CHAP. XVI.
Lord Cornbury's
answer to the assembly's remonstrance.
"Gentlemen,
"On thursday
last I received a paper from you, which you call a
remonstrance; I
then told you, it was of an extraordinary nature, and
contained many particulars,
which tho' they lay open enough to receive
an immediate
answer, yet because I would not put it in your power to say
I had given you a
rash inconsiderate answer, I would make no return to it
'till the
saturday following, at which time I sent you word by the
secretary, that I
should not expect your attendance 'till this day. I shall
not take notice
of any thing in your preamble, but the two last clauses of
it; in the first
of which you say, that you have reason to think that some
of your sufferings
are owing to the governor's long absence from this
province, which
renders it very difficult to apply to him in some cases
that may need a
present help: This is so far from being true, that besides
my being twice in
this province every year, and have never staid less
than a month,
some times six weeks, or more; the post goes every week
to New-York, by
which I may be easily in formed of any emergency; moreover
the lieutenant
governor, colonel Ingoldsby, resides constantly in this
province, and
would certainly have done right to any persons that would
have complained
to him; which makes this allegation very frivolous.
"In the next
clause you say, that it were to be wished that the affairs of
New-York would
admit the governor oftener to attend those of New-Jersey.
The affairs of
New-York have never hindred the governor from attending
those of
New-Jersey, whenever it has been requisite; and I can safely say,
I don't know of
any grievances this province labours under, except it be
the having a
certain number of people, in it who will never be faithful to
nor live quietly
under any government, nor suffer their neighbours to
enjoy any peace,
quiet or happiness, if they can help it.
"I now begin
with your articles.
"Two women that
have been condemned for murdering, have not been executed,
there having
appeared most notorious malice and revenge in some people,
who were zealous
in these prosecutions; the queen is the fountain of
honour, justice
and mercy; and as she is so, she may when she pleases,
exert her mercy,
either in reprieving or pardoning any criminal: That
power of
pardoning and reprieving after condemnation, the subjects of this
province, her
majesty has been pleased to intrust me with; and I am no
ways accountable
to any person or number of persons whatsoever, for what I
do in those
matters, but to the queen's majesty alone.
"As for what
you say, with relation to the apprehensions you have, that
just heaven will
not fail to pour down vengeance upon your already
miserable
country, if these criminals are not made to suffer according to
their demerits: I
am of opinion, that nothing has hindered the vengeance
of just heaven
from falling upon this province long ago, but the infinite
mercy, goodness,
long suffering, and forbearance of almighty God, who has
been abundantly
provoked by the repeated crying sins of a perverse
generation among
us, and more especially by the dangerous and abominable
doctrines and the
wicked lives and practices of a number of people; some
of whom under the
pretended name of christians, have dared to deny the
very essence and
being of the saviour of the world: It is a strange thing,
that such an
assembly of men as the representatives of the people of this
province are or
ought to be, should complain of any thing under the name
of hardship,
before they had informed themselves whether the thing they
had a mind to
complain of, were really a hardship or not: This plainly is
your case at this
time; for if you had asked any man, that knows any thing
of the practice
of the law in England, you would have found, that if any
proceedings had
been carried on against any persons supposed to be guilty,
they have always
paid the court fees, notwithstanding the grand jury have
not found the
bill; and this is so known a practice, that it is not to be
disputed; but
when men will intermeddle with, or pretend to things which
they neither know
nor understand, they cannot fail of misguiding
themselves, and
misleading those that have a mind to be guided by them.
"Indeed, if
juries in this country were as they ought to be, the
supposition might
in some measure be allowed; but we find by woful
experience, that
there are many men who have been admitted to serve
upon grand and
petty juries, who have convinced the world that they have
no regard for the
oaths they take, especially among a sort of people, who
under a pretence
of conscience, refuse to take an oath; and yet many of
them under the
cloak of a very solemn affirmation, dare to commit the
greatest
enormities, especially if it be to serve a friend, as they call
him; and these
are the designing men, and the vindictive tempers, of which
all the queen's
good subjects ought to beware, and be protected from; and
these are the
crying sins which will undoubtedly draw down the vengeance
of just heaven
upon this province and people, if not timely and seriously
repented of.
