USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial records of Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 38
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Signed by Order of the House N. C. D.
DAV'D. LLOYD, Speaker.
Which answer having been considered, the following was ordered to be sent to the House, viz :
The Govr. has been accustomed to meet with such gross Rudeness from those he Has now to treat with, that he resolved at length to take very little notice of any thing of that kind, to the obstruction of the smallest matters that might be of advantage to the Publick, and he is still resolved to continue the same temper, tho' the Incivilities and abuses of the last message from the House, seemed to have been strained on purpose to a height to try the extent of his Patience. But should he decline any further notice of it, as most certainly he will not at a Proper Opportunity, he doubts not but from their Pro- posal of representing the matter to our superiours, if they will but
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make good what they say, they will be more effectually taught their Duty & good manners, tho' he cannot at the same time but lament the consequences that will ensue upon these proceedings to the inno- cent People of the Province, who in reality are no parties to them, yet will be the sufferers.
To the three things last insisted on the Govr. answers :
1st. That the method of granting Licenses to Publick House does not belong to such a Bill, and therefore he will not agree to have it inserted, but as he formerly proposed is willing yt no License should be valid or of force, that is not granted upon a Recommendation which fully answers the end proposed.
2d. The appointing of Clerks is already fixed by the Charter, and therefore the Govr. will agree to no manner of alteration in it, for upon their mismanagement in their offices there is the Same Relief against them, as against any other Officer in the Govmt. ; what is proposed in the Bill is not the Practice, as fare as the Govr. can find in any of Her Majesty's Govmts. in America, and the House knows all statutes of England are not to be copied after.
3d. The Govr. has been as Earnestly desirous as the Assembly wt the fees should be settled, as his answers have plainly imported ; But he believes there is a much Justice Due to the Officers as any others of the Queens subjects to settle, which the Govr. will appoint a Committee of the Council, if the House, on the terms proposed think fitt to proceed with the Bill to meet a Committee of them, the Officers being present to speak for themselves, and whatever upon their agreement shall be found reasonable, the Govr. will readily assent to.
The Govr. further desires, that without any more Loss of time the Bill for reviving of Process may be proceeded upon, for the Courts of this term begin to-morrow.
Signed by the Govrs. Order, JAMES LOGAN, Secry.
Ordered, that Saml Carpenter and Thos. Story carry the said message. And then adjourned.
At a Council held at Philadia, ye 4th of March 1706-7.
PRESENT :
The Honble JOHN EVANS, Esqr., Lieut. Govr.
Edward Shippen,
James Logan,
Thomas Story,
William Trent,
Griffith Owen, Esq'rs.
Richard Hill,
Esq'rs.
Samuel ffinney,
Joseph Pidgeon,
The Secry. laid before the Board a written message from the House, which was left with him on the 25th, in the Govrs. absence, in these words.
This House having considered the Govrs. message of the 24th of febry., 1706-7, Came to these following resolves.
Ist. Resolved that it is the opinion of this House, that the Licens-
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ing of Public Houses does properly belong to the bill, as being part of the Justices business in Private Sessions, and for as much as the Granting of the said Licenses by the Proprietor or his Deputy, is part of the objections of the Lords Commrs. of Trade and Planta- tions, and was partly the cause of the Queens repeal of the formerly Law about such Licenses ; therefore we cannot agree to the Govrs. proposal on this point.
2d. Resolved that it is the opinion of this House, that the Bill agrees as near as may be to the Charter, & settles the method of Conviction as the Statute in that case directs, wch in our opinion makes no alteration of the Charter, but directs how the Vacancys for Misbehaviour, should be supplied pursuant to what we conceive to be the true Intent of the said Charter; and if any thing in our Constitution should admitt of Doubt, we know no better way to Resolve it than by the Statute of England, which are made for the Publick Good, and as it is our Inclination as well as our Duty, so we are incouraged by the Proprietor to Insist, That the Rights and freedoms of England, (the best and Largest in Europe,) shall be in force here.
Now if the Govr. be pleased to acquiesce with our proposals in these presents, we agree that a Committee of this House shall meet a Committee of the Council as desired, but it is the order of this House that before the Officers be heard they lay before us an acct. of the fees they usually take; The Reviving of Process is Effectually supplied by ye Bill.
