At a Council held at Philadelphia, January 1st, 1738. PRESENT: The Honourable GEORGE THOMAS, Esqr., Lieutenant Gov ernour. Samuel Preston, Clement Plumsted, Thomas Laurence, Samuel Hasell, Thomas Griffitts, Esqrs. The Minute of the 5th of December being read and Approved, The Governour informed the Board that as the Assembly was to meet this Evening he had prepared a speech to be delivered to them, which being read was approved of. At a Council held at Philadelphia, January 2nd, 1738. PRESENT: The Honourable GEORGE THOMAS, Esqr., Lieutenant Gov The Assembly having acquainted the Governour last night, by two of their Members, that they were met according to adjournment, He desired that the House would attend Him at Eleven of the Clock this Day. The Assembly attending accordingly, The Governour spoke to them as follows: Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the Assembly: As the Happiness of every British Subject is connected with that of His Majesty and the Royal Family, The Birth of a Prince must afford a real Satisfaction to every Lover of his Country, as such, therefore, I can not but imbrace the first Opportunity of congratulating you on so agreeable an Event. This having been the usual Season for sitting to do Business, both my Duty and Inclination call upon me to recommend such things to you as I think most likely to advance the Prosperity of this Province. The soil of many parts of it is productive of Hemp and Flax, and there is Wood in abundance for making Pot-Ash. There seems, therefore, to be wanting nothing but a due encouragement from the Legislature, to engage the Attention of the Inhabitants to the Improvement of these valuable Commodities-Valuable, as they will furnish your Merchants with a Remittance for the Manufactures imported from Great Britain; and consequently. make Gold in some degree current here, as well as set reasonable Bounds to the course of Exchange. And the more valuable, as they do not interfere with the Product of your Mother Country, but will be of immediate Advantage to it, and be a means of engaging its Protection when you shall stand in need of it. The better your Commodities exported from hence are, the better Price they will fetch at Markets abroad. Care, too, ought to be taken that the Exporter be not deceived in the quality of them; for as the Charges of Exportation on a bad Commodity are to him the same as on a good one, if he finds himself deceived he will buy where he can be better served. This Consideration applied to your Flower Trade, will induce you to take some further care of it, for tho' the Laws you already have will be of great service if well executed, some farther Regulations seem necessary, particularly to prevent the Mixture of different sorts of Grain, which every Man sees are now reaped together on the same Field. Few things require more the Attention of a Government than the Money current in it; for upon the real value of that depends all confidence in Trade, Forreign and Domestick. Yours has been so frequently counterfeited of late, that there is reason to apprehend the Security of your Laws has given encouragement to it. I am not in Inclination for sanguinary Laws, but it has been the Policy of all well-constituted Governments to proportion the Punishment to the Crime. This Province has been for some years the Asylum of the distressed Protestants of the Palatinate, and other parts of Germany, and I believe it may with truth be said that the present flourishing condition of it is in a great measure owing to the Industry of those People; and should any discouragement divert them from coming hither, it may well be apprehended that the value of your Lands will fall, and your Advances to wealth be much slower; for it is not altogether the goodness of the Soil, but the Number and Industry of the People that make a flourishing Country. The condition indeed of such as arrived here lately has given a very just alarm; but had you been provided with a Pest-House or Hospital, in a proper Situation, the Evils which have been apprehended might, under God, have been intirely prevented. The Law to Prevent Sickly Vessels from coming into this Government, has been strictly put in Execution by me. A Phisician has been appointed to visit those Vessels, and the Masters obliged to land such of the Passengers as were sick at a distance from the City, and to convey them, at their own Expence, to Houses in the Country convenient for their Reception. More could not have been done without inhumanly exposing great Numbers to perish on board the Ships that brought them. This accident, I cannot doubt, will induce you to make a Provision against the like for the future. Should I have omitted any thing immediately necessary for the Publick service, Your Experience will supply it, and my sincere regard for your Welfare engage me to join with you in effecting it. To which the Assembly returned on the 5th instant, by five of their Members, the following Address: To the Honourable George Thomas, Esq Lieutenant Governour of the Province of Pennsylvania, and the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware. The Address of the Assembly of the said Province. May it please the Governour: We, the Representatives of the Freemen of the Province of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, return the Governour our hearty and sincere Thanks for his kind Speech at the Opening of this Session. As the Happiness of every British Subject depends, in a great Measure, upon the Succession of the Crown in his Majestie's Family, so the Addition to that illustrious House by the Birth of a Prince must of consequence prove a very agreeable Event to every true Lover of his Country, in as much