USA > New Jersey > Documents relating to the colonial history of the state of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 36
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LETTER from Coll: Morris complaining of ye great Irregularities in New Jersey.
My Lords
New Jersie is still without Government, and the re- ceptacle of abundance of rogues, that Cannot be safe anywhere Elce; who dayly repair to this Province as to any Asyle; and so many of the Soldiers from New Yorke, are here Protected, yt in a little time who shall be able to Suply that Garrison. I cannot say we suffer all ye miseries of Confusion, but realy a great part of them we do; Our Province being without Law and gospell having neither Judge or Priest.
I lay'd (when In England) before your Lordships Some Records of Severall ryots, or rather Rebellions Committed against that Government there was here, and begg'd there might be some notice taken of them; I must renew the Same Intreaties, because it is for ye Publique Service, and must assure your L'pps if those Persons are Suffer'd to Passe wth Impunity, her Majes- ties Govern's, not only here, but in all the Neighbour. ing plantations, will find ye Ill Effects of so Pernicious an Example, the common People never concidering, the true natures and circumstances of things, but blindly coppy, and generally after (and Outdo) the worst Originalls. I dare not determine that the pres- sent Ill circumstances of New Yorke, Jersies, Pennis- ilvania, ye Carolina's and Lucay Islands, are deriv'd from New England; but ye transcripts were so Exact,
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in most; or all the Circumstances, yt I feare they were too much Influenc'd by that worst of Examples.
It is urg'd in defence of the ryoters in our Province y the Props had no right to Government, and their Govern' without ye Kings approbation, had no more Authority than A Private person. All the power then in being, was Lodg'd in the Proprietors governour, whether rightly or no, I wont determine; nor do I thinke the mob were to be Judges, were it so or not, and Since his Late Majestie did not thinke fit to Super- sede the Proprietors Governour, by any person more Imediatly commission'd from himselfe; it was the peoples duty to sit still and obey, there being no other End in Asserting an Authority than ye publique good. And however Lame the Proprietors Authority was (though by his Late Majesties direction your Lordships making termes wth them, his Late Majestie and Coun- cill, comanding M' Attorney Gen !! to draw a forme of Surrender, of the powers of government, for the Pro- prietors to Signe, her Present Majesties Acceptance of the Same Surrender, and your Lords'ps memoriall to ye Queen, to appoint a governour, now ye Proprietors had Surrender'd; be more than tacit Acknowledgements that the powers of Government were Lodg'd in them, and that her Majestie had no right to appoint, till yt Surrender was compleated) I say however Lame the Proprietors Authority, twas derived from A Grant under the great Seale from the crowne, and dependant on it, ye conservation of the peace, Putting in Execu- tion the Laws, and Administering Justice was both a benefit to the People and a service to the King on the Contrary the beating and wounding Sherrifs, Affront- ing the Courts, driving the Justices of the bench Lay- ing Violent hands on ye Governour and Part of his Councill, and Imprisoning them, And all this (except- ing three or foure) done by the Verry dreggs and ras- callity of the people; was an allmost Ireparable Losse
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to ye Province, an Affront to ye Crowne, and wtOught not to Passe (I speake wth Submission) wthout A check at least. the making of them sencible of their Errors by force, was a method of conviction forbore not of ne- cessity but choice, not doubting propper notice wou'd be taken of them, by both their Superiors and Ours. I trouble too Long, and am sorry for the Occasion, but to see men of the best figure and Estates in ye Prov- ince, daily Insulted by crowds of the most necessitous Scoundrells, the scum and dreggs of mankind, is no small temptation to resentment and hope will Inclyne your, L'ps to Excuse.
My Lords; Your Lordships most Humble Servant LEWIS MORRIS.
Jersie y: 29th September 1702: ·
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Instructions from Queen Anne to Lord Cornbury as Governor of New Jersey.
[Printed from Smith's New Jersey, p. 230, as approved by Queen Anne August 24th 1702. P. R. O. B. T., New Jersey Vol. 1, A 8., Vol. 11, p. 22.]