Signed by Order of the House this 25th of febry., 1706-7. Per Dav'd Lloyd, Speaker.
The Govr. also laid before the Board a paper he had reced. from the Assembly, called articles of Impeachmt. exhibited by the free- men of the Province of Pennsylvania in this present Assembly, &c., against James Logan, Secry. of the same Province, &c., which was read in these words.
THE ARTICLES.
Articles of Impeachment exhibited by the freemen of the Pro- vince Pennsylvania in this present Assembly mett, in their own name & in ye name of all ye freemen of the said Province agst. James Logan, Secry. of the same Province, of high Crimes, misdemeanours & offences.
1. That the said James Logan hath wickedly Endeavoured to de- prive the Queen's subjects in this Province, of the Priviledges and benefitts which they ought to enjoy by the fundamental Laws of England, and Established Constitutions of this Govmt., and in- stead thereof to Introduce an arbitrary Govmt. against law which he has declared by divers words, opinions, Practices and actions.
2. That whereas the late King Charles ye Second, by his Letters Patent to the Proprietr. Commands, that the Laws to be Enacted by him or his Lieutenant, by & with the advice, assent and approbation of the freemen of this Country, or the greater part of them, or of their delegates, shall be most absolute and available in Law, under
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a proviso that such laws be not repugnant, but so far as Convenient- ly may be agreeable wth the laws of England, & not adjudged or declared void by the King, his heirs or Successors within the time and after the manner in the said Letters Patent prescribed ; never- theless the said James Logan Endeavouring to render that part of the Royal Grant, as well as the Power of Legislation, ineffectual to the Queens subjects under the administration of this Govmt., Did Insert a Certain salvo or exception in the Proprietrs. Commission To his Lieutenant Govr., whereby the final assent to all such Bills as he was to pass into Laws in this Province, is absolutely Lodged in the Proprietr. notwithstanding such Lieutenant, (Cloathed with the Royal approbation and in all other respects qualified in the Pro- prietrs. absence to act in Legislation,) did Concur in the Enacting of these Laws.
3. That whereas by the Charter of Priviledges which the Pro- prietr. in a General Assembly held here the Twenty Eighth day of October 1701, Granted to the People of this Province; It is (amongst other things) Provided that the Elections of their delegates to serve in Assembly, should be on the first day of October Yearly, and their meeting on the fourteenth day of the same month, And that they should sitt upon their own adjournments ; Nevertheless the said James Logan, not Ignorant of the premises, but contriving and Wickedly intending to violate that part of the Constitution of this Governmt., did Insert a Clause in the aforesaid Commis- sion, which Impowers the Govr. by his writts, to Call Assemblys, and the same from time to time to prorogue or Dissolve as he shall see Cause.
4. That whereas by an act of Assembly made at Newcastle in the year 1700, and afterwards confirmed here, It was directed that all Lands taken up and possessed as that act mentions should be confirmed By the Proprietr. to the seaters or possessours thereof, their heirs and assigns; and the Proprietr. appointed Commisrs. of property in his absence to Confirm the said Lands accordingly. But the said James Logan, as he was the Proprs. Secry. or under some other pretences, Contrary to Law and good Conscience, did impose upon Divers of the Queens Subjects Certain Patents or Grants of his own drawing for the Confirmation of their Lands, Re- fusing them Draughts or Coppies of those Grants to advise Concern- ing the Validity thereof, or the assurance of the Land thereby to be Confirmed.
5. That he the said James Logan, Contrary to Law and Justice hath in divers of the said Patents, reserved quitt rents for several Years before the Patentees had any Certain Location or assurance of their Lands, and deny'd several persons their Patents, unless they would Comply with those and such like unreasonable terms, and make the freeholders pay quitrents for the land wch the said Act of Assembly allows them for Roads and Difference of survey.
6. That altho' by the said act of Assembly, the Propry. was let in at any time within two years, then after to Resurvey the Peoples land, and by an other act made at Philadelphia in 1701, he had an VOL. II .- 15
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other year given him to Continue his Resurveys ; yet the said James Logan, as one of the Proprietrs. Commrs., after the Expiration of the times in the said acts limited for resurvey, and after the Queen Repealed the said acts, did grant out Warrts. for Resurveys, whereby divers of the Queens subjects had been disquieted in their lawful possessions.
