USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial records of Pennsylvania, Vol. IV > Part 64
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" The Governor is indeed pleased now to tell us 'That there was in Truth no Person duly authorized to inlist before the Arrival of Collo. Blakeney;' And that 'No one was so weak as to think of holding any by their having barely enter'd their Names on a List.' We answer, if no Person was duly authorized to Inlist, the Injury is aggravated, since it was done by this Means, and as he now owns without any Authority. But whatever the Governor's present Sen- timents may be, we have sufficient Evidence to prove, if occasion required, that those he employ'd in the Service had different senti- ments at that time; and when some of them (being Magistrates) were apply'd to to order some of the Servants inlisted Home, they were answered the Servants were free and not obliged to return to their Service. This is the true State of the Case in relation to the Inlisting and Carrying away of Servants from this Province; and however the Governor may be pleased to gloss over his management in the Affair, it will not be easily forgot.
"The Governor is next pleased to charge us with ' double deal- ing,' because in our former Message we let him know that altho' the Assembly could not appropriate any Money to the uses requir'd, yet they had determined to give £4,000 to the King's use, and pre- pared a Bill to that purpose, which might have pass'd had not the Inlisting so many Servants prevented it. Wherein the double deal- ing consists the Gov" has not render'd evident, nor will it be possible
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for him to do. Unfair dealing is very apparent in the Construction he makes of this Paragraph. He is pleased to say, 'To declare that their Consciences could not allow them to raise and apply Money for Victualling and Transporting of Soldiers, & yet to determine to give · £4,000 to the King's Use, that is for Victualling and Transporting of Soldiers, can, in my opinion, no ways be accounted for consistent with a good Conscience than upon the supposition of a new Revela- tion intervening between the positive Refusal and the Determination to give.' Waving the Scoff included in this Paragraph at Revelation, the Governor must give us leave to observe, the Absurdity he seems desirous of fixing upon us arises from his own mistaken Deductions and not from our words, and is but reviving a former Attempt in which he was unsuccessful. Because the Assembly did intend to have given Money to the King, does it follow it could not be done with- out appropriating it to any particular uses ? And will it not behove the Governor to shew how he is warranted to say the Assembly intend- ing to give it 'for Victualling and Transporating Soldiers,' before he could justly draw any inferences from it.
" When the Governor is pleased to take Facts for granted, on meer supposition, and without being truly informed, it was not dif- ficult for him to place them in the Light he is desirous they should appear to give him the greatest advantages in his Argument. Thus, speaking of £4,000 intended to have been given by a late Assem- bly to the King's Use, he tells us, 'As &2,000 was to pay the Mas- ters of such Servants as should inlist, and the other ££2,000 was for Victualling and Transporting both Freemen and Servants, he is at a loss to account how the Inlisting of Servants should be a rea- son for laying aside the Bill; on the contrary, as the voting of £2,000 to pay the Masters was an Encouragement given by the As- sembly to the Inlisting of Servants, it ought to be a reason for passing the Bill.' This Paragraph contains divers mistakes. First, the ££2,000 proposed to be given by that Bill was by the words of Act made payable to the Governor 'for the King's Use, to be dis- posed of in such sort, manner, & form, as to the King should seem meet,' and not ' for Victualling and Transporting of Servants,' as the Governor is pleased to say. Next, it was so far from being 'an Encouragement given by the Assembly to the Inlisting of Ser- vants,' that the Inlisting so many Servants was the true Reason why that Bill was laid aside. That it was contrary to the Design of that Bill may appear from part of the Preamble, which contains these words : 'Whereas divers bought Servants belonging to the Inhabitants aforesaid have Inlisted themselves in the King's Ser- vice, which, especially at this Season of the Year, may prove hurt- ful to the Province and greatly injurious to their Masters, and therefore we would hope it may be thought consistent with the Duty of the Officers concerned, and no detriment to the Service of the Crown, to discharge them and not to Inlist any hereafter. Never- theless, since it may so happen that many of ye Inhabitants of this
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Province may, by this means, sustain Losses their Circumstances render them unable to bear, we think it highly reasonable Provision should be made for their Relief, &ca' But the Officers, by the Gov- ernor's Countenance and Encouragement, persisting in the Inlisting and Detaining Servants from their Masters, notwithstanding the £4,000 proposed to be given, and all Applications to the Governor to discharge them (some few excepted) proving ineffectual, the As- sembly thought the giving of Money at that time would make them Accessary to one of the greatest Grievances the Province ever groaned under. And if the Interest of the Crown had suffer'd for want of the Money they were willing to give, it must (to use the words of that Assembly) 'be owing to his Misconduct, for it could not be thought reasonable to give a sum of Money which might be applied to Transport so great a number of our Servants from their Masters, when there were as many if not more Freemen in- listed than amounted to a full proportion to this Province.'