as the Protestant Succession is thereby Strengthened, and our Happiness rendered the more secure. The Raising of Hemp, Flax, and making Pot-ash, suitable to a Forreign Market, would undoubtedly be of great Advantage to this Province, contribute much to the making Gold current here, and by that means set reasonable Bounds to the Course of Exchange. And tho' the Essays formerly made to encourage the raising some of these Commodities had not altogether the desired Effect, yet we shall think it our Duty to attend with Pleasure, and apply ourselves diligently to the Consideration of any Proposition for so good a Purpose. We entirely agree with the Governour that it is the interest of every Country that strict Care be taken to have all its Commodities, which are designed for Exportation, good in their kind. We think it our Duty to have a particular Regard to our own Staple, and shall, therefore, revise the Flour Act, and use the best means in our Power to remedy the Evils complained of. Having now under Consideration, among other things relating to our Paper Money, the Reprinting our Bills of Credit, we shall endeavour to make such Provision against their being counterfeited as shall appear to be most likely to secure us against Practices of that kind for the future. We are of Opinion with the Governour, that the flourishing Condition of this Province is in part owing to the Importation of Germans and other Forreigners; But we beg leave to say that it is chiefly to be ascribed to the Lenity of our Government, and to the Sobriety and Industry of the first Settlers of this Country, and of the other British Subjects inhabiting the same. We have a very grateful sense of the Governour's Care in putting in Execution the Law for preventing sickly Vessels coming into this Government, And we humbly hope the Governour will continue (when it shall be found necessary) to enjoin a strict Observance of that Act of Assembly, which together with a due Execution of our other Laws relating to the Poor by the respective Majistrates, will, we hope, in a great Measure prevent the dangerous Consequences of such Importations, at least untill it will better suit the Circumstances of the Province to make a further Provision for or Security against Accidents of, this kind. It is with great Pleasure we hear the Governour declaring his Concern for the Welfare of this Province, and his Readiness to join with us in contributing to it. And as nothing more can recommend him to the Affection and Regard of the People under his Administration than a Readiness to promote their Happiness, so nothing can more effectually engage the Representatives of that People to make a handsome Provision for a Governour so well disposed. 11th Mon., 5, 1738-9. At a Council held at Philadelphia, January 13, 1738-9. PRESENT: The Honourable GEORGE THOMAS, Esqr., Lieutenant Gov ernour. Samuel Preston, Clement Plumsted, Thomas Laurence, Samuel Hasell, The Minute of the 2nd of January being read and approved, The Governour laid before the Board a Bill which was last night sent to him by the Assembly, Intitled an Act for Reprinting, Exchanging, and Re-emitting all the Bills of Credit of this Province, and for striking the further sum of Eleven Thousand one Hundred and Ten Pounds five Shillings, to be emitted upon Loan, which was once read. The Governour likewise laid before the Board two Petitions addressed to Him, one from the Inhabitants of Providence, Limerick, &c., and the other from the Inhabitants of the Northeast side of the County of Lancaster, with a Map of the Province of Pennsylvania, Praying that a new County may be bounded as by the dividing Lines in the said Map, ffor that they labour under great inconveniencies and damage by reason of their Distance from the Courts held at Philadelphia and Lancaster, and for many other Reasons in the said Petition mention'd; which were read, and ordered to lye on the Table for further Consideration. Ordered, That Thomas Laurence and Thomas Griffitts, Esqrs., be a Committee to examine the Treasurer's Accounts relating to the Indians who came to congratulate the Governour on his Arrival in the Government, in order to their being laid before the Assembly. At at Council held at Philadelphia, January 15th, 1738--9. PRESENT: The Honourable GEORGE THOMAS, Esqr., Lieutenant Gov ernour. Samuel Preston, Thomas Laurence, Samuel Hasell, The Bill intitled an Act for Reprinting, Exchanging, and Reemitting all the Bills of Credit of this Province, and for striking the further sum of Eleven Thousand one Hundred and Ten Pounds five shillings, to be emitted upon Loan, was read a second time, Paragraph by Paragraph, and some Alterations and Amendments being proposed, Clement Plumsted, Thomas Laurence, and Thomas Griffitts, Esqrs., were appointed as a Committee to digest and draw up the said Amendments, and then the Board was adjourned till tomorrow at four of the Clock in the afternoon. At a Council held at Philadelphia, January 16th 1738--9. PRESENT: The Honourable GEORGE THOMAS, Esq., Lieutenant Gov ernour. Samuel Preston, Thomas Lawrence, Ralph Assheton, Samuel Hasell, Esqrs. The Committee appointed to draw up the Amendments to the Paper Money Bill delivered them at the Board, which being read, were approved of, and ordered to be wrote over fair against to-morrow, in order to be sent to the Assembly. Then the Governor laid before the Board an Instruction from the Proprietors relating to the making, issuing, or continuing Bills of Credit, which was read, and is as follows; Viz: "Whereas, the making, emitting, or continuing too large a Quantity of Paper Money or Bills of Credit, within the said Province and Counties, may greatly affect the Exchange and the Trade |