they were put in his poffeffion by that Company, he would not comply with his L-p's order; but that if the court of affiftants of that Company fhould make fuch an order, or any other, he would obey it. His Lp then declared, that he would fend the arms to the Tower; and again interrogated Mr. North, Whether he would obey his injunctions? which Mr. North, for the above-mentioned reafons, again refused.

up

Soon after Mr. North left the Manfion-houfe, his L fent a gentleman to him with a peremptory order to deliver the keys of the preffes where the arms delivered into his care by the Artillery Company were depofited: But his L-p furely could not think that the man who just before had refused his Lp in perfon, would now be prevailed on by a meffage only, to deliver up thofe keys which he had been entrusted with by a public Company.

Notwithstanding these repeated refufals, and Mr. North's having reprefented to the gentlemen who brought the meffage from the LM, that his Lp had no power over the Artillery Company, but that the prefident was at the head of that Company, yet that night, or early the next morning, a detachment of foldiers were fent up to the armoury, attended by the meffenger of the Company, and the preffes were broke open, and all the arms, ferviceable and unferviceable, fent to the Tower, without the least leave or licence from the prefident, vice prefident, treasurer, or court of affiftants.

At the first meeting of the court of affiftants, after the arms were taken away, Mr. North attended, and juftified his conduct by the laws of the Company; the firft of which is, "That the Company fhall be governed by a prefident, vice prefident, treasurer, and court of affiftants, who of course have, or ought to have, the fole right of altering or difpofing of the arms and stores of that Company, as well as of making all laws for the good government of the Company, for which they are amenable to no other court except the annual general court."

A gentleman who attended at this meeting informed the court, that he was come on purpose to acquaint them, That if they proceeded to any violent measures, it might be attended with ferious confequences; that they were to remember, that most of them held commiffions under the Lieutenancy; and that it would be very imprudent in them to affront certain perfons in power. Such was the force of this argument, that it actually prevailed on a majority of the court of affiftants of the Artillery Company to pass a vote of

thanks

thanks to the L- M for what he had ordered to be done; and Mr. G, who is clerk to the Lieutenancy, and lieut. col. Cn, who holds a place in the excise, were ordered to wait upon his Lp with fuch thanks: and though it was thought by fome, that this message ought not to be sent to his L- -p till the vote of thanks were confirmed at another meeting, yet it did not appear in this light to them; they took the first opportunity, before the next meeting of the court, to wait upon his L- p. It was fortunate that they did fo for at the next meeting the vote of thanks was refcinded.

On the 28th of June a court of Lieutenancy was held at Guildhall, at which the L M prefided. How the Artillery Company and Mr. North were depictured there, will appear by the following refolution.

At a Court of L

IT

L

held at G London, on Tuef

day the 28th of June, 1768.

T having been reprefented to this court by the right honourable T- H, L LM, That his -p has been treated with great contempt by Edward North, armourer to, and one of the court of affiftants of, the Artillery Company, on a requifition made to him by his Lp, to take off the locks of the fmall arms belonging to the faid Company, to prevent their falling into the hands of riotous and turbulent perfons, in the time of the late difturbances in this city and neighbourhood thereof: And it likewife appearing to this court, that application had been made by order of the right honourable the LM, to the said Edward North for the keys of the preffes wherein the faid arms were depofited at the armoury house, that fuch arms might have been removed to his majesty's Tower of London for fafe cuftody; and that the faid Edward North had refused to deliver fuch keys:

Refolved,

That the annual payment of one hundred and fifty pounds, allowed by this court to the Artillery Company be fufpended, until the court of affiftants of the faid Company have made fatisfaction to the right honourable the LM for the indignity offered his Lp by Edward North, armourer to the faid Company.

Refolved,

Refolved,

That a copy of the above resolution be laid before the next court of affiftants of the Artillery Company.

Signed by the C-k of this Court,

C-k to His M-y's C

for the City of London.

EG

Presently after this meeting of the Lieutenancy, two gentlemen waited upon Sir Robert Ladbroke, the prefident of the Artillery Company, to defire him to call a court of affistants of that Company, to meet on the 5th of July, instead of the 12th of July, to which day that court flood adjourned. At the meeting of this court of affiftants, where Sir Robert Ladbroke prefided, the refolution of the Lieutenancy was delivered by Mr. G their clerk, when a motion was made, That Mr. North fhould be removed from the armourership of that Company; and though it could not be proved against him that he had behaved any way amifs in the duty of his office, yet the vote was carried, and he is accordingly removed.

After the removal of Mr. North from the place of armourer, a gentleman who is upon the court of affiftants, and has a place in the excife, moved, That Mr. North, and all the other gentlemen, who put the negative upon the thanks to the L- M-might be expelled. But this motion appeared fo very extraordinary, and fo evidently to strike at the root of all opinion, and all Society, that the question was not put.

The refolution of the Lieutenancy is certainly one of the moft extraordinary that is to be met with. That a man fhould be accused in a court where he could not be heard in his defence, and that the refentment of that court should fall upon a public Company, and that they must be mulcted, in order to make an atonement for the real or pretended offence of one man, is truly aftonifhing.

And here it may be proper to mention that lieutenant colonel C obferved, That the expulfion of Mr. North, was the fatisfaction required, but it no way appears fo in the refolution of the Lieutenancy.