"The Governor is pleased to add, 'but the Truth of the matter is, after the Assembly saw the Servants were Inlisted, tho' contrary to his express Directions when he went down to Newcastle, they thought they had a good Handle of Complaint against him, and a good pretence at the same time to save their Money.' Such is the force of Truth it will sometimes appear when there are the strong- est Attempts to hide it. If the Inlisting of Servants was, as the Governor here says, 'contrary to his express Directions,' how is it possible the Assembly should have thought it 'a good Handle of Complaint against the Governor ?' Does it not rather shew, that as the Governor admits something did happen which might be thought 'a good Handle of Complaint against him,' it must be, what in Truth it was, the Countenance and Encouragement he gave to In- listing of Servants, notwithstanding his pretences to the Contrary.
"The Governor is pleased to proceed, 'Upon the same supposi- tion that you were in Earnest in the Bill for giving £4,000, I have been so far from adding to the Publick Expence, as you charge me, by encouraging the Inlisting of Servants (had I really done so), that the Publick has been a Saver by it; For as &4,000 was in- tended to be granted, and but £2,600 has been paid for Servants, there is evidently a Saving of &1,400 to the Publick.'
" In making this Estimate the Governor might have been pleased to consider that the ££2,600 paid for Servants was so far from com- pensating the Damages sustained by their Masters, that we presume double that Sum would fall short of it. Again, on another occa- sion the Governor was pleased to tell us 'that we had expended near £8,000 in paying for Servants, long Sittings, numerous Com- mittees for drawing Petitions, Representations, and Messages, in Salaries and Expences of an Agent and an Agent Assistant, and in Fees to Lawyers, &c .. ' If this Calculation be right (as the Expence was chiefly occasioned by the Governor's Means), the £8,000 added
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to the double of the £2,600 makes £13,200, and the £4,000 pro- posed to have been given to the King's Use being deducted, leaves a Ballance of ££9,000 Damage and Expence to the Province, occa- sioned by the Governor's misconduct in the Instances complained of.
" The Governor, indeed, is pleased to add, 'the £3,000 lately given has no relation to that Matter, for that it was given unasked and under the pretence of commiserating the Burthens and heavy Taxes our Fellow-Subjects labour under in England.' We answer, so was the first £3,000, as he may find by the Message of the As- sembly who gave it, dated 2 of Sept"", 1740, and its being unasked does not alter the Case at all. If ' the true Reason for giving it be as here,' it will be very agreeable to us; for whatever they may think of the Legality of the Gift, the Intent with which it was given must needs be approved of, vizt: 'their being willing to demonstrate the Fidelity, Loyalty, & Affection of the Inhabitants of this Province to our Gracious King.'
"' That the Legality of the Grant of £3,000 has been made a Question of by much greater Men than any of Us,' may for aught we know be true, though we have had no other Account of it than from the Governor & some of his Friends. If any such Question has been, we are of opinion it must be for want of being acquainted with our Constitution. We know there are Acts of Parliament which forbid Loans and Benevolences to the King, but those have no relation at all, as we conceive, to the Money we gave, it being given by virtue of an Act of Assembly which had the Royal Appro- bation, and we presume those ' greater Men than any of us ' might not know the Assembly have such a Power by virtue of an Act of Assembly now in force. We own ' it is not difficult to conceive that the refusing to give at one time and the giving at another may be equally blameable,' tho' we dont think it's properly applicable to our Case. But if the Governor can shew it was lawful for the As- sembly to give Money to the Crown in the Year 1740, and it was not lawful in the Year 1741, tho' in both Years the Power was the same, it will, we confess, shew us something more than at present we understand. And the Governor may also, if he pleases, inform us whether it had not been as decent, and shewn full as much Duty and Regard to the Crown, to have forborn anticipating the King's Sentiments on the acceptance or non-acceptance of the Money directed to be presented him until his pleasure was known.
