necessity to suffer rather than to pay) and that concerning unnecessary disputes with the governor, as containing sundry matters of an extraordinary nature, for consideration; and in the mean time, the house plyed the governor with message after message, concerning the bill for regulating their Indian trade, and that for the supply. Both parties apparently wanted to gain time. It was equally dangerous for the assembly to provoke or parley with a multitude; and nothing but new matter from the frontier could give the governor any new advantage over them.

His answer to the assembly on the 14th of November was, "That he had given the bill relating to the Indian trade to his clerk to transcribe;" and that, as to the other, "He was then reconsidering it according to the request of the house; and when he came to any resolution upon it, the house might expect his final answer; but he did not know when that would be."

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What the doctrine was, established in the province, concerning suspending clauses, is already before the reader, and consequently the inference, in case the assembly had been weak enough to swallow the bait thus hung out for them.-But they were neither to be so amused by him, nor so terrified by his allies without doors, as either to forego the use of their understandings, or to act with their eyes open as if they had no eyes at all.

Having, therefore, sufficiently canvassed the matter, they first resolved, that they would adhere to their bill without admitting any of the governor's proposed amendments; and then, to make him sensible, that they also had some artillery to ply, as well as he, they farther resolved, "That, in case the governor should persist in refusing his assent to their bill, which was so just and equitable in its nature, and so absolutely necessary at that time for the welfare of the British interest in America, after he should receive the answer of the house to his message then under consideration, they would make their appeal to the throne by remonstrance, humbly beseeching his majesty to cause their present governor to

This vote was unanimous: and they farther took notice in their minutes of some dissatisfaction expressed at an Indian treaty held in the year 1753, by one of the chiefs of the Shawanese, and some promise made to him on the behalf of the proprietaries, which had not been complied with.

At last, on the 17th, that is to say, after having been again quickened by another message, he sent down the latter with a paper of amendments, and a written message different both in matter and manner from, but alto-be removed, or take such other measures as gether as illusory as the former. For, having might prevent the fatal consequences likely maintained, as before, that he was not author- to ensue from his conduct." ized by his commission to pass such a bill, and yet agreed with the assembly, that their dispute must, in the end, be determined by his majesty, he changed his objection from the thing to the mode, which he argued was unprecedented, and, in effect, impracticable: for, he said, "The king could not properly give his assent to some parts of an act and reject others; and he then suggested another expedient, namely, for the house to adopt his own amendments sent down with the bill, by which the proprietary estate was entirely exempted; and to prepare and pass another bill, whereby the said estate was to be taxed in the same proportion with every other estate, only not by assessors chosen by the people, but by commissioners reciprocally chosen by himself and the assembly, and also named in the bill; together with a suspending clause, that the same should not take effect till it had received his majesty's approbation. All was closed with a sort of protestation, that nothing but an implicit confidence in his majesty's goodness and justice, that he would disapprove it if it was wrong, and his own most sincere and ardent desire of doing every thing in his power for the good and security of the people committed to his care, could have induced him to pass a law in any shape for taxing the said estate; and a predecision, that if they were equally sincere and equally affected with the distresses and miseries of their bleeding country, they could have no objection to this method of affording immediate succour and relief."

The governor, on the other hand, sent down the secretary with intelligence of another massacre committed by the Indians at a place called Tulpehocken; and in a written message farther observed on the supply bill, he had returned, "that no money could be issued in virtue of it till the next January; before which the greatest part of the province might be laid waste, and the people destroyed or driven from their habitations; thence proceeded to demand an immediate supply of money; and concluded with a signification, that, should they enable him to raise money on the present occasion, a law founded on the act of parliament for punishing mutiny and desertion, would be absolutely necessary for the government of them, when not joined with his majesty's regular troops."

