with his duty to the crown, consent to.' We really thought, and still think, it was inconsistent with his duty ment. of them actually purchased, great part sent | times passed through several hands before away, and all will probably be at the place ap- payment was demanded. At the last settlepointed before they are wanted. We gave ment of the public accounts, it appeared, that not a pound of provision less than was asked of a considerable sum of this interest and exciseus, and all the carriages required of us have money, over which the assembly alone had a been furnished. This has been done with the legal power, ought to be in the hands of the greatest readiness and alacrity, and done, we treasurer and trustees. The governor himconceive, without the least encroachment on self was pleased to point this money out to us, the rights of the crown, unless borrowing to compute the sum, and urge the house to money on our own credit' (which we thought make use of it, when in January last he reeven every private man had a right to do, if fused their bill for giving twenty-five thou he had any credit) be indeed such an encroach- sand pounds to the king's use. The house alleged, and truly, that the money was out"Indeed the next paragraph begins with standing in many hands, and could not sudcharging this upon us as a crime, you have, denly be collected, without distressing and the governor is pleased to say, by a vote of ruining the people. However, on the credit your own house, without the consent of the of this fund, we voted the first five thousand government, impowered a committee of your pounds for provisions, and ordered the money members to borrow money upon the credit of to be borrowed on interest. And at the last the assembly, and to dispose of the same to sitting, when the governor refused to pass our certain uses in that vote mentioned.' By bill for giving twenty-five thousand pounds to this caution in expressing the uses, a stranger the king's use, he may be pleased to rememmight imagine, that they were wicked, if not ber, that he sent us down a message in which, treasonable uses, and that the governor, out of after the reason given for not passing the bill, mere tenderness for his people, forbore to ex- there are these words: As this is a time of plain them; but the uses mentioned in the imminent danger, and the forces raised and votes, are, to purchase fresh victuals, and destined for the service of the colonies, must other necessaries, for the use of the king's wait the supplies from this province, I again troops at their arrival; and to purchase and entreat you to fall upon some other method of transport provisions requested by the govern-raising money, that we may not lose this ment of the Massachusetts-bay, to victual the happy opportunity of recovering his majesty's forces about to march for securing his majes-dominions now invaded by the French king.' ty's territories. These are the uses, in the votes mentioned, and the only uses; and we can conceive no reason for touching them so gently by the name of certain uses, unless the governor thought, that being more explicit on the uses, might seem to lessen, in some degree, the heinous crime of borrowing money on our own credit. "The governor is pleased to add, 'you have also, by votes and resolves, of your own house, created bills, or notes of credit, made payable to the bearers thereof, to the amount of fifteen thousand pounds, which you have issued in lieu of money, and they are now circulating in this province, without the approbation of the government.' This charge, we presume, will, like the rest, vanish on a little explanation. By the laws of this province now in force, and which have received the royal assent, the disposition of the interestmoney, and excise, is vested in the assembly for the time being: out of this revenue the assemblies have, from time to time, defrayed the charges of government. The constant method of payment was always this; when an account against the public was allowed, or any expense for public service agreed to, an order issued, drawn on the treasurer, or trustees of the loan-office, and signed by the speaker, or the clerk, by order of the house. As these orders were generally paid on sight, they naturally obtained some credit, and some The house accordingly fell on this other method: they gave ten thousand pounds of the money in their power to the king's use; they appointed a committee to purchase the provisions required, and impowered them to draw for the sum on the treasurer or trustees of the loan-office, as had been usual; with this only difference, that as former draughts were payable on sight, and therefore bore no interest, these being payable in a year, were to bear interest; and in the mean time the outstanding money was ordered to be got in, that the draughts might be punctually discharged. Monied men, knowing the goodness of the fund, and confiding in the justice and punctuality of the assembly, which has always honourably discharged the public debts, have voluntarily furnished the committee with cash for these draughts, which they have laid by in their chests to receive in time the interest. Thus the kng's forces have been expeditiously supplied, the people have time to pay off their debts to the public, and no one is oppressed, distressed, or injured; nor is any encroachment made on the powers of government, or any thing done that has not been usual, or which the assembly are not by law impowered to do. Yet this is what the governor represents as creating bills of credit, and issuing them in lieu of money, without the approbation of the