But the governor is pleased to tell us, that "our claim of a natural exclusive right to the disposition of public money, because it is the people's, is against reason, the nature of an English government, and the usage of this province." He has, however, never produced that reason to us; and we still think, that as every man has, so every body of men have a natural right to the disposition of their own money, by themselves or their representatives; and that the proprietary's claim of a voice in the disposition of money to which he will contribute no part, is a claim contrary to reason. The wisdom of the crown has thought fit to allow different constitutions to different colonies, suitable to their different circumstances; and as they have been long settled and established, we apprehend that if the governor could have power to unsettle them all, and make in every one such changes as would be necessary to reduce them to a conformity with his idea of an English government," the reformation would be productive of more inconvenience than advantage. The general "usage of this province" in the disposition of public money, was ever what it now is; and as the province has flourished with it, and no inconvenience has attended it, we hope it will still continue. Particular laws may, in a very few instances, have given the disposition of particular sums to the governor, or to commissioners, forparticular services; but a few such instances do not make an usage, and the governor must in that point have been greatly misinformed.

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It is agreed, that in the concessions mentioned by the governor, the proprietary reserved in every hundred thousand acres ten to himself; but then (to make the governor's "plain fact" a little plainer) he was to have it by lot, and not by choice; the quantity so reserved was to lie but in one place; . and he was "bound to plant or man it within three years after it was set out and surveyed;" or else (by the next concession) it was "lawful for new comers to settle thereupon, and he to go higher "up for his share.” This might induce him not to take up more than he could conveniently settle; but can give his successors no right to pick here and there the best vacant pieces among the settlements, excluding other rights; nor to keep the land-office shut, as was done after the second mentioned purchase, till they had garbled the best tracts for themselves and dependants, and left little besides rocks and barren mountains for the rest of the people. The third and last purchase being made but the last year, and the land mostly exposed to, or, as the governor has often informed us, in the hands of the enemy, we are surprized to hear that "great numbers of people are seated on it to their entire satisfaction;" and more so, that the proprietaries manors and appropriated tracts are mostly settled by persons that pay their share of all If this be so, we must own ourselves as much unacquainted with the state of his lands, as we are with the state and management of the land-office, which of late, indeed, is pretty much a mystery. That the proprietaries are intitled to the character of the best landlords, we can by no means presume to say with the governor; since his majesty's lands are granted without purchase money, on half the quit-rent, and the quit-rents

taxes.

are applied to the support of government and defence of the country; we cannot therefore but be of opinion, that the king is a much better landlord.

If the governor would please to consider, that it does not fall to the share of perhaps one man in five hundred to be an assessor during his whole life, and that the chance of being favored or not by a succeeding assessor, as he himself shall behave in that office, is proportionably small; and that the very little which can possibly be saved in his part of the tax, by unjustly enhancing that of the proprietaries, is a matter next to nothing; the governor certainly cannot have so ill an opinion of mankind, as to believe these temptations can be sufficient to induce a commonly honest man to forswear himself; and assessors are seldom men of the meanest characters for integrity. But surely, a security that all the peers in Britain think sufficient with regard to the equity of taxation on their estates, might be confided in by our proprietaries; unless the people here are much more depraved than we can possibly conceive them to be.

Our argument, that, if all the estates in Britain and her colonies now bear or must bear a tax to free the proprietary estate from encroachments, that estate itself ought not to be exempted, the governor calls "an invidious and ungrateful insinuation!" and asks, "is there nothing but this at stake? is it for a tract of unsettled country, belonging to the proprietaries of this province, that the eyes of all Europe are turned upon this continent, and such mighty preparations making both by sea and land? or, gentlemen, can you think that if the enemy are suffered to keep up fortifications in any private estate whatsoever within the limits of this province, you could preserve your estates, or the English nation its dominions? what end then can such insinuations serve, but to cool the ardor of his majesty's good subjects in recovering the country unjustly taken from them, as if they were contending for a thing of no consequence, which is but too much the opinion of many amongst us, raised and confirmed no doubt by your strange conduct." Had we asserted that the proprietary estate only was in danger and argued thence, that estate alone ought therefore to pay for its recovery or security, all this strain of the governor's eloquence might then have been very just and proper: but, may it please the governor, we did think there was something else at stake; we thought other estates in danger, and therefore offered a very large sum, as our share of the expence, in the bill for granting fifty thousand pounds to the king's use. But we thought the proprietary estate at least as much in danger as any other estate, and therefore imagined it ought to pay its proportion towards the expence of its own security. The governor it seems thinks otherwise, and because other estates are likewise in danger, the proprietary estate ought to be exempted; and unless we will agree to recover and defend that gratis, we shall not be permitted to raise money for the defence of our own estates, our neighbours, or our sovereign's dominions. This is our present situation, and we cannot help it;

