USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial records of Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 46
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answered : Notwithstanding those Debts due to yor Petitrs. were not postponed by that Assembly to any other Whatsoever, (one paymt. to be made to the Govr. by an allowance of £50 per annum for the Charge of Indian Treaties only excepted,) & notwithstanding the aforesaid Act seems not to leave the Succeeding Assemblies any power to issue new orders upon what was fully Determined before, and ratified and Confirmed by a Law ; Yet by means of the said Or- der, tho' issued as is Conceived without any sufficient Authority for the Purpose; Your Petitioners are at present Debarr'd from receiv- ing any part of the said Debts, to their very great Grievance & op- pressions.
May it thereof please this Honble. Board, in whom the Admin- istration of the Govmt. & the Care that all Laws and Acts, wch have once obtained their full force & Power should be duly put Execu- tion, is most undoubtedly lodged, to give such effectual orders to the Treasurer, that your Petitrs. may have the full benefits of the aforesaid Grants, and receive the sums respectively Due to them, at least in equal and proportionable paymts. with other Debts, as in Justice ought to be done; And more especially since great part of these Debts are for your Petitrs. services in and about Matters of Legislation, which kind of Services, as far as they have related more immediately to the House of Representatives, have always been Care- fully ordered by that House to be paid before all others, for which reason your Petitrs. beg leave to hope that their Services of the same nature, tho' out of Assembly, yet as of high Importance to the Publick, may be thought to stand at least in an equal Degree of Digni- ty, and be Considered accordingly.
And your Petitrs., as in Duty bound, shall, &c., THOS. STORY, JAMES LOGAN.
At a Council held at Philadia, ye 20th July., 1708.
PRESENT :
The Honble JOHN EVANS, Esqr., Lieut Govr.
Edwd. Shippen,
Richd. Hill,
Samuel Carpenter,
Esq'rs.
Wm. Trent,
Joseph Growdon,
Geo. Roche,
James Logan,
Joseph Pidgeon.
The Govr. acquainted the Board that the Losses The Traders of this Province had sustained this Summer, by the Depredations of the French with their Privateers on our Coasts, in taking and Destroying so many of our Vessels, was now become so provoking, that tho' there was but too much reason to doubt it would be difficult to per- swade our present Assembly to enter into any measures for our de- fence ; Yet He could not but believe it was incumbent on him in discharge of his Trust & in duty to her Majesty, to call the Assembly together on this important occasion, and in ye Most pressing terms to put them in mind of theirs to their Country ; That he was sensible
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he ought to have called them before, & he would have done it, if he could expect any good effects from it, but as there was but little room, he feared for any such hopes that they might have probably meet in a better temper when their Harvest is over than they would have done, if called in the midst of it. The Govr. there fore desired the Council to Consider what day might be the most proper to appoint for their meeting, and it was Resolved that they be summoned to meet on the 2d day of Augst. next.
At a Council Held at Philadelphia, the 3d of Augst., 1708.
PRESENT :
The Honble. JOHN EVANS, Esqr., Lieut. Govr.
Edward Shippen,
Richard Hill,
Samuel Carpenter, Joseph Growdon,
Esq'rs. William Trent, 1 Esq'rs. James Logan,
George Roche, Joseph Pidgeon.
The Govrnr. acquainted the Board he had reced a Message from the Assembly, informing him they were mett and ready to receive what he had to lay before them ; That he had told them he would send for them, when the Council was mett; That the Board was sensible of the occasion of the Assembly's being summoned at this time, and what he had to say was commited to writing in a paper, wch he caused to be read, and notice being sent to the Assembly to attend, and they coming accordingly, he spoke to them in these words.
GENTLEMEN :
The occasion of yor being so unexpectedly called together, is to lay before you the heavy pressure and Grievances we at present lie under, the greatest that ever, I suppose, this Province as yet has felt, in having our River and Capes so beset with the Enemy, that our Navigation has been rendered almost intirely impracticable ; and the Loss that your Trade, the only support of this place, has very lately sustained by the Unhappy adventurers and Traders being ravaged and Plunder'd at his own Door after the many Risques abroad, and the real danger we daily lie exposed to of suffering more from such an encroaching and unresisted Violence, must sufficiently shew the necessity of taking measures to drive so destructive an Enemy from that station, which they seem to have taken up, through an Opinion, that they could no where Committ their Spoils with so much safety. Whatever is to be done on my part in Order to this I am ready and willing to perform, but as nothing of this kind can (in my apprehension) be carried on Effectually without some supplies of Money, and you, Gentlemen, at present making up that part of the Govmt., wch is necessary to concur in your raising those supplies, I hope wth reason expect from our so unhappy a Con- dition, that you will, without any loss of time, fall upon such mea- sures as may enable us to put a stop to so insupportable and growing an Evil.
