Commission of Sir Edmund Andros, as Governor of the Territory and Dominion of New-England. [From a Copy in the office of Secretary of State.] JAMES the Second, by the Grace of God King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c., To our trusty and well-beloved Sir EDMUND ANDROS,* Knight, greeting: Whereas the government of that part of our Territory and Dominion of NEW-ENGLAND hereafter mentioned, is now in our hands, and being minded to give all protection and encouragement to our good subjects therein, and to provide in the most effectual manner for their security and welfare-WEE, therefore, reposing especiall trust and confidence in the prudence, courage and loyalty * Sir Edmund Andros was born in London, Dec. 6, 1637. His ancestors were from Northampshire, of considerable note, and always devoted to royalty. AMICE, the father of Edmund, married Elizabeth Stone, sister of Sir Robert Stone, knight, cupbearer to the Queen of Bohemia, and captain of a troop of horse in Holland, and was Master of Ceremonies to King Charles the First at the time of his son Edmund's birth, who was brought up from a boy in the royal family, and in its exile commenced his career of arms in Holland, under Henry, Prince of Nassau. After the restoration of Charles II., having been inviolably faithful to His Majesty, Edmund was made Gentleman in Ordinary to Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, the King's aunt. Subsequently he distinguished himself in the war waged by Charles II. against the Dutch, and which ended in 1667. He married, in 1671, Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas Craven; and, in 1672, was commander of the forces in the Barbadoes, and had obtained the reputation of being skilled in American affairs. In 1674, on the death of his father, he became Seigneur of the Fiefs, and succeeded to the office of Bailiff of Guernsey. The same year he was constituted, by the King, Governor-General of the Province of NewYork. He arrived in this country, accompanied by his wife, on the 1st of November, of you, the said Sir EDMUND ANDROS, out of our especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, have thought fit to constitute and appoint, and by these presents do constitute and appoint you, the said Sir Edmund Andros, to be our Captain General and Governor-in-chief, in and over all that our Territory and dominion of New-England in America, comonly called or known by the name of our Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, our colony of New-Plymouth, and our provinces of New-Hampshire and Maine, the Narragansett Country, otherwise called the King's Province, with all the islands, rights and members to the said colonies and territories in any wise appertaining; and, for your better guidance and direction, WEE do hereby require and command you to do and execute all things in due manner that shall belong unto the said office, and the trust Wee have reposed in you, according to the several powers, instructions and authorities mentioned in these presents, or such further powers, instructions and authorities as you shall herewith receive, or which shall at any time hereafter be granted or appointed you under our Signet and Sign manual, or by our order, in our Privy Council, and according to such reasonable laws and statutes as are now in force, or such others as shall hereafter be made and established within that our territory and dominion aforesaid; and our will and pleasure is, that you, the said Sir Edmund Andros, having (after your arrival in NewEngland, and publication of these our Letters Patents), first taken the oath of allegiance, together with the oath of duly executing the office of our Captain-General and Governor-in-chief of our said 1674, and entered on the government on the 10th of that month. In 1677 he returned to England, and was knighted by Charles the Second in 1678; on the 27th of May, the same year, he sailed again for New-York, in the ship "Blossom," Richard Martin, of New-England, master; and resumed the government of New-York. In 1686, James II. appointed him Governor, Captain-General, and Vice-Admiral of Massachusetts, New-Hampshire, Maine, New-Plymouth, and afterwards of Rhode Island and Connecticut, comprehending the whole of New England, -to which, in 1688, New-York and New-Jersey were added. On the 22d of January, 1689, his wife died at Boston, and was buried by torchlight; the corpse having been carried from the Governor's residence to the South Church in a hearse drawn by six horses, attended by a suitable Guard of Honor. Sir Edmund was eminently unpopular in the administration of his government, and was deposed by a sudden uprising of the people in Boston, on the 18th April, 1689. Notwithstanding, he retained the royal favor; in 1692 was appointed by William III. Governor of Virginia, to which was adjoined that of Maryland. He founded William and Mary's College, 1692. He encouraged the cultivation of cotton, sorted and regulated the public papers and records in the Secretary's office, and was popular in his office till 1698. In 1704, under Queen Anne, he was appointed Governor of Guernsey. Sir Edmund married three times, but died without issue, in the parish of St. Anne, Westminster, in February, 1714, in his seventy-sixth year. [N. Y. Col. MSS., vol. ii., pp. 740-42.] territory and dominion, (which our Council there, or any three of them, are