INSTRUCTIONS for our right trusty and well beloved Edward lord Cornbury, our captain general and governor in chief, in and over our province of Nova Cæsaria, or New Jersey, in America. Given at our Court at St. Jame's, the sixteenth day of November, 1702, in the first year of our reign.1
1. WITH these our instructions you will receive our commission under our great seal of England, consti-
1 Not received by Lord Cornbury until July 29th, 1703. N. Y. Col. Docts. p. 1069 .- Ed.
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tuting you our captain general and governor in chief of our province of New Jersey.
2. You are with all convenient speed to repair to our said province, and being there arrived, you are to take upon you the execution of the place and trust we have reposed in you, and forthwith to call together the fol- lowing persons, whom we do by these presents appoint and constitute members of our council in and for that province, viz. Edward Hunloke, Lewis Morris, Andrew Bowne, Samuel Jenings, Thomas Revell, Francis Dav- enport, William Pinhorne, Samuel Leonard, George Deacon, Samuel Walker, Daniel Leeds, William Sand- ford, and Robert Quarry, esquires.
3. And you are with all due solemnity, to cause our said commission under our great seal of England, consti- tuting you our captain general and governor in chief as aforesaid, to be read and published at the said meet ing of our council, and to cause proclamation to be made in the several most public places of our said province, of your being constituted by us our captain general and governor in chief as aforesaid.
4. Which being done, you shall yourself take, and also administer to each of the members of our said council so appointed by us, the oaths appointed by act of parliament to be taken instead of the oaths of alle- giance and supremacy, and the oath mentioned in an act, entitled, An act to declare the alteration in the oath appointed to be taken by the act, entitled, An act for the further security of his majesty's person, and the succession of the crown in the protestant line, and for extinguishing the hopes of the pretended prince of Wales, and all other pretenders, and their open and secret abettors, and for declaring the association to be determined; as also the test mentioned in an act of par- liament made in the twenty fifth year of the reign of king Charles the second, entitled, An act for prevent- ing dangers which may happen from popish recusants;
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together with an oath for the due execution of your and their places and trusts, as well with regard to the equal and impartial administration of Justice in all causes that shall come before you, as otherwise, and likewise the oath required to be taken by governors of plantations, to do their utmost, that the laws relating to the plantations be observed.
5. You are forthwith to communicate unto our said council, such and so many of these our instructions, wherein their advice and consent are mentioned to be requisite, as likewise all such others from time to time, as you shall find convenient for our service to be im- parted to them.
6. And whereas the inhabitants of our said province have of late years been unhappily divided, and by their enmity to each other, our service and their own wel- fare has been very much obstructed; you are therefore in the execution of our commission, to avoid the en- gaging yourself in the parties which have been form'd amongst them, and to use such impartiality and mod- eration to all, as may best conduce to our service, and the good of the colony.
7. You are to permit the members of our said coun- cil, to have and enjoy freedom of debate and vote, in all affairs of publick concern, that may be debated in council.
8. And altho' by our commission aforesaid, we have thought fit to direct that any three of our coucellors make a quorum, it is nevertheless our will and pleas- ure, that you do not act with a quorum of less than five members, except in case of necessity.
9. And that we may be always informed of the names and characters of persons fit to supply the va- cancies which shall happen in our said council, you are to transmit unto us, by one of our principal secre- tary's of state, and to our commissioners for trade and plantations, with all convenient speed, the names and
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characters of six persons, inhabitants of the eastern division, and six other persons inhabitants of the western division of our said province, whom you shall esteem the best qualified for that trust; and so from time to time when any of them shall die, depart out of our said province, or become otherwise unfit, you are to nominate unto us so many other persons in their stead, that the list of twelve persons fit to supply the said vacancies, viz. six out of the east, and six out of the west division, as aforesaid, may be always com- pleat.
