Justice Ruston & Justice Emmet attending by appointment of the Governor to answer some Charges that were exhibited against them for male Administration in the Execution of their Office in several Petitions preferr'd to the Governor by the Inhabitants of Chester County, & the Petitioners likewise attending with their Evidences to make good their Accusations, the Parties were call'd in, & after a long Examination of the Witnesses on both sides, it appeared to the Board that Justice Ruston had acted an imprudent & unjustifiable Part, & that there were Parties subsisting among the Presbyterians in that part of the Country about Points of Religion which had but too much imbitter'd the Spirits of the Magistrates of that Persuasion. At a Council held at Philadelphia, Saturday, 22d April, 1749. PRESENT: The Honourable JAMES HAMILTON, Esq., Lieutenant Gov The Minutes of the preceding Council were read and approv'd. The Governor observ'd to the Board that the Commissions of the Peace being only of force by virtue of his Proclamation, & as it was usual for Governors to renew them at or soon after their Accession to the Government, he proposed to issue new Commissions, & desir'd the favour of the Board to recommend proper Persons to be Magistrates for the several Counties, & particularly at this time for the County of Lancaster, that Court sitting next Week, whereupon the Board took this Affair into Consideration, & the following Persons were agreed to, viz.: Thomas Edwards, Edward Smout, Emanuel Carpenter, Conrad Weiser, Samuel Smith, John Kyle, James Galbreath, Thomas Cookson, James Whitehill, Edward Berwick, James Gillaspy, William Maxwell, Samuel Anderson, John Postlethwaite, George Swope, the Chief Burgess of the Borough of Lancaster for the time being, William Parsons, Bernard Vanleer, James Wright, James Webb, George Croghan, William Hartly, Thomas Foster, David McClure, James Smith, John Day, Robert Dunning, Robert Harris, Patrick Watson, Mathew Dill, & Jedediah Alexander. At a Council held at Philadelphia, Monday, 15th May, 1749. PRESENT: The Honourable JAMES HAMILTON, Esqr., Lieutenant Gov ernor. Thomas Lawrence, Robert Strettell, Thomas Hopkinson, Abraham Taylor, Benjamin Shoemaker, Esqrs. The Minutes of the preceding Council were read and approv'd. The Governor inform'd the Board that having while he was at New Castle receiv'd a Packet from His Grace the Duke of Bedford, dated at Whitehall the 6th of February, 1748, containing His Majestie's Proclamation of Peace and His Grace's Letter signifying His Majestie's Commands to have the same Published in all Places within His Government, he had accordingly issued a Proclamation at New Castle & propos'd to do the same here, & after reading the Letter and His Majestie's Proclamation, which are as follows: "Sir: "WHITEHALL, 6th February, 1748. "A Definitive Treaty of Peace and Friendship having been concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle the 7th Day of October last by the Plenipotentiaries of His Majesty, the Most Christian King & the States General of the United Provinces, to which the Empress, Queen of Hungary, the Kings of Spain & Sardinia, the Duke of Modena, and the Republick of Genoa, having acceded, & the Ratifications thereof having been since exchanged, His Majesty has been pleased to command me to transmit to You the Proclamation which he has thought fit to issue on that occasion, & to signify His Pleasure to you that you cause the same to be published in all the proper Places in your Province, to the end that all His Subjects do take Notice of His Royal Will & Pleasure therein & conform themselves thereto accordingly. I am, "Whereas, A Definitive Treaty of Peace & Friendship between Us, the Most Christian King, & the States General of the United' Provinces, hath been concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle the seventh Day of October last, to which the Empress, Queen of Hungary, the Kings of Spain & Sardinia, the Duke of Modena, & the Republick of Genoa, have acceded, & the Ratifications thereof have been since exchanged; In conformity thereunto We have thought fit hereby to command that the same be published throughout all our Dominions. And We do declare to all our Loving Subjects our Will & Pleasure that the said Treaty of Peace and Friendship be observed inviolably, as well by Sea as Land, and in all Places whatsoever, strictly charging & commanding all our Loving Subjects to take Notice hereof, & to conform themselves thereto accordingly. "Given at our Court at St. James' the first Day of February, 1748, in the Twenty-second Year of our Reign. "GOD SAVE THE KING." His Honour laid before the Board the Draught of a Proclamation to be Publish'd here, which was read & approv'd, & is as follows: "By the Honourable JAMES HAMILTON, Esqr., Lieutenant Gov": & Commander-in-Chief of the Province of Pennsylvania & Counties of New Castle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware. "A PROCLAMATION. "Whereas, His Majesty hath lately thought fit to issue His Royal Proclamation in the words following, viz: "G. R.: "Whereas, a Definitive Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Us, the Most Christian King, & the States General of the United Provinces hath been concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle the seventh Day of October last, to which the Empress, Queen of Hungary, the Kings of Spain and Sardinia, the Duke of Modena, & the