Commissioners, marking out to them the method in which they are to proceed in the discharge of their Trust, and the particular points to which it may be necessary they should direct their Enquiry.

As to the questions which have arisen concerning the Property of Lands, as no Judgment or Determination has ever been given in the Courts of Law there upon any one point, it was not possible for Us to state the same in our aforemention'd Report with that precision which might enable your Lordships to form an Opinion thereupon, and We submit to your Lordships whether the Method proposed by the Attorney and Solicitor General of bringing the particular Claims to a final Determination in a judicial way, is not a very prudent and effectual one, & whether it is not adviseable that Instructions should be sent to His Majesty's Governor of the said Province conformable thereto. We are My Lords,

Your Lordships most Obedient and most humble
Servants,

DUNK HALIFAX.

CHARLES TOWNSHEND
ANDREW STONE.

JAMES OSWALD.

Ex

Letter from Governor Clinton, of New York, to Robert Hunter Morris, in England-leave of absence denied.

[From original in papers of R. H. Morris in Library of N. J. Hist. Soc., Vol. I, No. 45.]

To my great Surprize & disappointment, I received, by the Nebuchadnezar, a Letter from Lord Holdernesse, signifying His Majesty's Commands (dated 30

April) for me to remain in my Government, and a hint that my Leave which expired 1st Instant, would not be renewed. This you may imagine was a very great Shock to me, as all my Goods were on board the Centaur, and my time of sailing fixed to next Thursday, in Short, it laid me under such a Dilemma, that I was in doubt what to do, and believe I should have ventured to have gone away nevertheless, had not M Alexander by his persuasions and arguments convinced me of the fatal Consequences of breaking the King's Orders, [tho I very much doubt His Majesty's knowing any thing of the matter.]'

I am positively assured, that there must have been some clandestine dealings used, even to trick me out of my Leave, for from the 30th of April (the date of his Lordship's Letter) I had full two months before it expired; and what gives me more Surprize is the keeping the Order so secret, that not one of my Friends gave me the least intimation of it, tho' it had been whispered about here for this Month or Six Weeks past. The Livingstons and others here, have Letters from their Correspondents that the Lords Loodon, Kinowl, Hume, Tankerville, as well as St Thomas Robinson & St Peter Warren are all laying in to supersede me. So that the very best and the only prospect I have of getting home is to quit my Government and Company, and very probably to a Person, disagreeable to me and my Friends here.

It is not unlikely that the Ship, which brings over my Successor, may be ordered only to touch here to land him, and proceed on to the West Indies; [or some other service] What then can I do? divested of my Government, liable to the insults of a dareing Faction, and deprived of any means to get home, unless in a

The words within brackets were added in a duplicate letter bearing the same date.-ED.

Merchantman much to the Discredit of His Majesty's Governor, my Family and the Rank I bear in the Navy.

Only please S', to reflect how much I am embarrassed, and use your utmost endeavours jointly with all my Friends to extricate me, which I make not the least doubt you will do all in your power to accomplish. I have wrote to M' Catherwood fully on this Subject, with whom you will be so good as to consult, what ways and means I may be relieved by.

Your Favour from Bath of 12th May I received and am Sorry for the occasion. I would have wrote this myself but am much indisposed.

I am with great Truth S

Your very humble Servant

G. CLINTON.

[The duplicate of this letter, with some additional matter, was received by Mr. Morris, in London, Oct. 21, 1752, and bears this endorsement in his own handwriting: "Octo. 25. Dined with Pownall of Sedgeck. at Gov Shirleys-in the course of ye conversasion Pownall said there was an Affid come to the Board, that M Clinton had taken Money for an office & that M' Holland had forty pounds for managing the Matter." -ED.]

Letter from Governor Belcher to Mr. Shippen, of Philadelphia-about sending an agent to England to solicit aid for the College.

[From Belcher Papers in Library of N. J. Hist. Soc.]

Aug. 3 1752

Sir

MR SHIPPEN

I am sensible you are heartily engagd to promote the Welfare of our Infant College the Establishment and growth whereof will but crawl along for many

years to come unless some suitable person can be found to go Home and Solicit the Aid & benefactions of our Friends in England and Scotland and to this end I have wrote Mr. Hazard' that I think the Revd Mr Tennent a very suitable person and I desire you to give him my kind Respects and let him know I believe it the general Request of the Trustees that he wou'd undertake a voya in favor of the College.

You will remember that the 16: of next mo. is to be the Commencem' at Newark * I hope you,

*

Mr. Tennent & M' Hazard will not fail to come for it is high time to fix the place for building of the College and to put it forward without any further delay * Sir your Friend & most Humble serv

J BELCHER

*

Letter from Governor Belcher to Lord Hardwickeabout orders from the King.

[From a copy among the Belcher Papers in Library of N. J. Hist. Soc.]

LORD HARDWICKE

May it please your Lordship

Aug 5 1752

I did my Self the Honour of writing Your Lordship at large the 3: of Dec' last and which Mr Partridge advises me was duly delivered and which was a particular Answer to the honour of Your Lordships Letter of 31 of Augt preceding and in which Letter Your Lordship was pleas'd to write me of His Majestys late Order in Council part whereof was for the Issuing of "a Commission to Inquire into any Grievances of the

1 Similar letter to Mr. Hazard, of Philadelphia.-ED.

people of this Province relating to their Possessions this Commission and any other Order His Majesty had to give in this Affair I have been impatiently Expecting from March last to this time but I have not rec1 a word relating to it either from the Secretary of State or from the Lords Commissione" for Trade and Plantations for which I am very sorry as the whole Legislature and the people of the Province seem very desirous of the Kings Orders & till they arrive I think it would be only prostituting the Kings honour and Authority to make new Attempts with the Assembly as to the long subsisting affair of the Rioters &c. & His Majestys Council are of the same way of thinking as will be seen by their Minutes which I duly Transmitted in May last to the Secretary of State and to the Lords Commissioners for Trade & Plantations. And till the Kings Orders Arrive I have no new footing to go upon with the Assembly or to Act with greater firmness & vigour as Your Lordship is pleased to mention.

I doubt not but Your Lordship will have been acquainted that in a Session I held with the Assembly in Feb last the Council and they agreed in a Bill & to wch I Consented for raising money to pay all the Debts of the Province to Nov' next and if upon the Arrival of the King's Orders some good Law can be projected & passed for putt" an end to Rioting this will soon become a happy and flourishing Province nor shall any thing in my power be left undone to Contribute to it. *

*

*

Thus My Lord I have taken the freedom to lay before you the present State and Circumstances of this Province and of my care and fidelity to do every thing that lies with me for Supporting the Kings honour & Interest & I wou'd therefore humbly hope for the Continuance of Your Lordships Patronage and fav that Nothing may be done to my prejudice (and so to my