wrecks) during the king's pleasure: for which they thought proper to return him a vote of thanks.

Nor is it much to be wondered at, that men taken by surprise, out of the hands of their friend the proprietary, and exposed at once to a wrestling-match with the crown, which they had never had any immediate transactions with before, should submit to hold their liberties by courtesy, rather than incur the least risk of not holding them at all.

There was, however, a party among them, who having drawn up a petition of right, claiming and desiring the use and benefit of two hundred and three laws therein specified, as in all respects consonant to their charter, and none of them annulled by the crown in consequence of the power reserved to the sovereign; would hear of no abatement; and who had credit enough with the assembly to obtain the sending a message to the governor, signifying, "that it was the sense and expectation of the assembly, that aggrievances ought to be redressed before any bill of supply ought

And here their hearts failed them: for the governor having returned the bill sent up with the message which he had proposed amendments to, without any specifications of what those amendments were to be, with the following answer, "that the assembly should have no account of the amendments of the bill, till they came in a full house before him to give the last sanction to the laws;" and farther," that he saw nothing would do but an annexion to New York." The menace carried the supply.

When the bill for granting it was however sent up, they not only sent up the roll of their laws with it, but also gave that part of their order the first place in their books.

They further "Resolved, nem. con. that all bills sent to the governor and council in order to be amended, ought to be returned to this house, to have their farther approbation upon such amendments, before they can have their final assent to pass into laws."

And though they did not join with their committee of ten in the following paper, they suffered it to be entered in their books, by way of protest on their behalf: to wit,

"We whose names are hereunto subscribed, representatives of the freemen of this province in assembly, do declare, it is the undoubted right of this house to receive back from the governor and council all such bills as are sent up for their approbation or amendments: and that it is as necessary to know the amendments, and debate the same, as the body of the bills: and that the denial of that right is destructive to the freedom of making laws. And we also declare, it is the right of the assembly, that, before any bill for supplies be presented for the last sanction of a law, aggrievances ought to be redressed. Therefore, we, with protestation (saving our just rights in assembly) do declare, that the assent of such of us, as were for sending up the bill this morning, was merely in consideration of the governor's speedy departure, but that it should not be drawn into example or precedent for the future. DAVID LLOYD," &c.

And concerning this whole period, we find the freemen in assembly met for the year 1704, thus farther expostulating with their proprietary, in the remonstrance already more than once referred to: to wit, "But what thou and they (the five commissioners of state) could not effect in that behalf, was performed by colonel Fletcher in the year 1693, and then we were brought under the immediate direction of the crown, but with commands for him to govern us by the laws of the country: and although both the laws and charter had been long before transmitted to thee, in order to get the late king's (James) approbation thereof, which we insisted upon, and urged that they were laws till disapproved, yet thou having sent no account whether they were approved or not, we were forced to comply with him, and accept of such as he pleased: but the charter he totally rejected."

Before he set out for New York, he did however give a written sanction to the laws required; and the next year's assembly proved notwithstanding to be of the same leaven with the last.

This assembly had been summoned by the writs of the lieutenant governor (Markham) and when met in a humour to state and redress the grievances of the colony, found

themselves precluded from acting by an order from Fletcher for their adjournment.

That, therefore, they might make the most of two days, they appointed a committee of grievances; and having received their report, agreed upon a remonstrance to the governor thereon, containing a complaint of their being sent for only to be dismissed; asserting the right of the house to adjourn themselves; and among several other particulars, calling upon the governor so to exert his power and authority, that cases determined by juries might not be unduly avoided by determinations in equity; that to prevent arbitrary assessments and the dissatisfaction they gave rise to, the justices of the peace might consult with, and be directed by the approbation of the several grand juries; and that the money raised by the last assembly might be properly applied and properly accounted for to the present at their next sitting.