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The Sole End and Design of Govmt. is to maintain Justice, that is to preserve to every man his Right against all Invaders. We have Laws agst. Thieves and Robbers, and we have officers to putt those Laws in Execution, if they resist they are taken by force and by force, when occasion, are obliged to submitt to the last ex- treamity ; and without this there would be no such thing as Govern- ment. If then we find it our Duty in Governmt. to suppress a pri- vate or particular force by all the means necessary to it, how much more incumbent is it on us, as a Governmt. to suppress that force, which is destructive to the whole. And now, Gentlemen, for ought I know may be the very time, by a prudent discharge of your Duty to prevent the utter Ruin of this place, for unless a Check be given to their boldness to Convince them we are not to be Plunder'd with such ease and safety as they seem to believe ; We have very great reason to fear that they may, and will visit us in our houses, as they have done to some better defended Colonies. Such is, Gentlemen, without any aggration, the present unhappy condition of Her Majesty's Subjects in this Govmt., which loudly calls for ye help of you, their Representatives, and wch I think is in your Power to give, without offering violence to any Principles except such as are agst. answering the end of Govmt. mentioned before.
I deferr'd calling you to gether during your necessary affairs of harvest, yt you might with more alacrity enter upon the business proposed to you, & now I hope you will unanimously endeavour for the Service of the Countrey in so great an Exigence.
To John Evans, Esqr., by the Queen's Royal Approbation, Lt. Govr. of the Province of Pennsylvania, &c.
The Address of the Representatives of the freemen of ye said Pro- vince, presented to the said Lt. Govr., ye 5th day of ye Month called Augst., 1708, in answer to his speech made to the Assembly, ye 3d day of the same month.
May it please the Governour :
The acct. we have of the losses wch. the Trade of this Province has sustained, and the Interruption of our passages in the Bay and River, is matter of great concern and trouble to us, tho' it be a calamity that befalls ye neighbouring Colonies as well as the Inhabi- tants here ; But that an Enemy should be suffer'd long to make our Capes his station, and no care taken, as we understand, to give no- tice thereof to the Vice Adm'l until those great spoils were com- mitt'd, hath been such a neglect as administers great cause of dis- satisfaction & Complaint, for we understand the Queen, out of her Royal care to her subjects, & safe guard of the sea, has given the High Adml. and his Deputies, ample authority to scour the Coasts of such Robbers, and secure the Navigation of this as well as the rest of her Colonies, and protect the Merchants in their Lawful Trade ; We know that ye People of this Province have not been wanting on their parts, & according to their abilities & Circum- stances, to raise supplies from time to time, & granted to the Propr. £800 out of the last land tax, together wth. half the impost & excise, and Ordered the same to be paid to the Lt. Govr. for support of this
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Governmt. and the Administration thereof, and we find that the Govr. has rece'd the said £800, and that his part of the Impost, &c. already collected and secured, amount to about £550 more, which with the fines, forfeitures, licences, & other profits ariseing in casual and accidental ways, that have been taken by ye Govr. or Secry., in behalf of the Proprietor ought, as we understand, be applied tow'ds answering the ends of Govmt., wch. the Queen, we presume, expects from all that will undertake the Administration thereof, in all her Dominions.