10. You are from time to time to send to us as afore- said, and to our commissioners for trade and planta- tions, the names and qualities of any members by you put into our said council, by the first conveniency after you so doing.
11. And in the choice and nomination of the mem- bers of our said council, as also of the principal offi- cers, judges, assistants, justices and sheriffs, you are always to take care that they be men of good life, and well affected to our government, of good estates and abilities, and not necessitous people or much in debt.
12. You are neither to augment nor diminish the number of our said council, as it is hereby established nor to suspend any of the present members thereof without good and sufficient cause: And in case of sus- pensiou of any of them, you are to cause your reasons for so doing, together with the charges and proofs against the said persons, and their answers thereunto (unless you have some extraordinary reason to the contrary) to be duly entered upon the council books; and you are forthwith to transmit the same, together with your reasons for not entering them upon the council books, (in case you do not enter them) unto us and to our commissioners for trade and plantations as aforesaid.
13. You are to signify our pleasure unto the mem-
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bers of our said council, that if any of them shall at any time hereafter absent themselves, and continue absent above the space of two months together from our said province without leave from you, or from our governor or commander in chief of our said province, for the time being, first obtained; or shall remain ab- sent for the space of two years, or the greater part thereof successively, without our leave given them under our royal sign manual; their place or places in our said council, shall immediately thereupon become void, and that we will forthwith appoint others in their stead.
14. And in order to the better consolidating and in- corporating the two divisions of East and West New Jersey, into and under one government, our will and pleasure is, that with all convenient speed, you call together one general assembly for the enacting of laws for the joint and mutual good of the whole; and that the said general assembly do sit in the first place at Perth Amboy, in East New-Jersey, and afterwards the same, or other the next general assembly, at Burling- ton, in West New-Jersey; and that all future general assemblies do set at one or the other of those places alternately, or (in cases of extraordinary necessity) ac- cording as you with the advice of our foresaid council, shall think fit to appoint them.
15. And our further will and pleasure is, that the general assemby so to be called, do consist of four and twenty representatives, who are to be chosen in the manner following, viz. two by the inhabitants house- holders of the city or town of Perth-Amboy, in East New-Jersey; two by the inhabitants householders of the city and town of Burlington in West New-Jersey; ten by the freeholders of East New-Jersey and ten by the freeholders of West New-Jersey; and that no person shall be capable of being elected a representative by the freeholders of either division, or
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afterwards of sitting in general assemblies, who shall not have one thousand acres of land, of an estate of freehold, in his own right; within the division for which he shall be chosen; and that no freeholder shall be capable of voting in the election of such representa- tive, who shall not have one hundred acres of land of an estate of freehold in his own right, within the di- vision for which he shall so vote: And that this num- ber of representatives shall not be enlarged or dimin- ished, or the manner of electing them altered, other- wise than by an act or acts of the general assembly there, and confirmed by the approbation of us, our heirs and successors.
16. You are with all convenient speed to cause a col- lection to be made of all the laws, orders, rules, or such as have hitherto served or been reputed as laws amongst the inhabitants of our said province of Nova- Cæsaria, or New-Jersey, and, together with our afore- said council and assembly, you are to revise, correct, and amend the same, as may be necessary; and accord- ingly to enact such and so many of them, as by you with the advice of our said council and assembly, shall be judged proper and conducive to our service, and the welfare of our said province, that they may be trans- mitted unto us, in authentic form, for our approbation or disallowance.
17. You are to observe in the passing of the said laws, and of all other laws, that the stile enacting the same, be by the governor, council and assembly, and no other.
18. You are also as much as possible to observe, in the passing of all laws, that whatever may be requisite upon each different matter, be accordingly provided for by a different law, without intermixing in one and the same act, such things as have no proper relation to each other; and you are especially to take care that no clause or clauses be inserted in, or annexed to any act,
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which shall be foreign to what the title of such respec- tive act imports.