hereby required, authorized and impowered to give and administer unto you), you shall administer to each of the members of our Council, as well the oath of allegiance as the oath for the due execution of their places and trust. And Wee do hereby give and grant unto you full power and authority to suspend any member of our Council from sitting, voting and assisting therein, as you shall find just cause for so doing; and if it shall hereafter at any time happen, that by the death, departure out of our said territory, or suspension of any of our councillors, or that otherwise there shall be a vacancy in our said Council, (any five whereof we do hereby appoint to be a quorum), our will and pleasure is, that you signify the same unto us by the first opportunity, that Wee may, under our Signet and Sign manual, constitute and appoint others in their room. But that our affairs at that distance may not suffer for want of a due number of councillors, if ever it shall happen that there are less than seven of them residing upon the place, Wee do hereby give and grant unto you full power and authority to choose as many persons out of the principal inhabitants thereof as will make up the full number of our Council to be seven, and no more; which persons, by virtue of such choice, shall be, to all intents and purposes, our councillors within our said territory, until they be confirmed by us, or that by nomination of others by us, under our sign manual and signet, the said Council shall have seven persons in it. And Wee do hereby give and grant unto you full power and authority, by and with the advice and consent of our said Council, or the major part of them, to make, constitute and ordain laws, statutes and ordinances for the public peace, welfare and good government of our said territory and dominion, and of the people and inhabitants thereof, and such others as shall resort thereunto, and for the benefit of us, our heirs and successors, which said laws, statutes and ordinances are to be, as near as conveniently may be, agreeable to the laws and statutes of this our kingdom of England. Provided, That all such laws, statutes and ordinances, of what nature or duration soever, be, within three months or sooner, after the making of the same, transmitted unto us, under our seal of New-England, for our allowance or disapprobation of them, as also duplicates thereof by the next conveyance. And Wee do by these presents give and grant unto you full power and authority, by and with the advice and consent of our said Council, or the major part of them, to impose and assess and raise and levy such rates and taxes as you shall find necessary for the support of the government within our territory and dominion of New-England; to be collected and levied, and to be employed for the uses aforesaid, in such manner as to you and our said Council, or the major part of them, shall seem most equal and reasonable. And for the better supporting the charge of the government of our said territory and dominion, our will and pleasure is, and Wee do by these presents authorize and require you, the said Sir Edmund Andros, and our said Council, to continue such taxes and impositions as are now laid and imposed upon the inhabitants thereof, and to levy and distribute or cause the same to be levied and distributed to those ends in the best and most equal manner, until you shall, by and with the advice and consent of our Council, agree on and settle such other taxes as shall be sufficient for the support of our government there, which are to be applied to that use and no other. And our further will and pleasure is, that all public money, raised, or to be raised or appointed, for the support of the government within our said territory and dominion be issued out by warrant or order from you, by and with the advice and consent of our Council as aforesaid; and our will and pleasure is, that you shall and may keep and use our seal, appointed or to be appointed by us for said territory and dominion. And Wee do further give and grant unto you, the said Sir Edmund Andros, full power and authority from time to time, and at any time hereafter, by yourself or by any other to be authorized by you in that behalf, to administer and give the oath of allegiance, now established within this our realm of England, to all and every such person as you shall think fit, or shall at any time or times pass unto our said territory, or shall be resident or abiding there. And Wee do by these presents ordain, constitute and appoint our Governor and Council of our said territory and dominion for the time being, to be a constant and settled Court of Record, for the administration of justice to all our subjects, inhabiting within our said territority and dominions, if all causes as well civil as criminal, with full power and authority to hold Pleas in all cases from time to time as well in Pleas of the Crown, and in all matters relating to the conservation of the peace and punishment of offenders, as in civil causes or actions between party and party, or between us and any of our subjects there, whether the same do concern the realty and relate to any rights of freehold and inheritance, or whether the same do concern the personalty, and relate to matter of debt, contract, damage, or other personal injury; and also in all mixed actions which may concern both realty and personalty; and |