We know that when this province was granted to the Propr. he had power at his pleasure to alien and Convey any part or parts thereof, & to erect Mannors, and to reserve such rents, Customs, and services as he should think fitt; in pursuance whereof, he sold Lands to a great value, and Reserved Rents sufficient in a moderate way, to maintain him, or his Lt. answerable to their station; Nevertheless when his Exigencies have been such as required a further supply as, in the Year 1700, the Assembly assisted him by an Impost for three Years, which amounted, as we are Informed, to a very Considerable sum of money, and a Tax of two thousand pounds besides ; wch. Tax and Impost, the then Assembly appropriated to his own Particular use, but the said £800, & half the Impost so granted as aforesaid, are appropriated for the support of Govmt., and the administration thereof. Therfore we expect that the same has been, or will be so Imployed, & that the Govr. & Council will forthwith, according to the power given them by the Act oblige the Collectr. of the Tax, to gather the arrears wth. all Expedition, and if what is so appropriated for support of the administration of this Govmt. will not be sufficient to answer the present occasions, we shall, wth all alacrity, proceed to a new supply for the Publick services of the Province.
ffor as we partake of the Queen's gracious protection to all her subjects, So we hold our selves obliged in Duty to give supplies for supporting this Govmt. according to the Power granted by the Royal Charter; And altho' we do not pretend to Direct the way and man- ner the Govr. did or should dispose of those supplies ; Yet, we Con- ceive it our business to enquire, & we accordingly Desire to know whether they are applied for support of Govmt., & we also request an acct. of such late Indian Treaties and Messages with the Charges thereof, as have not yet been laid before the Assembly.
Signed by ordr. of ye House, N. C. D. D'd LLOYD, Speaker.
At a Council held at Philadia., ye 7th day of Augst., 1708.
PRESENT : The Honble JOHN EVANS, Esqr., Lieut Govr.
Saml. Carpenter,
Richard Hill,
1 T
Saml. ffinney,
Esq'rs. Willm. Trent,
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Joseph Growdon,
George Roche, Esq'rs
James Logan,
Joseph Pidgeon.
The Gvr. acquainted the Board, that having reced. the foregoing
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Advice from the Assembly, on Saturday last when a Council could not be conveniently call'd, & observing some particulars in it rela- ting to himself and his support, which absolutely required to be spoke to ; that time might be saved, he had an answer drawn up to it which was read, and being considered, was with some alterations approved of in these words, & ordered to be forthwith Copied & car- ried to the house.
GENTLEMEN :
The Distresses that her Majesty's Subjects in this province lie under, and the Plainness I have used in representing them, would now I thought, if ever, have obliged you to treat so important a Concern, with the Candour that becomes men of reason upon so pinching a Necessity ; I could not but think it reasonable to expect, that you would, if possible, have come to some speedy resolutions to put a stop to the growing mischief and impending Dangers with which we are daily threatned ; or if you should find this (as I concieve it is not) impracticable ; That then you would propose such other Methods as you should judge for all our safeties, to be most advisable. To have this effect, is so highly incumbent on me in my station, that I must once more urge and press the matter very earnestly ; And tho' I am resolved to avoid spending of time, as has too often been done in fruitless Messages & Returns to them ; Yet lest you should think that what I have reced. from you, ought to be taken as an answer to what I laid before you ; I shall with the same Plainness take notice of each particular of it, that upon a maturer Considera- tion, you may think yourselves Obliged to fall upon measures more becoming your stations, and the weight of the Matters now before us ; I am sensible, Gentlemen, that the Calamity I have mentioned af- fects not this Colony alone, all her Majesty's Dominions are by the same means, (as it always happens in so pressing a War,) in some Measures suffers with us ; But what Distinguishes us at this time is, that there is not one Colony in America that has so Considerable a Trade by their own Shipping, and a Town so inviting to an Enemy as this ; But what has some kind of Provisions made that may dis- courage an Attack or Invasion, While our Nakedness seems to be as well known to the Enemy as our name, or at least as our situation, & encourages them to treat us accordingly. It would be happy for us, 'tis true, if we could reap such a benefit from the authority, (as you say) that her Majesty in her Royal care of her subjects, & the safe guard of the Sea, has given the Ld. High Adml. and his Depu- ties, as to have our Coasts protected by that means without any Concurrence of our own, but it is in vain, I doubt, at present to Ex- pect it. His Excellency Coll. Seymour, Govr. of Maryland, is now Vice Adml. of this Province, and has his Deputy in this place, but neither of them have any force, that I can hear of at their Command, wch they could if willing, employ on this Service ; To depend on such Relief would be to amuse ourselves in vain, of wch I cannot persuade my self that you your selves could be unsensible, even at the time you thought fitt to make yt a part of yor. answer; But if it be intended that I should have applied to his Excellency, the Govr.