Republick of Genoa, have acceded, & the Ratifications thereof have been since exchanged; In conformity thereunto We have thought fit hereby to command that the same be published throughout all our Dominions. And we do declare to all our Loving Subjects our Will & Pleasure that the said Treaty of Peace & Friendship be observ'd inviolable, as well by Sea as Land, & in all Places whatsoever, strictly charging and commanding all our Loving Subjects to take Notice hereof & to conform themselves thereto accordingly. "Given at our Court at St. James' the first Day of February, 1748, in the Twenty-second year of our Reign.' "And Whereas, a Copy of the said Proclamation hath been transmitted to me by His Grace the Duke of Bedford, one of His Majestie's Principal Secretaries of State, who hath signified to me that it is His Majestie's Will & Pleasure the same should be publisbed at all the proper places in my Government, I have, therefore, in obedience to the Royal Order signified to me as aforesaid, with the advice of the Council, caused the said Proclamation to be this Day published, And do hereby strictly charge & command all His Majestie's Subjects within this Province to take Notice of His Royal Will & Pleasure therein, & conform themselves thereto accordingly. "Given under my IIand and the Great Seal of the Province of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, this Seventeenth Day of May, in the Twenty-second Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord, George the Second, King of Great Britain, France, & Ireland, & in the Year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and forty-nine. "By His Honour's Command, "RICHARD PETERS, Sec'ry. "GOD SAVE THE KING.". "JAMES HAMILTON. And it was agreed that the same shou'd be published at the Court House on Wednesday at 12 o'Clock, & that the Sheriff, Supreme Judges, Mayor, & Commonalty of the City of Philadelphia, & all Magistrates & other Officers should have Notice, & be commanded to give Attendance that the same might be perform'd with the utmost Solemnity. At a Council held at Philadelphia, Wednesday, 17th May, 1749. PRESENT: The IIonourable JAMES HAMILTON, Esqr., Lieutenant Gov'. The Minutes of the preceding Council were read & approv'd. The Governor & Council, preceded by the Sheriff and his Officers, and attended by the Supreme Judges, Mayor, Alderman, & Common Council of the City of Philadelphia, & a large company of Gentlemen, went in Procession to the Court House & there proclaim'd the Peace. At a Council held at Philadelphia, Friday, 19th May, 1749. PRESENT: The Honourable JAMES HAMILTON, Esqr., Lieutenant Gov'. The Minutes of the preceding Council were read & approv'd. Mr. Lardner, Keeper of the Great Seal of the Province, and Mr. Richard Peters, who as Secretary of the Province and of the Land office had the Custody of the two lesser Seals, brought them into the Council, and after the word (John) and the Date were punch'd out and the place fill'd up so as to make a plain surface, the Great Seal was return'd to Mr. Lardner and the other Seals to Mr. Peters, and they withdrew. Then the Governor inform'd the Board that He had received a letter from the Proprietaries, directing that Mr. Richard Peters might be called to the Council Board, and as He thought with the Proprietaries that Mr. Peters might be an useful Member, He propos'd to do it immediately, if they had no objection; and every One expressing his satisfaction at the appointment, Mr. Peters was call'd in and took the Oaths as a Member of Council. The Governor told the Board that he had call'd them to resume the Consideration of Governor Ogle's Letter of Complaint against Samuel England & William Hay, Sub-Sheriff of Chester County, for the Service of a Writ issuing out of Chester Court on a Tract of Land lying to the South of the Temporary Line & part of Talbot's Manor in Maryland, which was read in these words, viz.: "Sir: "ANNAPOLIS, 10th February, 1748. "As the inclosed Papers relate to the Peace of both Provinces, I am persuaded you would desire to have the earliest Notice of what might interrupt it. "These Copies of Affidavits will inform you that two Persons in possession of Lands two Miles to the Southward of the Temporary Line held under this Government manys Years before and in & ever since the Year 1738, were about a Year ago forcibly turned out of their Possessions, and one of them carryed under Confinement into Nottingham, & there compell'd to enter into a Bond for the Payment of £10 10s., in order to procure his Releasement & prevent an Imprisonment in Chester Goal. This outrage appears to have been committed by one William Hay, Sub-Sheriff of Chester County, on behalf of Joseph England, who then set up a Claim to the Land, & was also present with his Son Samuel England. "Joseph England is lately dead, and his Son Samuel having, from a Sense of his mistaken Claim, applyed for his Lordship's Lease of all such part of those Lands as the Agent may think proper to give him, I need not trouble You about the future Possession; But that unwarrantable behaviour of William Hay, as well as of Samuel England (who is an Inhabitant of Chester County), so plainly in disobedience to the third Article of the two Proprietaries' Agreement, confirm'd and inforc'd by His Majesty's Order of the 20th May, 1738, leaves me no room to doubt of your Assistance, not only in discouraging any future violence of the like kind, but also for |