amount to paym', The Language of y Reports & Lawbooks is quite otherwise, & in Daviss Reports p: 18 its expresly declared that if a ffeofm' upon Condition (or Mortgage) is made at a time when purer or more weighty Metal is currt, & before ye day of paym', Coin of a baser Alloy is established by Proclama, ye Mortgagor shall be at liberty to make tender of ye baser Coin & shall be good, Tho' ye Contract was made while a more valuable Money was curr, & ye Creditor depended upon paym in y same Specie. The Law is by no means ex post Facto because former Acts as effectually establish'd ye Credit of ye Subsisting Bills & as much oblig'd all parties to accept them in Tenders as ye present; & if Contracts have been enta into since ye making of former Acts to ye exclusion of ye currt money of ye Province in paym**, such Contracts can hardly be thought valid & originally binding upon ye Obligor as they are directly opposite to y Law of ye Province, & Quod contra Legam factum est pro infecto habetur." This Clause of Tenders is merely declaratory of former Acts & of ye Law of New Jersey in other Cases, or rather ye Clause has no operation at all, since former Acts are still in being, & this Clause makes no new provision & does but express what former subsisting Acts had done before; what is imply'd in yo very consent of ye People by their Representatives to ye currency of ye Bills or in yo Authority of ye Legislature to give them a Credit & circulation: Expressio eorum quæ Tacite in sunt nihil operatur." The Clause cant be said to establish any new Contract between Man & Man or to release parties from Contracts they had enta into previous to y act it self, but ye Obligees (doubtless from an Advantage over ye necessity of their Obligors) have obtained Bonds Conditiond for paym' in a particul' Specie to yo Exclusion of ye currt money of ye Province contrary to y" Law of y Land to ye reason & nature of things And we shd they once bind, must bring their Money into absolute dis

credit & (from y" great Scarcity of Silver, Gold & other Coin in the Province) throw ye debtor into inexpressible difficulties & make it impossible for him ever to discharge his Contract; the nature of ye contract remains the same (even upon supposition y' former Acts had not made ye same provision for Tenders as ye present) for ye Clause does not make a direct condition of the Bond collateral to ye Bond it self, It only requires y Parties shall receive Lawful Money in Lieu of Lawful Money; that instead of 17. ounces 10 penny weight of Silver; they shall receive Six pounds equal to 17: ounces 10 penny weight of Silver & if this is to change ye nature of Contracts, then all Acts of Parliam' & Proclama here that make foreign coin in y° current & Lawful money of ye Realm, change ye nature of previous Contracts, for there can be no doubt y' a Tender of such money will be good in all paym's even of Stipulations before those Statutes or Proclamas If a refusal of these Bills in private contracts sh" be allowed it must be destructive of ye Public Faith, & y Medium of Commerce in y' Province, & render their credit wth ye Inhabts intirely precarious & uncertain.

Letter from James Alexander to Ferdinand John Paris-relating to the action of the Council of New York on questions affecting the boundary Line.

[From copies among the manuscripts of W. A. Whitehead, Vol. IV, compared with an original among the Paris Papers in N. J. Hist. Society Library, Bundle K, No. 8.]

TO FERD. JOHN PARIS, ESQ LONDON

Sir

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NEW YORK January 2a 1755 (Extract.)

* On the 17th of December the

Council of New York broke Silence at last as to the

many Applications and referrences to them and made

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a Report, of which I immediately Demanded a Copy from M Bangor Clerk of the Council but have not obtained it to this day-but I have been more Successfull with the printer and got some Copies from him whether I shall have time to make proper remarks on this Report before this Ship goes I know not, other than that they agree not to the proposeals appearing by the Orders to Coll. Van Camp of November 23 last for the preservation of the Peace and Advise Vigorous Measures for Subjecting as much as they can of New Jersey to the Jurisdiction of New York, how far they would go they take care not to Limitt.-if whats thereby advised be attempted, there will be an actual warr upon the Borders which when once kindled God only knows the End of it the People of New Jersey near the Line are Convinced that they have a Just Cause and many of them will Soon Loose their Lives as give up their Estates to New York which they are Satisfied is the Consequence of Submitting to the Jurisdiction of New York, on the other hand the Majority of the People of New York near the Line believe that the Proprietors of Minisink and Wawganda are in the wrong and abhor their proceedings and act only by Compulsion, and heavyly Complain of the oppressions they themselves suffer by keeping up a Watch of 25 or 30 Men at Coll. Dekeys house and another Watch at Goshen Goal, from whence we have reason to hope that the People of New Jersey may make them repent the kindling of the Warr, if they Attempt it, as I believe they will.

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I am now growin Old and by the Course of Nature will before long be disabled to give the Proprietors of East Jersey such Assistance in their Affairs as I have done for many Years past, and when I shall be so, then the care of their Affairs (by

what I now see) must Chiefly Devolve upon Governour Morris' and my Son.

We have talkt Severall times at the Council of Proprietors that you must be well Advanced in Years, and of the Difficulties they should be under were they Deprived of your Assistance in their Affairs and Especially in this Differences with New York wherefore they would be well pleased you should give a handsome fee to some Gentleman you can Depend upon to take the Trouble to inform himself of what you know concerning their Affairs to assist You in case of Sickness and to supply your place in Case of other Disability, for we see little prospect of a speedy End to this New York Dispute, and if even a Commission were ordered at Equall Charge we are apprehensive that as long as our Antagonists can by the Assembly have Command the purse of the whole Province of New York against us that all blocks whatsoever will be laid in the way of a Determination in order finally to weary us out, and by some base Composition to prevail on us to give up great part of our Rights, which neither I nor any other (I believe) of the Proprietors has the least thought of doing because we are fully Satisfied of the Justice of intent we Insist on, which I believe the other side cannot with a good Conscience say.

1 Chief Justice Robert Hunter Morris was appointed Governor of Pennsylvania May 14th, 1754, and entered upon his duties in October of that year. See Penn. Archives, Vol. VI.-ED.

Circular letter from Secretary of State, Sir Thomas Robinson, to the Governors in America-notifying them of the King's intention to augment the Regiments in America.

[From P. R. O. America & West Indies, Vol. 74.]

WHITEHALL Janry 23 1755. Circular to the Governors in North America. Sir,

The King, being determin'd that Nothing shall be wanting, towards the Support of his Colonies & Subjects in No America, has commanded me to signify to you His Majesty's Intention to augment the Regiments in British Pay (viz' not only Sir Peter Halkets, & Col Dunbar's but, likewise those, which are now employed in Nova Scotia,) to the Number of 1000 Men, each; to which End, you will correspond with Major General Braddock, or the Commander of the King's Forces for the time being, from whom you will receive Directions for the sending such Contributions of Men, as shall be wanting, and to such Places where the same shall be quarter'd, or employed, under his Command.

As there is, probably, a considerable Number of Persons, as well among the Natives of America, as among such Foreigners, who may be arrived there from different Parts, particularly from Germany, who will be capable and willing to bear Arms upon this Occasion; the King does not doubt, but that you will be able by Care and Diligence, to effect this intended Augmentation, and to defray the Charge of levying the Same from the Common Fund, to be established for the Benefit of all the Colonies collectively in No America, pursuant to His Majesty's Directions, signified to you, by my Letter, of the 26th of October last, for that purpose: And as an Encouragement to all such Persons