letter of the 2d March, 1703, to the Governor and Company of that Collony, commanding them to submit to the Court of Admiralty, constituted by the Lord High Admiral, and to the powers of Vice Admiralty vested in Col. Dudley, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay, together with a letter from the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations, dated the 17th March, 1703, referring to the said order and letter from her Majesty; upon receipt whereof, I went to the Governor of Rhode Island, and was with him upon the receipt of said order and letters, which he showed to me, and we read them, and he told me he had given a commission to one Capt'n Lawrence, and if he took any prizes he did expect that his commission should be acknowledged, and he would grant no more.

Yet upon the 7th of November last, the said Governor Cranston, granted a commission to Capt'n Halsey, Commander of the briganteen Charles, a private man of war, who the beginning of June last, brought a prize into Newport, on Rhode Is land, being a ship of one hundred tons, laden with brandy, rum, wine, snush, sugar, paper and oil, &c., which Capt'n Halsey acquainted me with soon after his arrival, desiring me to go down to condemn her; and at the same time, he moved for a warrant to unload her, she being very leaky.

Whereupon, I went the next morning to Newport, and gave order for a survey of the ship, and it being reported that the ship was leaky, the cargo was in danger, I made out a warrant, to unload her, and appointed three men to take charge of the cargo, and to keep each man a lock upon every door, untill condemnation.

And upon the 6th day of June, I held a Court of Admiralty, in order to the condemnation, having first told Capt'n Halsey that I had been ill treated of late by Mr. Colman, about the charge of a Court for condemning a prize in Boston; and he being one of the owners of Capt'n Halsey's vessel, I expected that somebody should engage for the payment thereof, being five per cent.; but nobody would. However, I proceeded in holding a Court; and upon examination of the prisoners, it appeared to be a Spanish ship, manned with Spaniards, and loaded with goods belonging to the subjects of the King of Spain, &c.; but when I found she was taken by Governor Cranston's commission, granted some months after his receipt of the Queen's commands, I declared I could not proceed to a condemnation upon that commission, for that I was a witness to the Governor's having received the Queen's commands to the contrary, and adjourned the Court untill the next day to consider, and found the Governor and people much disturbed at my questioning his commission. And I having taken care to secure the ship and cargo, I adjourned the proceedings unto the 27th June, in order to my taking the best advice I could obtain in so weighty an affair; I wrote to Mr. Mumpesson, the Judge of the Admiralty at New York, and went down to His Excellency, her Majesty's Vice Admiral of these parts, and when I had advised all I could, I returned home, fully determined to condemn the prize to her Majesty, as taken without any commission.

But upon the 26th June, Colonel Nicholas Page (who is one of the owners of the said private man of war) brought me a petition, which he, with the rest of the owners had signed, to his Excellency, the Governor, and his Excellency's advice thereupon, to condemn the prize to the captors, [a] copy whereof, I shall herewith send to your Honor.

The next morning, I proceeded to Newport, contrary to the advice of many of my friends, who told me there was a talk that if I do not condemn the prize upon Governor Cranston's commission, my life was threatened-however I proceded. And when I came to Newport, the Governor came to me, who I acquainted with

what I had heard, and then proceeded to hold a Court of Admiralty. And in the first place, I did declare, that I had considered Governor Cranston's commission, on which Captain Halsey founded his information against the prize, and found that the Governor who referred to the Charter in the commission, had acted contrary thereunto in granting the same in his own name; when, according to the Charter, it ought to have been in the name of the Governor and Company, and that the Charter itself empowers them to resist by force of arms, as well by sea as land; and also to kill, slay and destroy, &c., all such person or persons as at any time shall attempt or enterprize the destruction, invasion, detriment or annoyance of that her Majesty's Plantation, which seems to fall very short of an Amiralty jurisdiction. And her sacred Majesty in her letter to that government of the 2d March, 1703, hath declared, that there is no Admiralty jurisdiction granted in their Charter. So that upon the whole, I could understand no otherwise, but that the prize was taken without a commission.

But having considered the petition of the owners, in behalf of themselves and Capt'n John Halsey and Company, to his Excellency, setting forth that they had taken a commission from the Governor of Rhode Island, which they supposed had been a good commission, but now were made to understand by the Judge of the Admiralty and otherwise, that the commission was not vallid and legall, the Vice Admiralty of Rhode Island being vested in his Excellency, and praying that the owners and captors, who had ventured their estates and lives, might have the full reward and benefit of their prize, as if their commission had been legally granted, together with his Excellency's advice thereupon, and the odd circumstances of things at Rhode Island at this time. I did adventure to condemn her a lawfull prize to the captors, saving to the Lord High Admiral, &c.

When I had so done, about eighteen lusty fellows drew up to the table where I sat, and one of them delivered a paper to the Register and demanded of him to read it, which he going to do, I took it out of his hand, and told them that no paper should be read there without my allowance.

They replied, that they gave it [to] him as one of the Council of that government, and would have it read.

I told them he was there a Register of that Court, and should read nothing there without my allowance, and ordered the Court to be dismissed.

And when we came out, was hooted down the street by those fellows that offered the paper, without any notice being taken by any in the government there. The paper was directed to Governor Cranston, in justification of his commission, which I had just before declared illegall and void.

