in ye haszard of their lives, & many brought to desolation & poverty; whereas ye settlement on our late Gov was on a fund of Excise & Impost, wch impost is now wholly denyed & the [P. 53.] trading part no ways assisting in lightening ye land tax. 3rd. Our Courts are all kept at Portsmouth,- whereas formerly they were held at ye other towns; likewise our Judges are mostly of sa Portsmo, whereat we cannot but be grieved, and humbly pray yor Excellency's favour to consider these things & so represent wt is p'per to his most excellent Majesty, that we may again rejoice in y royal favour we formerly enjoyed; that Councillors and Courts may be in each town as formerly and that we may not always be outdone by Gent" in trade, to the great discontent & uneasiness of the farmers & labourers; & that what other things are proper to your Excellency, may be so ordered that we may participate with our neighbors in all priviledges, & we shall ever be ready to do our utmost to strengthen your Excellency's hands & make ye govermt agreeable to your desires & to the prosperity of ye Inhabitants' interests therein, &c. Voted & past by ye House of Representatives & ordered to be delivered to his Excellency, Gov' Shute, &c., by five members of this house. Jan. 25th, 1716-7. Joseph Smith, Clerk. Adj. to Monday, 9 o'clock, a. M. [From Journal of the House.] Voted, That this house pray his Excellency the Govern', Col. Shute, do lay the Remonstrance of the greivances of the Representative body of the good people of this Province, offered to your Excellency this present session, may be laid before the King, in hopes of redress, as soon as convenience will permit your doing it. And what charge your Excellency may be at, we have past a vote to defray. Voted, That his Excellency be defrayed the charge thereof. Joseph Smith, Clerk. Pro: N. Hamp❜. At a Gen' Assembly held at Portsm° by adjournm on Monday, ye 28th Jan., 1716–7. Present, His Excellency Samuel Shute, Esq., Governour, His Hon' George Vaughan, Esq., Lt. Governour, Pro: N. Hamp'. Met according to adjournm'. Present, as before, also Sam' Penhallow, Esq. Sam' Penhallow & Mark Hunking, Esqs., were sent down to ye house of Representatives wth ye vote of that house abt ye committee for printing, signing & letting out ye ten thousand pounds, voted to be printed, &c., [P. 54.] for amendm*. Mr. Dam brought up a vote to this board from ye house of Representatives, desiring his Excellency the Govt to lay ye grievances of that house before the king; wch was non-concurred with in Councill. Capt. Odiorne brought up ye votes of Representatives abt ye Committee for letting out ye money sent down by Sam' Penhallow & Jno. Wentworth, Esq., for amendm', with an under-written resolve that it should not be altered: Whereupon it was voted a non-concurrence wth gd vote in Councill, & the same sent back to the house of Representatives by the clerk. Jno. Wentworth & Geo. Jeffrey, Esq., were sent down to the house of Representatives wth the Clerk to read to them ye Govrs answer & ye Councill's answer to their address to the Governour: wch was as follows: Gent I received yo' Address of ye 25th inst., & assure you that I am always willing to give due attention to all just complaints made by the lower house to redress the grievances of the Province. I am but lately arrived amongst you & therefore uncapable of making a proper answer myself; do therefore refer it to the Councill, who are more knowing and acquainted with the affairs of the Province, whose answer is as follows: (viz.) May it please your Excellency: SAM. SHUTE. In ye Representatives' Address are sundry suggestions and insinuations wch are highly reflecting on his most Excellent Majesty in ye nomination of this Councill, and on your Excellency in appointing y Judges in this Province, wch is altogether unparliamentary, tending to destroy all good understanding between ye two houses, & to obstruct all things proper and necessary to be done for his Majesties' service and good of this his Province; wherefore in honour and duty to ye king & your Excellency, & for ye good of this goverm', we can't but resent, & in obedience to your Excellency humbly crave leave to make this reply to the sa Address. It is true ye late warrs were very destructive to many of his Majesties good subjects of this Province, & in a great measure obstructed its increase & settlement; notwithstanding the great charge thereof & many hundreds that have fallen by the sword, yet it hath pleased Almighty God to be so propitious to us that our numbers are much increased, our trade abundantly greater, & state & condition of ye people in general much more advanced in wealth, & thereby better enabled to pay yr future taxes. [P. 55.] Tho' it was his Majesties pleasure to appoint ye first Councill out of each town in ye Prov: it was wthout doubt because yre was then in those towns men of greatest abilities & best qualifications; but ever since the town of Portsm° has been most flourishing, ye seat of almost all ye Gent" of the Province, the metropolis of the Governm', it has been his Majesties pleasure to have his Councill chiefly of them, inasmuch as they were Gent" of the best quality & greatest ability to serve yR Governm1 in that station.