The Committee for drawing the Message to the Assembly deliver'd in their Draught, which was read the first time entirely thro' and then Paragraph by Paragraph, & after some alterations the Draught was approv'd. Mr. Hopkinson reported that he had procured an Order for 4 Six-Pounders to be deliver'd to the Presid or his order for the use of the Town of N. Castle. The Board took further into Consideration the taking off the Embargo, & resolv'd to take the sense of the Merchants this Evening, in order to come to a conclusion. At a Council held at Philadelphia, Thursday, 9th June, 1748. PRESENT: The Honoble. ANTHONY PALMER, Esqr., President. Samuel Hasell, Robert Strettell, Joseph Turner, Abraham Taylor, Benjamin Shoemaker, Esqrs. The Minutes of the preceding Council were read & approv’d. The Message to the Assembly being transcrib'd fair was again read, & it was put to the Vote whether it shou'd be agreed to. It pass'd in the Affirmative, Mr. Shoemaker & Mr. Logan only dis sentient. A Message from the President & Council to the Assembly. "Gentlemen: "The reason for calling You together so soon after your adjourn ment will appear from the Depositions & Papers herewith laid beforo You, and tho' You have hitherto refused to grant Money for the protection of the People or the Trade of this Province, yet as we think it our Duty, You must excuse Us if in this time of general Calamity we again press You on that disagreeable Subject in hopes that the miserable Circumstances to which we are now reduc'd may at length prevail with You to provide a proper Remedy. "At the time of Your last Sitting our Port was actually block'd up by the Enemy's Privateers; they have since grown more numerous and have taken almost all our inward bound Vessels, using our Countrymen with great Barbarity. One of them, a large Spanish Privateer with 160 Men on board, came up the River as high as Elsenborough, where she came to an Anchor without being discovered to be an Enemy, & intended next morning to take a Ship then lying before New Castle & burn the Town, which they had certainly effected had not an Englishman swam on shore in the Night and alarmed the Inhabitants. 'Tis true most of the Privateers are now thought to be gone off with their Prizes, but 'tis reasonable to suppose they will soon return for more, or that others, encouraged by the fame of their Success, will supply their Places. "During the Enemy's stay in the River they took a great number of small Craft & thereby gained exaet Intelligence of what pass'd among us; and it is not unlikely but that among other things they had learn't the Resolutions of your House, and had a Dependance that no Vessel of War would be fitted out against them by this Government, otherwise they might have expected their Insolence & Cruelty would not have gone unpunish'd, it being an unusual thing for Englishmen to bear tamely, & without resistance, the Insults of so despicable an Enemy-Crews of Negroes, Mulattoes, & the very Dregs of Mankind. "Soon after Your adjournment His Majestie's Sloop, the Otter, under the Command of Captain Ballet, arrived here; but not being in a Condition to proceed immediately on a Cruize, and being besides a Vessel of small force insufficient without an Assistant to attack such a number of Enemies, We have hitherto reap'd no advantage from her arrival. She is now Careen'd, & we hope will soon be fit for Service, to which End the Captain assures U's nothing in his Power shall be wanting. And we have dispatch'd an Express to Virginia in order to procure, if possible, the Hector Manof-War to join her; But as the obtaining this Assistance, and its continuence if obtain'd, are on many accounts uncertain, We have thought it absolutely necessary that a Ship of War shou'd be fitted out by this Province to be join'd with the Otter for the protection of our Trade, the Consideration whereof we now earnestly recommend to Your House; and that You would accordingly furnish a sufficient Sum of Money, which we assure You shall be applyed faithfully to that purpose; and with the utmost frugality. You will herewith receive an Estimate of what we judge the Charge will amount to by the Month, which we shall endeavour to lesson as much as possible. "We find that it has been the opinion of Your House that the Keeping a Vessel constantly at our Capes to guard the Coast will be introductive of an Expence too heavy for the Province to bear, and too great a Burthen on the Inhabitants. But if our Port continues block'd up; if not only our inward bound Vessels must be taken, but those in Port dare not venture out, whereby the perishable Commodities with which they are laden spoil in the hands of the Merchants; if those Colonies that us'd to take off great part of our produce are discouraged from sending their Vessels hither, & endeavour to be furnish'd, as they may be, with the same Commodities at a safer Port; if by these means our Trade diminishes, being turn'd into another Channel, our Produce sinks in value, & every necessary Commodity from abroad is enhanc'd in Price; if thro' the Decay of Business our Merchants fail, our Tradesmen want Employment, our Farmers are reduced to Poverty, our Inhabitants remove, and