This was no sooner read than the house adjusted their answer to his former message, in which "They maintained the propriety of their bill in point of mode as well as matter: that conditional or alternative clauses were far from being unprecedented; that the act was so constructed as to be complete either way; that, on the contrary, in pursuing the other method recommended, of passing two bills diametrically contradictory to each other,

would lay the foundation of such an agreement as might conduce to the general benefit of all concerned, and prevent the necessity they should otherwise be under, of making an immediate application and complaint against him to their sovereign."

n the same breath, they might be justly ments a reasonable one. Lastly, they made charged with doing what would be not only un- it their request, that since, at such a time as precedented and absurd, but what would infal- that, disputes and contentions between differlibly secure the end aimed at by the governor, ent parts of the government could not but be to wit, exempting the proprietaries from tax-extremely prejudicial both to the king's seration; that as to the expedient of assessing vice and the welfare of the country, they the proprietary estate by commissioners in- might be thenceforth laid aside; and that the stead of assessors, they did not see the neces-governor, by passing this just and equitable bill, sity of it; that the lords of parliament had, in the year 1692, proposed a like amendment to a money-bill, but finding it could not be carried, had dropped it then, and never revived it since; that it was one of the most valuable rights of British subjects to have their money-bills accepted without amendments, a They accompanied this message with cerright not to be given up without destroying tain extracts from the journals of parliament, the constitution, and incurring greater and concerning the claims of the lords and the more lasting mischiefs than the grant of mo- perseverance of the commons in rejecting ney can prevent; that of the twenty amend them; they also, in a separate message, apments offered by the governor to the fifty plied for information concerning the Shawathousand pounds bill of the last assembly, the nese affair before-mentioned; and in a farther present assembly had admitted every one of message they apprized him, "That their treathem that was of any consequence into the sury was quite exhausted by the heavy expresent bill, merely for the sake of avoiding penses lately incurred, and that they knew of all dispute, except that of exempting the pro- no way of raising money so expeditiously as prietary estate; and even that had been so that proposed by the bill then before the gomodified as they imagined no objection could vernor." After which they subjoined the folremain; that they found, however, in this in-lowing expressions, "It is true, the money instance, how endless it was to admit such tended to be struck, may not be current bechanges seeing the governor now wanted fore the thirty-first of December; but as that to amend his own amendments, add to his is not more than six weeks, there is no doubt own additions, and alter his own alterations; but that labour, service, and any thing else so that, though they should now accede to that money can purchase among us, may be these, they could not be sure of being ever had on credit for so short a time, if the bill the nearer to a conclusion; that, as the pass-passes; and in consideration of the necessity ing the proposed separate bill was equally inconsistent with the governor's construction of the prohibitory clause in his commission, which he seemed now to have got over; so they hoped he would not, for the sake of a mere opinion, concerning mode and propriety, any longer refuse a bill of so great importance to his majesty's service, and even the proprietary estate, going daily to ruin, as well as the relief of the province; and that the same implicit confidence in his majesty's goodness, which induced him to pass such a bill in any shape, might also encourage him to believe, that any little impropriety, if any there was, would be graciously passed over; that, if there could be any doubts, which was most affected with the miseries of the province; they, who were most of them natives of it, and who had all of them their estates there, or he, a stranger among them; a consideration of the many bills they had offered in vain for its relief, and their earnest endea-peated. vours to give such great sums to that end, would solve them all; and that, upon the whole, the house adhered to their bill without amendments; because it was a money-bill; because the whole sum was granted to the crown, and to be paid out of the pockets of the subject; and because it was in their judg

of affording timely assistance to the distressed inhabitants in the back counties, we sincerely hope, and once more earnestly entreat, that the governor will no longer refuse or delay his assent to it."

At this time the house had a militia bill under their consideration, framed in compliance with the request of sundry petitions they had received, setting forth, "that the petitioners were very willing to defend themselves and country, and desirous of being formed into regular bodies for that purpose, under proper officers, with legal authority:" the bill therefore was, as the title expressed, "for the better ordering and regulating such as are willing and desirous of being united for military purposes." It gave these the powers they desired, without compelling others who might be conscientiously against bearing arms. In which respect it conformed with the governor's particular recommendation often re

This bill was sent up to him on the twenty. first; and, at the same time, the house called upon him for his result on the bills already before him.

