Judge Livingston to the Earl of Hillsborough. [New-York Papers (S. P. 0.) CLXII.] New York. 4. Decembr 1769. My Lord, The Prerogatives of the Crown and the liberties of the People, being alike affected by a late transaction in our Assembly, my duty to the Crown as a Judge of the Supreme Court, and to the people as one of their Representatives, obliges me to mention it to Your Lord; and the rather as His Honor the Lieut* Govr to whom the votes of the House are daily presented, has suffered it to pass unnoticed. Your Lord has doubtless been informed by Sir Henry Moore, that a vote passed last Sessions of our Assembly declaring Judges of the Supreme Court incapable of serving in their House. Immediately after this Resolution I was unanimously elected, and in consequence of this vote denied a seat, notwithstanding an immemorial custom in this and all the other American Colonies for Judges to seat as Representatives when chosen, which they very frequently are. I take the liberty to present your Lordp with the arguments I urged to the House in support of my right to a seat. I think I may venture to assure Your Lord, that the People in general do not concurr with the house in these measures. Some evidences of which I have already received and doubt not, that to these many more (when the matter is farther explained) will be added. How much the Crown is interested in this Transaction, your LordP's acquaintance with the affairs of Govern' will enable you to Judge, as well as to distinguish it from that, which in the case of Wilks disturbs the tranquility of the Nation. Were I not fully assured that no part of my conduct, either in my public or private capacity has rendered me disagreable to the people, I would not now have troubled Your Lord, but have resigned an Office, which nothing but the Honor of serving His Maj" and the Colony induces me to hold. Your Lord will pardon the liberty which a sence of duty has urged me to take, and will believe me to be with the greatest respect, What I truly am. My Lord Your Lord's most obedient humble servant ROB R. LIVINGSTON,1 'Judge Rorert R. Livingston, of Clermont, was the eldest son of Robert L., a merchant of New-York, and Margaret Howerden and was born in 1719. Bolgate's American Genealogy, 181. In 1760, he was appointed one of the judges to hold a court for the trial of offences committed at sea, and in 1763 one of the justiees of the Supreme Court of New-York. He represented the county of Dutchess in the Assembly from 1759 to 1768. On 17th May, 1769, the House passed, unanimously, a resolution "that no judge of the Supreme Court shall, in future, have a seat or vote as a member of this House," which was enforced in November following in the case of Mr. Justice Livingston, who was elected to represent the manor of that name, ( a vacancy having occurred in consequence of the seat of Mr. Philip Livingston having been voided for non-residence,) and declared disqualified. Having been reelected in the course of the following month, his seat was again declared vacant, and on his reelection in 1770, he was again excluded 25th January, 1771, and again in 1772, after which he did not present himBelf, Assembly Journals; tub annis. Judge Livingston was appointed in 1767, and again in 1773, one of the commissioners to agree to a line of jurisdiction between New-York and Massachusetts, and died of apoplexy at Philadelphia, Dec. 9, 1775, aged 57 years. Ralph Izard1* Corretpondence, 192. He was married to Margaret, daughter of Col. Henry Beekman, who survived him nearly 25 years. Of their children, Robert R. was afterwards the distinguished Chancellor of New-York; Janet, one of the daughters, married General Montgomery, who fell before the walls of Quebec, and another, named Gertrude, was the wife of Governor Morgan Lewis. Holgate.-ED. Sir, Earl of Hillsborough to Lieutenant-Governor Colden. [New-York Papers (8. P. 0.) OLXI.] Whitehall 9. Dec 1769. Since my letter to you of the 4th of last month I have received your Dispatches N°" 2 and 3, & having laid them before the King, I was commanded by His Maju to communicate to the Board of Trade an extract of so much of your Letter of the 4lh of October, as relates to the advantages wh"* His Majesty's service as well as the Colony, will in your opinion receive from His Maj' allowance of the paper currency Bill. The main obstacle to the wishes of the Colony as to this Bill, arises from a doubt whether the enacting that these Bills of credit shall be a tender at the Loan Office and at the Treasury, tho' perhaps not within the meaning and intention of the Act of Parliament of the 4th of His Haj, does not however come so far within the letter of it as to make it unfit for the King to instruct his Gov' to assent to the Bill. The opinion of the Attorney and Sollicitor Gen1 has been taken upon this occasion, and as their report rather strengthens the doubt than removes it, the matter must finally rest for decision with the Lords of the Committee of