A Meffage from the House to the Governor, June 23, 1768. May it please your Excellency,

T

HE houfe of reprefentatives humbly requeft your excellency to lay before them a copy of his majesty's inftructions referred to in your meffage of the 21ft inftant; a copy of the letter to your excellency, from the Right Hon. the earl of Hillsborough of April 22, 1768; a copy of a letter from his lordship, commu nicated lately by your excellency to the honourable board; and copies of letters wrote by your excellency to his lordship, relating to the fubject of the aforefaid meffage.

A Meffage from the Governor to the Affembly. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives,

Should have communicated the whole of the earl of Hillsbo rough's letter relating to the business which I laid before you the 21ft inftant, if I had not been defirous that your compliance with his majefty's requifition might have its fulleft merit, by its appearing to be entirely dictated by a sense of your duty.

But fince you defire to know what my further orders are, hereby fend you a copy of the other part of the letter relative to this bufinefs, which contains all my inftructions thereupon. And as know you will not expect that I should difobey the king's pofitive commands, I must defire that if you fhall refolve to oblige me to execute them, you will previously to your giving your final answer, prevent the inconveniences which must fall upon the people for want of the annual tax-bill, which I understand is not as yet fent up to the board. For if I am obliged to diffolve the general court, I fhall not think myself at liberty to call another, till I receive his majetty's commands for that purpofe, which will be too late to prevent the treasurer iffuing his warrants for the whole tax granted by the act of laft year.

As to the letter of the Earl of Hillsborough, which I communicated to the council, I muft beg leave to be the proper judge of the time and occafion of communicating any papers I receive to the council or the house. If I had then thought it expedient to lay it before the houfe, I should have then done fo; when I fhall think it fo, I shall do it.

As to your requeft of copies of my letters to the fecretary of ftate, you may affure yourselves that I shall never make public my letters to his majesty's minifters, but upon my own motion, and for my own reasons. FRANCIS BERNARD.

Council-chamber, June 24, 1768. Remainder of Lord Hillsborough's Letter to the Governor of Maffa chusetts-Bay, dated April 22, 1768, relative to his Majesty's Requifition referred to in the Governor's Meffage of the 21st of June following.

F it should, and if, notwithstanding the apprehenfions which may justly be entertained of the ill confequence of a continuance of this factious fpirit, which feems to have influenced the refolutions of the affembly at the conclusion of the laft feffion, the new aflembly fhould refufe to comply with his majefty's reasonable expectation; it is the king's pleafure that you fhould immediately diffolve them, and tranfmit to me, to be laid before his majesty, an

account of their proceedings thereupon, to the end that his majefty may, if he thinks fit, lay the whole matter before his parliament, that fuch provifions as thall be found neceffary may be made to prevent, for the future, a conduct of fo extraordinary and uncontitutional a nature.

As it is not his majefty's intention that a faithful difcharge of your duty fhould operate to your own prejudice, or to the diicontinuance of any neceffary establishment, proper care will be taken for the fupport of the dignity of government. I am, with great truth and regard, Sir, your moft obedient humble fervant,

HILLSBOROUGH.

A Meffage from the Governor to the Assembly. Gentlemen of the Houfe of Representatives,

IT is now a full week fince I laid before you his majesty's requifi tion, fignified by his fecretary of state. I must therefore defire you to come to a refolution upon it: For I cannot admit of a much longer delay, without confidering it as an answer in the negative. Council-Chamber, June 28, 1768. FRA. BERNARD. A Meffage from the Affembly to the Governor, June 29.. May it please your Excellency,

IN

N answer to your excellency's meffage of the 28th inftant, the house of reprefentatives request, that your excellency would favour this general court with a recefs; that they may confult their conftituents, refpecting the requifition, contained in your meffage of the 21ft inftant, in confequence of the earl of Hillsborough's let ter to your excellency.

A Meffage from the Governor to the Affembly. Gentlemen of the Houfe of Representatives,

Cannot confiftently with my fenfe of my duty, prorogue or ad. journ the general court, until I have received your answer to his majefty's requifition. I must therefore repeat my request to you to bring this matter to a conclufion.

Council-Chamber, June 29, 1768.

FRA. BERNARD.

On the 30th of June, a committee of the houfe reported a letter to the right honourable the earl of Hillsborough, fetting forth to his lordship, the feveral votes and refolutions which paffed in the last houfe of reprefentatives, relating to the circular letter; ard fhewing that the whole of thefe matters were tranfacted in the height of the feffion, in a full houfe, and by a large majority. This letter was diftinctly read feveral times; and afterwards accepted by a majority of ninety-three out of one hundred and five members prefent, and a fair copy was ordered to be taken for the fpeaker to fign and tranfmit to his lordship as foon as might be.