Nothing is more true, than, that the more clearly and unanswerably you convince a man that he is in the wrong, the more you exas

perate him against you; and never was any thereby, he said he should leave among the truth more strongly illustrated than this ap- rest of the groundless charges against him." pears to have been in the person of this high Condescend he did, however, to offer one and mighty governor. He could not forgive amendment more, which, according to him, the assembly, because they had put him out was to reconcile all: namely, by the addition of conceit with himself: and the poorer he of the following words to the exemption clause found himself in arguments, the more strongly proposed to be added to the first bill, to wit: his passions excited him to make use of invec-"The estates of the honourable Thomas Penn tives. Invective became his only resource then; and the little power he had over himself, yet farther showed how unfit he was to be a governor.

and Richard Penn, esquires, excepted; which shall be taxed in the manner directed by a particular law, passed or to be passed for that purpose." Not willing, however, to rest the controversy here, he proceeded to declare, "that their extracts from the journals of parliament proved nothing to the purpose for which they were quoted; the constitution of England and the constitution of Pennsylvania being no way similar; that how many soever of his former amendments they had admitted, their leaving out the most material one, made the proposal of a separate bill a necessary expedient: so that they had no reason for bursting out into such a lofty strain of rhetoric concerning his amending his amendments, &c. That as to the number of money bills he had rejected, they were but five in all, and all rejected for sufficient reasons, [such as we have seen!] and that, if they were disposed to relieve their country, they had many other ways, to which he should have no ob

topic, and his being treated as a stranger, he takes a retrospect of their conduct, with an intent to show, that they had treated Mr. Hamilton, though, a native, with as many abuses as they had treated him; and here occurs a paragraph or two which must be inserted verbatim, viz.

Having pronounced his proposal to the assembly to be a reasonable one, and declared himself no less astonished than grieved, that they should reject it; and, more especially, as their best argument for so doing was founded on a new and lofty claim of privilege, he endeavours both to prove the novelty and account for the assumption of it, by saying, "It had never been heard of, till towards the close of Mr. Hamilton's administration, and that the assembly being then pressed on the subject of defence, first introduced and have since continued their claim: either wholly to avoid giving money for warlike purposes, or to arrogate unwarrantable powers to themselves." To certain extracts from the minutes of the council, sent together with this message to them, he then referred for his proofs, that the governor's right to amend money-jection." Proceeding then to the personal bills was never till then questioned; and after upbraiding them, in his way, for risking the rejection of so important an act, on account of the proprietary exemption, resolved all their reason for adhering to what he called, the indirect and perplexed method of their bill, into their sovereign pleasure to have it so. The same paragraph contained also some strange insinuations, "That, not daring to trust their cause on its own bottom, they had chosen to blend both bills together, that they might have a better chance of having their chief governor and his estate subjected to their mercy." And what with his implicit confidence, that the crown, in the common method, would neither pass that or any other law for the sake of the greatest sums, if the proprietary claim to an exemption was just in itself; and what with his foresight of manifest inconveniences that might ensue from a total rejection thereof (which he himself had nevertheless persevered in doing.) The next paragraph is hardly to be deciphered at all, except that in the close of it, he attempts to justify his own uncommon method, by saying, "he had separated the two parts of the bill, that the province might be served either way; [which the assembly had been altogether as provident of before.] Any absurdity in this method he professed himself unable to discover; and the good-natured construction put upon it by them, of his intending to secure an infallible exemption to the proprietary estate

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And here, was I inclined to go beyond my own times, I might begin with reminding you how contemptuously you treated the proprietary offer of four hundred pounds, for erecting a place of strength on the Ohio, together with an offer of one hundred pounds per annum towards its support; which offers were made at a time when your concurrence would probably have prevented many of the calamities we now groan under.

"I might also observe, that when Mr. Hamilton first called upon you, pursuant to his majesty's orders, to grant such supplies as would enable him to draw forth the strength of the province, and to repel force by force, you would not admit that the French encroachments and fortifications on the Ohio were within our limits, or his majesty's dominions; thereby seeking an excuse to avoid doing what was required of you."

