her sacred Matie's Commands in giving such aid & assistance, in men or otherwise, for the securitie of this province from the attempts of the French or Indians, as the Condion of the rexive plantaon shall permitt. MILES CARY, Ordered, That the sd Wm. Salway be paid the remaindr of his travelling charges allowed him by order of this board the first instant, viz: Twenty shillings per diem, Hee having been outt ten dayes; and for his Loss of time and service, six pounds; and that it be paid outt of their matie's moiety of the pennie pe pound tax. Charles pickering, in behalf of the widdow Wynne, having preferred a petion to the Leivt. Governor and Councill, setting forth that her Husband, Thomas Wynne, Late of Sussex Countie, deceased, had been Summoned to the Court of New Castle, to ansr the Complaint of Adam Short and others, But falling sick, dyed 3 or 4 hours befor Judgmt passed agt him att the said Court, and that the original process agt her husband was by a wrong name, and therefore requested that the execution be stopt, and that the petionr have a fair tryall. After debate upon this matter, and production of the Copie of the records of the Court of New Castle, undr the Clark's hand, wherein the petitioner's husband was written Thomas Guin, (but his true sirname was Wynne,) Resolved, that the whole tryall be referred to the next provinciall Court to be held for Sussex Countie, & that in the meantime execuon be suspended. [9th Decembr, 1693. Att a Councill Held att philadelphia the 9th of December, 1693. PRESENT: WILLIAM MARKHAM, Esqr., Leivt. Governor. Andrew Robeson, Esqrs. Robert Turner, Pat. Robinson, Secrie. John Chaffin, Mr. of the Barque pearl, now ryding att anchor before philadelphia, having preferred a petion to the Leivt. Governor & Councill, setting forth that ther is a sute depending between Jasper yeates, pltf. & the petitionr, in the Court of Common pleas, & that he had waited on the sd Court for 3 dayes, but could not come to tryall, and that hee is informed by the Justices that by reason of the Limitaon of their Commission, they cannot anie longer hold the sd Court, and the petitionr being on a dispatch with his vessell before the frost shut up the river, Therefore Requested the Leivt. Governor & Councill to take the emergencie of this Case into consideration, & to appoint such speedie remedy as the occasion requires; And the Justices having sitt 3 dayes upon actions commenced before this, & they thinking it unsafe to act contrarie to his Excellie's Commission, which Limitts their sitting to 3 dayes & no longer; And the Leivt. Governor having read to the Councill the 3d article of his instruc tions from his Excellie, which prohibited him to act with a Quorum less than 5 members, except in case of necessitie, the Leivt. Governor and Councill Concluded this to be such; And upon examinaon of the Justices' Commission, which was dated the first day of May Last, It was found to Limit them to sitt 3 dayes and no longer, And it being compared with the Law published the 3d of June, 1693, which ordered the Countie Courts to be held and keept Quarterlie, and oftener if occasion be. It was Resolved, That the Leivt. Governor should make such an Indorsement upon the back of his Excellies Commission to the Justices, that it might thereby answer the end of the Law, which was done in these words: pennsilvania y 9th of December, 1693. WM. MARKHAM, Esqr. Leivt. Governor, of the province of pennsilvania, &c., by authoritie derived to me from his Excellie, with the advice of the Councill, doe (notwithstanding the Limitaon of the within Commission to 3 dayes and no Longer) hereby authorize you, the Justices within named, to keep yor Courts quarterlie, and oftener if occasion be, according to the Late Law. [19th December, 1693. WM. MARKHAM, Seal. Att a Councill Held att philadelphia the 19th of December, 1693. His Excellies Lettr directed to the Lievt. Governor & Councill, dated 7th decembr instant, was deliberatlie read; After which the Leivt. Governor said, that it was absolutlie necessarie that the governmt should be Supported, & that the method proposed by his Excelly in the said Letter, was the most easie way to accomplish it; And therefore, eatnestlie Requested the members of Councill, according to the rexive influence that each of them had on the people of the severall ranks and condions in the severall Counties, that they wold use their outmost endeavours before & att