It is neceffary to obferve, That out of the sum of 150l. per annum, paid to the Artillery Company, one moiety, is, when received by the company, directly paid to the commiffioned officers of the militia, who have attended the public marches of that company; and the other moiety is expended

in the neceffary expences of inftructing the officers and ferjeants of the militia in their duty, and in paying the ferjeants for their attendance on the public marches of that Company. And no members of the Company, but thofe who are in commiffion, or ferjeants, receive one farthing of it.

There are now five years in arrear, amounting to 7501. which is all ftopped by this ex poft facto law, though they have actually done the duty required for it: This money arifes out of the trophy tax paid by the citizens of London.

It is now left to the impartiality of the public, to decide upon the very extraordinary method, in which the Artillery Company, and their armourer, have been treated; and it is not doubted, but if it appear that that Company have laws of their own, that then they are to be governed by those laws, and that no magiftrate has a right to dispense with them, or to endeavour, by any means, to remove a man merely for doing his duty; much less to punish a whole fociety for any real or fuppofed crime of an individual.

*** One of the principal officers in the LM

own regiment has affured Mr. North, that the lofs of his place is owing to his having profeffed a friendship for Mr. Wilkes.

On Tuesday, July 19, at a general court of the Artillery Company, holden at the Armoury Houfe in the ArtilleryGround, at which Sir Robert Ladbroke prefided, Mr. North was now continued on the court of affiftants, and unanimously re-chofen armourer.

For the POLITICAL REGISTER.

The cry to punish the rebellious Bostonians being now univerfal in this country, it is but an act of common juftice to thofe unhappy people, to hear what they have to say for themselves, before we lance our thunder against them. I therefore hope you will lay before your readers the following Extract of a Letter I have lately received from a correfpondent in Boston.

WE E have now taken up the like refolution to refift the execution of

the late duty-act, and all former ones where money is to be paid, as we did against the ftamp-act; and as you. will probably have our, conduct much misreprefented by the Grenvilliens, I will give you the true motives of it. We were afraid you were determined to have a revenue from us in fome fhape or other, and therefore we thought it best for us, as we were determined to give you none, to refift the collection of it in every shape, and that the fooner we begun, the better; because as the prefent duties were inconfiderable, we fuppofed you

Would

would not go to extremities with us for a trifle, and, unless you did, we were determined to fhew you we would not pay a penny. Another reafon ftill ftronger for our immediate oppofition was, the accounts we had of the fluctating ftate of your miniftry, and we were afraid we might not have as many friends about the K---_in_the_next arrangement as we now had.---G. C. was a lofs we fenfibly regretted; we knew we had nothing to fear, fo long as the orders paffed through himn; we all had been told of his declaration, that he would fooner cut off his hand than fign an order for the military to fire upon us. We had then nothing to do but to be fo very riotous, that he must fee no means but the military power could prevail against us, and our business was done; we were fure, if the act was not repealed, it would never be executed, and that was pretty much the fame thing: we ftill had comfort for his lofs, by the knowledge we had of the part his fucceffor had taken in the ftamp-act affair. That noble L-- had declared against the right of parliament to tax us, and notwithstanding parliament had declared the contrary, we had that opinion of his L---p's candour, that he never would think it criminal in us to be of his opinion, though it might not now be fo fafe for him to declare himfelf of ours. His noble friend the C-r was the chief stay we trufted in; that great lawyer who told us, the law of nature required taxes to be impofed by the peoples reprefentatives only, in the teeth of your magna charta; a bill of rights which do not use the term, ard in defiance of all the political conftitutions in the world. He, we hoped, was too confcientious a man, as well as too good a lawyer, to allow, that where parliament had no power, parliaments faying it had, could not give it. Could we be fo loft to common fenfe, as not to adopt that plain mode of reafoning, and might we not expect he would become our advocate, and plead the oppreffion of this act of parliament as the justifiable cause of our violences, in like manner as he fo glorioufly fupported us in our reliftance to the stamp-act, by the fame arguments. Poor old C---m we had but little hopes from, we knew it was over with him; but we thought we owed him one more occafion for rejoicing before he quit the stage, in gratitude for the former triumph he obtained for us over the mother country. Now, my good friend, can you blame us for making use of the present happy fituation of things, to fecure our independence on parliament for ever: and can you fuppofe our will be fo unjust to punih us Americans, for doing what he has rewarded Englishmen with his highest stations and fulleft confidence, for declaring we had a right to do. No, my friend, we are all fafe, if the prefent fyftem holds, and for fear it fhould not, we have made difpatch.'

----

For the POLITICAL REGISTER.

A Narrative of the late Proceedings at Bofion; with the authentic Papers relating thereto.

Bofton, June 20.

FRiday the 10th inftant, towards evening, the officers of the customs of this port made a feizure of a floop, belonging to, and lying at the wharf of John Hancock, Efq; which veffel was improved as a store, to put fome barrels of oil on board, there being no ro n in the owner's ftores on the wharf. After the officers took poffeffion of the loop, one of them made a fignal to his majefty's thip Romr y, then lying off in the harbour, whereupon the boats belonging to the faid fhip, were immediately

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