of Provifions, naval or warlike Stores, from this Pro"vince to Cape-Breton, or to any other Dominions of "the French King, or Places at prefent in Poffeffion "of any of his Subjects," by which the Act continu-t ed will be in Force at least ten Months to come, and has been, as far as we know, effectual for the Purposes intended; and as the Governor has not pointed out to us any Defect in that Act, nor has any occurred to us, we cannot at present think what Law can be made more effectually to prevent that Place being fupplied with Provifions, &c. from this Pro'vince.'

And now the Period was come, when all capable of Conviction, were to be convinced, That, tho' the Governor had laboured hard to establish a Belief, that the uncomplying Difpofition of the Affembly was the only Obftacle to the Current of public Bufinefs, the contrary was the Matter of Fact; and that having obferved Obftinacy on his Side never failed to produce fome Conceffion on theirs, he had come to a Refolution, to proceed in the fame Course of Exaction, till nothing required of him by his Inftructions was left unperformed; that is to fay, till the Affembly had nothing left to part with.

The Shadow of a Royal Inftruction, fo long and fo often played before their Eyes, was now out of the Question: The Governor fays the Province is actually invaded; that a victorious Enemy is on the Point of ravaging it with Fire and Sword: The King's Troops after having been fo many Ways gratified and affifted, are recalled: They are told they are to provide for their own Defence: They offer 50,000l. to be laid out for that Purpose: The Proprietary Eftate becomes liable to a Demand, computed by his Friends at about 500/: Even that 500 l. 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 refufes it.So that, if there was any Truth in the Governor's repeated AfS

fertions,

fertions, the Safety of the Province, the Interest of the Public, and the Honour of the British Crown, were to be alike expofed and endangered, together with the Proprietary Eftate, fo impertinently and improvidently put into the Scale againft all the Reft.

To fay all at once, his Anfwer to the laft Propofi tion as verbally delivered to the Houfe by his Secretary, was in these Words, viz.

• Sir,

The Governor having by Meffage of the 14th. • Inftant informed you, That he did not think it confiftent with his Power or Truft to pass the Bill for raifing Fifty Thousand Pounds, without the Amendments he had made to it, and that he adhered to thofe Amendments; is furprized at your Meffage of this Day, to which he can only fay, That he thinks it his Duty to adhere STILL to the Amendments he made to that Bill.'

On the fame Day, alfo, by another Meffage he put them in mind of his former Requifitions concerning a Militia; and demanded a plain and categorical Anfwer, Whether they would, or would not establish one, "That his Majefty and his Ministers might be informed, whether, at this Time of Danger, the Province of Pensylvania was to be put into a Pofture of Defence or not?"

This convinced the Houfe, that all Expedient was at an End; and that all the Governor aimed at was to bewilder them if poflible in another Maze of Controverfy. To difcharge themfelves, therefore, of every Branch of Duty, as far as they were permitted to do it with any Confiftency to themselves, and Regard to the Fundamentals of their Constitution; they first took into Confideration the feveral Petitions of the Frontier Towns, for Arms, &c. and Refolved, That a Sum, not exceeding Icool, if fo much remained in the Treasury at the Difpofition of the Houfe by the Laws in force, fhould be paid into the Hands of a

Committee of the House then named, to be by them difpofed of, with the Concurrence of the Governor for the Time being, as fhould appear neceffary.