" That we did address the Proprietaries, complaining of divers parts of the Governor's Conduct, is now made Publick. This we thought for their Interest and the good of the Province; whether they or we have judged best Time may determine. Whatever Opinion we might entertain of their Partiality or Impartiality, our Application for Redress could regularly be made no where else ; And as they have mistaken Facts and taken Things upon Trust, the
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Judgment they have formed of the Dispute between them and us can have but Little weight.
" The Governor is next pleased to proceed to acquit himself from the Charge of attempting to deprive us of our Privileges; And we are told ' That his Duty to the King is prior and paramount to any obligations he is or can be laid under to any Persons whatsoever, and where an Inferior Duty interferes with a Superior, the Superior is to be preferr'd.' What this ' prior and paramount Duty ' is, the Governor has not been pleased to inform us, nor how his Duty to the King interferes with any Engagements he is under as Governor to the People. We ever thought that as the Interest of the King and his Subjects is inseperable, his Duty to the Crown was not incom- patible with the Privileges granted to us. And however the Gov- ernor may be pleased to gloss over his Attempt against the Privi- leges of the Representatives of the Freemen of this Province, it is not likely to be remember'd to his Honour. 'That the Assembly have Right to sit on their own adjournments,' the Governor admits; ' That they made a very ill use of this Privilege,' he must permit us to deny. And even suppose they had, his private Attempt to take from us that Privilege, not because it had but 'because it might bring great prejudice to His Majestie's Service,' is not to be justified.
" We are advised, if we would 'preserve this Privilege, to use it with Discretion.' We answer, the advice is good; it is both what we have done, and what we shall yet endeavour to do ; But he must allow us to think it does not come the most gracefully from one who so lately attempted to deprive us of that Privilege. To our Proprietor's Sentiments of this Privilege we can say little, since we are not informed when or on what occasion it was written; And as we have not only his Charter but an Act of Assembly, and near Forty Years' Practice conformable, without any Dispute that we are apprized of, we think ourselves well entitled to the Privilege, what- ever his private Sentiments may have been.
"'The Disposition of the Publick Money,' the Governor allows, ' is a temporary Right,' but denys it is a Privilege. Not to intro- duce a Dispute about words, suppose it a Temporary Right only ; Does that justify his private Attempt to destroy that Right estab- lished by a Law to which he himself had given his Assent ?
" But the Governor is pleased to add : 'From the observations he has made, this is so far from having been of late an advantage to the Province, that he is convinced some Thousands of Pounds would have been saved in the two last Years had the Money been appropriated by those Acts, or the People's Representatives been under some Check.' What part of the Money given might have been saved the Governor does not clearly shew us; perhaps he may think the £2,600 advanced to pay the Masters for those Ser- vants which, by his Encouragement, were inlisted and carried away VOL. IV .- 39.
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from them, might have been better bestowed. And there can be no doubt he would be pleased to have it in his power to prevent any of the Publick Money from being applied in Maintenance of those Privileges he is attempting to take away. The Proprietors, we are told, 'entertain the same opinion of this Power, and That the Money belongs to the People; and the more difficult it is to appropriate any of it, the less probability there is of having it unecessarily expended.' That the Proprietors have like Senti- ments with the Governor, & for the same Reasons, is very pro- bable; But if 'the Money belongs to the People,' as they are pleased to admit, we should rather think this proves the People have Right to appropriate it, by the same Rule that every Man may dispose of his own.
"The Governor further says, " After the Account given by me to the Lords of Trade of the Defenceless State of the Province, it was added, that so long as a House of Assembly shall be composed of a set of Men who oppose all Preparations for Defence, the Province will remain exposed, &c.'
