Here follows a variety of prescriptions and prohibitions; some plausible; some artificial; and all serving as a shoeinghorn to the great one of all, the exemption of the proprietary quit-rents, which was to be rendered as express as possible.

That, however, they may not appear altogether intractable, one concession is made towards the conclusion, which is worth more perhaps than they supposed; as it contains a tacit acknowledgment that, in equity, they ought to be taxed like the rest of their fellow-subjects, and yet less than them they would have it understood; such estates of theirs, as come within that description, not being like to produce such a sum as deserved to be made a provincial object; and the introductory part of the paragraph, as may be collected from the famous contest between them and the assembly concerning Indian expences, justly drawing the whole into suspicion. This is the paragraph. Valeat quantum valere potest. "And whereas we are, and always have been, most ready and willing to bear a just proportion along with our tenants in any necessary tax for the defence of the said province, which shall be equally laid upon the lands of the inhabitants, and also upon any of our manors or lands which are actually let out on leases, either for lives or years, as being estates in some degree like to those of which the inhabitants are possessed; therefore you are at liberty to give your consent to any reasonable bill or act for that purpose, provided the tax to be paid for such our last mentioned estates, shall be payable by the tenants and occupiers, who shall deduct the same out of the rents payable by them to us.'

It is remarkable, that through the whole, the language is such as could indeed become none but an absolute proprietary; all dictatorial; all in chief, as lord paramount; as if there was no king in Israel, nor any interest worthy consideration, but the proprietary interest; as if there was no pccasion for royal instructions, or as if it was impossible any such should interfere with theirs; and as if the provincial legislature was a nose of wax to be twisted into what shape they pleased.

Such were these instructions: and as to their effect in the house, it was such as was naturally to be expected; they saw a controversy without end before them, productive in its way of all manner of calamities public and private, and to be prevented or shortened only by a submission equally ruinous. They saw this; and it threw them into agonies, though not into despair.

The first expedient they made use of was the following message to the governor:

May it please the Governor,

'The house have taken into their most serious consideration the proprietary instructions relating to the passing of money-bills, which the governor has been pleased to lay before us; and as we are fully convinced the present unhappy circumstances of this province require very large and immediate supplies, we have likewise considered the funds whereby such sums as we judge absolutely necessary for the security of the province may be sunk; but every thing we have hitherto been able to propose, must be rendered in a great degree fruitless by those instructions, if adhered to.

'We therefore request the governor would be pleased to inform us, whether he does not apprehend himself at liberty, notwithstanding the said proprietary instructions, to pass such equitable bills as we may offer him, if consistent with his own judgment, and agreeable to such laws as have been enacted by his predecessors, and received the royal assent.' To this the governor answered,

'Gentlemen,

'I am very glad to hear the house have taken the moneybills into their serious consideration, and the proprietary instructions on that subject.

"It would be with great reluctance, especially at this time, if I should differ in sentiments with the house of representatives. You will be pleased to observe how I am circumstanced, and that I cannot recede from my instructions without risking both my honor and fortune, which, I am persuaded, you, gentlemen, are too equitable to desire.'

A bill for striking the sum of sixty thousand pounds, inbills of credit, and giving the same to the king's use, and for providing a fund to sink the same, by laying an excise on wine, rum, brandy, and other spirits, was the result; ten thousand pounds, of which was appropriated as the quota of the province to the general fund for the common service and defence of the colonies, and rendered subject to the orders of the the earl of Loudon ; ten thousand pounds to discharge the debt contracted by the province for the provisions, furnished for the expedition against Crown-point; which debt had been unavoidably incurred, and could no otherwise be discharged; no part of the hundred and fifteen thousand pounds, granted by parliament for the colonies, having been allotted to Pennsylvania; and the residue, after paying such debts as had been contracted since the expenditure of the fifty-five thousand pounds, was destined for the current service, as the managers appointed by the said act, with the consent and approbation of the governor, and not otherwise, should direct.