"If I could
persuade myself to wonder at any of the denormities contained
in this
remonstrance (and which I would do if it came from any other men)
it should be at
this; because no reasonable man can persuade himself to
believe, that a
number of men chosen by their country to represent them,
would presume to
complain of a thing as a grievance, when the thing
complained of is in
fact not true; for the office of probate of wills is
wherever the
governor is; consequently not at Burlington only: Ever since
the queen has
done me the honour to entrust me with the government of this
province, I have
never failed of being in the province twice every year,
once at
Burlington, and once at Amboy; except the last year, that I had
the unspeakable
misfortune of losing a wife, whom I loved as my own soul,
after a very long
tedious sickness, during which I am persuaded no
reasonable man
could expect I should leave her for any time; and yet
notwithstanding
that, I was twice at Amboy last year, where any body that
had a will to
prove, might have had it done if they had pleased; besides
my being twice
every year in the province, considering the remoteness of
Cape-May county
and the county of Salem, I did appoint a surrogate at
Burlington,
before whom any of the inhabitants of either division might
have had their
wills proved; I did not think it necessary to appoint one
in the Eastern
division because the inhabitants of that division who are
most remote from
New-York, are within a very easy day's journey of my
surrogate at
Burlington, and much the major part of the people of that
division, are
within a small day's journey of New-York, where their
private affairs
daily calls many of them, and where any of them may have
their wills
proved without any injury to, or encroachments upon their
properties,
rights or privileges: This is so certain a truth, that I am
persuaded all
judicious and impartial men will look upon this complaint to
be malicious,
scandalous, and frivolous, contrived only to amuse poor
ignorant people
with notions of grievances; when in truth there is no
manner or cause
of complaint: Besides what you desire, is a direct
invasion of the
queen's prerogative; for it belongs to her majesty alone to
appoint who shall
take probate of wills, and grant letters of
administration;
and that power the queen has been pleased to vest in the
governor; and I
am sure I will never so far betray the trust her majesty
has honoured me
with, as to sacrifice her prerogative royal, to the
humours of any
person or persons whatsoever: But of all the people in
the world, the
quakers ought to be the last to complain of the hardships
of travelling a few
miles upon such an occasion, who never repine at the
trouble and
charges of travelling several hundred miles to a yearly
meeting, where it
is evidently known, that nothing was ever done for the
good of the
country, but on the contrary continual contrivances are
earned on for the
undermining of the government both in church and
state.
"You have
had as little regard to the truth of matter of fact in this
complaint, as in
some of the rest; for it is certain, that the secretary's
office is kept at
Amboy, as well as at Burlington, as far as the nature of
the thing
requires, and it can admit of; for the records of the eastern
division, or at
least so many of them as the agent for the proprietors of
that division
could hitherto recover from one Thomas Gordon, into whose
hands they were
put in the time of the proprietors government, and who has
embezzled several
of them, for which he must he answerable: There is a
supreme court
held once every year at Amboy, there is no more at
Burlington; so
that one division does not enjoy more privileges and
advantages than
the other; and you have no more reason to desire a
secretary's
office to be settled at Amboy, than the people of the county
of Cumberland
would have to desire a secretary of state's office to be
settled in their
county, because it is a great way for them to travel to
London when they
have any business in the secretary's office; the thing
is inconsistent
in itself; to have two secretaries offices in the same
province, and
consequently unreasonable, and I am pretty well satisfied
without
precedent; besides I don't know any body that can claim the right
or power of
appointing a secretary in this province but the queen, and she
has been pleased
to appoint one under the great seal of England, and her
majesty is pleased
to think one sufficient, as undoubtedly it is; but if
you had thought
that another had been necessary, it would have been much
more modest to
have acquainted me with it, that I might have humbly
represented it to
her majesty, rather than to have remonstrated that as a
grievance, which
is done in pursuance of the queen's commands: But this is
of the same
nature with the rest of your complaints, contrived on purpose
to amuse the poor
ignorant people with a notion of grievances, when in
truth there is not
the least colour or cause of complaint. I could wish,
since you had a
mind to colour this complaint with the authority of an act
of parliament of
England, that you had advised with some lawyer, to know
whether this
could be any ways brought under that statute, or can by any
construction in
the world be called a monopoly; but where a man engrosses
a commodity into
his own hands, and imposes what unreasonable price he
pleases upon that
