about five hundred pounds, even that five hundred pounds, is offered on the behalf of the proprietaries, by a few private individuals, as an expedient to remove that only difficulty out of the way: and the governor refuses it. So that, if there was any truth in the governor's repeated assertions, the safety of the province, the interest of the public, and the honor of the British crown, were to be alike exposed and endangered, together with the proprietary estate, so impertinently and improvidently put into the scale against all the

rest.

Το say all at once, his answer to the last proposition, as verbally delivered to the house by his secretary, was in these words, viz.

'Sir, The governor having by message of the 14th inst. informed that he did not think it consistent with his pow you, er, or trust, to pass the bill for raising fifty thousand pounds, without the amendments he had made to it, and that he adhered to those amendments; is surprized at your message of this day, to which he can only say, that he thinks it his duty to adhere still to the amendments he made to that bill.'

On the same day, also, by another message he put them in mind of his former requisitions concerning a militia; and demanded a plain and categorical answer, whether they would, or would not establish one, "That his majesty and his ministers might be informed, whether, at this time of danger, the province of Pennsylvania was to be put into a posture of defence or not?"

This convinced the house, that all expedient was at an end; and that all the governor aimed at was to bewilder them if possible in another maze of controversy. To discharge themselves, therefore, of every branch of duty, as far as they were permitted to do it with any consistency to themselves, and regard to the fundamentals of their constitution, they first took into consideration the several petitions of the frontier towns, for arms, &c. and resolved, that a sum not exceeding one thousand pounds, if so much remained in the treasury at the disposition of the house by the laws in force,

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should be paid into the hands of a committee of the house, then named, to be by them disposed of, with the concurrence of the governor for the time being, as should appear necessary.

Proceeding then to the governor's verbal message concerning their money-bill; they agreed to return an answer to this effect, viz. "that he, having in his former answer signified, that he was not yet satisfied, &c. whatever he might be, when he heard what they had farther to say, which argued a suspension of his determination, and they having since sent him a long message containing the reasons of their procedure, they could not but be surprized at his surprize, more especially as he had not even then returned their bill; that as to his proposal for striking any sum in paper-money the present exigency might require, provided funds were established for sinking the same in five years, they had no funds equal to so great a sum without the assistance of an equitable tax, to which the governor would always have his objections in favor of the proprietary estate; that as this proposal might lead them back into those disputes, which, by the form of this bill, agreeable to the governor's advice in his speech at the opening of the session, they had studied to avoid, they should be farther surprized to receive it from him, could they find the least reason to think he was sincerely desirous of having any thing done for the defence of the province; and that being now convinced, no farther benefit could arise from their longer sitting, and being to meet of course in a few weeks to settle the accounts of the year, they took leave to acquaint him of their purpose to adjourn to the 15th of September ensuing, in case he had no objection to that time."

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Lastly, by the same members that were appointed to carry

this message to the governor, they also sent another concerning a militia, in which having enumerated his several messages in relation to the defence and safety of the province, they wave the point by saying, "That the elections throughout the province being near at hand, they chose to refer that point to a future assembly, and then proceed as

follows, 'But as we find, by the governor's result upon our bill for granting fifty thousand pounds for the king's use, he cannot think it consistent with the trust reposed in him by the proprietaries to pass that bill, we find by experience that it can answer no good purpose to waste our time in preparing bills for his assent, in which, for the common security and defence of the province, we apprehend it would be a high breach of the trust reposed in us, to exclude the proprietaries estate from bearing any part of the burthen, and if not excluded, as the governor asserts, must at last be rejected by him for want of sufficient powers in his commission; and therefore (had we no other objections) we hope the governor will judge it reasonable, after so many repeated refusals of the bills we have offered to him for granting large sums of money for the king's use, that we now wait the determination of our superiors, what powers he has, or ought to have, as our governor, under the royal and provincial charters; and what exclusive rights our proprietaries may be justly intitled to in the laying and levying of taxes for the common security and defence of their estates, with all the other estates within this province.'

In answer to the first of these messages, so far as related to the time of adjournment, (with which he was verbally acquainted by the messengers) the governor was pleased to say "he had no objection to that time more than any other; but that if he found [on perusal of the written messages then delivered to him] that the house had not given him a satisfactory answer, to his messages relating to a militia, he should call them again immediately."

To the time of their own adjournment, they had, nevertheless, the grace to be indulged with a recess. And on the third day of their sitting, they preferred a request to the governor, "that, if he had any business of importance to lay before them, particularly, if any application had been made to him for a farther supply of provisions, for the use of the . king's forces then gone towards Crown-point, he would be pleased to lay it before them soon, as their year was near ex

pired, and the time of their continuance together consequently short."

The answer they received was verbal, by his honor's secretary, importing, "that the government of Massachusettsbay had ordered two thousand eight hundred men to be immediately raised, in addition to the one thousand five hundred before raised for the reduction of Crown-point; and that the governor had the day before received a letter from governor Phipps, desiring, at the instance of the council and assembly there, an immediate supply of provisions to be sent to Albany." And, as if this was not enough to ask of them, a supplemental paragraph was grafted upon it as follows: "the governor has also been informed, that the government of Connecticut have raised fifteen hundred men, and RhodeIsland one hundred and fifty, in addition to the forces sent by those governments against Crown-point, who will also stand in need of a supply of provisions; he therefore recommends these matters to your consideration."

Two articles, out of governor Shirley's state of his own conduct, will come in not improperly here; viz. "Upon Mr. Shirley's arrival at New York (July 4), he found a full stop put to the preparations for the expedition against Crown point, with respect to the articles of artillery and military stores, which the governments of Massachusetts-bay and New York had agreed to furnish between them, depending, that the colonies of Connecticut, New-Hampshire, and Rhode-Island, would pay their proportions of the expence; but that not being done, the government of New York declined parting with the stores, without actual payment or security given. After having removed this obstacle to the expedition's proceeding, by putting into the hands of the government of New York, a sufficient quantity of the Pennsylvania provisions, as a security for reimbursing them on account of the before-mentioned articles, and advanced about one thousand pounds sterling, of his own money, towards the expence of transporting the artillery, and ordnancestores, in confidence of being reimbursed by the New England colonies, he embarked for Albany."

The reader will make his own remarks; at least he will infer from what passed in the assembly of Pennsylvania before, in relation to orders said to have been received from and demands, made by general Shirley, that the said assembly would now have been inexcusable, if they had not called upon their governor, for governor Phipps's letter and the other informations referred to upon this occasion; which they did by express message; and that having been told by him in answer to that call, that he had orders from the secretary of state not to lay before the house any papers but such as he pleased, they should apply to him for a sight of such orders.

They did so, and were again refused; he signifying that such orders being intended for his own government, he thought it improper to communicate them; and in the name of the secretary of state, vouching, as he himself had done before, that messages from him were a sufficient foundation for them to proceed upon; but withal recurring to what he had also offered in his former message, namely, to communicate to their speaker, or a few of the house, such parts of the information he had received from the eastward as his majesty's service required.

But this not proving satisfactory to the house, all proceedings on this head were for some days at a stand; and the interval was filled with a continuation of the animated controversy, which in the preceding session had so highly exasperated the two branches of the legislature against each other,、 and which never had been either revived, or caused, if the governor and his employers had not preferred their own private views, to all the moral and equitable obligations" of go

vernment.

When the assembly had sat nine days, and now remained in a sort of suspence, not choosing to inflame on one hand, and willing to hope the governor would find reasons to abate of his unreasonable stiffness on the other; came down a long message by way of answer to the assembly's paper of August 19; and, sufficiently exasperated thereby, that body,