19. You are to transmit authentic copies of the fore- mentioned laws that shall be enacted, and of all laws, statutes, and ordinances, which shall at any time here- after be made or enacted within our said province, each of them separately, under the publick seal, unto us, and to our said commissioners for trade and plan- tations, within three months or by the first opportunity after their being enacted, together with duplicates thereof by the next conveyance, upon pain of our high displeasure, and of the forfeiture of that year's salary, wherein you shall at any time, or upon any pretence whatsoever, omit to send over the said laws, statutes and ordinances as aforesaid, within the time above limited, as also of such other penalty as we shall please to inflict. But if it shall happen, that during time of war, no shipping shall come from our said province or other our adjacent or neighbouring plantations, within three months after the making such laws, statutes, and ordinances, whereby the same may be transmitted as aforesaid, then the said laws, statutes and ordinances are to be so transmitted as aforesaid, by the next conveyance after the making thereof whenever it may happen, for our approbation or dis- allowance of the same.
20. You are to take care, that in all acts or orders to be passed within that our province in any case for levying money or imposing fines and penalties, express mention be made that the same is granted or reserved to us, our heirs or successors, for the publick uses of that our province, and the support of the government thereof, as by the said act or orders shall be directed.
21. And we do particularly require and command, that no money, or value of money whatsoever, be given or granted by an act or order of assembly, to any governor, lieutenant governor, or commander in chief
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of our said province, which shall not according to the stile of acts of parliament in England, be mentioned to be given and granted unto us, with the humble de- sire of such assembly, that the same be applied to the use and behoof of such governor, lieutenant governor or commander in chief, if we shall so think fit; or if we shall not approve of such gift or application, that the said money or value of money, be then disposed of and appropriated to such other uses as in the said act or order shall be mentioned; and that from the time the same shall be raised, it remain in the hands of the receiver of our said province until our royal pleasure shall be known therein.
22. You shall also propose with the said general as- sembly, and use your utmost endeavours with them, that an act be passed for raising and settling a publick revenue for defraying the necessary charge of the gov- ernment of our said province, in which provision be particularly made for a competent salary to yourself, as captain general and governor in chief of our said province, and to other our succeeding captain generals, for supporting the dignity of the said office, as likewise due provision for the salaries of the respective mem- bers of our council and assembly, and of all other officers necessary for the administration of that gov- ernment.
23. Whereas it is not reasonable that any of our colonies or plantations should by virtue of any exemp- tions or other privileges whatsoever, be allowed to seek and pursue their own particular advantages, by methods tending to undermine and prejudice our other colonies and plantations, which have equal title to our royal care; and whereas the trade and welfare of our province of New-York, would be greatly preju- diced, if not intirely ruined, by allowing unto the in- habitants of Nova-Cæsaria, or New-Jersey, any ex- emption from those charges, which the inhabitants of
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New-York are liable to; you are therefore in the set- tling of a publick revenue as before directed, to pro- pose to the assembly, that such customs, duties and other impositions be laid upon all commodities im- ported or exported in or out of our said province of Nova-Cæsaria, or New-Jersey, as may equal the charge that is or shall be laid upon the like commodities in our province of New-York.
24. And whereas we are willing in the best manner to provide for the support of the government of our said province, by setting apart sufficient allowances to such as shall be our governor or commander in chief, residing for the time being within the same; our will and pleasure therefore is, that when it shall happen that you shall be absent from the territories of New- Jersey and New-York, of which we have appointed you governor, one full moiety of the salary and of all perquisites and emoluments whatsoever, which would otherwise become due unto you, shall, during the time of your absence from the said territories, be paid and satisfied unto such governor or commander in chief who shall be resident upon the place for the time being, which we do hereby order and allot unto him towards his maintenance, and for the better support of the dignity of that our government.
25. Whereas great prejudice may happen to our service and the security of our said province under your government by your absence from those parts, without a sufficient cause and especial leave from us; for prevention thereof, you are not upon any pretence whatsoever, to come to Europe from your government, without first having obtained leave for so doing, under our signet and sign manual, or by our order in our privy council.