Their right of adjourning themselves having been admitted, they met accordingly towards the end of the next month. -Governor Fletcher was by this time returned to them in person; and in the opening of his speech, made them a handsome apology for not meeting them before; urging the necessity of a sudden journey to Albany, to endeavor at reclaiming the five nations of Indians, hitherto the allies of England, but now confederated with the governor of Canada against us; said he had brought the papers which passed at the conference along with him, for their satisfaction; that their Indians would be next forced into the same fatal confederacy; that he had seen with his eyes, a large tract of cultivated land about Albany, which had been abandoned by the inhabitants, rather through the unkindness of their neighbours in refusing them assistance, than by the force of the enemy: prayed, that those who shut their eyes against a distant danger, might not find it at their own doors; extolled the two provinces of Jersey for the aids they had sent; and concluded thus, "Gentlemen, I consider your princ ples, that you will not carry arms, nor levy money to make war, though for your own defence; yet I hope you will not refuse to feed the hungry and clothe the naked: my meaning

is to supply those Indian nations with such necessaries as may influence them to a continuance of their friendship to these provinces. And now, gentlemen, if you will consider wherein 'I may be useful to you, according to the tenor of my commission, in redressing your grievances, if you have any, you shall find me ready to act by the rules of loyalty, with a true regard to liberty and property."

What appears to have been most remarkable in this session was a dispute between the governor and the house about a money bill: he alleging it was inconsistent with his trust to pass the bill, because they had named collectors therein, which seemed to derogate from the confidence reposed in the king's officer appointed to collect the last tax; and insisting upon some answer to the queen's letter, before he came to a final resolution concerning it: and they at once adhering to their bill, and desiring it might not be rejected on the first of those accounts; since they could not but assert their undoubted right to appropriate as well as raise money, agreeable to the privileges heretofore granted them, the practice in England, as well as in that and also in some of the neighbouring colonies; and that as to the receiver, when their appropriations had been answered, he was to dispose of the remainder as the governor and council should order.

The governor still pressed for their answer to her majesty, instead of giving them the satisfaction desired; and the said answer proving to be a remonstrance, he dissolved them.

Of the next sessions the accounts are extremely imperfect. We find, indeed, by a course of minutes, that a joint committee of the council, at the requisition of the governor, had several meetings, to consider of the queen's letter, the governor's demands thereon in his speech, and an act of settlement; that an answer to his speech was drawn up and sent to the governor, together with an act of settlement; that the messengers on their return, reported, they had delivered both, and were told the governor and council had no farther business at present; and that after several adjournments,

being met in committee, and in high debate, their attendance was required by the governor in order to dissolve them.

That the demands made upon them, in virtue of the queen's letter, were the subject of these debates, is more than probable and if so, it will follow, that their want of will or power to comply with them was the cause of their dissolution.

In the year 1696, being the next year following, Markham, once the proprietary's secretary and clerk of the council, and of late lieutenant governor, summoned the next assembly, as lieutenant to the proprietary now reinstated in the government; and at their meeting, recommended governor Fletcher's speech at the opening of the New York assembly, thereby to excite the charity of Pennsylvania, in relieving the poor Indians, whose corn and provisions had been destroyed by the French: and the sense of the house upon it was, by way of message, thus communicated.

2

"Whereas the governor has been pleased to convene us, by his writs, although not in the form of our charter, as we could desire, we have obeyed the same, and considered what he has laid before us, viz. an answer to the late queen's letter, and our proprietary's promise upon his restoration to his government; and are heartily and unanimously willing and ready to perform our duty therein, so far as in us lies, if the governor would be pleased to settle us in our former constitutions, enjoyed by us before this government was committed to governor Fletcher's trust.”

This was followed, on the governor's part, with a demand of money as before for the relief of the Indians: and the assembly chusing to take care of the provincial constitution first, required the governor to appoint a committee of the council to join with a committee of the assembly for that purpose: such a joint committee was appointed accordingly; who agreed in recommending this expedient," that the governor, at the request of the assembly would be pleased to

2 They had been issued upon Fletcher's plan before specified.