commodity, or where a man is suffered to enjoy any trade
or occupation
exclusive of others, to the prejudice of the publick, or
particularly the
hindering or burthening of trade; the thing now
complained of is
so far from being of that nature, that it is directly
contrary; for by
the patent now complained of; the subjects of this
province have the
conveniency of sending such quantities of goods to and
from Burlington
and Amboy, as their private occasions, or the nature of
their trade
requires, at reasonable and certain rates, and at certain
times, which they
never could do before; for before the settling of this
waggon, if any
persons had occasion to send any goods to or from either of
those places,
they were forced to hire a waggon, tho' perhaps they had not
the tenth part of
a load, and were forced to pay such rates as the owners
of the waggon
thought fit to impose upon them; whereas at present every
body is sure once
a fortnight to have an opportunity of sending any
quantity of
goods, great or small, at reasonable rates, without being in
danger of being imposed
upon at the will of the owner of the waggon; and
the settling of
this waggon is so far from being a grievance or a
monopoly, that by
this means and no other, a trade has been carried on
between
Philadelphia, Burlington, Amboy and New-York, which was never
known before; and
in all probability would never have been, had it not
been for this
certain convenient way of sending such, quantity of goods as
people pleased
from place to place; and in all the parts of Europe, the
having publick
carriages for goods has always been esteemed of absolute
necessity, and
the want of them has been looked upon as a hardship: But it
seems those
things which in the wisest and best governments in Europe,
have not only
been thought convenient but esteemed of absolute necessity,
are found out by
some of our wiser people here, to be grievances and
monopolies: This
being undoubtedly true, it's plain the patent complained
of cannot come
within the stat. of the 21 Ja. 1. chap. 3. This I believe
will be
sufficient to convince all reasonable men, how frivolous and
unreasonable this
complaint is. I shall observe, that when I was first
applied to for a
patent for the allowing this waggon, which was by one
Dellaman, who in
colonel Hamilton's time was permitted to drive a waggon
for carrying
goods, tho' under no regulation, either with respect to times
of going, or
prices for carrying goods, and then was no monopoly; before I
would grant it, I
did acquaint the council with it, and desired them to
let me know, if
they apprehended any inconveniency in granting such a
patent; those
gentlemen were all of opinion, there could be no
inconveniency in
it, but rather a great conveniency; and indeed experience
has proved that
opinion to be true; nay, Mr. Lewis Morris himself; the
chief promoter of
these unreasonable and frivolous complaints at this
time, who had the
honour to be one of her majesty's council, expressed
himself very
fully to that purpose: Indeed had that gentleman ever been
consistent with
himself in any two actions of his life, I should wonder
how he could so
soon alter his opinion in a case of that nature; but his
behaviour at all
times having fully convinced the world that he never was
so, makes me
cease wondering: This clause of your remonstrance is indeed
of a more extravagant
nature than the former, for you presume to call that
a great
grievance, and affirm it to be directly contrary to magna charta,
and contrary to
the queen's express directions in the governor's
instructions;
which is most certainly eactly pursuant to, and in obedience
of the express
words contained in the queen's instructions to the
governor; so that
you make the governor's faithful obedience to the
instructions the
queen has honoured him with, to be a great grievance;
which is no less
than accusing her most sacred majesty, the best of
queens, of
commanding her governor to do things which in themselves are
great grievances;
how grateful a return this is to her majesty, for the
repeated favours
she has been pleased to shew to this province and people,
let the world
judge!
"That clause
of my instructions which you recite in this article, has no
manner of
relation to fees; indeed there is another clause in my
instructions,
which directs how, and by whom, all fees shall be settled,
and the queen's
commands have been observed; the words of the clause
are those, 'And
you are with the advice and consent of our said council,
to take especial
care to regulate all salaries and fees belonging to
places, or paid
upon emergencies, that they be within the bounds of
moderation, and
that no exaction be made on any occasion whatsoever; as
also that tables
of all fees be publickly hung up in all places where such
fees are to be
paid, and you are to transmit copies of all such tables of
fees to us, and
to our commissioners for trade and plantations as
aforesaid;' and I
challenge every one of you, and all mankind, to shew,
how, when, and
where, any man's life, member, freehold, or goods, have
been taken away,
or harmed in this province, since it came under her
majesty's government,
otherwise than by established and known laws, not
repugnant to, but
as much as may be, agreeable to the laws of England:
When I first read
this clause, I could not imagine what it was put in for,
unless it were on
purpose to arraign the queen's express commands to me.