government;' by which, persons unacquainted with the fact, might understand we had been making paper-money, and issuing | vernment, but only acquainted us, that, it it on loan, or in some other manner, to produce being a bill of a very extraordinary nature, he an advantage to ourselves, and attempted to would send it home to the ministry,' which make it a legal tender without the governor's we hope he has accordingly done, as we beassent, &c. all which is mere misrepresenta-lieve it will be found, however the governor tion or misapprehension, as will appear by the may have misapprehended it, to have nothing resolves themselves, to which we beg leave to extraordinary in its nature, or inconsistent refer. After this explanation of our conduct, with our duty to the crown, or assuming more we believe it will clearly appear, that the than our just rights and privileges. governor's insinuation, as if we had used powers dangerous to the government, is as groundless as it is unkind. "On the whole, while we find the governor transforming our best actions into crimes, and endeavouring to render the inhabitants of Pennsylvania odious to our gracious sovereign and his ministers, to the British nation, to all the neighbouring colonies, and to the army that is come to protect us; we cannot look upon him as a friend to this country. We are plain people, unpractised in the sleights and artifices of controversy, and have no joy in disputation. We wish the governor of the same disposition: and when he shall, as we hope he will, on better consideration, alter his conduct towards us, and thereby convince us that he means well to the province, we may then be able to transact the public business together with comfort both to him and ourselves; of which till then we have small expectation." "The other charges, of denying the governor access to our journals, and printing the secretary of state's letters,' having been made and answered in former messages between the governor and the house, we think it unnecessary to take any further notice of them here. But we are surprised to find, that after having effectually given fifteen thousand pounds, in provisions and other necessaries for the king's forces, maintained at so great an expense our Indian allies, established a constant regular post through two hundred miles of country, merely for the service of the army, and advanced a considerable sum to make a long and chargeable road through the wilderness and mountains to the Ohio, for the use of the king's forces, the whole expense of which we have engaged to defray, we should still be flatly told by the governor, 'That he is convinced from the whole tenor of our behaviour, that we have no design to contribute any thing towards the de-printed in their gazettes, he had also the pleafence of this country.' "The governor is pleased further to censure us, for not desiring a conference on the bill to prevent the importation of Germans, or other passengers, in too great numbers in one ship or vessel, and to prevent the spreading of contagious distempers, &c. We own that it is sometimes practised, when the governor and assembly differ in judgment concerning a bill, to request a conference, if there be any hope by such a conference to obtain an agreement; but we being, from many circumstances attending the bill, without such hope at present, contented ourselves with laying before the governor, in a message, our reasons for not agreeing to his proposed amendments, and submitted those reasons to his consideration; the bill may still be resumed, and a conference entered into at a future session, if there should be any prospect of success. If our proceeding was irregular, which we think it was not, the governor may be pleased to remember, he himself set us a more irregular example at our last sitting, when we presented him the bill for granting twenty-five thousand pounds to the king's use; for he neither proposed any amendment, nor desired any conference, nor would return us our bill (when we expressly sent for it to be reconsidered) according to the constant custom in this go Such was the language of liberty, truth, and candour-we feel the force of it-we cannot resist its authority! and if the governor had the mortification to find they had ordered both his message and their answer to be sure to find himself excused for the present by their adjournment, from the impossible task, of constructing such a reply as the pressure of this case required. Perhaps they thought the absurdity he had fallen into, by charging them with a resolution to take advantage of their country's danger, to aggrandize and render permanent their own power and authority, too glaring to need any comment. Perhaps they did not think it proper to retort, that the inhabitants of a colony, so remote from the principal seat of empire, had abundantly more to apprehend from an excess of power in their governor, than the governor could possibly have from a like excess in their representatives; the executive, as before observed, being a single principle always in force, and the legislative composed of two co-equal principles, which must always tally, or can no otherwise operate, than by restraining and controlling the operations of each other, as in the case before us; and, perhaps, they had not the resolution of the house of commons of July 2, 1678, in sight at that time, which was as follows, viz. "That all aids and supplies granted to his majesty in parliament, are the sole gift of the commons; that all bills for the granting any such aids and supplies ought to begin with the commons; and that it is the undoubted and |