Proceeding then to the Governor's verbal Meffage concerning their Money-Bill; they agreed to return an Answer to this Effect: viz. "That he, having in his former Answer fignified, that he was not yet fatisfied, &c. whatever he might be, when he heard what they had farther to fay, which argued a Sufpenfion of his Determination, and they having fince fent him a long Meffage containing the Reafons of their Procedure, they could not but be furprized at his Surprize, more efpecially as he had not even then returned their Bill: That as to his Propofal for ftriking any Sum in Paper Money the prefent Exigency might require, provided Funds were established for finking the fame in Five Years, they had no Funds equal to fo great a Sum without the Affiftance of an equitable Tax, to which the Governor would always have his Objections in favour of the Proprietary-Eftate: That as this Propofal might lead them back into thofe Difputes, which by the Form of this Bill, agreeable to the Governor's Advice in his Speech at the Opening of the Seffion, they had studied to avoid, they should be farther furprized to receive it from him, could they find the leaft Reafon to think he was fincerely defirous of having any Thing done for the Defence of the Province: And that being now convinced, no farther Benefit could arife from their longer Sitting, and being to meet of Courfe in a few Weeks to fettle the Accounts of the Year, they took leave to acquaint him of their Purpose to adjourn to the 15th of September enfuing, in cafe he had no Objection to that Time."

Laftly, by the fame Members, that were appointed to carry up this Meffage to the Governor, they alfo fent another concerning a Militia, in which having enumerated his feveral Meffages in relation to the Defence and Safety of the Province, they wave the Point

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by

by faying, "That the Elections throughout the Province being near at hand, they chofe to refer that Point to a future Affembly, and then proceed as follows, But as we find by the Governor's Refult upon our Bill for granting Fifty Thousand Pounds for the King's Ufe, he cannot think it confiftent with the Truft repofed in him by the Proprietaries to pass that Bill, we find by Experience that it can anfwer no good Purpose to wafte our Time in preparing Bills for his Affent, in which, for the common Se'curity and Defence of the Province, we apprehend it would be a high Breach of the Truft repofed in us to exclude the Proprietaries Eftate from bearing 6 any Part of the Burthen, and if not excluded, as the Governor afferts, muft at laft be rejected by him for want of fufficient Powers in his Commiffion; and therefore (had we no other Objections) we hope the Governor will judge it reasonable, after so many repeated Refufals of the Bills we have offered to him for granting large Sums of Money for the King's Ufe, that we now wait the Determination of our Superiors what Powers he has, or ought to have, as C our Governor, under the Royal and Provincial Charters, and what exclufive Rights our Proprietaries may be justly intitled to in the Laying and Levying of Taxes for the common Security and Defence of their Eftates, with all the other Eftates within this • Province.'

In Answer to the first of thefe Meffages, fo far as related to the Time of Adjournment, (with which he was verbally acquainted by the Meffengers), the Governor was pleased to fay "he had no Objection to that Time more than any other; but that if he found [ on Perufal of the written Meffages then delivered to him] that the House had not given him a fatisfactory Anfwer, to his Meffages 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 Recefs.

And

And on the Third Day of their Sitting, they preferred a Request to the Governor, "That, if he had any Bufinefs 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 foon, as their Year was near expired, and the Time of their Continuance together confequently fhort.”

The Answer they received was verbal, by his Honour's Secretary, importing, "That the Government of Maffachufets-Bay had ordered 2,800 Men to be immediately raised in Addition to the 1,500 before raised for the Reduction of Crown Point; and that the Governor had the Day before received a Letter from Governor Phipps, defiring, at the Inftance of the Council and Affembly there, an immediate Supply of Provifion to be fent to Albany." And, as if this was not enough to ask of them, a fupplemental Paragraph was grafted upon it as follows. "The Governor has also been informed, that the Government of Connecticut have raised 1500 Men, and Rhode-Inland 150, in Addition to the Forces fent by thofe Governments againft Crown Point, who will alfo ftand in need of a Supply of Provifions: He therefore recommends these Matters to your Confideration."

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 Refpect to the Articles of Artillery and Military Stores, which the Governments of Maffachufets-Bay and New York had agreed to furnish between them, depending, that the Colonies of Connecticut, New-bampshire, and RhodeIland, would pay their Proportions of the Expence; but that not being done, the Government of NewYork declined parting with the Stores, without actual Payment or Security given.After having removed this Obstacle to the Expedition's proceeding, by putting

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