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time; and will be as useful among ourselves, there being no other way occurring to my understanding whereby you may receive the benefit of them; and in this purpose I am ready, unless you should otherwise advise, until by better information out of England, we shall be led out of these state meanders."

The assembly answered, among other things, as follows: viz.

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"We heartily wish that thy design in coming hither, with all imaginable respect to our g overnor and inhabitants here, may be pursued accordingly with suitable measures; and we cannot but have that opinion of our worthy governor's tender regard to the people here, that as he will justify no unbecoming behaviour in us towards his representative, so we hope he will vindicate no unlawful or rigid procedure against As to our governor's absence, we are very sensible that, as it may be to his disappointment, so it is extremely to our prejudice. We were in expectation of receiving bills from thee and the council as formerly; to the reason thou art pleased to give why none are sent, that the proprietary and governor hath given directions for letting all the laws drop or fall, we are credibly informed, that afterwards he was well pleased they should stand; and all the laws made here since his departure, were sent for his perusal, and none of them, to our knowledge, in the least declared void by him; neither do we conceive that he hath any reason so to do.

"As to the establishment of laws, we expected nor aimed at any higher sanction than was used in the governor's time; but in case bills had been prepared and promulgated according to charter, and had passed by us into laws, and the great seal had been necessary, and the same duly required to be applied to the said laws, and the keeper refused the same, then we might justly blame such refusal: but as to the way thou mentions, that our proprietary and governor is authorised by himself, and with consent of the freemen, to make laws, and under his seal to publish them, and not in the granted way of the charter and act of settlement; as we

do not desire, so our hopes are, that no laws of that make will be imposed upon us: and had we made laws at this time, as formerly, we question not but that they had been as inoffensive in the present conjuncture, as afore: and we do conceive, that our laws here, not being declared or adjudged by the king under his privy seal to be void, do remain and stand in full force, according to the true intent and meaning thereof.

"As for the charge of animosities and dissentions amongst us before thy coming here, it is so general, that we can make no other answer than that in matters of government, our apprehensions were otherwise, the end of good government being answered, in that power was supported in reverence with the people, and the people were secured from the abuse of power; but for what thou mentions to have been renewed since amongst the members of council, we leave them to an

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"As to the expedient proposed, of thy governing this province and territories, by such of the laws as were made before our proprietary and governor went hence, which thou shalt judge not contrary to the laws of England, we conceive no such expedient can be consistent with our constitution, without the concurrence of the council, according to such methods as have been heretofore used in legislature, and what course of government is otherwise, will be ungrateful and uncertain to us, for how far the laws of England are to be our rules, is declared by the king's letters patent.

"As to thy assuring us, thy just compliance with us, in what we may reasonably desire, we take it kindly, and do desire that our members of council may be permitted to sit, according to our former request."

The governor finding himself thus steadily opposed, had recourse to another piece of practice, which was to prevail on certain members to withdraw themselves from the house : the house, on the other hand, voted this to be a treachery, and farther prepared and presented the following request to the governor: viz.

"To the Governor and Council, sitting at Philadelphia, the twentieth day of the third month, 1689.

"We the representatives of the freemen of Pennsylvania, and territories thereof, in assembly met, being much disappointed in our expectation in not finding any bills prepared and promulgated by you for a further concurrence; and perceiving three members duly elected to serve in council (in whose wisdom and faithfulness we much confide) too long kept out; and that a member of our own, is treated with great rigor and severity in the time of assembly, and not allowed to be with us, though most of us have known him to have been serviceable therein these several years: we (being under a strait in these considerations) do request your tender regard of our grievances already presented, and of our answer presented to the governor in council, to his speech delivered to us there; and we do desire, you do not go to dismiss us until we are received, and righted in our just complaints: and that we be not discouraged in charging before the provincial council, such persons or members whom we can with great probability make appear to be ill ministers and chief authors of the present arbitrariness in government; and who are men unworthy, as we conceive, to be much consulted with, and unfit to be chief magistrates.What we purpose to do herein, shall be orderly, speedily, and within bounds."

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It does not appear that this request met with any regard, or that the proprietary interest gained any ground in the assemblies held the two subsequent years: and in the year 1693, the king and queen assumed the government of the colony into their own hands; under what pretext, in virtue of what management, whether to gratify any displeasure conceived against Mr. Penn, or in concert with him, is not -specified.

Colonel Fletcher was appointed governor of New York and Pennsylvania by one and the same commission, with equal powers and prerogatives in both provinces; as if there was no such thing as a charter extant.

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This commission of his was, also, accompanied with a letter from the queen, countersigned Nottingham, requiring him, as governor of Pennsylvania, to send such aid or assistance, in men or otherwise, for the security of the province of New York against the attempts of the French and Indians, as the condition of the said colony would permit, as if the good will of the freemen was no longer worth mentioning.

To the assembly, however, this royal visitor thought fit to communicate both his commission and her majesty's said letter, But then it was an assembly widely different from that appointed by their charter. Instead of six members for each of the six counties, those of Philadelphia and Newcas tle were reduced to four each, and the rest to three; difference sixteen: and, as an act of grace, his excellency dispensed with the oaths of such as made it a point of conscience not to swear; and accepted a written profession and declaration of allegiance, before established in their stead. Whether so strange an innovation was openly and specially complained of or not, the assembly had nevertheless the spirit to open their session with the following resolution, which passed nem. con. "That the laws of this province that were in force and practice before the arrival of this present governor, are still in force: and that the assembly have a right humbly to move the governor for a continuation or confirmation of the same."

They also interwove this vote of theirs in their address to him, and, not unartfully introduced it under the umbrage of an insinuation, that the king and queen had thought fit to appoint him to be their governor, because of the absence of their proprietary; but derived no benefit from it: for the governor bluntly told them," he was sorry to find their desires grounded upon so great mistakes:" adding these emphatical expressions, "the absence of the proprietary is the least cause mentioned in their majesty's letters patent, for their majesties asserting their undoubted right of governing their subjects in this province. There are reasons of greater moment; as the neglects and miscarriages in the late ad

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ministration; the want of necessary defence against the enemy; the danger of [the province must be understood] being lost from the crown.-The constitution of their majesties' government and that of Mr. Penn's are in direct opposition one to the other: if you will be tenacious in stickling for this, it is a plain demonstration, use what words you please, that indeed you decline the other."

The assembly again, not to be wanting in duty to the king and queen, nor consistency to themselves, admitted their majesties right of government to be indubitable; but would not allow themselves to be under any mistake in relation to the proprietary's absence. "And to the other reasons rendered, (said they in their remonstrances) for the superceding our proprietary's governancy, we apprehend [they] are founded on misinformations; for the courts of justice were open in all counties in this government, and justice duly executed from the highest crimes of treason and murder to the determining the lowest difference about property, before the date or arrival of the governor's commission. Neither do we apprehend, that the province was in danger of being lost from the crown, although the government was in the hands of some whose principles are not for war: and we conceive, that the present governancy hath no direct opposition (with respect to the king's government here in gèneral) to our proprietary's William Penn, though the exercise of thy authority at present supersedes that of our said proprietary nevertheless we readily own thee for our lawful governor, saving to ourselves and those whom we represent, our and their just rights and privileges."

Proceeding then to business, they voted a supply; but inclined to have their laws confirmed and their grievances redressed first: accordingly, they sent up a committee of ten, with the book of their laws to the governor for his acceptance and ratification: and, after a long debate between him, assisted by five of his council, and them, which was terminated on his side somewhat equivocally, he sent two of the said council to assure the house, in his name, of his confirmation of all the said laws (excepting one relating to ship

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