Then it was moved, that the quelion be put, whether the houfe will refcind the refolution of the last houfe, which gave birth to their circular letter to the feveral houfes of reprefentatives and burgeffes of the other colonies on the continent? and paffed in the negative by a divifion of ninety-two to feventeen.

Hereupon the committee reported an answer to the governor's meffages of the 21st and 24th of June, which was accepted by a large majority, and is as follows:

A Meffage

A-Meffage from the Affembly to the Governor, June 30, 1768.
May it please your Excellency,

THE

'HE house of reprefentatives of this his majesty's antient and loyal province of the Maffachufett's Bay, have with the greatest deliberation confidered your meffages of the 21st and 24th inftant, with the several extracts from the letter of the right honourable the earl of Hillsborough, his majesty's principal fecretary of state for North American affairs, dated the 22d of April laft, which your excellency has thought fit to communicate. We have alfo received the written answer which your excellency was pleased to give to the committee of this houfe directed to wait on you the 29th inftant, with a meffage humbly requesting a recefs, that the members might be favoured with an opportunity to confult their conftituents at this important crifis, when a direct and peremptory requifition is made of a new and ftrange conftructure, and fo ftrenuously urged, viz. That we should immediately refcind the refolution of the last houfe to transmit circular letters to the other British colonies on the continent of North America, barely intimating a defire that they would join in fimilar dutiful and loyal petitions to our moft gracious fovereign, for the redrefs of the grievances occafioned by fundry late acts of parliament, calculated for the fole purpose of raifing a revenue in America. We have moft diligently revifed, not only the faid refolution, but also the circular letter, written and fent in confequence thereof; and after all, they both appear to us, to be conceived in terms not only prudent and moderate in themselves, but refpectful to the authority of that truly auguft body the parliament of Great Britain, and very dutiful and loyal with regard to his majesty's facred perfon, crown and dignity; of all which we entertain fentiments of the highest reverence and moft ardent affection, and should we ever depart from these sentiments, we must stand self-condemned, as unworthy the name of British fubjects defcended from British anceftors, intimately allied and connected in interefts and inclination with our fellow-iubjects the commons of Great Britain. We cannot but exprefs our deep concern that a measure of the late houfe, in all refpects fo innocent,, in moft fo virtuous and laudable, and as we conceive fo truly patriotic, fhould have been reprefented to adminiftration in the odious light of a party, and factious measure, and that pushed through by reverting in a thin houfe to, and reconfi dering, what in a full affembly had been rejected. It was and is a matter of notoriety, that more than eighty members were prefent at the re-confideration of the vote against the application to the other colonies. The vote of re-confideration was obtained by a large majority. It is, or ought to be well known, that the prefence of eighty members makes a full houfe; this number being juft double to that, which, by the royal charter of the province, is required to conftitute the third branch of our colony legislature.

Your excellency might have been very easily informed, if you was not, that the measures of the late house, in regard to fundry acts of the late parliament, for the fole purpose of railing a North American revenue, were generally carried by three to one; and we dare appeal to your excellency for the truth of this affertion, namely, that there were many perfons in the majority, in all views, as refpectable as the very best of the minority... Nay, 10 far from any finister views,

were

were the committee of the late houfe appointed and directed te take into their moft ferious confideration the then present state of the province, from going into any rash or precipitate measures, that they for fome days actually delayed their firit report, which was a letter to Mr. agent de Berdt, on the candid and generous principle, that thofe who were reasonably prefuppofed to be most warmly attached to all your excellency's measures, especially thofe for furthering, and by all means enforcing the acts for levying a North Ame rican revenue, might be prefent, and a more equal conteft enfue. It would be incredible, fhould any one affert, that your excellency wanted a true information of all these things, which were not done or defired to be hid in a corner, but were notoriously transacted in the open light at noon day. It is to us altogether incomprehenfible that we should be required, on the peril of a diffolution of the great and general court or affembly of this province, to refcind a refolution of a former houfe of reprefentatives, when 'tis evident that refolution has no existence, but as a mere hiftorical fact.

