having taken the subject matter of the said petition into consideration, and made due inquiry into the truth thereof, Do vote and resolve, and it is voted and resolved, that the said petition is hereby granted. It is voted and resolved, that His Honor, the Deputy Governor, Benjamin Tucker, James Honeyman, and Immanuel Northup, Esqs., Messrs. Benjamin Peckham, Jr. and Joseph Lippitt, be, and they, or the major part of them, are hereby constituted a committee, to take the affair of the paper curren су into consideration, and present a bill or bills to this Assembly, at their next session. God save the King. [The following Public Laws, passed during the year 1750, are printed at length in the volume of public laws, published in the year 1767, unless repealed previous to that time.] An Act providing that in case of fire breaking out in the town of Newport, and for the more speedy extinguishing thereof, and for preserving goods endangered thereby. (May.) An Act to prevent delays in the several courts of trials in this colony. (June.) An Act relating to the taking of bail in civil actions. (June.) An Act explaining, altering and amending " An act for establishing and regulating of fees.” (June.) An Act for the assessing of persons who are not the proper inhabitants of any town in this colony, that shall sell or dispose of any goods or merchandize within the same. (June.) An Act to prevent the falling through of the near approaching superior court of judicature, &c., in the county of Newport. (August.) An Act for raising the prices of ferriage at several ferries in this colony. (October.) An Act ascertaining the number of jurors to be sent by the towns in the county of Kent, to the several courts in that county. (October.) An Act for setting up a lottery, to raise a sum of money, in order to build a bridge over Pawtucket river, between the towns of Smithfield and Cumberland. (December.) An Act establishing and appointing the quota of jurors to be sent by the several towns in the county of Providence, to the future courts within the same. (December.) An Act to naturalize Joseph Antunes, merchant, of Newport, late a subject of the King of Portugal. (December.) Proceedings of the General Assembly, held for the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, at Providence, the third Monday of March, 1750-51. The Hon. William Greene, Governor. The Hon. Robert Haszard, Deputy Governor. With the assistants and deputies from the several towns. [An act was passed at this session, for promoting the raising of flax and wool, and for the manufacturing of the same into cloth; also for the encouragement of the whale and cod fishery; for which purpose, the same act authorized an emission of £25,000 in bills of public credit. The preamble to the act is as follows: "Whereas, it is conceived, that giving a proper encouragement for the raising of flax and wool, and manufacturing the same into cloth, will greatly conduce to promote frugality and industry; and as a consequence whereof, it may justly be expected, that the vacant lands within this colony, now unimproved and lying waste (occasioned in some measure by the late long and tedious war), may be greatly im proved to the advantage and interest of His Majesty's subjects, the inhabitants of this colony; and they under such better circumstances, be therefore enabled, in case of another war, not only to defend and protect themselves, &c., but also greatly to distress and annoy His Majesty's enemies in these parts. And whereas, the carrying on the whale and cod fishery within this colony, will not only much promote and increase the trade and commerce thereof; but amongst other things, may be very beneficial to merchants and others, trading to Great Britain, by furnishing them with proper remittances for the payment of such goods and merchandise as the inhabitants of this colony, may from time to time, stand in need of from thence; it is therefore conceived, that a proper premium or bounty may be necessary, as an encouragement for the purpose aforesaid. And whereas, the colony hath been at great and expensive costs and charge in putting themselve in a position of defence in the late war, and that the treasury is thereby near exhausted, and no fund therein sufficient or adequate to answer such good, useful and beneficial ends and purposes as are designed and intended by this act, it is apprehended therefore, that there is a necessity of making and emitting the sum of £25,000 in bills of public credit, of the tenor and form hereafter expressed. And whereas, it hath been found by said experience, that one great and principal cause of the depreciation of the bills of public credit already emitted, hath been owing to the indirect and illegal practices of sundry persons giving and offering from time to time for gold, and silver, and bills of exchange, for sterling money, greater and larger sums and proportions of the bills of public credit of this colony, than was provided for, stated and allowed for such silver and gold at the respective times the several emissions were made; and which not only sunk in value such bills of public credit, to the injury and oppression of many poor widows, orphans, and others, but thereby the gold and silver hath been drawn and carried out of this colony, to the great discouragement and prejudice of trade and commerce; and which practices are still carrying on; it is therefore conceived of the highest importance, that such evil practices for the future be restrained." The following was the form of these bills of credit: "By a law of the colony of Rhode Island, &c., made and passed the third Monday