our Lands and Houses fall far below their present worth, all natural Consequences of an obstructed Navigation, We beg You would consider whether these will not prove Burthens vastly heavier, and to which that of Keeping a Vessel to protect our Trade bears no proportion. We having good Grounds to assure You that the loss sustained within one week only amounts to a much larger Sum than would be necessary to be expended in guarding our Coast for several Years. We shall only add that if there shou'd not be Money enough at present in the Treasury, a sufficient Sum might readily be raised by way of Loan on the Credit of a Vote of Your House. "June 9th, 1748." "ANTHONY PALMER. The Estimates of the Charge attending the Equipment of a Colony Vessel for the protection of Trade was read & approv'd: An Estimate of the Charge attending the Equipment of a Colony Vessel for the protection of our Trade, &c : The Vessel to be hired with her Ordnance, Stores, Arms, & Amunition, about £300 Month £300 0 0 £13 10 0 47 Landsmen @ £3 10s. Victualling Bill for 120 Men Month, £85 0 0 45 0 0 5500 £185 0 0 The Consideration for smart Money, usually paid by His Majesty & private Ships of War to those who are maimed or wounded in Engagements with the Enemy, ought to be estimated & are allowed in this Port Articles: For Loss of a Leg or Arm For Loss of an Eye For Loss of a joint Mr. Ogle's Letter was read & order'd to be enter'd: "Sir: £150 90 30 "ANNAPOLIS, 31st May, 1748. "Our Assembly has now been sitting for three Weeks, and the Lower House came to a Resolution sometime ago not to make any allowance for the Indians. This I deferr'd giving You an Account of as the Gentlemen of the Council, out of their great Inclination to promote this Service, flatter'd themselves that We might have been able to induce them to change their Sentiments; But as we now begin to despair of doing any thing to the purpose, I give You this Notice, very much to my mortification, having done every thing in my power to have answer'd your reasonable Expectations. I am, "S" Your most obedient humble Servant, "ANTHONY PALMER, Esq." "SAM. OGLE. A Message from the House by two Members that the Representatives were met according to Summons & ready to receive what the Council has to lay before them. They were told by the President that he wou'd send a Message in the Afternoon. Abraham Wiltbank, Commander of one of the Government Pilot Boats, bringing advice that he had been for a Day or two off of the Capes & met with no Enemie's Vessels-the Embargo was taken off. At & Council held at Philadadelphia, Friday, 10th June. PRESENT: The Honoble. ANTHONY PALMER, Esq., President. The Minutes of the preceding Council were read & approv'd. Captain Ballet applied to the Board for an Assistant, setting forth that he shou'd not be of sufficient force to protect the Trade if Capt Masterson shou'd not be in a Condition to come to his assistance. The Captain was told there was now a Message before VOL V.-18. the Assembly on this Subject, to which they had not yet given their answer. The Secretary inform'd the Board that the present Surveyor General, Mr. William Parsons, finding his Health decline, desir'd leave to resign his Office, & Mr. Nicholas Scull being thought the properest Person to succeed him, his Commission was ordered to be made out. A Petition from Alexander Ure, under Sentence of Death for Murther, was read, praying a Reprieve for twelve Months. The Council not having yet received the Report of the Judges the Consideration thereof is postpon'd. The Secretary is order'd to remind the Speaker of the several Orders issued by the Council for the safety of the Province & City, and of the Expence that will accrue thereon, & to know of him if it be necessary to send a particular Message to the House on this Subject. At a Council held at Philadelphia, Saturday, 11th June, 1748. PRESENT: The Honoble. ANTHONY PALMER, Esqr., President. Samuel Hasell, Robert Strettell, William Logan, Abraham Taylor, Esqrs. The Minutes of the preceding Council were read and approv'd. A written Message from the Assembly was deliver'd by two Members to the President before the Board met, who at the same time said they were directed to inform the Council that the House inelin'd to adjourn to the time of their last adjournment, if there was no further Business to lay before them. The President told them they shou'd receive an answer when the Council met. The Message was read in these words: A Message to the President & Council from the Assembly. "May it please the President & Council: "That we refused to grant Money in the manner You have sometimes thought proper to apply for it is very true, & yet we think the Charge You are pleas'd to make against us in your last Message, of our having hitherto refas'd to grant Money for the protection of the People and the Trade of this Province,' is too generally expressed. That Government ought to be honourably supported, & that we ought to contribute towards it proportionably to our Circumstances, have been Both our Sentiments & Practice; And the 'protection of the People & the Trade of the Province,' we look upon as principal Parts of the Duty of those by whom this Support |