answered by recriminations or bitter invectives; and we found that the false insinuations and reproaches, that our adversaries had cast upon the province, with respect to false trade and harbouring pirates, had made so great an impression upon thee, that thou rather believed them than thy honest friends.

"And when thou entered upon legislation, thou wast pleased to repeal all the laws that were made in Colonel Fletcher's time, which were approved by the King or Queen, as we were informed, and as some of us gathered by the account thou gave of them, viz., that Chancellor Somers had sent for thee to know what thou had to object against any of those laws; and if it had not been for thee, none of them had passed, or words to that effect. And not only so, but the people being minded to surrender the said second charter upon thy promise to give them a better in lieu of it, and under pretence of passing an act for confirming and securing their lands, &c., thou obtained liberty to re-survey all the lands in the province, and to bring the people to terms for the overplus; so that by this stratagem, the warrants, surveys, and new patents cost the people as much, and to some more, than the first purchase of their lands, besides their long attendance upon thy secretary and surveyors to have their business done; but before thou would pass that act, it must be accompanied with an impost or excise, and a two thousand pound bill besides. And all this thou esteemed but inconsiderable, when thou compared it with the vast charge thou had been at, in the administration and defence of this government, since the year 1682, though we know thy stay here at first coming was not above two years, but went home about the difference between thee and Baltimore, concerning the bounds of the Lower Counties, and did

not return till the year 1699, excusing thy stay by thy service to the nation of England in general, and to thy friends there in particular, (as appears by thy letters from time to time,) whilst the interest of this province was sinking, which might have been upheld by the many wealthy persons that were inclined to transport themselves here, after the rout of Monmouth, if thee had then come over according to thy repeated promises. And how far thy stay has either effected what thou went about, or contributed to the establishment of the inhabitants here in their just rights and liberties and properties, we leave thee to demonstrate, and the world to judge. In the mean time, we desire thee to consider better what to place to the account of this province; and do not forget that no part of thy pretended charges was expended in paying some of those who acted under thee, in the administration here, one of whom, viz. Thomas Lloyd, served thee in that station about nine years of thy absence, which thou leaves, it seems, for the country to discharge.

"That after thou had managed these points, and was sent for to England, thou granted the third charter of privileges, by which we are now convened; as also a charter to incorporate the city of Philadelphia, and signed a charter of property, but refused to order thy seal to be affixed thereunto, till thou had advised upon it in England; nevertheless, thou promised under thy hand, that thou would confirm the first part of it relating to titles of land, but thou sent thy order, under hand and seal, dated within six months after, to countermand the sealing thereof.

"That, after the laws were completed for raising all the said taxes and imposts, thou proposed, that, if thy friends would give thee a sum of money, thou promised to negotiate their affairs at home to the best ad

vantage, and endeavour to procure the approbation of. our laws and a general exemption from oaths. We find that considerable sums have been raised by way of subscription and benevolence for that service; part thou received before thou went, and more have been received since by thy secretary; but we had no account that our laws are approved, nor had we as much as a letter from thee, nor any other intimation, but by thy secretary's letters, which he thought fit to communicate by piecemeals, whereby we understand, that thou hast been making terms for thyself and family. And, by what we gather, thou hast been upon surrendering the government; nor are thy friends here eased of oaths, but, on the contrary, an order from the Queen, requiring oaths to be administered to all persons who are willing to take them in all judicatures, whereby the people called Quakers are disabled to sit in courts.

"That, by the last charter of privileges, thou established an annual election of representatives for assembly, and that they should continue and sit upon their own adjournments; yet, by thy commission to thy present deputy, John Evans, thou did, in a direct opposition to the said charter, give him power, not only to call assemblies by his writs, but to prorogue and dissolve them as he should see cause; and also reserved to thyself, though in England, thy final assent to all bills passed here by thy deputy. We suppose thou hast not forgot, that what rendered the former charter inconvenient, if not impracticable, was chiefly, that Colonel Fletcher's interruption had extinguished the rotation of the council, and, next to that, the proposals of laws by the council, in presence of the governor; as also the instability of the Lower Counties, which we had before experience of, and whose result

was then doubted, as hath since happened. But that annual standing assemblies, liable only to the dismission and call of the governor as occasion required, was never found an inconveniency, nor assigned as a reason for changing the said former for the present charter; and, should that of dissolution be introduced, it would frustrate the constitution, because, if a dissolution should happen, the province might be a great part of the year without an assembly, and the governor without power to call one, whatsoever commands from the crown, or other occasions, may happen; for that the election being fixed by charter, which is in nature of a perpetual writ, and has the authority of a law, if it could be superseded by the governor's writ, which is but an act of state, and merely temporary, it would be of pernicious consequence to the province as well as thyself; and of this thou seemed very sensible, when, being desired by the assembly, upon the close of the session in the year 1701, to dissolve them, (being then called by writs,) thou told them, thou wouldst not do it, for that thou couldst not answer to the crown to leave the province without a standing assembly.

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That, as the exemption from any dissolution or prorogation seems to be an inseparable consequent of thy grant, as well as our constant practice upon the former charter, which this was by thy promise to exceed, so, upon an attempt made by the council to prorogue us in October last, we have thought it our duty to prepare a bill for ascertaining, explaining, and settling our present constitution; which we having presented to thy deputy for his assent, he finding that the power of dissolution and prorogation is not in express words granted away by charter, as also the inconveniency thereof with his said commission, after

several conferences thereupon, had with him and his council, he thought fit to advise us to forbear the farther pressing it, till we should hear from thee; therefore, he being unwilling to pass the said bill by us judged so necessary, and the very foundation of our present constitution, we could not think it proper to proceed to perfect any other business, whilst that remained unsettled. Nor do we suppose any thing will be done in legislation either by the present or succeeding assemblies, till the difficulties we labor under herein be removed, either by thy speedy order, or by thy deputy without it, seeing to proceed upon other matters would be to raise a superstructure before the foundation were well laid; nor do we look upon it very advisable for us to proceed far in legislation, until thou repeals those parts of thy lieutenant's commission, relating to prorogation and dissolution of assemblies, for the reasons before given, as also concerning thy final assent to laws, which we conceive to be very unreasonable in itself, and a great abuse and violation of our constitution, that thou should offer to put three negatives upon our acts, whereas by our first charter we had none but that of the crown; and how thou gained another to thyself, we have before showed thee, but now to bring us under three seems a contrivance to provoke us to complain to the Queen, that thou art not effectually represented here, and make that a motive for her to take us under her immediate care and protection, which would make thy surrender in some measure our act, which, if thou should do without the consent of the landholders and inhabitants of this province first obtained, would look too much like treachery.

"That it appears, by several petitions now before us, that very great abuses have been and are put upon the inhabitants, and extortions used by thy secretary,

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