the elections, to persuade and advise the people to choose such representatives as may answer ther majesties & his Excellies Just expectations; for said hee, Wee have all some influence, some more some Less; And you that can give reasons to the people, & can resolve their doubts, It is your dutie to do it; and you must all use the best methods & your outmost interest for that end: for my part I shall not be wanting, as I am able. The Councill ansred that they wold doe their endeavour. As to the Collusion in the assessment in his Excellies Letter mentioned, and his Excellies desire to have it rectified, & to know the state and amount of that affair, It was ansred by the Leivt. Governor, That hee and the Councill having formerlie heard of the assessors of Chester Countie, Their underrating the people, did write to them, and therafter they somewhat rectified it; And the Secrie told ym that by ordr of the Lievt. Governor and Councill, dated the 19th 7br, 1693, hee wrote to the representatives & assessors of all the six Counties, to send in their rates to the Lievt. Governor, but had received none but from kent, philadelphia & Bucks; and Robert Turner, esqr. said that hee had wrote to Bucks and Chester about the same. Ordered, That the state and amount of the rate of each Countie be sent to his Excellencie, and the Lievt. Governor said that he wold write to ym that had not sent in their rates, That they should send them in Speedilie, att their outmost perrill: Which Letters were that day writt by the Secrie, signed by the Lievt. Governor, and sent by the Secrie to each of the deficient Counties. Upon the petion of the Inhabitants of Radnor, requesting a road to be Laid outt from the upper part of the sd. townshipp of Radnor unto marion ford; And of Andrew Robeson & Lawrence Cock, Esqrs., Requesting a confirmaon of the road that now is from marionford to philadelphia, and that it come into the third street in the sd towne. Ordered, That a warrant from the Leivt Governor be directed to the Surveyor generall, to Lay outt the roads desired, and that the same may be Confirmed accordinglie, and that a return therof be made into the Secrie's office, in order to a finall Confirmaon of the same. [Information agt Ann Le Tort. Thomas Jenner and polycarpus Rose exhibited to the Leivt. Governor & Councill the informaon following, viz: The informaon of Thomas Jenner & polycarpus Rose, concerning some passages & discourses that hath been betwixt the french people here & some of the pennsilvania Indians: 10. The Informant, polycarpus Rose, saith, That about 5 weeks since, this informant having some discourse with a certain Indian king called Hicquoqueen, The said Indian resented the unkindness of the English to the Indians here; and further said, that they were not Like to hold the Land much longer; for that they were not satisfied for it; and that the french told him that it wold not be long ere they wold buy their Land of them again, for the English had but borrowed it, and that they could not be so kind to them becaus of the English; and this was particularlie told him by peter Bassillion and madam Le Tort. 20. The informants, Thomas Jenner and polycarpus Rose, say that about a month since they were in Compa. with Benjn Clift, att Zechariah Whitpain's plantaon, where the said Clift said, that one Thomas Graves & hee being together, The Indians up Delaware told him that the French wold come in the spring of the year and burn the English, and take the Countrie for ymselves. 30. peter Yokum also told ym, that since the Letters that the Indian woman discovered about a year agoe, ther hath been strange Indians come to Letort's plantaon, & sent away again, and gave no accot to the Indian king from whence they came or whether they went; peter Yokum saith that severall Indians told him so; viz: Shakhuppo, Kyentarrah's wife, Olemeon's wife. 40. They further say, That upon the 9th of Decembr, 1693, They ryding by the house of madam Le Tort, polycarpus asked her hou shee did. Shee ansred, where have you been. Hee said, att peter Yokum's. Shee said, ther was no path for sweads or English rogues there, for no English Rogue nor swead should come on her ground; and run in a furie with a horse whipp & whippt polycarpus, and called for Lewis to help her, a french Canada prisoner taken by or Indians, and these informants and mounce Yokum wer forced to ryde away, for fear they should have been shott, but