When the said bill was presented to the governor, he made use of the answer of course, that he would give it all the dispatch in his power; but afterwards he gave them notice by message, that difficulties had arisen; and that he desired a conference with a committee of the house, in order to a discussion of them.

A committee was ordered accordingly; at which (Sept. 13) the governor was pleased to express himself to the following purport, viz.

"That although, at the request of the house, he had laid the proprietary instructions before them with the utmost candour, yet he was surprized to find there was a clause in the bill now before him, whereby the surplus-money (if any) was to be in the disposition of the assembly, contrary to the said proprietary instructions; that the term for sinking the sum granted to the king's use was too long, and would depreciate the value of the currency; that so long a time was contrary to the sense of the ministry, and the spirit of the act of parliament, which restrains the eastern colonies from

striking bills of credit for any longer term, even upon the most pressing emergencies, than five years only; that in the report of the board of trade on the act passed by this assembly for granting sixty thousand pounds to the king's use, the chief reason their lordships urged for not advising his majesty to disallow that act, was the shortness of the time for sinking the same; and that there were many ways to sink the sum granted to the king's use, by the present bill, without extending the excise for so long a time.'

At the request of the committee he also gave them the heads of his objections in writing; namely,

1. To the length of the term of twenty years for sinking the said sum, as it might endanger the entire loss of the currency; and as the lords of trade had assigned the shortness of the time prescribed in the sixty thousand pounds act, as their reason for advising his majesty to give his assent to it. 2. To the disposition of the surplus-money by the assembly alone. 3. To the subjecting the ten thousand pounds given as a contribution to the general fund, to the order of lord Loudon only, and not of the commander in chief for the time being. 4. To the application of any part of the money to the discharge of the ten thousand pounds given for the use of the Crown-point expedition, as the said sum was issued upon a fund already established.

His other objections, being of a less general nature, need not to be specified. And in the close of all, that he might be thoroughly understood, he farther chose to express himself as follows; to wit, "that he had had several applications made to him from the frontier, requesting the aid of the legislature in their present distressed circumstances; that the eyes of the neighbouring colonies were upon them; and above all, that the nation of England were in expectation of their granting the necessary supplies for the king's service; that he was sorry to find the first bill offered to him should be such as he could not pass; and that he hoped they would so conduct themselves, as that he might make a favorable representation of their conduct to his majesty."

The house, on the other hand, having taken these objections into consideration, appointed a committee to collect the sense of the house in answer to them, which upon the report was approved, and sent up to the governor by the committee of conference.

And this answer, so far as regards the objections above stated, can be given in no terms so apposite as their own, viz.

'1. The house chose, at this time, an excise bill rather than a land-tax bill, to avoid any dispute about taxing the proprietary estate, and because, as it was a mode of raising money they were used to and understood, the bill might more speedily be formed and brought to effect, so as to answer the present pressing emergency; and being in the same form with a number of preceding excise bills, that had been passed by former governors, gone through the offices at home, and received the royal assent; they well hoped it might meet with no objections.

'The last time it passed, the term was ten years. No inconvenience arose from the length of that term. Could we have sunk the sum we wanted by the excise in that term, we should not desire to extend it. But we expect it will not yield more in twenty years than the sixty thousand pounds granted. The act of parliament made for the eastern colonies, is not in force here. Had the parliament thought it fit that this province should be governed by that act, they would not have excluded Pennsylvania out of the bill, as they actually did. Governor Hamilton had formerly offered to extend the excise to any term, during which we would load it with three thousand pounds per annum, granted to the crown. From whence we concluded the term of twenty years would not be objected to, sixty thousand pounds being granted.

'Other taxes or excises on other consumptions might possibly be laid, but we have no experience of them; they will require a time of more leisure to be well considered, and laws for collecting them properly formed, so as to be effectual, and not injurious to our trade. If this war continues, we may soon want them all; and the succeeding assembly may, take those matters in hand immediately after their meeting,

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