been manifested to and acknowledged by the Lords of Trade, the ends of it, as to them, had been fully answered; that the said lords, in their report to the House of Commons, subsequent to that address to the throne concerning the paper currencies of America, having signified, that they would humbly propose that his Majesty would be graciously pleased to repeat his orders to his governors of the plantations, not to give their assent for the future, to any bill or bills for issuing or re-issuing paper money, proceed to say, "We hope these propositions for reducing and discharging the paper currency of the plantations, may have a good effect in those governments which are held by immediate commission under his Majesty; but we are very doubtful, whether they will produce the like effect in the charter governments, who do apprehend themselves by their particular charters and constitutions to be very little dependent upon the crown, and for that reason seldom pay that obedience to his Majesty's orders, which might be reasonably expected from them;" that, notwithstanding what is here said concerning the repetition of these orders, they had good reason to believe those orders, at least to their governors, had never been repeated ; that a bill, in which was a clause to enforce the orders and instructions of the crown in America, had been repeatedly brought into Parliament, and as often rejected; that the governor himself had represented this bill (to restrain the issues of paper money) as of mischievous tendency; that even the very proprietaries had made a merit of opposing it; that, as in the Act of Parliament for that purpose, which did pass in June, 1751, the eastern colonies alone were included, so Pennsylvania was left in full possession of its rights, even by the Parliament itself; that, as the date of the governor's commission was many years posterior to the

date of the instruction, they hoped and presumed, he was at full liberty to pass all their acts upon the terms granted them by the royal and provincial charter, without putting them to the disagreeable necessity of examining the validity of such instructions, &c. And, lastly, as to the issue of their inquiry, concerning the necessity of contending for the present amendments, they not only declared themselves at a loss to find it out, but also called upon the governor to comply with the general voice of the people, and the repeated unanimous applications of their representatives in granting them and the province the seasonable relief provided for in the bill, by giving his assent to it as it stood.

How the governor was circumstanced may be gathered from his actions; he adhered to his amendments, and returned the bill as before, with a written message, in which he persevered in holding up the instruction as an insurmountable bar, till revoked, to the assent required of him; urging, that his predecessor had done the same in 1746; that the assembly admitted the validity of it in ordinary cases, and, without pretending to dispute, only hoped he would find himself at liberty on a reconsideration to give his assent, notwithstanding, to a currency bill, when any extraordinary emergency required it; that then, it seemed plain, they did not think an instruction, founded on an address of the commons, was either illegal or temporary, or destructive of their liberties; that, if these were then the sentiments of both governor and assembly, there was no room for the insinuation that he had been the first to press so dangerous an experiment; that, if there was no instance before of a like clause offered, there was, perhaps, no instance of the like instruction, which otherwise, it was to have been supposed, would have met with the same dutiful obedience; that a restraining instruction was,

perhaps, on no occasion so necessary as in the business of money, over which the King had peculiar prerogatives; that, if they could make it appear to his Majesty's ministry, that an addition to their currency was at that: time necessary, the royal compliance was not to be doubted; that, with regard to the former currency bill by them cited, he was still of the same opinion; but that surely a very moderate share of penetration was sufficient to distinguish between an act to enforce all orders and instructions, and an instruction founded on an address of Parliament; that they would certainly allow him to judge for himself in a point recommended to his observance on pain of incurring his Majesty's highest displeasure; that he did not by any means blame them for contending for what they apprehended to be their rights and privileges, consequently could have no objection to their examining the validity of the King's instructions, provided they proceeded with such temper and moderation, as might give the world no room to repeat the charge brought against the charter governments by the Lords of Trade, of apprehending themselves very little dependent on the crown; and that, upon the whole, he was sincerely of opinion, the royal instruction was of the same force as when the late governor told the assembly, in the year 1746, he could not bring himself to such a pitch of boldness as to contravene it.

It is obvious, that the conjuring up the ghost of these departed instructions, was only to strike an awe into the assembly, and thereby prepare them for what farther practice the new orders, which could not but accompany the proprietary's paper already recited, might enjoin.

The King, the King's ministers, and the House of Commons, were authorities too big for a provincial

representative to compete with, and therefore it might be supposed their very names would serve.

But they were too wise and too steady to be amused; and the difference of language made use of by the proprietaries and their governor was alone sufficient to warrant the different conduct they observed; for, though the governor talked only of the sovereign power, the proprietaries talked only of themselves; "If we shall be induced from the state of your trade to consent to an increase of your paper currency.”

Not thinking themselves obliged, therefore, to consider what additional inducements were necessary to incline those great men to suffer their deputy to discharge the duty of his commission, the assembly chose to lose their bill rather than pay more for it than it was worth.

Accordingly, the governor's amendments being again put to the question, were again rejected unanimously; and a committee was appointed to answer his message, which they did in such a manner as showed they were more anxious to do justice to their cause than make their court to the governor.

What Governor Thomas did in passing the five thousand pounds act, they urged against what he said; the validity of instructions in ordinary cases, said to be admitted by the assembly of that time, they explain away, by saying, the distinction was only made use of to furnish the governor with a pretence, or inducement, to pass the bill; that this was not the first instruction unlimited in point of time, and remaining as yet unrevoked, which neither was nor would, as they hoped, be observed, since there was one still to be found in the council books to Governor Keith, dated July, 1723, requiring him, for the future, not to pass any private act without a suspending clause, till his Majesty's

approbation had been first obtained; that unfortunate, indeed, would the case of Pennsylvania be, if governors were never to be freed from the obligation of occasional instructions. "If the King," said they, "should judge all the purposes of his instruction answered, upon passing the paper-money bill in Parliament in 1751, we must, nevertheless, for ever continue under the burden of it without redress. And if we should suppose the governor is restricted by the proprietaries from giving his assent to the emission of any farther sum in bills of credit, as we have very little reason to doubt, if then the proprietaries should be pleased to withdraw that restriction, and leave him at liberty to pass all our acts upon the terms granted us by our charters, what will this avail, if the governor continues to think he can never be freed from the obligation of his instructions?"

More materially still, they also subjoined the articles following, viz.

"We apprehend all royal orders and instructions subject the governors to whom they are directed, and their successors too, as the governor is pleased to inform us, to the royal displeasure, unless such instructions are revoked by his Majesty's authority; and yet we cannot find that Governor Keith, to whom it was directed, or Governor Gordon his successor, or Governor Thomas, or our present governor, have ever thought themselves under any danger of incurring his Majesty's displeasure for a total neglect, and direct disobedience to the additional instruction of the Lords Justices in 1723, the original of which, we make no doubt, as well as of the instruction of 1740, is in the governor's possession; and the substance of both we know to be printed with the minutes of our House. Why then an instruction, allowed to be in force in 1723, and still unrevoked, should be cf no effect, and an additional instruction of