7. That the said James Logan, without any authority of Law, hath caused petitions of lands in this province to be made between persons having undivided Rights, whereby lands have been surveyed & allotted to some of the parties, without the consent or privitie of the others to whom those undivided Rights belonged, which is to the manifest Injury of the subjects and Evident subversion of the Law.
8. That whereas the said James Logan, on the tenth of Decemr. 1705, Received by John Guy, Certain objections made by the Commrs. of Trade and Plantations, upon severall of the Laws of this Province, which objections, Excepting only some part of that about attests of Officers, He the said James Logan, to the Great Loss and detriment of this Province, did conceal from the Assembly then sit- ting, whereby several of the Laws then Enacted are Lyable to be repealed by the Queen, for the same reason as the former were ; But if the said objections had been produced to that Assem- bly in due time, divers other laws of great moment to the People of this Province, which were objected against might have been amended and sent home with the rest of our Laws, intirely accommodated to the Expectation of the Board of Trade, which would have been the only way to Recommend them for the Royal allowance.
9. That the said James Logan, in that part of the said objections which he lay'd before the last Assembly, about the attests of officers, has wholly omitted what would have discovered how the Proprietr. was about surrendering this Govmt., so that the Imposts & forfeitures which that Assembly, for want of seeing the aforesaid Objections, have given to the Proprietr., contrary to the opinion of the Board of Trade, might have been appropriated for the support of Govmt. under such administration, as the surrender had cast it without In- dangering the several laws then past, directly opposing the said ob- jections, which may prove most fatal to these as well as the rest of the laws of the Province in General.
10. That whereas the office of Surveyor General, and the Pro- prietors Secry. ought to be kept as they were at first intended, to be a mutual check upon each other, for the General security of the Pro- prietor and his Tenants ; Nevertheless the said James Logan, Contrary to the Proprietrs. Intent by ye first Institution of the said offices, and to the manifest insecurity of the freeholders and owners of Land in this Province, has since the death of Edward Pennington, late Sur- veyor Genl., kept both the said Offices in his own hands or Power.
11. That whereas the Charter of Privileges has made provision for the recording of the Laws of this Province, in the Rolls office, forthwith, after they pass the Govr. and Assembly ; Nevertheless, the said James Logan, Contrary to the said Charter, and against the liberty of the subject, has detained till of late the laws past at the
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last Assembly, so that no authentick Coppies Could be had thereof for the service of the Countrey.
12. That whereas all Grants or Patents after they pass the Pro- prietrs. great seal, ought to be delivered to the Grantees, & not to be Conceal'd or vacated, but by due procedure upon a scire facias, in a Court of Law or Equity ; Nevertheless, the said James Logan hath detained several Patents from the owners thereof, until they would comply with his unreasonable terms, and the said James Logan, of his own presumptuous mind, without any Lawful authority, hath vacated some of the said Patents, and Charged or Caveated, the Mr. of the Rolls, who had recorded the same Patents, that he should make out no Exemplification or Coppy thereof.
13. That after the Charter of Privileges and Charter of the City of Philadelphia had passed the Proprietrs. great seal, & received the necessary sanction to make them Grants of Record, He, the said James Logan, to the great dishonour of the Proprietr. & with a wicked Intent to create divisions and misunderstandings between him and the people, did at divers times and upon several occasions, declare that the Proprietr. never intended to grant several things which are expressly Granted in the said Charters.
14. That whereas John Budd, at the last Election for the County and City of Philadelphia, was duly chosen Sheriff of the sd. City and County for this year, nevertheless the said James Logan, to shew his further Endeavours to subvert and betray the Rights and Privileges of the People in such Elections, hath advised or perswaded the said John Budd not to insist upon having the said office of Sheriff in the Right of the Peoples Election. But to take it as the Govrs. Donation ; All which words, opinions & actions of the said James Logan were by him spoken and done, Wickedly, falsely and ma- liciously, to set a division between the Proprietr. and the people of this Province, & to subvert the Law and to Introduce an arbitrary Govmt.