It is not the first time I have suffered in the service of the Crown, but hope care will be taken that her Majesty's Courts and officers may be treated more agreeably.

They would not (I do think) have been so absurd in their carriage, had not MrColman (who is Agent for the Lord High Admiral, and one of the Commissioners for Prizes) solicited that government to hold a Court for the condemnation of the prize, and put them upon passing a strange Act in that government, all which will appear by the copies of Mr. Colman's letters, and of Governor Cranston's letter to myself and of the Act itself; all which are herewith sent.

I humbly hope that my sincere desire and endeavors to serve her Majesty and her subjects in these parts, will be accepted, and that upon the whole, your Honor

will see reason favorably to represent me to her Majesty; for I am devoted to her service. And pray that I may be allowed to subscribe myself,*

Right Honorable,

Your most dutifull humble servant,
NATHA'L BYFIELD.

To the Right Honorable Sir Charles Hedges, her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State. These present.

[The owners of the Briganteen Charles, Nicholas Paige, John Coleman, Benj. Gallup and John Walker, of Newport, appealed from the decision of Col. Byfield to Governor Dudley, who, in addition to being Governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, was Vice Admiral of the seas and maritime parts of Rhode Island, as well as of these colonies. Governor Dudley, on the 27th June wrote to Col. Byfield, at Bristol, stating that "if speedy proceedings and condemnation be not made, all the cargo of the prize will be embezzled or lost," and that as it was no fault of Capt. Halsey's, but an error of Governor Cranston's in granting the commission, he advised the condemnation of the prize and cargo; the particulars of this transaction he said he would represent to her Majesty, the Queen, and in conclusion says he is "informed that the Governor as well as the people in that colony are in such disor der, that he cannot advise any other method of proceeding.”—See Documents in J. Carter Brown's Mss., Nos. 421, 422. J. R. B.]

Proceedings of the Generall Assembly held for the Collony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, at Newport, the 28th day of August, 1705.

Whereas, the Assembly was called by the Honorable Samuell Cranston, Esq'r, Governor's warrant, on severall things sent from England, by way of articles and complaints against this her Majesty's Collony; and whereas, our Agent hath by his letters also represented unto us from whom the complaints were made, and we being required to answer to said articles, and for the speedy care and submission to said requirings of an answer and return, requires a sum of money to be assessed on said Collony for that end and use:

Be it enacted by the Honorable the Governor and House of Representatives convened in Generall Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That there be a rate or tax assessed on the Collony of £1000, to be paid in money or other pay, according to the late Collony rate assessed on the Collony the 19th of June last past, the which said sum of £1000 shall be paid into the Generall Treasury, at two payments; and each payment put to the use or uses as followeth, viz.:

Five hundred pounds, the first payment, to be paid unto the Generall Treasurer at or by the 20th day of November next ensuing; and the other £500 to be paid unto the Generall Treasurer, at or by the 1st of January next ensuing. And out of the first £500 there shall be by way of bills of exchange or otherwise, remitted to England unto one of our Collony Agents, the sum of £300 sterling money of England, for the use of the Collony, to be employed by said Agents or either of them, [as] shall be needfull for the discharge of what is already due, and for a further supply of the Agent, which said sum of money, ordered for England, as aforesaid, shall be taken out of the Generall Treasury by his Honor the Governor, and such other Assistants with him in drawing out and sending of writings to England, unto our Agent, on the Collony's behalf, to be laid before her Majesty, in answer to the severall articles exhibited against the Collony as shall be needfull and necessary for his Honor the Governor and Assistants in said concerns, we order and appoint for one, Capt'n Joseph Sheffield. And that

his Honor the Governor, shall take such further assistance and advice in the premises as he shall think fit.

And be it further enacted by this present authority, That there shall not be taken out of the first £500 rate any Consta bles' fees, Deputies' allowance, nor Collony's debts, or any other officers' fees, that attend the Assembly. But they shall receive the same out of the last part of said rate to be paid in January next ensuing the date hereof; any Act to the contra ry notwithstanding.

And be it further enacted, That within twenty days after the dissolution of this Assembly, the Recorder shall send forth copies of this Assembly's Acts to each town in the Collony, under the Collony's Seal, and to have five shillings for each copy, and the Generall Treasurer shall send forth his warrants within twenty days, to the Town Clerk of each town to notify the per sons according to law to proceed to proportion said rate; and that the Constables of each town shall collect and deliver into the Generall Treasury each rate according to the times here or dered and prefixed. And each town's proportion to pay is as followeth :

Newport,
Providence,..

Portsmouth,

And be it further enacted, That what charges that his Honor the Governor, and his assistance shall be at in preparing of writ ings, &c., for England, or any other charge in sending for Eng land, shall be paid unto him or them, out of the last payment of the abovesaid rate in January next.

And be it further enacted by this Assembly, That Mr. John Cam'll, of Boston, Postmaster, shall be paid twenty shillings per year for his Weekly News, sent to the Governor, out of the Generall Treasury. And that Capt'n John Cook shall have two shillings per day added to his sallary, to the eastward, which will make five shillings per day.