26. You are not to permit any clause whatsoever to be inserted in any law for the levying money, or the value of money, whereby the same shall not be made
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liable to be accounted for unto us here in England, and to our high treasurer, or to our commissioners of our treasury for the time being.
27. You are to take care that fair books of accounts of all receipts and payments of all such money be duly kept, and the truth thereof attested upon oath, and that the said books be transmitted every half year or oftner, to our high treasurer, or to our commission- ers of our treasury for the time being, and to our com- missioners for trade and plantations, and duplicates thereof by the next conveyance; in which books shall be specified every particular sum raised or disposed of, together with the names of the persons to whom any payment shall be made, to the end we may be satisfied of the right and due application of the revenue of our said province.
28. You are not to suffer any publick money what- soever, to be issued or disposed of otherwise than by warrant under your hand, by and with the advice and consent of our said council; but the assembly may be nevertheless permitted from time to time to view and examine the accounts of money, or value of money disposed of by virtue of laws made by them, which you are to signify unto them as there shall be occa- sion.
29. And it is our express wish and pleasure, that no law for raising any imposition of wines or other strong liquors, be made to continue for less than one whole year; as also that all laws whatsoever for the good government and support of our said province, be made indefinite, and without limitation of time, except the same be for a temporary end, which shall expire and have its full effect within a certain time.
30. And therefore you shall not re-enact any law which shall have been once enacted there by you except upon very urgent occasions, but in no case more than once without our express consent.
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31. You shall not permit any act or order to pass in our said province, whereby the price of value of the current coin within your government, (whether it be foreign or belonging to our dominions) may be altered, without our particular leave or direction for the same.
32. And you are particularly not to pass any law or do any act, settlement, or otherwise, whereby our revenue, after it shall be settled, may be lessened or impaired, without our especial leave or commands therein.
33. You shall not remit any fines or forfeitures whatsoever, above the sum of ten pounds, nor dispose of any escheats, fines or forfeitures whatsoever, until upon signifying unto our high treasurer, or to our commissioners of our treasury for the time being, and to our commissioners for trade and plantations, the nature of the offence and the occasion of such fines, forfeitures, or escheats, with the particular sums or value thereof, (which you are to do with all speed) you shall have received our directions therein; but you may in the mean time suspend the payment of the said fines and forfeitures.
34. You are to require the secretary of our said province, or his deputy for the time being, to furnish you with transcripts of all such acts and publick orders as shall be made from time to time, together with a copy of the journals of the council, to the end the same may be transmitted unto us, and to our commis- sioners for trade and plantations as above directed, which he is duly to perform, upon pain of incurring the forfeiture of his place.
35. You are also to require from the clerk of the assembly, or other proper officer, transcripts of all the journals and other proceedings of the said assembly, to the end the same may in like manner be transmitted as aforesaid.
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36. Our will and pleasure is, that for the better quiet- ing the minds of our good subjects, inhabitants of our said province, and for settling the properties and pos- sessions of all persons concerned therein, either as general proprietors of the soil under the first original grant of the said province, made by the late king Charles the second, to the late duke of York, or as particular purchasers of any parcels of land from the said general proprietors, you shall propose to the gen- eral assembly of our said province, the passing of such act or acts, whereby the right and property of the said general proprietors, to the soil of our said province, may be confirmed to them, according to their respec- tive rights and title; together with all such quit-rents as have been reserved, or are or shall become due to the said general proprietors, from the inhabitants of our said province; and all such privileges as are ex- press'd in the cenveyances made by the said duke of York, excepting only the right of government, which remains in us: And you are further to take care, that by the said act or acts so to be passed, the particular titles and estates of all the inhabitants of that province and other purchasers claiming under the said general proprietors, be confirmed and settled as of right does appertain, under such obligations as shall tend to the best and speediest improvement or cultivation of the same. PROVIDED ALWAYS, that you do not consent to any act or acts, to lay any tax upon lands that lie un- profitable.
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