May it please your Excellency:

My indisposition by reason of a great cold increasing, and my habitation remote, makes me solicitous of getting home; and heartily to wish yo' Excellency a good journey to yo' other Governmt; but before I take my leave, I think it my duty frankly and plainly to inform your Excellency that as his most excellent Majesty, our Sovereign Lord the King, hath reposed much trust in my circumspection, &c., as Lt. Gov of this Prov: that I shall with all vigor and readiness attend His Majties service in that capacity to the utmost of my power; and in ord' hereto, I pray leave to inform your Excellency and the Honble the Council now p'sent, that summe occurrences for his Majties immediate service at this conjuncture of affairs, may unforeseen come upon us your Excellency having had sundry expresses of pirates about us, wthin a few days, and this very day-and that however I think it absolutely my incumbent duty to do my utmost service for the Hon" of the Crown and the benefit of this His Majties Governm', but as yet I have suspended doing any thing but what was more than ordinarily necessary, till yo' Excellency's Commission was lodged among us, a copy of which I have now seen; and now find when your Excellency is out of ye Prov: of N. Hamp' the Lt. Gov' governs by the King's Commission; [P. 367.] and when no Lt. Gov' on the spot, the first Council' named in yor Instructions, as amply and fully, as if yo' Excellency was in the Province of N. Hamp', and that by virtue of your instructions, in ord' to which I give it as my opinion, they should be lodged in yo Secretary's office for the benefit of his Majties Governm1.

May 20th, 1717.

GEO. VAUGHAN.

Pro: N. Hamp'.

At a Council held at Portsm°,
May 29th, 1717.

Present.

The Hon'ble Geo. Vaughan, Esq., Lt. Gov'.

His Hon' the Lt. Gov' made the following speech at the Council Board:

Gent: I am informed His Excellency Col. Shute vacated all offices civill and military, when in the Prov: of N. Hamp', and went out of it leaving none to execute pow as Justices of the peace and military officers, capable so to act.

My knowledge is by hear-say; for he never advised me nor with me in one or the other disannulling pow or giving any.

I am obliged to say, that it is strange that ye King's Governm' should be destitute of pow', especially when the Gov's repeated opinion has been, that there is no pow' but what is vested in himself and those by him ordained, tho' he be without ye limits of the Governm'.

I wd have you know, the Hon' of His Majties Commission for Lt. Govt of N. Hamp'., and the reason of my requiring your attendance at this time, is to ask yo' advice for the King's service.

I think it safe yt all civill officers should be commissionated by advice of Council; I would therefore have you consider amongst yourselves ye necessary for the service of the [P. 368.] Governm'.

I have examined the Clerk's minutes & find no such thing there sett down; I have enquired of him & other councill, whose advice was never asked, & know nothing of the affair. I have heard that a Commission of the Peace was left. I have askt the Clerk if he inserted the names therein pr the Govs order: he answered, No: Again, whether the Gov" left the Coms with him: He answered, No; but that the Gov told him there was a Commission of the Peace left wth Mr. Penhallow to be delivered to him again; when Mr. Penhallow give him that Commission he answered not at all, but that it was given. him by Mr. Jaffrey, on Fryday last.

Gent: I am sorry that I myself, and many of his Majic Council should be ignorant of these matters, that we might have given our advice for the King's and the Governm best interest, as we are ready and sworn to do.

I am impowered by my own as well as by the Gov" Commission to act when he is out of the Province; and will endeavour faithfully to execute the trust reposed in me,

and expect to meet wth no obstruction from any of the King's ministers in all reasonable and lawful matters.

The limitts of the Prov: is exprest in Col. Shute's Commission, and when he is not wthin them limitts, but forty miles distant, he must be out of said Prov:, and, consequently absent, & if so, uncapable of acting as Commanderin-chief till his return into sd Province, wch are the plain words of his Commission. I expect your advice and opinion to be given me in writing, and therefore will direct the clerk to wait on you with a copy of wt I have said. In fine, Gent"-tis demanded of you whether or no I am vested wth powr as Lt. Govt & Commander-in-Chief, his Excellency Col. Shute being at Boston.

May 29th 1717.