Council to whom the Board of Trade will, in a few days make their report upon the Bill. Inclosed, I send you an additional instruction1 under His Maju'* sign manual, forbiding any grants to be made of those Lands on the Lake Champlain, which are claimed under titles derived from the Crown of France, until the Petitions & proposals for such grants, shall have been transmitted hither and His Maj' pleasure signified thereupon. I likewise think fit to send you a copy of H. Ma]*'' order in Council of the 24th day of July 1767, forbidding any grants to be made of the lands annexed to New York by His Maju' determination of the boundary line, between that Colony and New Hampshire, together with a copy of my letter to Sir H. Moore, of the 13,h of May last on the subject of the lands ceded to His Maj' by the Treaty at Fort Stanwix, and I am to signify to you, the King's commands, that you do carefully attend to the restrictions contained in these orders & Instructions, and that you do not, upon any pretence, presume to Act contrary thereto. The King having been graciously pleased to approve of the Earl of Dunmore to be Gov' of New York, the necessary instructions are preparing for him, and His Lord proposes setting out for his Govern' as early in the spring as he can find a safe conveyance I am ettc. HILLSBOROUGH. N° 6. Lieutenant-Governor Colden to the Earl of Hillsborough. [New-York Papers (S. P. O.) CLXII.] New York, 16. Decemb' 1769. The Assembly from the 21st of last month, till last Friday, sat without entering upon the provision to be made for the Troops quartered in the Place. They then came to the resolutions, of which I inclose a copy, that your Lord may receive all the information I can give of their present disposition. The consideration of this matter was delayed, in order, as I was told, that the house might be brought to an unanimous resolution. But your Lord will observe, that though the resolve for granting a sum of money for supplying the Troops, did pass, nem: con: yet they unhappily differed in their sentiments upon the mode of granting the money; and the manner in which it was carried, was the most that could be obtain'd by those, who would willingly have given the whole suo tut of the Treasury. This difference of sentiment I think has arisen from the attention which many of the Members pay to their popularity; and from the artifices of others, who may be unwilling that the Assembly should at this time, when they have not the lead, gain too much credit. Great pains has been taken not only in this Town to intimidate the Members, but in the Counties, to procure Instructions against granting any money for the Troops otherwise than out of the money to be emitted on loan, and I believe this only has influenced several of the members, who, it was confidently expected, would have voted otherwise than they did. This fluctuating disposition of several of the Members, makes it impossible for me, My Lord, at this time to say on what terms they may now offer the Bill for emitting Bills of Credit, or what will be the issue of this session. But I am resolved as far as it is my power, to preserve the Colony in Tranquility, and I doubt not I shall be able to do so, notwithstanding of all the endeavours of some people to raise up dissentions. I have the honor to be with great submission My Lord Your most obedient & faithful servant Cadwallader Colden. Representation on the Non-Importation and other Resolutions of the New - York Assembly. [Now.York Entries, LXVIII., 88. ] To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty. May it please your Majesty Your Majesty's late Governor of the Colony of New York, having transmitted to Us the Journal of the proceedings of the House of Representatives Your Majesty's Colony of New York, in their last Session of Assembly, & it appearing to us upon perusal of this Journal that the said house of Representatives had taken up Questions and considerations of a very extraordinary nature we think it Our duty humbly to represent to Your Majesty That on the 10 of April last a motion was made in the house in the following words Viz' That the thanks of that house be given to the Merchants of that city and colony for their repeated disinterested Public Spirit & patriotic conduct in declining the importation, or receiving of goods from Great Britain until such Acts of Parliament as the Assembly had declared unconstitutional and subversive of the rights and liberties of the people of this Colony, should be repealed, and that Mr Speaker signify the same to the Merchants at their next Monthly meeting in consequence of which motion an Order was made, that the Speaker signify the thanks of that house to the Merchants of that City at their next monthly meeting accordingly: We likewise humbly beg leave to represent to Your Majesty that another motion was made in the words following Viz' Whereas it is not constitutional in England for the Judges in either England or Scotland to sit or vote in