Your excellency must know that the refolution referred to, is, to fpeak in the language of the common law, not now executory," but to all intents and purpofes "executed." The circular letters have been fent, and many of them have been anfwered: these anfwers are now in the public papers §; the public, the world, muft and will judge of the propofal, purposes and anfwers. We could as well refcind thofe letters as the refolves, and both would be equally fruitless; if by refcinding, as the word properly imports, is meant a repeal and nullifying of the refolution referred to: but if, as is moit probable, by the word "refcinding" is intended the paffing a vote of this houfe, in direct and express disapprobation of the meafure above-mentioned as "illegal, inflammatory, and tending to

promote unjustifiable combinations" againit his majesty's peace, crown, and dignity, we must take the liberty to teftify, and publicly to declare, that we take it to be the native, inherent, and indefeasible right of the fubject, jointly or feverally, to petition the king for the redress of grievances; provided always, that the fame be done in a decent, dutiful, loyal, and conftitutional way, without tumult, diforder, or confufion. We are alfo humbly, but clearly and very firmly of opinion, that the petition of the late dutiful and loyal houfe to his majesty, and their other very orderly applications for the redrefs of grievances +, have had the moft defirable tendencies and effects to keep mens minds in ease and quiet. We muft alfo be excufed in thinking that the people were in truth patiently waiting for the meeting of the new parliament, their measures, and his majefty's pleafure and it is probable that they would every where have thus waited the great event, had it not been revealed here, that the late provincial applications for redrefs of grievances, were fome how ftrangely obftructed, and the province, in confequence of misinformation and mif-reprefentation, moft unfortunately fallen under

Thefe anfwers were from the provinces of Virginia, New-Jerfey, Connecticut, Georgia and Maryland; wherein they concurred with the affembly of MaffachufetsBay in a petition to the king, and other applications for a redrefs of grievances.

This remarkable petition, together with the other applications alluded to, (which confift of certain letters to fome great perfonages) are printed in a late tract entitled, The True Sentiments of America; which alfo contains feveral other papers worthy the reader's attention.

under the royal displeasure: and, to compleat this misfortune, it was not only divulged to the other colonies, but fome of them actually received the information before it was made known here, that the house had been accused to his majefty, or his miniftry, or fallen under the difpleasure of the one, or the cenfure of the other.

On the whole, Sir, we will confider his most sacred majefty, under God, as our king, our best protector and common father; and shall ever bear him true and faithful allegiance. We alfo regard your excellency as the reprefentative of the greatest potentate on earth, and at all times have, fo far as could confift with the important purpofes of preferving life, liberty, and property, been most ready and willing to treat you with all that refpe&t justly due to your high rank and ftation. But we are conftrained to fay, that we are disagreeably convinced, that your excellency entertains not that parental regard for the welfare of the good people of this province, which you have fome times been pleafed to profefs, and which they have at all times an irrefragable right to expect from their governor. Your excellency has thought fit not only to deny us a recefs to confult our conftituents, in regard to the prefent requifition, but hath affured us, in effect, that you fhall take filence, at leaft a delay, not as ufual for a confent, but for a denial. You have also thought fit to inform us, that you canno: think yourself at liberty, in cafe of the diffc lution of this, to call another affembly, without the exprefs orders of his majesty for that purpose: at the fame time your excellency has been pleafed to affure us, that you have communicated the whole of lord Hillf borough's letter, and your inftructions, fo far as relates to the requifition. In all this, however, we cannot find that your excellency is more than directed to diffolve the prefent affembly, in cafe of a noncompliance on the part of the house. If the votes of the house are to be controuled by the direction of a minister, we have left us but a vain femblance of liberty. We know it to be the juft prerogative of the crown, at pleature, to diffolve a parliament: we are alfo fenfible that, confiftently with the great charter of this province, your excellency, when you fhall think fit, with or without the intervention of a minister, can diffolve the great and general court of this colony, and that without the leaft obligation to convene another within the year. But fhould it ever grow into ufe, for any ill-dispofed governor of the province, by means of a mistaken or wilfully wrong tate of facts, to procure orders for a diffolution, the fame charter will be of no value,

We take this opportunity, faithfully and firmly, to represent to your excellency, that the new revenue acts and measures, are not only disagreeable to, but in every view are deemed an infupportable burthen and grievance, with a very few exceptions, by, all the freeholders, and other inhabitants of this jurifdiction: and we beg leave, once for all, to affure your excellency, that thofe of this opinion are of no party or expiring faction. They have at all times been ready to devote their lives and fortunes to his majesty's fervice. Of loyalty, the majority could as reafonably boat as any who may happen to enjoy your excellency's fmiles. Their reputation, rank, and fortune, are at least equal to thofe, who may have been fometimes confidered as the only friends to good government; while fome of the best blood of the colony, even in two houies of aflembly lawfully con

vened