" Have not the Representatives of the People Right to Judge both when there is Danger and whether any preparations be neces- sary ? May not a Governor, from a view of encreasing his own Power, tho' under pretence of the Safety of the People, put these Things on foot to aggrandize himself, though it impoverish them, and changes the Constitution ? And can he call it just, because any 'set of Men' differ in opinion from him, to attempt to take away one of the greatest Civil Liberties they enjoy, and which they were principally concerned in procuring to others, in common with themselves? The Governor is pleased to ask, How it comes to be more a breach of his Solemn Engagements now than it was two Years ago? We answer: The Assembly at that time had the like Sentiments of his Conduct, and that it was a breach of his Solemn . Engagements, which, in one of their Messages, they express in these Words: 'There was a time in which he thought fit to entreat us to preserve the Character we had so well deserved of a peaceable and conscientious People, And to maintain that Christian Liberty which had made this Province the admiration of all its Neighbours; That in him we shou'd always find a steady Regard for our Liberties, both civil and religious, &ca-, and that he trusted no Station of Life would alter his Sentiments. But the times are changed; to be peaceable & conscientious is now made Dangerous; That Christian Liberty, once the Admiration of its Neighbours is now become destructive to Society; those Civil & Religious Rights which once were the only rational Foundations of Society, are now made incon- sistent with Government; and where we expected an Advocate, we find the strongest attack on our Liberties, civil & religious.
"To our Question, 'whether his Majestic's Commands required that the People of this Province should be charged with carrying
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on Manufactures directly interfering with the Trade of our Mother Country,' the Governor is pleased to Answer in the Affirmative; That ' His Majesty commanded he should give his Ministers a par- ticular Account of his Transactions ;' That ' the Assembly insisted, as an Argument against the Legality of Inlisting Servants, that the Trade of Servants was advantageous to Britain; That as this Argu- ment was calculated to engage the Trading part of the Nation against him, it behoved him to shew how the Trade of Servants was injurious to our Mother Country,' &c. On this permit us to remark, That tho' the Reasons offer'd in support of this Part of the Governor's Conduct do not prove what they are adduced for, they do prove by implication more than we presume he intended. If the Governor was really against the Inlisting of Servants was it not a sufficient Defence for him to deny the Charge; and how could it become necessary for him to prove that 'the Trade of Servants was injurious to our Mother Country,' and ' that the Inlisting of Ser- vants was lawful,' if he was unconcerned in it? Or how could the Assembly's insisting on the Trade of Servants being advantageous to Britain be an 'Argument calculated to engage the trading Part of the Nation against him,' if he gave no Encouragement to the Inlisting and carrying them away?
" The Governor further proceeds to tell us, 'Whether it was or was not his Duty, it will not be thought an Instance of prudence in us to bring this matter again under the Public Notice.' We an- swer : If it be admitted that Manufactures are carried on to the disadvantage of our Mother Country, the observation might be just ; but in this we are not agreed. It must be owned that many Ser- vants have been yearly Imported among us, but the Labour of far the greater Number of them is apply'd to the Clearing and Tilling of Land and other Acts of Husbandry ; and tho' some Tradesmen . have likewise been brought among us, we think any Trade carried on by their Means very Little, if at all, affects the Trade of our Mother Country. We, therefore, know of no Reason given the Governor to call our Prudence in Question on this occasion ; al- though it is probable he may be displeased to have a part of his Conduct pointed out to him, that almost every man who hears must censure. The 'standing Orders' and 'Queries' directed to be an- nually answered the Governor is pleased to mention, we presume are in substance the same with those to every other Governor on the Continent, and might in our opinion be answered without prejudice to the People of this Province; and no Governor that we ever heard of but himself ever gave a like account, or ever look'd upon it as their Duty so to do. Besides, the Governor may be pleased to re- member he had, at the Date of his Letter to the Lords for Trade, been upwards of two Years in the Province; these Queries were to be annually answered, and we believe he will not say that either before or any time since hath been much the same. If this be so we may leave the World to judge whether this Part of his Behaviour
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does not discover the Governor's Intention of Gratifying his Re- venge rather than Performing his Duty.
" The Governor in a former Message was pleased to proclaim the Merit of his Friends in having 'supplied him with Money.' To this we answer'd, That 'if the Merit consisted in Purchasing the King's Bills at an easy Exchange, once Publishing it to the world might have been sufficient,' and we are yet of the same mind. But why the Governor shou'd leave the obvious Sense of the Words to find out Insinuations not intended, we must leave him to determine ; and when he discovers his Mistake to withdraw the Consequences he is pleased to deduce from thence. That Bills of Exchange were at that time sold lower than was usual for some considerable time before, we presume he will not deny; and if the Gentlemen who purchased those Bills did really give the highest Price then current, it was justly termed ' easy' in respect to the price formerly paid for like Bills. And, therefore, what great Merit there was in advanc- ing Money for which they had or were to have the King's Bills we cannot find out.