for the proprietary instructions are, it seems, as unalterable as the laws of the Medes and Persians. But let it be known to them, and to all, it is not our insinuation, invidious as it may seem to the governor, and ungrateful to his ears, that cools the ardor of his majesty's good subjects; but if any thing cool that ardor, it must be the fact insinuated, the proprietaries claiming that invidious and odious distinction, of being exempted from the common burdens of their fellow-subjects. If there be any who think the nation is contending for a thing of no consequence, it must be those who refuse to contribute their share, and not we who offer largely-and that opinion in others, if such an opinion there be, must be raised and confirmed by the governor and proprietaries strange conduct, and not by ours.

·

The governor says, we lay to his charge a pretended estimate (of the expence of cutting the roads) of which he is totally ignorant, having never seen nor heard of one.' Is it possible that the governor can have forgotten it? he told us in his message of the eighteenth of March, that he had 'appointed commissioners to reconnoitre the country, mark out where such roads might most conveniently be made, and make report to him of their proceedings, with an estimate of the expences that would attend the opening and clearing them.' On the application of the governor, in that message, the house sent up a bill, giving twenty-five thousand pounds to the king's use, wherein, among other things, the clearing of road for the king's service was provided for. But, may it please the governor, did the commissioners never comply with their instructions, and make that estimate? or, if they made it, did the governor never lay it before the house? 'tis true we have not that estimate now in our possession; it was returned again to the governor; but we all remember the sum, and that it was eight hundred pounds. If it was indeed, as the governor says it might possibly be, only some men's private opinion,' yet it was an estimate, and sent to us by the governor; whether made by the commissioners, or by others, we have not said (though we think it was by the commissioners) nor is it material; however, we have remaining in the house a subsequent letter from one of the commissioners, to the secretary, dated May the third, which says, 'We sent you a draught of the road, both to the waters of the Yohiogani and to the Camp, with all the principal places marked that occurred to us, with the amount of the charges of laying out both, and an estimate of the expence of opening and bridging the road to the Yohiogani from the Tuscarora mountain; that to the Camp will not cost so much in proportion to its length, because it is less hilly; but we expect amendments upon it, so as to come into the other near the top of Sideling hill, and avoid two crossings of Juniata, and also to cut off several miles between the Devil's hole and the Camp. Both roads will leave little of fifteen hundred pounds; for it is impossible to tell what expence unexpected occurrences will arise to.' By this it appears, that an estimate was made by the commissioners, and that the governor either saw or heard of it' seems probable, since he sent down this very letter to the house; at least he must have heard of the second estimate, contained in this letter, that both roads would leave lit.

