Lordship. The Representation he has made of the Incompetency of his Salary, and of the little Probability there is that the Assembly will make any Addition to it till he holds his Commission during good Behaviour,' is most certainly just, and is a Matter that I have repeatedly mentioned in my Dispatches to His Majesty's Ministers, so that I need not trouble your Lordship with any thing further, at this Time, in favour of M: Smith's Application.

I was in hopes, at the last Session, to have prevail'd on them to appropriate a Part of the Interest Money, to arise from the Loan of the 100,000£ proposed to be struck in Paper Bills of Credit, towards making a more adequate Provision for the Support of the Officers of Government; and I urged to them that it would be a means of recommending their Law (which has a Suspending Clause) to His Majesty, and of obtaining the Royal Allowance thereto. But they declin'd complying with my Request, and the Law directs that the Money arising from it shall be disposed of by future Acts of General Assembly. However, if the King's Confirmation of the Act is refus'd, unless they will appropriate a Part of the Interest for this Purpose; and His Majesty will at the same Time be pleas'd to specify the Allowance that should be made to each Officer of Government (an Account of whose Salaries I formerly transmitted) it is not improbable but the Assembly may be brought to a Compliance, especially as there is no Method can be devised for Raising Money for the Support of Government, which will be more agreeable to the People

I wrote to Mr Pownall a few days ago desiring him to acquaint your Lordship that Copies of the Minutes & proceedings of the last General Assembly were

1 See N. J. Archives., IX., 323-5, note.

making out, and should be transmitted to your Lordship as soon as they could be completed.

Nothing remarkable occurred during the Session, which began and ended amicably. Endeavours were indeed used to induce the Assembly to refuse (in Imitation of the Assembly of S. Carolina making any farther Provision for the King's Troops, and to adopt all the late Resolves of the Virginia Assembly but they were at length prevailed on to grant the same Supply for the Troops as heretofore, and they only concur'd in one of the Virginia Resolves, i. e. that respecting Tryals for Treason, & committed in the Colonies.

I shall do myself the Honour to write to your Lordship more particularly respecting the Laws pass'd at the last Session when I transmit them for His Majesty's Approbation.

I am, with the greatest Respect,

My Lord, Your Lordship's

most obedient, & most humble Servant WN FRANKLIN.

Memorial of Chief Justice Smyth in Gov. Franklin's Letter of December 24, 1769.

[From P. R. O., America and West Indies, Vol. 175 (193).]

To The Right Hon ble The Earl of Hillsborough one of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State &c &c &c.

The Memorial of Frederick Smyth.

Showeth.

That your Memorialist through the Patronage of your Lordship, Lord North, Lord Hallifax and M Charles Townshend about Five years since was appointed Chief-Justice of the Province of New Jersey,

and from that time hath constantly been engaged in the duties of his Station; But so far from any adequate reward for his Services from this Country, he has been under the necessity to expend his own private fortune to support an appearance in some degree suitable to his Station.

That His Excellency the Governor of this Province hath repeatedly applied to the Assembly of the Colony in order to obtain a competent Salary for your Memorialist, but without any success hitherto; nor is it probable that the Assembly will make any encrease of his allowance till a Commission can be obtained for him more independent of the Crown.

Your Memorialist therefore hopes that from this representation, together with what may be subjoined by Governor Franklin, your Lordship will be pleased to exert your influence in his behalf to obtain for him such reasonable support from the Crown for his Services as may enable him to continue in this Colony to discharge the duties of his Station.

And your Memorialist shall ever pray &c &c

FRE: SMYTH.

Letter from the Earl of Hillsborough to Governor Franklin, correcting an error in a former letter in regard to the Christian name of Mr. Skinner.

Sir,

[From P. R. O. America and West Indies, Vol. 175 (193).]

WHITEHALL, January 18th 1770

Governor Franklin

Inclosed I send you the King's gracious Speech to His Parliament at the opening of the Session on the

9th Instant together with the Addresses of both Houses and His Majesty's gracious Answers thereto.'

Allow me Sir, to correct a Mistake I made in my Letter of the 9th ultimo in the Christian Name of M! Skinner recommended to supply the Vacancy in the Council of New-Jersey, it being M: Stephen Skinner and not M Courtlandt Skinner on whom that Office has been conferred.