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of New York, upon the first Notice of Losses for assistance from thence, I must inform you that besides, that I had no right to crave it, further than what his Goodness might have Condescended to, to- gether with the first acct. I reced. of our Losses ; I was also informed, that both her Majesty's Ships attending the Govmt. were then at Sea, & that one of them had spoke with a Privateer no longer than a Day or two before he did the Mischief, but Was prevented by the weather from engaging, so that an express at that time could not, as it then appeared, have been of any Service : And further, I had so great hopes given me of putting something in Execution so effec- tually ourselves, that such an application at that time would have been needless ; But this fell to the ground, for no other cause than the want of a friend to bear out the charge, all other necessary offer- ing at that time, with more ease, & in greater plenty than has been known in the place before ; ffor my own part, I was heartily zealous to do all that became my station, & if any step was omitted that we afterwards found might have proved of use to us, that being now past, it may be lamented, but cannot be remedied. But what mea- sures were or were not then taken, is not the point now before us; These past Losses are not our only grievances, we lie daily ex- posed to suffer more, and without other measures, as I have already told you, are in Danger of utter Ruine & Desolation. To find proper means for preventing this, is the important business that most se- riously concerns us all, Every thing that in this world can be dear to us, in a great measure depends on it; Nor is it to our selves alone that we owe this Duty, Her Majesty will expect it from us, lest by our failure, so Considerable a Colony should be cutt off from Her Dominions ; And this I have already told you, cannot, as I conceive, be effected without some supplies of money, in which your immediate concurrence is absolutely necessary, but instead of granting them, tho' the occasion there is for them, can admitt of no dispute ; I am most surprizingly turn'd over to an acct. of what the Propr. has from the beginning reced. by means of this Province, without remembering any part of his expence, upon the whole of which notwithstanding when taken altogether, he is at this Instant, as I have great reason to believe, very much a Loser, & has deeply sunk his other Estate by it, wch. was clear Before, But I say forgetting all his expences, what- ever has been paid is reckoned up, as it were so much intirely gain'd, & being so, were to be accounted no part of his own Estate, but must be laid up in store for the uses of the People, and their future Exi- gencies here. To mention this as the matter really is when divested of the Glosses put upon it to serve another end, is sufficient to expose its extravagancy, but that no shadow of pretence for declining so ne- cessary a Duty as is now under Consideration, may be left unremo- ved, & to prevent the like on all future occasions, I shall here take notice of all you have insisted on, and clearly shew you that not one particular you have mentioned, is to the purpose now in hand ; To begin then with what came first in Order, 'Tis very reasonable to be- lieve that the Propr. having sold Lands to a great value, reced. Con- siderable sums for them, & we find he has reserved a Quitt rent on
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'em all: but then upon inquiry, I perceive that in Consideration of that Money, & those Quitt rents, the Propr., by firm but Common Deeds of sale, granted the Purchasers a free Estate of large Tracts of Land, which they, or some in their behalves now enjoy; & am told that there is not in any of those Deeds one warranty to defend the Possessors agst. hostile or invasive force, or one Covenant that mentions Govmt., or the support of it, in any of 'em all, but yt forty shillings down, & one shilling yearly, was the Consideration paid on the one hand, for a hundred acres of Land granted on the other. I am sensible Gent., I have been told of these Quitt rents once before, to the great surprize of those that heard it, & know much more of the mattr. than I could at that time; but upon a full scrutiny into the whole by some whom it concerned, I perceiv'd there could not be one trace found of any such compact, but in the pretended memory of two or three persons, who were noted to have stronger prejudices than reason; and who in these points were not too much to be relied on; & was informed, that for the many years before that this Govmt. wanted supplies, this notion had never once been heard of, but was Just then started, and perceived it then to be greedily laid hold of, partly by some whose narrowness made every pretence to save money very acceptable, & partly by others, to whom any kind of handle to obstruct business was no Less agreeable, but was intirely exploded by such as were much better Judges, from clearer reason and better opportunities of knowing. So that upon the whole, Gent., I find the Propr., and those concerned for him account that these Quitt rents and the Govmt. here, are no more related, than