First, Mr.
Sonmans is not the pretended agent, but the lawfully
constituted agent
for the proprietors of the eastern division of this
province, and has
qualified himself according to the queen's instructions
to me, and he
does reside the greatest part of his time in the province;
the records are
not carried out of the Eastern division, unless it be those
which Thomas
Gordon has imbezzled; but those that came to the hands of Mr.
Sonmans are kept
at Amboy, where any body may have recourse to them that
will desire it,
at any reasonable hour; and the country is not under any
disappointment
upon that account; besides the records of the Eastern
division were put
into the hands of the proprietors agent, by an order
from England,
upon a complaint made in England, that the records were not
in the hands of
the proprietors agents.
" 'These,
governor, are some of the grievances.'
"This is
certainly one of the boldest assertions that ever was made,
especially when
there appears no manner of proof to make it out: When I
read these two
clauses; for there are two before you come to enumerate
these grievances
of an higher nature, and attended with worse
consequences, I
expected to have found myself, or some other persons
intrusted with me
in the administration of the government over her
majesty's
subjects in this province, not only accused, but made plainly
appear, by
undeniable manifest proofs, beyond the possibility of a
contradiction, to
be guilty of the most enormous crimes: Who can imagine
when such a body
of men, as the representatives of a province, venture to
say, that they
did expect when the government of the Jersies was
surrendered, to
feel the influences of the queen's mild government under
her more
immediate administration, and to be protected in the full
enjoyment of
their liberties and properties; the last of which they thought
themselves a
little more secure in, than some of the neighbouring
plantations, and
had an entire dependance that her majesty's royal bounty
and goodness would
never be wanting to make them easy and happy, even
beyond their
wishes; it is their misfortune, that they must say, the
success has not
answered the expectation; and the queen's subjects here
have felt the
reverse of what they had most reason to hope that the
greatest and best
of princes is without all peradventure ignorant of their
pressures, or
they had long since had relief; she is too good to continue
even the deserved
sufferings of the miserable, and has more of heaven in
her, than not to
hear the cries of those that groan under oppression and
the unkind
effects of mistaken power, to whom they owe their misery;
who would not, I
say, after such assertions, expect to see the governor
proved guilty
either of treason, or betraying the trust reposed in him by
the queen, by
depriving the subjects of their lives, their estates or
properties, or at
least denying them justice, and perverting the laws, to
the oppression,
instead of administ'ring them for the protection and
preservation of
the people committed to his charge? These or the like
crimes manifestly
proved, are the only things that can justify men in the
accusing a
governor of corrupt practice, and of shaking the liberties and
properties of the
people; but if none of these things can be proved, but on
the contrary, it
does appear plainly, that no one act of severity, much
less of injustice
or oppression, has been done since the government of this
province came
under the queen, but that there has been an impartial, just
and equal administration
of justice observed thro' out the whole course of
my government,
and that many acts of mercy have been extended to persons
who deserved to
be severely punished; then what sort of creatures must
these bold
accusers appear to be, in the eyes of all impartial and
judicious men!
That these are truths beyond all contradiction, and which
all the people of
this province know, I do challenge you, and every one of
you, to prove the
contrary: And tho' I know very well, that there are
several unquiet
spirits in the province, who will never be content to live
quiet under any
government but their own, and not long under that neither,
as appears by
their methods of proceeding when the government was in the
hands of the
proprietors; when many of these very men who are now the
remonstrancers,
were in authority, and used the most arbitrary and illegal
methods of
procceding over their fellow subjects that were ever heard of;
yet I am
satisfied, there are very few men in the province, except Samuel
Jenings and Lewis
Morris, men known neither to have good principles, nor
good morals, who
have ventured to accuse a governor of such crimes,
without any proof
to make out their accusation; but they are capable of
any thing but
good.