saw no gunn. 50. polycarpus Rose saith, That about a year since ther was a packett of Letters sent from philadelphia from peter Basilion, Capt. Dubrois & madam Letort, to the strange Indians called Shallnarooners, Sealed up in a blue Linnen cloath, and was left at James Standfield's plantaon by Richard Basilion's Servant, who then run away, and the Letters being there 3 dayes, James, the Frenchman, Came & caryed ym away, who then belonged to the persons abovesaid. THOMAS JENNER, Signed, POLYCARPUS, P. C. ROSE, his mark. Dated the 12th decembr, 1692. polycarpus Rose having sworn to the first article ; Thomas Jenner having attested, & polycarpus Rose sworn to the 2d article; polycarpus Rose & peter Yokum having sworn, & Thomas Jenner having attested to the 3d article; polycarpus Rose having sworn, & Thomas Jenner having attested to the 4th article; And polycarpus Rose having sworn to the Last article of the sd Informaon. Itt was ordered, that the sd Ann Le Tort appear att this board the 29th instant, & that Capt Dubrois and peter Bisalion, when they return from the Lower Counties, be sent for by a warrt to appear as above, to ansr to the said Complaint; And yt the Indian king, Hicquoqueen, be sent for, Shakhuppo, kyantaro's wife, Olemeon's wife, mounce Yokum, and Lewis, the French Canada prisonr, also Benju Clift & Thomas graves; and yt Capt. Cock take care to give ym notice hereof. [29th Decembr, 1693. The Leivt. Governor & Lacy Cock onlie present, Ann Le Tort appeared, in obedience to the ordr of Councill, & was readie to ansr to ye sd information, but none of the informers or witnesses appearing, shee humblie desired that she might not be again sent for till the extremetie of the weather was over, she having no person att home, remote in the woods, to be att her house in her absence. PROVINCE OF PENNSILVANIA, AND COUNTREY OF NEW-CASTLE. Minutes of Councill in the Assembly, Anno R. Ret. Ra Willielmi et Marie Angliæ, &c., Quinto. [15th May, 1693. Att a Councill Held at philadelphia On a Moonday the 15th of May, 1693. PRESENT: His Excell. BENJAMIN FLETCHER, &c. WILLIAM MARKHAM, Esqr., Livet. Governor. The persons Returned for Representatives being in number Twenty, viz: foure for the County of Philadelphia, three for the County of Bucks, three for the County of Chester, foure for the Countie of New castle, three for the County of kent, & three for the Countie of Sussex, came to wait upon his Excell. in Councill, and wer admitted. Six of them took the oaths appointed by act of parliament to be taken instead of the oaths of allegiance & Supremacie, & subscribed the test; the other fourteen did subscribe the declaraon of fidelitie, profession of the Christian faith, and Test. After which his Excell. did speak to them as followeth, viz: Gentlemen: Before you goe to the Choice of your Speaker, I think it Convenient to let you see by what authoritie you are Convened: my reason is, becaus I observed some commissionated by your proprietor did withdraw themselves att the publishing of their Maties' Comission; Others have refused to act under that power, and manie of you wer absent att that time. Then the Clark, by his Excell. order, did read the Commissions, Upon which his Excell. continued to say: Gentlemen: You see by the Clauses of these two patents relating to Assemblies, that you are all obliged, befor you can be qualified to Sitt, to take these Oaths prescribed by Law. Yet I have some Latitude in my Instructions, which enables me to admitt such to act in the Government as for Conscience sake Refuse an Oath, and are yet willing to make their Protestation and Subscribe the Test, &c. It has ever been my endeavour & desire to act soe as that all people under my care might be in Love with their maties' Government and Laws, and am therefor willing to allow such to sitt in this house of representatives, as are chosen by the freeholders of the rexive Counties, who not being free to take an Oath, are willing to perform the other obligations: Provided this be entered in the Journals of your house as an act of grace from their majesties, and not taken as a president. Gentlemen: I must add, if there be anie amongst you who doe not take an oath, whom you cannot own as members of yor Comunion, but may, under that pretence, shelter themselves from what the Law requires, pray Let me know them, otherwise you will bring a blemish upon yorselves by Countenancing Hypocrites. And in this matter I |