66 Minutes of the proceedings of the said Court on that day, that on M Jones's request to take the Oath of Office and to be admitted, the second Justice, (M! Morris declining it) deliver'd the Opinion of the Court, as follows, "That since the Commission to M Morris "grants to him a Freehold in the Office of Chief Jus'tice of this province of New Jersey, and nothing was "shewn legally to divest him thereof; this Court there"fore cannot administer the Oath of Office to M: Jones, nor admit him to enter into the Execution of the "said Office of Chief Justice, But leave his Right to "said Office, if any he has, to be determin'd by a due "Course of Law." 66 Against this Resolution, M Bernard has thought it his Duty to enter a publick Protest on Your Majesty's Behalf, as appears by his Letter to us of the 22a of March last, a Copy of which, together with an Extract of a preceeding Letter dated the 25th of Febry, We humbly beg leave to annex. Having thus fully stated to your Majesty the several particulars of the Case, We have only further to offer our humble Opinion, that your Majesty should be graciously please to referr the whole matter to your Attorney Gen!, with Directions to consider and report what Measures are most proper to be taken in Order to support your Majesty's Right of Nomination against the extraordinary and unprecedented Claim of Mr Morris. Which is most humbly submitted. DUNK HALIFAX. Whitehall 1760 } W. SLOPER. ED ELLIOT, Letter from Governor Boone to the Lords of Tradeinforming them of his arrival in New Jersey. [From P. R. O. B. T. New Jersey, Vol. 9, K, 1.] New Jersey Perth Amboy July 15th 1760 My Lords I have the Honour to acquaint your Lordships that I lost no time in transporting myself hither, after I had received my Commission from on Board the Devonshire Man of war, which was Published here on Friday the 4th with the usual Ceremony, and on the 9th following at Burlington: Nothing my Lords of moment, has occurr'd since my having assumed the administration, but I thought this Notification necessary, of my being now actually on the Spot to Receive your Lordships Commands, I have Honour to be my Lords with the utmost Respect Your Lordships most Obedient & THO: BOONE.' at the time of his appointment as Governor of New Jersey, was a citizen of South Carolina. It is be. lieved that prior to this appointment he had been a resident of the former province, although such belief is founded rather upon his own assertion than upon tradition or other testimony. The time and place of his birth, and even of his death are not definitely known, although it is almost beyond doubt that both of these events took place in England. Mr. William A. Whitehead in his "Contributions to the Early History of Perth Amboy," p. 177, says: “It seems probable, however, that he was the son of Thomas Boone, Esq., of the County of Kent, who died in the year 1749; and related in some way to two or three of the name who held important trusts under the Crown-one of them, George Boone, being Gentleman of the Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales in 1740." It is a remarkable fact that although his appointment was made November 27th, Letter from R. H. Morris to Governor Boone, setting forth the state of the dispute between him and Mr. Jones for the office of Chief Justice. Sir [From P. R. O. B. T., New Jersey, Vol. 9, K. 3.] AMBOY Augst 10th 1760 To His Excellency Gov Boone Mr Barnard having left the Province without informing you of the Circumstances, under which the Office of Chief Justice is at present held; I think it my duty to lay before your Excellency, a full state of the Matter, and am happy in having an Opportunity of Submitting my Conduct on this Occasion to a Gentleman of Your Candor and understanding. In 1738 I was Appointed Chief Justice of this Province, during good behaviour; and Continued in the Exercise of the Office till 1749, when at the request of his Majesty's Council, I went to England, to lay before the Ministry the state of the Colony, then disturbed by frequent Riots, and thrown into the utmost disorder and Confusion. In March 1754, Just before I was named to the Government of Pensilvania, I wrote to the Board of Trade, 1759, he did not receive his Commission until about the first of July, 1760, and did not meet the Provincial Assembly until the thirtieth of October following, nearly a year after the date of his appointment. In less than six months from that time, April 14th, 1761, he was appointed Governor of South Carolina, and on the thirtieth of October of the same year was superseded by Governor Hardy, who had been appointed his successor. Governor Boone seems to have made many warm friends during his brief career in New Jersey, and this was, doubtless, due to his genial manners and honesty of purpose, rather than to his learning and ability as a chief magistrate. He held the government of South Carolina a little more than two years, when, having been removed, he repaired to England, where for several years he held the office of Commissioner of the Customs. He lived through the first ten years of the present century, and how much longer we are unable to say. desiring their Lordships "would give me Leave to Resign the Office of Chief Justice." I had no Answer to that letter; And therefore as I Passed through New Jersey to Pensilvania, I made the same request to the Governor and Council; But they declined Accepting my Resignation, Saying the Offices were not incompatible, And the Provinces only separated by a River. I went on then in the Discharge of the Duties of the Place, as well as the Perplexed Affairs of Pensilvania would permit, till 1756, when having Resigned that Government, I Returned to New Jersey, and Remaind in the full Exercise of the Office till October 1757. I beg leave to Observe that in All this time; a space of near four years, I had not the least Intimation, that the Board of Trade considerd my Request of March 1754 as a Resignation. In October 1757, I obtained Leave from the President of the Council to go to England; During my stay there, I Received Information from America, that M Ainsley was, Pursuant to his Majesty's Mandamus, Appointed Chief Justice of this Province: I Expressed my surprise thereon to your Predecessor, then in London; And Endeavoured to see the Earl of Halifax, but was so unfortunate as not to have an opportunity of speaking to his Lordship upon the subject. When I returned to New Jersey, M' Ainsley was Dead, and tho' I had no doubt of my Right to Resume the Bench, Yet, as Mr Barnard apprehended it might Embarras his Administration, I declined it till he should hear from England; But He, being soon after informed of Mr Jones' Nomination, told me, I was quite at Liberty to take any measures I thought Proper, And that he wish'd nothing more than to see me established upon the Bench. The Character of Mr Jones which came here before him, and the Absurdity, to say no worse, of his behaviour, after his Arrival, greatly alarmed the People of all Ranks; And Occasioned the strongest Sollicita tions from the most considerate men in the Province, That I would insist on the Tenure of my Commission, and Resume the Bench. Your Excellency will be the Less Surprised at the Earnestness, and Apprehensions Expressd on this Occasion, As you are sensible the first seat in the Highest Court of Common Law, in the Province, is of great Importance to the Privileges and Properties of the People, and may Essentially Affect the Rights and Prerogatives of the Crown It may not be improper here to inform your Excellency, that the profits of the Office fall short of one hundred pounds Sterling A Year a sum, by no means adequate to the trouble and Expence attending the Employment. I was therefore very indifferent as to the benefits arrising from the Office, But could not be so, when the Publick safety was at stake, and the Royal Authority ready to fall into hands that must have brought it into the utmost Contempt.-Even under these Circumstances, I did not set up my Claim without acquainting M' Barnard with my intentions who, in Presence of M' Ogden and M' Read, Acquitted me Again, of any Engagements to him on the Occasion; and at the same time was Pleased to thank me for the tenderness and Regard I had shown to his Administration. For what Pass'd in Court upon M' Jones's producing his Commission, I beg leave to referr your Excellency, to the Minutes of that day, which I have the honor to inclose. My own and the Conduct of my family, who have been Constantly ingaged in Support of the Royal Authority, in these Colonies, when it stood in need of every aid, Render it unnecessary to vindicate myself, even from the surmise of Opposition to Government; For this I may Appeal to the Minutes And papers of the Board of Trade, and to the Records of this and the Neighbouring Provinces of New York and Pensil |