the house of Commons it is moved that that house do enter a Resalution on their Journals that for the future no Judge of the supreme Court shall be allowed to sit or vote as members of that house, whereupon it was resolved, nemine contradicente, that no Judge of the supreme Court shall for the future have a Seat or vote as a member of that house, These proceedings may it please Your Majesty, appear to us to be of so unwarrantable a nature and to contain matter of such High Importance that we shall not presume to offer any opinion what may be proper to be done thereupon, submitting it to your Majesty to pursue such measures as Your Majesty shall in your great wisdom and with the advice of your Council think most prudent and necessary. Whitehall Dec: 21. 1769. Which is most humbly submitted Soame Jenyns Representation of the Lords of Trade regarding an Emission of Bills of Credit. [New-York Entries, LXVIII., 34.] To the Right Honble The Lords of the Commee of His Majesty's most Hon: Privy Council for Plantations Affairs. My Lords Pursuant to your Lordships Order of the tenth of last Month we have taken into Our Consideration the Petition of the House of General Assembly of His Majesty's Colony of New York by their Agent humbly praying for the reasons therein contained that His Majesty will be pleased to direct the Governor of New York to pass into a law, a Bill passed by the House or Assembly and Council of that Colony in their late Session in April for the emission of £120,000 in Bills of Credit; we have likewise in pursuance of your Lordships said order, taken into Our Consideration the Copy of the Address of the General Assembly of the said Colony to the late Governor annexed to the abovementioned Petition setting forth the absolute necessity which they conceive there is in the present situation of that Colony for his assenting to the Bill as proposed whereupon we beg leave to report to your Lordships. That this Board having in their humble representation to His Majesty of the 9lb of Feb: 1764 amongst other matters therein contained given an opinion at large upon the General Policy of a paper Currency with a legal tender in His Majesty's American Colonies, agreable to which opinion an Act was passed in the 4,h year of His present Majesty to prevent paper Bills of Credit being declared a legal tender in any of the said Colonies we have nothing to observe to your Lordships upon the general principle of the Bill referred to in the above mentioned Petition. On this occasion however we think it our duty to inform your Lordships that His Majesty's late Governor of New York Sir Henry Moore did in a letter dated May the 29th 1769 fully express his sentiments with regard to the expediency of this Measure we beg leave therefore to annex to this Our report Copy of so much of his said letter as relates to this Bill, as likewise of a paper therein inclosed containing the reasons which were set forth by His Majesty's Council of New York in their remarks on the Bill, to these we shall beg leave to subjoin copy of an extract from Lieu1 Gov' Coldens letter of the 4tb of October last, on the same subject, from all which papers together with those referred by your Lordships on the part of the Assembly, Your Lordships will be enabled to collect the sentiments and opinions of the entire Legislature of this Colony. Having submitted these papers, to your Lordships we have only to add, that a doubt arising with us with respect to the 25th Clause of this Bill, whether the said Clause does make the paper Notes of Credit, issued by the said Bill a legal tender within the meaning & intention of the Act of Parliament abovementioned & whether His Majesty may or may not consistent with the Provisions of the said Act, authorize His Governor of New York to give His assent to lhe said Bill, containing such clause as aforesaid, we did refer the said Clause to the consideration of His Majesty's Atto & Sol General who have reported to us their opinion thereupon, copy of which, we beg leave hereunto to annex, submitting to your Lordships, to give such advice to His Majesty upon the matter, as to your Lordships wisdom shall seem expedient; upon consideration of the Bill itself & of the several circumstances seth forth in the papers thereunto relating. We are my Lords, Whitehall Dec 28. 1769. Your Lordships most obedient & most humble Servants HILLSBOROUGH ED: ELIOT LISBURNE THOMAS ROBINSON Lieutenant-Governor Golden to the Earl of Hillsborough. [New-York Papera (8. P. O.) CLXII. ] N° 7. My Lord, New York, 4 January 1770. His Majesty's order in Council of the 24,h July 1767 restrains me from granting the letters Patent prayed for by the inclosed Petition. I am well assured, that the facts are, as set forth 1 WILMOT VAUGHAN, 4th Viscount and 1st Earl of Lisburne, in the Irish peerage, went into office under the Bedford administration, and served in the Board of Trade from 1768 to 1770. His Lordship died on the 6th January, 1800. DebretU. — ED. |