The King having thought fit to take the Great Seal out of the Hands of Lord Camden, it was yesterday delivered to M Charles Yorke, and it is His Majesty's intention that he should be immediately called up to the House of Lords.

I am &a
HILLSBOROUGH

Letter from Governor Franklin to Cortlandt Skinner, relative to the riotous proceedings in Monmouth County.

[From the Skinner Papers among Manuscripts of W. A. Whitehead, Vol. 2, No. 2.] NEW YORK Jan'y 28, 1770

Dear Sir

Yours of the 26th containing an Acct of the late riotous Proceedings at Monmouth' came to hand yesterday

1 Said the King: "It is needless for me to recommend to the serious attention of my parliament the state of my government in America. I have endeavoured, on my part, by every means, to bring back my subjects there to their duty, and to a due sense of lawful authority. It gives me much concern to inform you, that the success of my endeavours has not answered my expectations; and that, in some of my colonies, many persons have embarked in measures highly unwarrantable, and calculated to destroy the commercial connection between them and the mother country." To which the Lords and Commons replied in terms of suitable dutifulness, the latter assuring his Majesty: "No endeavours shall be wanting on our part, to make effectual provisions against the unwarrantable measures carried on in some of Your Majesty's colonies, which are so irreconcilable to every principle of commercial subserviency to the interest of the mother country that ought to prevail in colonies, and which, by attempting to subject the highest legal author. ity to the controul of individuals, tend to subvert the foundation of all government."-Dodsley's Annual Register for 1776, 244-7.-[W. N.]

* The riotous proceedings here spoken of originated in the bitter feeling that had for several years existed against the members of the legal profession, who were charged with growing rich, while belligerent creditors and harassed debtors were

Evening. They are of so alarming a Nature that I have thought it necessary to write to the Dep' SecTMy to Summon a Meeting of the Council at Amboy on Wed! the 7th of next Month by which Time I suppose they may be got together. I have likewise directed him to require the attendance of the Sheriff & the Justices of the County who were present at the riot, and if you think that the attendance of any others might be of Service I desire you would acquaint Mr. Bowes Read with their Names, that he may send to them at the same Time. I doubt not but the Council will be of Opinion with me that this is so audacious an Insult on Government that let the Consequences be what they may, the Offenders should be punished in the most Exemplary Manner that the Law will admit of..

becoming poor. It was claimed that law suits were multiplied at the instigation of lawyers, whose fees not only swallowed up the moneys collected by them, but brought their clients, and frequently the sheriff, in debt to them. They were denounced in no measured terms. The Stamp Act, which the lawyers had so successfully fought against, was designated as the first "Wounding and devouring serpent," but lawyers were publicly declared to be "Serpents seven times more devouring than the first, who in their daily Practice are as Private Leaches, sucking out our very Hearts Blood."-(See Pamphlet entitled " Liberty and Property without Oppression, 1769.") The excitement was intense. Petitions praying for relief against them were poured into the House of Assembly, where several of them were summoned to appear, and were subjected to long and tedious examinations. In only one instance was a conviction found, and that was in the case of Mr. Bernardus Legrange, and even in this case it was subsequently ascertained that the conviction was unjust, and an entry to that effect was ordered to be made on the Minutes of the House.

Finding it impossible to obtain satisfaction before the House of Assembly, the enemies of the lawyers resorted, at length, to violence, and in July, 1769, they collected in crowds before the Court House in Freehold, Monmouth County, and tried to prevent the lawyers from entering, but through the efforts of Richard Stockton they were defeated in this, and the ring leaders were arrested and imprisoned. In January of the following year another assault was made upon the members of the bar of Monmouth County. On this occasion the rioters entered the Court House armed with clubs and missiles, and drove the attorneys from the place, threatening them with personal violence. The business of the court was stopped completely, and it became necessary for Governor Franklin to call a special session of the Assembly, in order that an “Act be passed for reviving the process and proceeding." In Essex County similar disturbances took place, and on one occasion the stable and out-houses of David Ogden, a prominent lawyer, were burned. In this case, the rioters were arrested and punished. This outrage formed the subject of a message froin the Governor to the House of Assembly, which will be found in this volume, under date of March, 1770, as well as his proclamation on the same subject under date of March 31, 1770.