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them, after the manner of the Windward iflands; to affimilate the laws to thofe here, and not take away any body's liberty or freehold, but by fuch or the like laws. He had a council like fir Charles Lyttleton, and called an affembly that re-enacted and enlarged his laws, and raised a revenue by an impoft on ftrong liquors, that was called the king's for the public ufe of the island, mentioned in the act. They were fent home, but not being returned approved, he, by order of his council, continued them to the end of his government; which people readily enough obeyed, confidering them as rather made by themfelves than received from his council; for that governor had much more power than his fucceffors, and, being well fupported here and the colony young and poor, nobody queftioned any thing.

In 1671, fir Thomas Lynch came with the fame commiffion and title of commander-in-chief, and inftructions to the fame purpose, and to encourage the colony. Soon after his arrival he called an affembly, that altered and enlarged fir Thomas Modyford's laws, paffed the act of revenue to the king, indefinite, for the island's ufe, mentioned by the act, and received by collectors which he nominated, and that the council approved of. Two years after, thefe laws not being confirmed, they were again re-enacted by the affembly, and then the revenue was made for two years, and all the officers to account to the governor or council, that the affembly or any particular perfons might fee the money was employed to needful and public uses.

In March, 1675, my lord Vaughan arrived: his commiffion named his council, and directed he fhould call affemblies according to the custom of the island, which fhould be deemed the people's reprefentatives, and were to make laws as the former governers to preferve property, and to give encouragement to planting. He called an affembly that paffed all the former laws which were fent for England to be confirmed, except the act of revenue; and, not being returned at the two years end, called another, which re-enacted the fame laws, but the act of revenue my lord rejected; and fo my lord and the island were a year without revenue.

About two years ago, the earl of Carlisle was fent governor with my jord Vaughan's first laws, and an act for a perpetual revenue, as they were modelled here; which, as I have heard the council there was not

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to examine, but a general affembly to pafs entirely; no affembly to be ealed but by order from hence, or an extraordinary emergency, nor they never to deliberate on new laws or amendments, but fuch to be framed by the council' there, and thence remitted to his majefty; and after his probation to be returned to be paffed by a general affembly, after the manner of Ireland: which they have found fo grievous and inconvenient, that they rejected them, and made an addrefs to my lord Carlile to intercede with his majefty for a change of thofe orders; which I hear my lords of his majetty's council have antwered, and on their report his majefty has again ordered the fame laws, and an act of revenue, to be returned and offered them; and, as I hear in difcourfe, they fay they can never give their confents to acts they have not deliberated, which feems contrary to the methods of government established by his majesty's grace and feveral commiffions, and practifed for fo many years, yet that they will dutifully obey whatever his majefty orders; they feem to have the fe following reafons, as I gather by what fome have writ from thence and others faid here:

Ift.-That, being English, they have a riglit to be governed as fuch, and to have their liberty and property fecured by the laws of England, or others of their own making.

2d. They believe in that proclamation my lord Windfor carried over, the king is graciously pleased to grant freedom and denizen as encou ragement to transport.

3d. His majesty has been pleafed, by his feveral commiffions to his governors, to declare it; which commiffions are recorded for the people's fatisfaction and encouragement; and they have tor fixteen or eighteen years been governed by laws of England.

4th.--All other colonies have and ever had affemblies, and their lawstake original from them.

5th. They conceive the Irish way of making laws will be too tedious, because of the vaft diftance and of the frequent changes of planters interefts.

6th. They say that way was defired by the English to fupport them against the Irish, but that they are all English, and the conquerors as

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Avell as the planters of the fertile inland, and that they pay here above a fixth of what they produce there.

7th. That they fear a noife of any fuch change of government may make many defert the island, and the merchants here forbear trading.

8th. If the king's commiffions have appointed them there, and if they have been conftituted in the colonies from their first settlement fixty years ago as a goverement most just and like this of England, then they hope that they alone of all the colonics fhall not be retrenched any the privileges natural to fuch affemblies;, but that, if particular perfons have offended and caufed this change, they fuffer, and not the colony.

9th. They hope his majefty will be pleafed to confider that his interest, and that of trade, is bound up with that of theirs; for it is the planters muft defend and improve the colonies, and their agreeable laws will best make them do it.