" That we did call upon the Governor to shew an Instance of the late Assembly's 'laying aside Truth and Publickly defaming him' is true; And he must now permit us to think he has failed in his Attempt.
"The Instance the Governor was pleased to give is part of the Proprietor's Letter, wherein they say, ' We find the Governor was so far from desiring the Inlistment of Servants that he very early took measures to prevent it.' And again, 'The Assembly became the occasion of the Grievance, tho' the Governor is charged with the Inconveniences that have attended it.' The Governor has been pleased to say so and the Proprietors believed him. But that the contrary is true we have already shewn, and that the 'early Mea- sures he took' was to encourage the Inlisting of Servants : So that these Paragraphs only prove the Proprietor's mistaken. Even in the Message we are now answering, the Governor contends for the Legality of Inlisting of Servants, which he needed not to have done were he not conscious the Charge was true, and that therefore it behoved him to support it.
"Though this was generally believed to be true, yet so cautious were the late Assembly against fixing such a Charge on the Gov- ernor, that they forebore to do it until Enquiry was made con- cerning the Truth of the Fact. On this Enquiry they were satisfied the charge was true, by Men whose veracity has not, to our Know- ledge, been questioned. But that any Examinations or Depositions were ever taken and sent to England, or to be sent there, is a gross mistake, and the Governor must give us leave to call upon him to make good his Charge, vizt: That 'the Assembly employed Men (some of them without shame or common Honesty) to procure the depositions of Blacksmiths' Boys, and such like Rabble, to support
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it, and then clandestinely transmitted them to England,' or we must leave the World to judge who it is that has 'laid aside Truth' in this Instance. And we presume, were the Governor himself to judge, he must think that those who were pointed at as 'wanting shame and common Honesty' on so gross a mistake of his own, have been ill used, and would perhaps think himself not well treated, to return his own Expression, that those who 'set any value upon a Character would have scorned such Insinuations to the prejudice of other People's.'
"Our Right to Petition, the Governor is pleased to allow ; but adds, ' When a Petition contains Matter of Complaint against any particular Person, that Person has a Right to a Copy of it, and the transmitting it, without doing him that Piece of common Justice, may be justly compared to a stab in the Dark.'
" That the Governor might and ought to have a Copy of the Pe- tition after it is presented to the King, we agree ; but that we are under any obligation of delivering it to him unasked for before it is presented, we do not think. And were we to admit it for Truth,-is there not the same Reason in relation to other Com- plaints as well as in those by Petition ? And is not reason equally forcible where the Persons complained against are more than one ? What then becomes of his Letter to the Lords for Trade, and his Friend's Petition lately presented? Did he or they deliver us any Copies of those'? The Governor was more than once Publickly ac- quainted with the Intentions of the late Assembly to Petition, and was informed it was to contain a Complaint against him for the en- couragement he gave to the Inlisting and Carrying away of Servants. His Letter was private, the Contents not communicated to us, and that it was intended to have remained so, his Resentment at the Discovery shews; So that it is clear an injury was intended us, and that it should not be known from what Hand it came. And therefore his Comparison of 'the Secrecy of a Romish Conclave,' and an Attempt 'to a Stab in the Dark,' are much more applicable to his Letter than to the Petition of the late Assembly. It is true that Petition was not ' Published in their Votes,' which the Gover- nor is pleased to say ' used to be the Practice in regard to all Pub- lick Affairs ;' But in this he is mistaken. It is not only agreeable to the Practice of ' former Assemblies' here in like Cases, & in all the Instances in our Memory, but we think it would have been indecent, and in many Cases give just Cause of Complaint, to paint and publish Petitions before they are presented. How sollicitous the Governor & his Friends may have been to have had this Peti- tion presented, we neither do nor are concerned to know; but whenever his Letter obtains the Honour of being laid before the King, it will be no fault of ours if that Petition do not accompany it. Until this be determined, a Copy of the Petition can be of no use to him that we know of. As to the Charge ' of the Exami-
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