GEORGE VAUGHAN.

[P. 369.] The aforesaid speech being read, the Lt. Gov' withdrew, & then the speech was read a 24 time; after which the clerk was askt pr ye Council, whether he had waited on the Lt. Gov' wth the Commission of the Peace: he answered, That as soon as he had it in his custody, he informed the Lt. Govt of it, & told him, that it was his Excellency's direction to the Lt. Gov' sent by the clerk of the Council, to summon ye Council to meet and swear the gentm inserted in sd Commission.

Adjourned to 4 o'clock, P. M.

Pro: N. Hamp'.

Met according to adjournm'.

Present, as before-except ye Lt. Gov'.

In answer to his Honor, the Lt. Gov's speech, yo Coununcil say, That 'tis their opinion That the Commission of ye Peace left in the Prov: by his Excellency Gov' Shute is good, and that ye Gent" inserted in s Commission ought to be forthwith sworn; and further, that ye Commission was filled up pr ye Gov' by ye advice & in ye presence of a maj part of ye Council, & and also that all ye officers, commissioned by him should be forthwth sworn, that are not so already.

Pro. of N. Hamp'.

At a Council held at Portsm°, June

4th, 1717.

Present.

The Honble Geo. Vaughan, Esq. Lt. Gov'.

Sam' Penhallow

Mark Hunking,

Esqs.

Jno. Wentworth, Esqs. Geo. Jaffrey,

Thoms Westbrook, Esq.

The Commission of the Peace being read at the Council board, Sam' Penhallow & John Wentworth, Esqs., took ye oaths appointed to be taken, instead of ye oaths of allegi ance and supremacy, ye abjuration oaths & the oath of a Justice of ye Peace.

Rich Waldron, James Davis, Nichs Gillman, Sam' Thing, Sam' Easman, Jotham Odiorne, Jno. Gillman and Andrew Wiggin, being inserted in ye Commission [P. 370.] of the Peace, took the oaths, &c.

His Honor, the Lt. Gov', was pleased to make the following speech at this board:

Gent".

I understand an Express was sent to Boston: if the King's service required it, why was it not made known to me? I expect no such thing be done for ye future, as any will answer it at their perill.

I expect to be treated honorably and according to y Commission I am intrusted with, & will allow of no pow' to dispense wth orders and warrts for any thing, but are immediately warranted so to do from his Maj; & none of the Council is so, when the King's Gov' or Lt. Gov is on the spot: therefore, let it not be so again.

GEORGE VAUGHAN.

His Honor, the Lt. Gov told Mr. Treasurer Penhallow that it was his direction to him that no money should be paid out of ye treasury, but by warrt therefor, wch is agreeable to the King's Commission.

Majr Peter Wear & Mr. Nath' Sargent appeared at yo Council board & took ye oaths as Justices; they being inserted in y Commission of the Peace.

Nath' Wear, Shad. Walton, & Thos Packer, Esqs. also took the oaths as Justices, they being inserted in s Commission.

John Frost, Esq. command of the ship Bonetta Pinck, [P. 371.] & Mr. Pasco Foot his mate, & James Philpot boatswain, appeared at this board and made oath, as follows: That in the latitude 36, bound from Barbadoes to Piscataqua, they were taken by a pirate ship called the Le Grand ;master, on the 4th of this instant July, who took from them & destroyed at forty hogsheads of rum, a hogshead and several barr's of sugar, a negro man, together wth other goods; and very much damnafyed ye ship sails and rigging: wherefore the sd John Frost, saveing himself and own" doth, by these presents, protest agst ye sd Pirate for all damages sustained thereby. The s pirate ship had 170 men, 20 guns & was 250 tons.

The Information concerning sd pirate is on file, dated July 15, 1717.

Pro: N. Hamp".

At a Council held at Portsm° July 17, 1717.
Present.

His Hon' the Lt. Gov.

All the Council except Capt. Gerrish.

This day the Commission officers of the Militia of the Prov: of N. Hamp' being notifyed to appear, came to the Council board & there received Commission in Gov' Shute's name & took ye oaths accordingly.

Col. Packer this day took ye oaths as a Justice of ye superiour Court of Judicature.