Further confiderations on the prefent ftate of the government: It is probable the affembly will reject the laws thus offered them. It is certain there is an abfolute neceffity for a revenue, for the public charges are great, and the doubts many. It is poffible the council may join with my lord to order the laws for the government to be continued, but I verily believe they will not continue the revenue-bill; for that they think belongs particularly to the affembly, and if they cannot, it would not be without procefs, and I doubt the judges, &c. would quit, and juries conftantly give it against the officers. It would be the fame or worfe if any order went hence to that purpofe, and give ftrange umbrages to the reft of the colonies, that are under too many difcouragements already, by the cheapnefs of their commodities, the growth and trade of the French power, and the plantations feem more needful now than formerly. All which I humbly submit.

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THA HAT the earl of Carlisle, without any juft caufe, imprifoned your petitioner in Jamaica, and forced him hither to anfwer an afperfion of treafon, as he pretended: by reafon whereof your petitioner hath not only fuffered in his reputation, but hath fpent a confiderable part of his eftate, and may be ruined by being forced from his intereft: and whereas the faid earl both refufed to make your petitioner any fatisfaction, or to wave his privilege, although before your majefty's privy council, after your petitioner had anfwered his charge there given, he conteffed your petitioner was an honeft man in his dealings, a jutt judge,and one that had been and might be very useful to his country; and whereas your petitioner hath been already denied a habeas corpus by the faid earl, as chancellor, and by the chief juftice of Jamaica; fo that from the faid earl or any minifter under him your petitioner can expect nothing but evil, and it may be his total ruin, unlefs your majefty graciously be pleafed to commiferate your poor pctitioner; wherefore he moft humbly cafts himself at your majesty's feet, hoping you will not fuffer him to be fpoiled of his credit or eftate, but provide fuch remedy as to your great wifdom may feem fit; and your petitioner, as in duty bound, fhall ever A true copy.

pray.

THE EARL OF CARLISLE'S ANSWER TO LONG'S PETITION.

YOUR majesty and council did think fit to direct a new model for the bet er fettlement of the laws and government of the ifland of Ja.maica, with instructions to me to put the fame in execution at my arrival

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there, for the effecting thereof: I did confult thofe that were in the chiefeft employments in the ifland, particularly lieutenant-colonel Log, whom I found chief-juftice, alfo of the council; but, instead of his compliance, which I had reason to expect, he did not only declare himself very oppofite to thofe your majefty's directions, but continued violently to perfevere therein, and by all the artifices and inftigations he could ufe did perfuade and encourage others to his opinion, notwithstanding his promife to me of contrary behaviour; and therefore he may be well affured the character, which he fays in his petition I gave him, did not refpect him as a public but as a private man; for he proved himself a great inftrument to render that fettlement ineffectual, which your majefty in council had directed, and prefled upon me by repeated orders. I did for fome time hope to reclaim him by fair means, but, perceiving his temper very little wrought upon by fuch kind methods, and moreover obferving, upon the perufal of the bill in my lord Vaughan's time, that your majefty's name had been rafed out, and the bill afterwards interlined, which the council unanimoufly declared was fairly inferted when it paffed them, and there being an interline in the bill, and owned by lieutenant-colonel Long to be written with his own hand, but would not confefs who rafed out your majefty's name; this inclined me to believe it was himself, and the rather because, when he was clerk of the affembly in the time of fir Thomas Modyford being governor, he did perfuade and endeavour as much as lay in his power to have his majesty's name left out of a bill which was then paffed; for which he was laid by the heels. All which, together with his practices when he was chief-juftice, particularly in granting a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of one Brown a condenined pirate, for whofe execution the marshal had a legal warrant: But the af fembly, by the faid lieutenant-colonel Long's inftigations, as I was informed, did much efpouse his manner of proceeding; that pursuant to vote of theirs one lieutenant-colonel Beefton, who was their fpeaker, figned a reprieve for Brown, and commanded obedience to their writ, which was done in fo diforderly a manner that the governor thought fit to diffolve the affembly. Thofe juft complaints against him gave me reafon to obferve his ill carriage and temper the more cautiously, and upon the whole did believe thofe matters very punishable in England, with your majefty's gracious power to remit them; whereupon, I divefted him of all public employments, and thought it was advifeable to appeal to your majesty's council to do therein as you fhall fee fit, and took recogaizance of the faid Long to appear before you, which renders the com

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