way; when the exigencies of affairs required us so to do, and he has condescended to ask it from us. It is the freedom of granting, as well as the mode of raising moneys, which this House cannot voluntarily part with, without betraying the just rights of the Constitution. The present Resolution seems to require us to raise a proportion which a Parliament of Great Britain may at any time think fit to grant. At this time we cannot form any judgment, either of the extent of the proposition, or of the consequences in which the good people of the Colony may be involved by our assent to a provision so indeterminate; for it appears to us to be impossible to judge what proportion or share the people can bear, until we know what situation they will be in when any sum is intended to be raised.

Upon the whole, though sincerely desirous to give every mark of duty and attachment to the King, and to show all due reverence to the Parliament of our Parent State, we cannot, consistent with our real sentiments, and the trust reposed in us, assent to a proposal big with consequences destructive to the publick welfare; and hope that the justice of our Parent Country will not permit us to be driven into a situation, the prospect of which fills us with anxiety and horrour.

There may be much truth in the observation, “that mankind generally act not according to right, but according to present interest, and most according to present passion.” Yet we trust that our conduct on the present occasion is neither influenced by the one nor the other; and we persuade ourselves that your Excellency is so well acquainted with the people you govern, that it is quite unnecessary for us to make use of any means to convince you of the injustice of the charge, “that the Americans have deeper views, and mean to throw of all dependance on Great Britain, and to get rid of every control of their Legislature.”

We heartily pray that the supreme Disposer of events, in whose hands are the hearts of all men, may avert the calamities impending over us, and influence our Sovereign, his Ministry; and the Parliament, so as to induce them to put a stop to the effusion of the blood of the Colonists, who wish always to look upon their fellow-subjects in Great Britain as their brethren, and are really desirous to promote their interests and happiness upon any reasonable terms; and it will give us great pleasure to find your Excellency amongst those who, by just and proper representations of the dispositions of the inhabitants of these Colonies, shall assist in settling of the present unhappy differences. By order of the House:

CORTLAND SKINNER, Speaker.

House of Assembly, May 19, 1775.

To which his Excellency was pleased to make the following Answer:

Gentlemen:

I have done my duty. I lost no time in laying before you the propositions I had received for an amicable accommodation of the present unhappy differences. I gave you as full and candid an explanation of them as I was authorized or enabled to do. Whether those propositions or my explanation of them did or did not contain any thing new, is but little to the purpose. The question is, whether they ought or ought not to be approved, either in whole or in part, or be made the ground of a negotiation; and whether, in the latter case, every Assembly on the Continent ought not to take some active measures to effect an end so desirable. In stating the matter to you, I could have no suspicion that you did not think yourselves competent to the business, and were necessarily to wait the determination of another body. It was but the last session you assured me that you would not “suffer any of the rights vested in you by the Constitution to be wrested out of your hands by any person or persons whatsoever.” I shall forbear to point out the inconsistency of this Address with that declaration. Nor shall I aim to convince you of the wrong ideas you have formed of those propositions. Were they ever so rightly understood, or ever so well approved by you, yet, to judge by your own declaration, it could be of no avail. The times are indeed greatly altered. I shall be happy to see some proper attempts made to mend them. My representations and endeavours, from the first commencement of this unnatural dispute to this day, have not been, nor shall they ever be, wanting towards effecting a reconciliation. I am persuaded that if a disposition of this sort is manifested, and the proper steps are pursued by those who have it in their power to take the lead in this important affair on the part of America, it may be easily accomplished to mutual satisfaction. His Majesty, I am sure, would wish to avoid the shedding of the blood of his American, as much as that of his British subjects. They must be all equally dear to him, if they are equally dutiful. The Americans, in general, have been, and I hope will ever prove as well disposed to His Majesty and Family, as the subjects of any other part of the Dominions.

The House adjourned till three, P. M.

The House met.

His Excellency having laid before the House a copy of the Resolution of the honourable the House of Commons of Great Britain, of the 20th of February, 1775, containing a plan formed for the accommodation of the unhappy differences between our Parent State and the Colonies; which plan, under the present circumstances, this House could not comply with and adopt; and yet this House being desirous of making use of all proper means to effect a reconciliation, do recommend it to their Delegates to lay the same plan before the Continental Congress for their consideration.

Ordered, That Mr. Mehelm and Mr. Elmer do go to the Council, and inquire whether they have any business before them; if not that this House proposes to apply to his Excellency for a dismission.

Mr. Mehelm reported that Mr. Elmer and himself waited on the Council accordingly, who said they had nothing before them.

Ordered, That Mr. Fisher and Mr. Lawrence do wait upon his Excellency, and acquaint him that the House having gone through the business, is desirous of a dismission.

Mr. Fisher reported, that Mr. Lawrence and himself waited upon the Governour accordingly, who was pleased to say the House should hear from him presently.

A Message from his Excellency by Mr. Deputy Secretary Pettit.

A Message to the Assembly.

Gentlemen:
It has been my unhappiness almost every session during the existence of the present Assembly, that a majority of the members of the House have suffered themselves to be persuaded to seize on every opportunity of arraigning my conduct, or fomenting some dispute, let the occasion be ever so trifling, or let me be ever so careful to avoid giving any just cause of offence. This, too, has been done with such an eagerness in the promoters of it as can only be accounted for on a supposition that they are either actuated by unmanly private resentment, or by a conviction that their whole political consequence depends upon a contention with their Governour. Such effusions of ill-humour have never yet, however, nor is it likely they ever will, produce any benefit to the Province; on the contrary, they have occasioned great delays and obstructions to the publick business, and consequently been attended with very considerable expense to the people.

In this light, and in no other, can I look upon the proceedings of your House with respect to the matter mentioned in your Message of Thursday. A member receives a pamphlet from England, containing, as is pretended, an extract of a letter from me to the Secretary of State. What does he do with it? Does he come to me, or does he write to me on the subject or does he even request any other person to inquire of me whether the extract is genuine or not? No, he treasures it up, till the House meets; but either through motives of shame or fear, he does not choose to appear openly in the affair himself. He looks around for some person to take the odium of the intended business off his hands, and presently finds one exactly fitted to his purpose. The pamplet is accordingly laid before the Assembly, the extract is read, inserted at large on the Minutes, ordered a second reading, and after it had been on record two days, the House at length thought proper to send me a message requesting I would be pleased to inform them “whether the said extract contains a true representation of the words or substance of the letter, or any part of the