of the most promising countries upon earth with political exition, cannot but lament that while we are endeavouring to preserve peace and maintain the authority of the laws, at a period when the bands of government are relaxed, by violent infractions on the Charter of the Province, our enemies are practising every insidious stratagem to seduce the people into acts of violence and outrage.

We beg leave to address your Excellency on a subject which excites our apprehensions extremely; and in the representation of facts, we promise to pay that sacred regard to truth, which, had our adversaries observed, we flatter ourselves it would have precluded the necessity of our addressing your Excellency on this occasion.

We are informed from good authority that a number of people from Marshfield and Scituate, have made application to your Excellency, soliciting the aid of a detachment of his Majesty's Troops, for the security and protection of themselves and properties. That their fears and intimidation were entirely groundless; that no design or plan of molestation was formed against them, or existed, but in their own imaginations, their own declarations, and their actions, which have a more striking language, abundantly demonstrate. Several men of unquestionable veracity, residing in the Town of Marshfield, have solemnly called God to witness, before one of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace, that they not only never heard of any intention to disturb the complainants, but repeatedly saw them, after they pretended to be under apprehensions of danger, attending to their private affairs without arms, and even after they had lodged their arms a few miles distant from their respective houses.

They frequently declared in conversation with, the deponents, that they were not apprehensive of receiving any injury in their persons or properties; and one of them, who is a minor, (as many of them are) being persuaded to save his life by adjoining himself to the petitioners, but after wards abandoning them by the request of his father, deposeth in the like solemn manner, that he was under no intimidation himself, nor did he ever hear any of them say that he was. It appears as evident as if written with a sun-bearn, from the general tenor of the testimony, (which we are willing to lay before your Excellency, if desired,) that their expressions of fear were a fallacious pretext, dictated by the inveterate enemies of our Constitution, to induce your Excellency to send Troops into the County, to augment the difficulties of our situation, already very distressing; and what confirms this truth, (if it need any confirmation,) is the assiduity and pains which we have taken to investigate it; we have industriously and impartially scrutinized into the cause of this alarm, and cannot find that it has the least foundation in reality.

All that we have in view in this Address, is to lay before your Excellency a true state of facts, and to remove that opprobrium which this movement of the military reflects on this country; and as a spirit of enmity and falsehood is prevalent in the country, and as every thing which comes from a gentleman of your Excellency's exalted station, naturally acquires great weight and importance, we earnestly entreat your Excellency to search into the grounds of every report previous to giving your assent to it.

Signed by a number of Selectmen.

Pembroke, February 7, 1775.

London, February 7, 1775.

At a respectable meeting, yesterday, of the Merchants, Traders, and others, concerned in the American Commerce, Mr. Lane took the Chair at one o'clock, and Mr. Baker informed the company, that, agreeable to their instructions at the last meeting, the second Petition had been presented to the House of Commons, and a motion made thereon to rescind the order of Monday, the 23d of January, which had referred the first Petition to the Committee; that, after a long debate, the House refused to receive the motion, and the Petition was ordered to lie on the table; that, under this circumstance, the Committee had no alternative but to be heard before that ineffectual Committee, or to waive appearing at the bar; and being of opinion the latter was the most manly conduct, they resolved to desire one of the Committee to deliver the following Declaration, which Mr. Wooldridge accordingly complied with, viz: "I am directed by the Committee of Merchants, Traders, and others, of the City of London, concerned in the Commerce of America, to represent to this Honourable Committee, that Merchants revealing at this bar the state of their affairs, is a measure which all the world wish to avoid, unless upon such great occasions as the present, when the publick weal is evidently at stake, when their duty as good subjects requires it of them but when the mode of examination is such as totally precludes them from answering the great publick object, (which in their opinion is clearly the case at present,) they beg leave humbly to signify, that they waive appearing before the Committee which has been appointed, and that the Merchants are not under any apprehensions respecting their American debts, unless the means of remittance should be cut off by measures that may be adopted in Great Britain"

That the Committee, trusting in the propriety of the measure, and it being, in point of time, not in their power to take the sense of a general meeting, they hoped for the general approbation. He added that their Petitions were not withdrawn, or placed in any more favourable situation than when they were presented. He made some judicious and pertinent remarks on Lord North's motion on Friday last, and observed that the Americans ought to expect something more than indulgence, as expressed in the motion, when they were contending only for their just rights and unalienable privileges.

The proceedings of the Committee being generally approved, a motion was made and seconded to return them thanks for their conduct therein, and to Mr. Wooldridge, for his firm and manly conduct at the bar.

Mr. Baker then intimated that it was the opinion of the Committee that a Petition should be presented to the House of Lords, and a motion was accordingly made, and unanimously agreed to, "that it is the opinion of this meeting that, in the present alarming situation of American affairs, the Right Honourable the House of Lords should be petitioned forthwith."

The draft of a Petition was then presented and read, the substance of which is, "first, stating the very great consequence of the American Commerce to these Kingdoms, and how It had been injured by the operations of Parliament; secondly, soliciting redress from them, as the hereditary guardians of the Nation; and, lastly, praying the petitioners may be heard by counsel at the bar of the House previous to their Lordships' having any conference with the House of Commons on that subject."

This Petition, after being read three times, was unanimously approved of; it was ordered that it should be presented this day, as soon as the House of Lords should sit.

February 8, 1775.

There was a very respectable meeting of the Merchants, Traders, and others, concerned in American Commerce, at the King's Arms Tavern, Cornhill, yesterday evening, at five o'clock, agreeable to publick notice, "on very special affairs."

Mr. Lane took the Chair at half an hour after six o'clock, and then acquainted the meeting that the purpose of their being called together, was to report to them the progress and fate of their Petition to the House of Lords, for the further particulars of which he referred to Mr. Barclay, one of the Committee.

Mr. Barclay accordingly rose and stated the following particulars relative to the progress of the Petition since it had been agreed upon: On Tuesday, he said, it was given by the Committee to the Marquis of Rockingham, who promised to present it as soon as convenient, and further politely assured them he would otherwise give it all the assistance in his power. Accordingly, as soon as the Lords returned from the conference in the Painted Chamber to the House of Lords, his Lordship got up and was going to present the American along with the West Indian Petition, when Lord Dartmouth was adjudged by the House to be up before, consequently was heard first. Lord Dartmouth's motion being for the Lords "to agree with the Commons in an Address to his. Majesty to enforce due obedience, &c., from the Americans," gave rise to a debate which lasted till between two and three o'clock in the morning, during which time Lord. Rockingham read the prayer of