He had also the disingenuity to mention the late defeat of his majesty's forces, in express terms as having happened, "for want of that timely support and assistance which it was in the power of the province to have afforded." And having again declared, that he could not

recede from his amendments, and expressed | through the rest of his majesty's colonies along his satisfaction at their intended complaint the continent. against him, he concluded with the two fol- And the third not only notified the receipt lowing paragraphs, which are equally insidious, injurious, and unbecoming.

"Upon the whole, it appears clear to me, that you never intended that any of your bills should pass for raising money to defend the province; and this seems now to be placed beyond all dispute, since those people, under whose influence you are chiefly known to be, are said to have declared publicly to you, that they would sooner suffer than pay towards such purposes.

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However, I shall put one proof more, both of your sincerity and mine, in our professions of regard for the public, by offering to agree to any bill, in the present exigency, which it is consistent with my duty to pass, lest, before our present disputes can be brought to an issue, we should neither have a privilege to dispute about, nor a country to dispute

in."

of the proprietaries' despatches above-mentioned, but farther specified, "That, such was their care and regard for the people, that they had no sooner received the account he had sent them of general Braddock's defeat, than they sent him an order upon their receivergeneral for five thousand pounds, as a free gift to the public, to be applied to such uses as that event might make necessary for the common security of the province; that he had directed the said receiver-general to have the money ready as soon as possible; and that it should be paid by such persons as should be appointed by act of assembly for the disposition of any sum they might think necessary for the defence of the province in that time of danger." Two other clauses were also added: one importing, "That this timely and generous instance of the proprietaries' care and anxiety for the inhabitants, could not fail making the most lasting impression upon the

and the other, "That the governor upon that occasion again recommended it to them to lay aside all disputes, and to grant such supplies in addition to what the proprietaries had given, as his majesty's service and the pressing exigencies of the province required."

Together with this message, the secretary also brought down another altogether as ex-minds of every well-wisher to that country;" traordinary, in which the governor acquaints the house, "that he had considered their bill, for the better ordering and regulating such as were willing and desirous to be united for military purposes within that province; and though there were many things in it of a very extraordinary nature, and that he was convinced it would never answer the purpose of defending the province, even if it could be carried into execution, in any reasonable time, which he was afraid it could not, yet, to show he was desirous of doing any thing that had even a chance of contributing to the safety of the province, he should consent to it in the shape they had sent it, as it would be entering into new disputes, should he amend it properly."

And what is, perhaps, more extraordinary still, the governor on the same day, namely, Saturday, November 22, received some despatches from the proprietaries, the contents of which he did not communicate to the house till the Monday following; by which time he was ready to unmask such a variety of batteries, as he thought would be sufficient, by their very noise alone, so to intimidate his antagonists at least, that they should not presume to make him such a return to his last message as they had done to his former.

That they might not, however, have any merit to plead on either of these heads, but might seem to be driven by force into every such measure as was thus recommended, on the very next day after this, and before it was possible for them to come properly to any resolutions at all; came again the mayor of Philadelphia, having now also prevailed with his corporation to join him and his prompters, with a remonstrance, in a style altogether dictatorial, "reproaching them with loosing their time in deliberations, while their fellowsubjects were exposed to slaughter, and in debates about privileges while they were deprived of the great first privilege of self-preservation, and requiring them to postpone all disputes, grant necessary supplies, and pass a reasonable law for establishing a militia; and in the close of it, recommending despatch, as the people seemed already in a deplorable and desperate state, and they feared it would not be possible to preserve the peace and quiet of the city, or of the province itself, much longer."

The first was a report from his council, containing such a discussion of Indian affairs as The house, notwithstanding, to be consistwas to be taken for a discharge in fall of the ent in all things, called, in the first place, Shawanese complaints mentioned in a mes-upon their committee for the answer they sage from the assembly, at their first sitting, in consequence of the governor's summons.

The second was a call upon them to provide for a swarm of French inhabitants banished out of Nova Scotia by governor Lawrence, and sent at a venture to be distributed

were directed to prepare to the governor's last invective, which was ready, and in substance as follows; to wit,

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That if they could be astonished at any thing which came from their governor, they should be astonished at his repeating charges