"But that
the unreasonableness of these complaints may appear the plainer,
let us consider
what these enormities of mine are, that have turn'd the
benign influences
of the queen's mild government into oppression, and the
unkind effect of
mistaken power: First, by the instructions her most
sacred majesty
the queen has honoured me with, I am to allow all such
agents as the
general proprietors shall appoint, such agents qualifying
themselves by
taking such oaths as the queen is pleased to direct, and no
others; no
persons under the name of a council of proprietors have ever
tendered
themselves to take those oaths, consequently they are not capable
of acting as
agents; Besides, I say, those people who call themselves a
council of
proprietors, are a parcel of people, pretending to act by a
power derived
from certain persons, who have no power to grant; the
governor has
therefore done in this case; nothing but his duty, in
hindering, as far
as in him lay, that pretended council of proprietors
from acting
illegally, which they have long done to the prejudice of her
majesty's
subjects: This is a truth I cannot doubt of; because besides the
other reasons I
have to satisfy me in that point, you have voted my
putting the
records of the eastern division into the hands of Peter
Sonmans, to be a
grievance; tho' Mr. Sonmans has qualified himself long
ago; so that the
council of proprietors not having qualified themselves at
all, is a much
greater grievance. By the queen's instructions to me, she
is pleased to
direct, that no person shall be capable of being elected a
representative by
the freeholders of either division, or afterwards
sitting in
general assembly, who shall not have one thousand acres of land,
of an estate of
freehold in his own right, within the division for which
he shall be
chosen; two gentlemen of the council informed me, that three
persons, whose
names they then mentioned, were not qualified; upon which I
refused to take
their attestations (for they were all Quakers) and in so
doing, I did my
duty: I recommended it to the assembly at that time to
proceed in the
first place, to enquire into that matter; but they did not
think fit to do
it, 'till they had sat about three weeks, and then they
sent me a
message, to desire those three members might be sworn, for they
were satisfied
they were qualified; I sent them word, that if they would
communicate to me
the proofs which had satisfied them, I should be ready
to admit them;
but that they would not do: In some few days the assembly
was adjourned to
meet at Burlington, where they met at the time appointed,
and sent me the
same message as they had done before; I sent them the same
answer; upon
which they ordered the three members to produce to me the
proofs of their
qualifications; which having done, I admitted them
immediately, which
I could not do before, without breaking the queen's
instructions; so
that it was entirely through their own stubborness that
they were not
admitted sooner, and no intent or desire of mine to keep
them out: If I
had had a mind to keep any members out of the house, I
could have made
objections which they could never have answered; but such
practices are
below me; and it is not true, that I have made any violation
of the liberties
of the people, nor have assumed to myself a negative
voice to the
freeholders election of representatives, as this house of
representatives
has lately most notoriously done: But of that more anon.
"Indeed the
treatment I have met with from this house of representatives,
is far different
from what I and all reasonable men expected from most of
them, thinking
them endowed with reason and common justice to mankind; but
it is not
different from what I expected from Samuel Jenings and Lewis
Morris, two men
notoriously known always to have been disturbers of the
quiet and peace
of this province, men always possessed with passionate
heats, and the
transports of most vindictive tempers, but never capable of
such serious
resentments as would become a house of representatives, if
there were any
occasion given them to shew any; how they have been able to
prevail with the
major part of the house to join with them, in destroying
as far as in them
lay, the reputation of a gentleman who has the honour to
serve the queen
as governor of this province, and is so far from deserving
such treatment from
them, that he has always done to the utmost of his
power, for the
good, welfare and prosperity of this province and people,
and would have
done much more if the assembly would have put it into his
power, by
preparing such bills as the governor at the beginning of every
sessions has
recommended to them, and the condition of the country
required; but
that they must answer for to God and their own consciences,
and perhaps one
day to me.