seen or heard of,' since the After all these estimates

tle of fifteen hundred pounds.' The house however voted still to bear the expence of cutting both roads, though the first sum was nearly doubled, and the refusal of their bill by the governor would make it more difficult to be complied with. We have also in our hands another letter from the same commissioner, dated fifteen days after the former, wherein, after more experience in the work, he makes a third estimate, judging that the k expence of opening both roads will be little under two thousand pounds.' This estimate the governor must surely have letter is to himself, and by him laid before us. gradually rising from eight hundred to two thousand pounds, the design of opening one of the roads was dropt, the intended breadth of the other was reduced one-third, its intended length shortened, and even that shorter extent never completed; and yet though it was supposed we had paid near one thousand pounds in money and provisions, we were given to understand that five thousand pounds more was wanted. Had we not reason to be surprised at this; and to suspect some extravagance in the management? But the governor is pleased to tell us, not only that we charged him with an estimate that he never saw, but likewise that we charged him with a demand that he never made. We happen, however, tò have the original letter from his commissioners, which he laid before the house on the ninth of August, wherein are these words: Shippensburg, August 4, 1755.— Honored sir, We have appointed a meeting of the commissioners for the roads leading to the Ohio, at this town to-day, in order to fall upon measures to provide money for the payment of the labourers, &c. employed in the service of the roads; and we have thought of this expedient (with submission to your honor's better judgment) that some person or persons should be appointed by your honor to bring up money, and to be satisfied with our settlement of the accounts. We cannot at present inform your honor of the just sum of money that will be wanted for the above purpose; but we think it will amount to five thousand pounds. As the people are much in want of money, we shall be glad how soon the money can be sent, &c.' This letter was signed by the six commissioners, and sent down to the house by the governor; to what end, unless that we might furnish him with the sum required? yet now he knows nothing of this demand, and is pleased to say, 'it could not have been then made by any one, because the accounts were not come in,' as if a demand in part was a thing impossible, before a settlement. The accounts however are at length come in, and under examination, and it will now soon be seen, what cause we shall have to commend the governor's or the commissioners frugality: and we hope we shall not be backward to do it justice.

The governor's judgment of our motives to engage in this work of opening the roads, seems to us a very uncharitable one, but we hope to find more equitable judgment elsewhere. We are obliged to him, however, for owning that we did engage in it at all. For as he is pleased to lay it down as a maxim that we are very wicked people; he has shewn in other instances, when we have done any good, that he thinks it no more injustice to us to

deny the facts, than now to deny the goodness of our motives. He would however think himself ill used, if any part of his zeal in that affair was ascribed to the menaces directed to him; or to a view of accommodating by the new road the lands of the proprietaries new purchase, and by that means encreasing the value of their estate at our expence.

The governor is next pleased to tell us, that we have taken great pains to infuse into the minds of the people, particularly the Germans, that the government have designs to abridge them of their privileges, and to reduce them to a state of slavery. That this may, and will alienate their affections from his majesty's government, and destroy that confidence in the crown and its delegates, which, at this time, is particularly necessary, and render all the foreigners among us very indifferent as to the success of the French attempts upon this continent, as they cannot be in worse circumstances under them, than we have taught them to expect from the king's government.' And a little lower he tells us, 'that we scruple not to stir up his majesty's subjects against his government, forgetting all duty to our sovereign, and all decency to those in authority under him.' These are very heavy charges indeed! But can the governor possibly expect that any body will believe them? Can he even believe them himself? We can indeed truly say it with confidence, and the governor may, if he pleases, call it 'our usual confidence,' that there is not a more dutiful, loyal, and affectionate people to any prince on earth, than are the people, not only of this colony, but of all the other British colonies in America, to the best of kings, his present majesty; and we cannot therefore forbear to say, that this charge is a virulent calumny, destitute of all truth and probability. But what must we do to please this kind governor, who takes so much pains to render us obnoxious to our sovereign, and odious to our fellow-subjects? Must we bear silently all these abuses? 'tis too hard But if we deny his accusations, and prove them false, this he calls, 'forgetting all decency to our governor;' and if we complain of his treatment, that is, stirring up his majesty's subjects against his government.' No; may it please the governor, we make a wide distinction between the king's government, and the governor's conduct; and we have reason. Every deputy governor is not the prince, and some are very indifferent representatives of him. Every dislike of a gover nor's behaviour is not a dislike of government; nor every censure of a governor, disaffection to the king. And indeed the more a people love their prince and admire his virtues, the less they must esteem a governor whọ acts unlike him.

That there is a design in the proprietaries and governor, to abridge the people here of their privileges, is no secret. The proprietaries have avowed it in their letter to the house, dated London, March 2, 1741. The doctrine that it is necessary, is publicly taught in their Brief State; and the governor himself has told us, that we have more than is suitable for a dependant colony. It is these proceedings that give jealousy to the people, but do not, however, alienate their affections from his majesty's government, though they may from the proprietaries. Their confidence in the crown' is as