his Es- tate in Europe is to that of Great Brittain, & therefore 'is impossible for me to Come at one farthing of them, to answer any of these ends now proposed, wch. I desire may be a perpetual answer from me upon this head. The next in course being two thousand pounds granted in 1700, (of which about £1600 was to be paid by this Province,) is as far out of my reach, nor can I find by the Act for Raising it, that ever it could be strained to answer any of our present occasions, were it in bank at this time, for it is alledged ye Propr. paid very dearly for it another way. The Impost, (whether great or small, I know not,) was then a yearly support, so long as it lasted, tho' not for three years as you affirm ; While it was paid it doubtless had its service; but it has been expired these many years with all its profits, & therefore now yields not one penny. The next, & what comes nearer, is £800 Granted myself, which I have reced., & £550 more, as you say, by the Impost ; the first is true, Gent., I acknowledged it, I have now been in this Govmt. above 4 years & a half, and have reced. by that tax, by Your Computation, £1350, which yet is not so, to wch. you may add if you please, one hundred a Year more by perquisites, which also is much more than they have amounted to ; and thus you will make up the even sum of £1800 or £400 a Year since my arrival. This at the present currt. excha. in £250 Sterling, not paid in England, where it would be of a much greater value, but in Pennsylvania, where all European Goods are sold at near a double advance, even in Sterling ; I am not unwilling, Gent., it should be believed, (tho' not true,)
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that I have reced. so much yearly, for my support in the adminis- tration of this Govmt., & yet have not one farthing to spare out of it for the defence of the place, or other exigencies more than any private man may on the same score, wch. assures you is the case ; Nor have I ever before heard it suggested that any part of these sums were design'd for any other purpose than my own support, to wch. alone they have been converted, but much less that they were to defray the charges of such particular exigencies, for wch. in all Her Majesty's other Dominions particular funds have Constantly been allowed, and their purposes as particularly declared, ffor what remains of that whole fund you very well know, Gent., how it was appropriated, and what debts were to be discharged by it, wch. 'tis now found will with the other great Draught that has been made on the treasurer, take up the whole where it all Collected, but when this will be, is but too uncertain, the remissness of the collectors being greater than all the methods the Councill can use, have been hitherto able to remedy.
Thus, Gentlemen, I have more largely than I at first Intended, made it Clear to you that of all the sums You have mentioned, there is not one penny to be had to answer the pressing occasions laid be- fore you. 'Tis therefore Immediately incumbent on you to Resolve without delay, & lett me in clear terms know what is to be expected. I am not now asking any thing for my self, 'tis for your own imme- diate Service, it is you, it is all Her Majesty's Subjects in the Pro- vince, whose Interest and Estates lie at stake, and therefore call on those in whom the power of Govmt. is lodged, for a speedy & timely Provision. My willingness, who am Concerned in the Administra- tion, I have sufficiently express'd, it now lies only upon you to advise & Concur in what is necessary to be done, for without your assistance you well know 'tis impossible for me to effect any thing ; I shall not Direct you any further, only you may assure yourselves, that as this whole business is the most serious that can in this world be proposed to men, so it will be pursued accordingly ; ffor give me leave to say, that tho' you are the present Representatives, there are great numbers of others, who finding their all engaged, will conceive themselves at least as Deeply interested, and therefore will assuredly apply to other hands for what they fail of obtaining from yours. I desire you to lay this, with the rest, seriously to heart, & to Consider that it is realities and not words that are wanted, & give me your Result in express terms, as speedily as possible, for after I have thus explain'd myself, there shall be no more time spent in messages on this head, nor shall I be willing to receive any but what is directly & immediately to the purpose.
Ordered, that Wm. Trent & George Roche, two members of this Board, carry the said message to the House in the morning.
Ordered, that Robt. Asheton, Clerk of the County of Philadelphia, produce to this Board, without Delay, all the Several Copies of the Laws, which have been in his Custody since his Entrance into the said office, & that if he have 'em not, wheresoever he may suspect they are detained. And then adjourned.
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To which the Govr. some Days after receiv'd the following :
The Assemblies answer to the Govrs. message, sent to this House the Seventh Day of ye Month called Augst., 1708.
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