"Whether many
considerable sums of money have been raised or not, I know
not; and if they
were raised,for what intent and purpose they were raised
I know not; but
this I know, that if any money was raised, it was not
given to me, nor
was ever any money offered to me to procure the
dissolution of
the first assembly, or to get clear of the proprietors quit
rents, or to
obtain such officers as the contributors should approve of;
as is falsly
alledged: The reasons why I dissolved the first assemby were
evident to all mankind;
for it was plain that house never intended to do
any thing for the
support of the queen's government, nor for the good of
the country; and
indeed better could not be expected from an assembly so
corruptly chosen
as that was; for some of the now remonstrancers, and some
other people,
prevailed with Thomas Gordon, then sheriff of the county of
Middlesex, to
refuse a poll when demanded; and when the people, injured by
that practice,
complained to the house of representatives, they had a day
assigned them to
be heard, but were limited to bring but twenty witnesses;
the people
attended at the day appointed, with the number of witnesses
they were allowed
to bring, but were then by the house refused to be
heard, not only
by themselves but by their council, and their witnesses
refused to be
examined; tho' at the same time they heard Thomas Gordon,
who was
complained against, and did examine some witnesses on his behalf;
upon which the
petition of the complainants was dismist, thereby supporting
the illegal proceedings
of the sheriff; this was a violalation of the
rights of the
people with a vengance, and a sufficient reason, (if I had
no other) for the
dissolving that assembly, that the people might once
more have a free
choice of their representatives: As for getting clear of
the proprietors
quit rents, it is such an absurdity to mention, that no
body would be
guilty of it but Samuel Jenings and Lewis Morris; for it is
evident, that at
the beginning of every sessions I have recommended it to
the assembly, to prepare
a Bill or Bills, for settling the rights of the
proprietors;
which I suppose will be a full answer to that part; and as I
know of no such
men as contributors, so can I have no such application
made to me: I
have not knowingly put any mean or mercenary men into
office; indeed at
my first coming into the government of this province, I
desired the
gentlemen of the council, to recommend persons to me fit to be
put into offices,
military and civil; several of them gave me lists, and
amongst the rest
Mr. Lewis Morris gave me one, which I have still by me,
in which indeed,
by experience, I find there are some mean, scandalous
men; but I cannot
accuse any body else of doing the like. Thus much I
thought myself
obliged to say, in answer to your remonstrance, to satisfy
the world of the
falshood of your allegations and the unreasonableness of
your complains. I
have said the less in answer to the scandalous
reflections you
have cast upon me, because I do not doubt, but upon my
most humble
application to her most sacred majesty the queen, she will
be graciously
pleased to allow me to take such measures as may be most
proper to procure
me ample satisfaction, for the great and extravagant
injuries you have
done me: As for the advice you conclude with, I shall
only say, that I
can never answer the taking advice from men who do not
know how to
govern themselves, and who have always opposed the service of
the queen, and
the interest and good of the country, which are inseparable.
"Now,
gentlemen, I shall take notice to you of some of your late
unaccountable
proceedings in this assembly, which I can't pass by
without a breach
of the trust reposed in me by her majesty; and first, I
shall observe,
that at the opening of the sessions, I recommended to you
the settling a
revenue, and the preparing several bills which I thought
might be useful
for the country; and I told you, that if you found any
thing else
necessary to be provided for by a law, you should always find
me ready to agree
to any thing that might be reasonable; but instead of
proceeding upon
those things so necessary, that they ought to have
employed your
first thoughts, you have squandered away your time in
hawking after
imaginary grievances, for the space of one whole month,
without making
one step towards the service of the queen, or the country;
you have presumed
to take the queen's subjects into the custody of the
serjeant at arms,
who are not members of your house; which you can't
lawfully do; and
is a notorious violation of the liberties of the people;
you have taken
upon you, to administer an oath to one of your members,
and have expelled
him the house for refusing to take an oath, which you
could not legally
administer to him: This is most certainly robbing that
member of his
property, and a most notorious assuming to yourselves a
negative voice to
the freeholders election of their representatives; for
which there can
be no precedent found: You have arbitrarily taken upon
you, to command
the high sheriff of this county, to discharge a prisoner
who was in his
custody, at the suit of one of the queen's subjects; and he
has been weak
enough to do it, for which he lies liable to be sued for an
escape, whenever
the gentleman thinks fit to do it; and from which you
cant protect him.
This is a notorious violation of the rights of the
subjects, and a
manifest interruption of justice: You have taken upon
you, to appoint
one of your members to act as clerk of the committee of
the whole house,
which you have no power to do; and the party
officiating is
liable to be prosecuted for acting without lawful authority,
and without being
qualified to act. These, gentlemen, are some of the
irregularities
you have been guilty of this sessions; some of them are
encroachments
upon the queen's prerogative, the rest are all notorious
infractions upon
the liberties and properties of the people.
"I was going
to conclude, with giving you some wholesome advice; but I
consider that
will be but labour lost, and therefore shall reserve it for
persons who I
hope will make a right use of it."