And the said Representatives by protestation saving to themselves the Liberty of Exhibiting at any time hereafter any other accusation or Impeachment against the said James Logan, & also replying to the answer that he shall make thereunto, and of offering proofs of the premises or of any other accusation that shall be by them exhibited against him, as the case shall require, do desire that he the said James Logan may be put to answer to all and Every the premises, & that such proceedings, Examinations, Tryals and Judgments may be upon him had, & used as is agreeable to Law & Justice, according to the Course of General Assemblies.
Resolved that the said James Logan be Impeached upon the said articles.
Signed by order of the House, the 25th of febry, 1706 -- 7.
DAV'D LLOYD, Speaker.
The form and manner of which being Considered, It was proposed as a Doubt whether the said paper could be taken for a regular Im- peachment, and the Board was of opinion that there must be some- thing further intended by the House to make it an Impeachment,
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because in the close of it, 'tis Resolved, that James Logan be Im- peached upon these articles ; But however it should be intended by the House, 'Tis ordered that they be required to prosecute the matter without delay, that speedy Justice may be done either to the Coun- trey or Secry., & that he may not lie under the Imputation of an Im- peachment without Just Cause, which will best appear by bring'g the House to prove what they have alledged.
The Secretary, desireing leave to speak a few words in his own behalf in relation to these articles, said that although it might be ac- counted unfortunate to any officer of a Govmt. to fall so far under the displeasure of a House, which ought truly to represent the Countrey who had chosen them, as to be impeached by them, yet on the Con- trary he could not but be pleased with this Evident proof that House had given as well of his Integrity as of the motives of all their con- duct in ye opposition they had given the Govr. in the whole Course of his administration. For there could not be a more flagrant in- stance given of their Disaffection to their Proprietor and Govr. in Chief, whose merit towards this province must in all ages to come, be acknowledged, than the two first of these present articles, which were most evidently levelled against the Proprietor himself, for surely no man could be so weak as to imagine that he (the Secry.) could possibly have any hand in drawing the present Govrs. first Commis- sion, which having been done in London, was never seen by him till the Govr. himself arrived with it ; But as that matter had been fully talked of above three years since, he conceived it to have been thus. Govr. Hamilton, at the Proprietors desire, drew his own Commis- sion in the Common form, with all the powers usually Contained in such Commissions ; of this the Proprietr. had a Copy with him in Eng- land, and from thence the present Govrs. first Commission appears to have been transcribed, for they very nearly agree; But no sooner was it observed to the Proprietr. that that Commission was in some parts inconsistent with the Charter of Privileges he had afterwards granted to the People, than he readily altered it, & sent another over, of which it was supposed the House could not be ignorant, yet as that first step of the Proprietr. tho' a very innocent one on his part, served the disaffected in the year 1704 for a pretence for Clamour, the same spirit not only Continuing, but being (by the detestable arts made use of to impose on the Credulity of the Ignorant,) in a Great mea- sure heightened and Improved, it now more clearly broke out in ye rancour of those articles. That the rest of them that seem to relate wholly to himself are either generally so false or so groundless, that he should take it as the greatest favour that could be done him in the case to have an opportunity of speaking to them, tho' he should scarce ever be capable of doing it to the purpose, unless they should further explain themselves. In the mean time, he returns the Board his hearty thanks for their Resolution to press the House to bring on a Trial.
The Govt. also laid before the Board a Remonstrance he had reced. from the House, upon his Establishing Courts by an Ordinance, wch was read in these words.
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(The Remonstrance of ye 28th of febry.)
F. . The Remonstrance of the Representatives of all the freemen of the Province of Pennsylvania, in Assembly mett, sent to the Lieut. Govr. of the same Province, on the Twenty Eighth day of february, 1706 -- 7.
May it please the Governour.
We have always desired That a Good Correspondence may be preserved between the Govr. and this House, and whenever he has been pleased to let us know his Objections to the Bill of Courts, which we left with him for his Concurrence above three months ago, We have from time to time, as far as we could in Discharge of our Duty to the Queen, and Trust to the People we Represent, agreed to every such Amendment as the Govr. made appear to be necessary and Convenient for a Regular Establishment ; Endeavour- ing as much as in us lay to Accommodate the Bill to the minds of our Superiors, at home as well as to the Circumstances of the Coun- trey ; bringing it as near as we could to an English Establishment, which in our opinion was the proper way to Recommend it to such an administration as the Proprietrs. surrender of this Govmt. may bring over us.
