case, "to desire him to return it to the House." This message was verbal; and he evaded a present reply by saying, that, if the House would send him a message in writing on that head, he would return them an answer; adding, "that he should not return the said bill."

A written message was hereupon taken into consideration; but, before it could be perfected, another from the governor was brought down by the secretary, importing, "that the Indians living upon the Susquehanna, amounting in all to about three hundred fighting men, had applied to him to put the hatchet into their hands, in conjunction with the provincial forces, and to be furnished with arms, ammunition, provisions, and strong houses for the protection of their old men, women, and children; that they had desired an explicit answer without farther delay, that they might either prepare to act with the province, or provide for their own security; that they had assured him this would be the last application they should make; and that, in case it did not succeed, they should leave them as an infatuated people to the mercy of their enemies; that he could not but look upon this as one of the most important matters, that ever came under their consideration; as it could not be supposed these Indians would expose themselves to the fury of an enemy, so superior to themselves, unless they were vigorously supported; and, as a refusal would unavoidably throw them into the arms of the French, that, how fatal this must prove to the inhabitants of Pennsylvania and all the English colonies, they could not be ignorant; that he was ready and desirous to do any thing consistent with his duty to the crown, for the protection and assistance, as well of those their allies, as of the said inhabitants; and that upon this important affair, and at the pressing instances

of these Indians, he had put off his journey to the back settlements, although he conceived his presence among them at that time to be extremely necessary."

Thus the defeat of one expedient made way for the trial of another; and what the governor's set-off could not effect, was to be reattempted by this put-off.

The assembly, however, were equally proof against both; and, having adjusted a separate answer to each, sent them up the next day, November 11th, by the same messengers.

In the first they signified, "that they had come together with the sincerest disposition to avoid, if possible, all disputes whatsoever with the governor; that they were deeply affected with the distresses of the frontier country, and determined to do every thing that could be expected of them for the public safety; that they had immediately voted a large sum for the King's service, and provided a fund for sinking the whole within five years, as recommended by the governor; that, as the colony had been founded on maxims of peace, as they had so long maintained an uninterrupted friendship with the natives, and as the French had already gained the Delawares and Shawanese* to their interest, they thought it was but natural for them to inquire, what cause of complaint had been administered to them, and to express their readiness to do them justice, before hostilities were returned and the breach grown wider; that for their better information, and without intending the least offence to the governor, they had applied for the last treaty; that their message to this effect was

See a pamphlet, written in Pennsylvania and published in London, intitled, "An Inquiry into the Causes of the Alienation of the Delaware and Shawanese Indians from the British interest," &c., wherein will be found what reason the assembly had to suspect those Indians might have been injuriously treated by the proprietaries and their agents.

VOL. III.

54

JJ*

sent upon the second day after their entering upon business; and that the governor had not till then vouchsafed them an answer." Coming then to the bill, "They suggested an apprehension, that the governor's immediate refusal of it, because it was of the same kind with one he had before refused, arose from his not having allowed himself time to consider of it;" adding, "that indeed all bills for raising money were so far of the same kind, but this differed greatly from every former bill which had been offered him; that all the amendments (of any consequence) which he had proposed to the last bill he had refused, save that for totally exempting the proprietary estate, had been admitted in this; that, being as desirous as the governor to avoid any dispute on that head, they had even so framed the bill as to submit it entirely to his Majesty's royal determination, whether that estate had or had not a right to such exemption; that so much time was allowed by the bill, that the King's pleasure might possibly be known even before the first assessment; that it was farther provided, that if, at any time during the continuance of the act, the crown should declare the said estate exempt as aforesaid, in such case the tax though assessed, should not be levied, or if levied should be refunded and replaced by an additional tax on the province; that they could not conceive any thing more fair and reasonable than this, or that the governor would or could start any objection to it, since the words * in

"Provided always, That nothing herein contained, shall extend, or be construed to extend, to give you any power or authority to do, perform, act, suffer, acquiesce in, or consent or agree unto, any act, matter, or thing whatsoever, by means or reason whereof, we, or either of us, or the heirs of us, or either of us, may be hurt, prejudiced, impeached, or incumbered, in our or their, or either of our or their royalties, jurisdictions, properties, estate, right, title, or interest, of, in, or to, the said province or counties, or any part of them."

his commission, which he was pleased to suppose contained an express prohibition of his passing such a bill, did not appear to them to have any such meaning; that, if it was one of the just rights of government, that the proprietary estate should not be taxed for the common defence of all estates in the province, those just rights were well understood in England, the proprietaries were on the spot to plead their own cause, or, if as remote as they (the assembly) were, might safely confide in his Majesty's known wisdom and justice; that the equity of their being taxed had appeared so plain, even to their best friends there, that they had entered into a voluntary subscription to pay their supposed quota for them, in full assurance, that, if they had been present, they would have done the same themselves, and would repay what should be so advanced for them; that, if the proprietaries had any of this zeal for the service about. them, this bill, if passed, would give them a happy opportunity of manifesting it, by becoming solicitors to the King for his approbation, and refusing to petition for an exemption; and that since the right of exemption, contended for on their behalf, could never be settled between the governor and assembly, the bill transferred the cause thither where only it could be decided."

The residue of this piece contains so full, so noble, and so affecting a recapitulation of the whole dispute, and sets the selfish conduct of the proprietaries and their deputy in so clear a light, that leave must be taken to insert it verbatim.

"Our assemblies have of late had so many supply bills, and of such different kinds, rejected on various pretences; some for not complying with obsolete occasional instructions, (though other acts exactly of the same tenor had been past since those instructions, and

received the royal assent;) some for being inconsistent with the supposed spirit of an act of Parliament, when the act itself did not any way affect us, being made expressly for other colonies; some for being, as the governor was pleased to say, 'of an extraordinary nature,' without informing us wherein that extraordinary nature consisted; and others for disagreeing with new-discovered meanings and forced constructions of a clause in the proprietary commission; that we are now really at a loss to divine what bill can possibly pass. The proprietary instructions are secrets to us; and we may spend much time, and much of the public money, in preparing and framing bills for supply, which, after all, must, from those instructions, prove abortive. If we are thus to be driven from bill to bill without one solid reason afforded us, and can raise no money for the King's service, and relief or security of our country, till we fortunately hit on the only bill the governor is allowed to pass, or till we consent to make such as the governor or proprietaries direct us to make, we see little use of assemblies in this particular, and think we might as well leave it to the governor or proprietaries to make for us what supply laws they please, and save ourselves and the country the expense and trouble. All debates and all reasonings are vain, where proprietary instructions, just or unjust, right or wrong, must inviolably be observed. We have only to find out, if we can, what they are, and then submit and obey. But surely the proprietaries' conduct, whether as fathers of their country or subjects to their king, must appear extraordinary, when it is considered, that they have, not only formally refused to bear any part of our yearly heavy expenses in cultivating and maintaining friendship with the Indians, though they reap such immense advantages by that friendship, but that they now, by