* And we find in his Majesties instructions to his Excellency it is directed that all Councillors shall be inhabitants of the Prov: wthout respect or limitation to any particular town; and it must be acknowledged to be the prerogative of the Crown to nominate and appoint his Councill, and owned most convenient and conducive to the publick good to have ye majority near ye seat of Governm especially in cases of emergencies; besides, one of ye late appointed Council was of Hampton; and why he did not serve is not owing to ye Governm', but his own refusal and whereas it is asserted a greivance yt some of the experienced, just and good men are laid aside, & these lately appointed by the King has been ye occasion of Great differences & animosities, wch they threaten may produce farther inconveniencys, if not timely pervented, is very strange & untrue, for we know there hath been no such divisions occasioned y'by, and the Gent" dismist are two of them very aged, a third not living in the governmt, & ye other two for reasons given, not thought proper p'sons; tho' one of them of superior abilites on all other accounts; & since it has been the King's pleasure to make this alteration, it is flying in his face to call it a grievance, & thus threatening with divisions, animosities and worse inconveniences. We are of opinion nothing less than strange resolutions may justly be expected, especially when we have so lately seen ye chair so much affronted. Whereas they are pleased to reflect so invectively on those members of the Councill lately appointed, who for many years served ye public in the Assembly to very good acceptance, & did constantly study & endeavour ye benefitt & ease of ye people, and proposed & prosecuted all means & methods that tended to ye advancem of ye Prov: & never opposed an act of Impost but when they could not obtain an act of Export, weh is ye practice of Great Britain, ye Govr assuring us yt he himself payed twenty six pounds sterling for ye export of his own goods, they being ye manufactures of England, & now were willing to come into an Impost, if y representatives would have concurred wth ye vote of ye Councill for an Export; and tho' they are represented now not qualified, as being some of them merchts & traders, yet they did, while membs of the lower House, pay full proportions to all publick taxes, double ye sum paid by any of ye p'sent representatives, having as good and better Estates in lands and land securities * Italics by the Editor. than any now in sa house, & not so inferiour to y Gent" they p'tend are laid aside; & accordingly assisted in defraying all publick charges, as well as the settlem' on ye late Gov', wch was constantly paid out of ye treasury, as all other charges of ye Gov erumt. [P. 56.] As for ye grievance in respect of ye Courts, the first Act concerning them in ye Province settled them all at Portsmo, being most convenient & accommodable for ye whole Province in all respects. And as for ye reflection on your Excellency for appointing the present Judges, there has been none laid aside; & ye vacancy only filled up by p'sons of Portsmouth, in lieu of others that were of sd town, which was never accounted a grievance untill now; and notwithstanding all these suggestions, insinuations and groundless grievances, we doubt not but yo' Excellency will so represent the affairs of this Province, as that we may continue to rejoice in the royal favour, under your Excellency's mild & just administrations. In Councill. Read & voted to be sent down & read in ye house of Representatives, Jan. 28, 1716-7. R. Waldron, Cler. Coun. His Excellency the Governour asked the board whether or no the sending a messenger from ye house of representatives to the Councill board to ask upon wt head it was that they were to confer, when he sent for them to come to a conference, was not an affront to ye chair? Ye Council answer it was. Then ye Gove proposed the dissolving of ye Assembly, weh the Councill advised to do, &c. Geo. Jeffrey & Rich. Wibird, Esq., were sent down to the House of representatives to require their attendance at ye Councill board. They came accordingly; where his Excellency the Governour was pleased to pronounce them dissolved, and accordingly in his Majesties name they were dissolved. So farr gone to England. [P. 57.] Pro. N. Hamp'. At a Gen1 Assembly, held at Portsm Present In Councill, His Excellency Sam' Shute, Esq., Governour, His Hon' Geo: Vaughan, Esq., Lt. Governour, The Clerk of ye Councill laid the sheriff's return of the Representatives of the several towns of the Province before this board, whose names are as follows: Capt. John Gillman, Col. Tho" Packer, Capt. Josh Pierce, Col. Joseph Smith, Maj. Peter Wear, Dover. Exeter. Capt. Jotham Odiorne, N. Castle. Hampt. Capt. Hugh Reed, Capt. And Wiggin, Stratham. The sheriff was sent down to ye House of Representatives to call them to this board, who came accordingly, where were administered to them ye oaths, instead of ye oaths of allegiance and supremacy, as also the oath of abjuration, wch they subscribed, &c. Then his Excellency ordered them to wthdraw to chuse y Speak' & p'sent him at three o'clock afternoon, at wch time he should be again p'sent in Councill. Adjourned to 3 o'clock, P. M. Pro: N. Hamp'. Met again according to adjornm'. Present in Councill, as before. The Clerk was sent down to ye house of representatives to inquire whether they had chosen their Speak, and if so, to command their attendance at ye Councill board to present him: they came accordingly and presented Col. Thoms Packer their Speak', who was well accepted: After which his Excellency made the following speech. Gent.,—I have been informed that this Province has been very remarkable for its unanimity & concord, & I hope it will never do any thing to forfeit ye beautiful character: [P. 58.] you, Gent", are its representatives, whose good example will highly influence ye whole community. Therefore recommend to you, ye laying aside all animosities and disputes that may tend to the blowing up ye coals of dissention among us, which always carry win them most fatal consequences; and hope y' every body will have their thoughts entirely bent upon what will make them dutifull to their King & serviceable to their country, by thinking w' new measures may be taken to promote the true interest of this Province. By these methods the affairs of this session will meet wth dispatch, and every body will return home to their respective towns in good humour, we will tend very much to your honour and reputation, and give me great pleasure and satisfaction. |