That our answer of the 22d Instant, as well to what remained in difference upon the Govrs. former objections, as to the new ones which he reserved in his message of the 24th of Xbr., and did not think fitt to impart to this House till the 19th instant, We thought might have satisfied the Govr. that we were (as we still are) ready to agree with him to revive the Courts with the pleas and process by a Law, and inasmuch as we found the Govr. averse to what we pro- posed for the Removing of Evil Judges, and for appointing fines and forfeitures to ye Queen; Therefore, our Desires of having the Courts Established, and the right Way to Justice opened, have prevailed upon our inclinations to wave further Debates about the Clauses re- lating to those two points, & leave them out of this Bill, So that the matters proposed by the Bill whereunto the Govr., by his message of the 24th Instant, seems Chiefly to refuse his Concurrence, are those about the method of Licensing of Publick Houses, displacing of Clerks of the Courts for misbehaviour, And about settling officers fees.
As to that about granting Licences, we find the former law in that Case repealed by the Queen, for no other Reason as we understand, but only upon the objections of the Lords of Trade, which is in these words, (vizt.) If the Govmt. be surrender'd to her Majesty this act cannot be Confirmed, Because these Lycences are to be granted by the Proprietr. or his heirs, or his or their Depty Govr., and the penalties are in part appropriated to the Proprietr., and the answer which the Proprietr. made to this objection, We have in these words, to wit: I desire only the Priviledges Truly Proprietary, or as Lords of the Manr. of the Countrey, Except the Queen Pleases, at the Instance of the Board, to make farther distinction ; But we find no such distinction, But an absolute Repeal Ensued, Whereupon we conceived it our Duty, as well as we do assert it our Right, To adopt
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such parts of the Laws of England as may be necessary to supply the Defects of the Constitutions of this Govmt. And for that end, as well as to prevent the like objections for the future, we proposed by the Bill, that those Lycences should be granted by the Justices here as in England, which would have brought the magistrates into such as a method as might Effectually enable them to prevent, as well as suppress the disorders of those Houses. But what the Govr. is pleased to propose upon that head, (To Wit :) That no Lycence should be valid that is not Granted upon a Recommendation, amounts to no more Than what may be Collected from the Charter of Privileges which has been Eluded, & rendered very ineffectual to regulate those Houses, because the Govr., without the Recommen- dation of the Justices, has Lycensed some, (Tho' the Charter made him no such reserves,) and others who were rejected by the magis- trates of the City of Philadelphia, have been Lycenced to keep Pub- lick Houses in the City, upon the Recommendation only of the County magistrates, Which we find hath Weakened the hands of the City magistrates, and multiplies those Houses to that degree, that some of them, to promote their Trade, are reckoned the very sourse of debauchery in this Place.
As to what we propose by the bill about displacing the Clerks, we Coppy after a statute made in the first year of the Reign of King William & Queen Mary, agreeable with the Reason of other statute Laws of England; And for the fees we Informed the Govr. several times yt we were Ready to augmt. them if sufficient allowance be not proposed by the Bill.
That notwithstanding all our Endeavours for a regular Constitu- tion, We find (to our great surprize and dissatisfaction) that whilst the Govr. was sending messages to us about the Bill, & we spending our time to accommodate it as near as we could to his Expectation, He was pleased to Publish an Instrumt. or Ordinance for Establish- ing Courts, with a Proclamation to back it, Whereby the Govr. de- clares that this House would not agree to such a bill for that purpose as in the Just discharge of the trust reposed in him by the Queens Majesty & the Proprietr. he could by any means assent to; We know that the sincerity of our intentions & proceedings in this As- sembly is sufficient to advocate for us in the hearts of all Impartial men. Therefore we are the less concern'd at present to make fur- ther animadversions upon the Govrs. actings in this matter and shall only observe.
That it has never been doubted by this House, But the Royal Charter give the Proprietr. and his heirs & their Deputies and Lieutts. full Power to appoint Judges, Justices and Officers, and to do all things which unto the Compleat Establishment of Justice unto Courts and Tribunals, forms of Judicature and manner of proceedings do belong.
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