of March, A. D. 1750, this bill of due to the possessor thereof, from the colony, shall pass current, and be equivalent to the respective proportions of silver and gold, as are regulated and stated in said act, and shall be accordingly accepted by the treasurer of said colony, and the receiver thereof in all payments. Providence, March the 18th, 1750. Death to counterfeit this bill." This act provided that these bills of credit should be equivalent to silver at the rate of 6s. 9d. per ounce of sterling alloy; or gold coin at £5 1s. 6d. per ounce; every 6s. 9d. of which bills, shall be equal to 54s. of the old tenor. They were then to be put into the hands of trustees of the several towns, and by them let out upon loan, at the rate of six per cent. per annum, for the space of five years, to be secured by mortgages on land double the value of the money loaned. The bounty on cloth, manufactured of wool or flax, of a certain texture and length, was one-third its appraised value; that on every pound of cured and dressed flax, one penny a pound. Besides these, the manufacturers were to be exempt from taxation and all public duties. The bounty allowed on every barrel of whale oil, was four shillings; on every pound of whale-bone, one shilling, and on every quintal of codfish, 2s. 6d. At the June session, following, another act was passed, "explaining, amending and repealing" certain portions of this act. The preamble declared that the bounty provided for manufactured goods of wool, "may draw the displeasure of Great Britain upon us, as it will interfere with their most favorite manufactory, while that on flax, and the fisheries, have been already tried and not been found beneficial." These bounties, were therefore repealed. The portion of the act which regulated the value of the bills of credit, was also amended, so that it should stand that sixty-four shillings of the old tenor bills, and sixteen shillings of bills of the new tenor, should be equal to the ounce of silver. This money was then to be loaned at the rate of five per cent. (instead of six as before provided), for the term of ten years. A change was also made in the form of the bills. The following protest was then made to the amendments in the new law: "We, the subscribers, do dissent from the alterations in this bill proposed, and do protest against them, for the following reasons: 1. Because we are of opinion the committee have greatly exceeded their power, and made alterations which were never voted, or even so much as demanded in this house. 2. Because we are of opinion the alterations so made, are material and essential, relating to the very form and denomination of the bills, and so entirely different from the act passed in March last, that the bills which are to be emitted, cannot with any truth, be said to be emitted by an act made and passed at that time. 3. Because the other alterations in this bill proposed, have a natural tendency to depreciate, not only the bills that are to be emitted, but also all the bills of this colony that are now outstanding, and must, in our opinion, unavoidably.produce that effect. 4. Because by these alterations, 6s. 9d. are made to be equal to 16s., and must be so received in all payments made in this colony, with the bills now proposed to be emitted, if said alterations are passed as a law of this government. PETER BOURS, The committee that were appointed to sell the bills of exchange drawn by His Honor, the Governor, in consequence of an act of the General Assembly, upon Mr. Agent Partridge, having performed that service, made the following report, to wit: "Newport, March 16, 1750-1. To the Honorable General Assembly :-Whereas, an act of this Assembly, directed His Honor, the Governor, to draw bills of exchange on Mr. Richard Partridge, of London, agent for this colony, for £1,742 6s. 10d., sterling, and appointed us, the subscribers, a committee, to sell said bills of exchange, for bills of credit emitted by this colony ;* In obedience to said act, we have disposed of bills drawn on said Partridge, to the amount of the aforesaid sum, payable at twenty days' sight, for bills of credit of this colony, at eleven hundred per cent.; and are, gentlemen, GEORGE WANTON, DANIEL JENCKES, Your most humble servants, PETER BOURS, THOMAS CRANSTON." An Act to prevent all persons keeping house within this colony, from entertaining Indian, negro or mulatto servants or slaves.† This £1,742 6s. 10d., sterling, at eleven hundred per cent., was in old tenor equal to £20,908 2s. Od. †This act provided that no Indian, mulatto or negro servant or slave, may pre It is voted and resolved, that George Wanton and Peter Bours, Esqs., together with Messrs. Joseph Harrison and Matthew Robinson, be, and they, or the major part of them, are hereby appointed a committee to make the draught of a letter, respecting the northern boundary line of this colony, to the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, and present the same to this Assembly at their next session. It is voted and resolved, that the £25,000 in bills of credit, by this Assembly ordered to be emitted, be proportioned to the several towns, as followeth, to wit: And it is further voted and resolved, that the committee men for the several towns, take for each of the mortgages and bonds in these bills, one half of the sum allowed to the committees who let out the last bank, and 1s. 3d. of the same bills, for every right which shall be transferred; and that no one person take out of said bills, more than £37 10s., or less than £3. And it is further voted and resolved, that the grand commit sume to be absent from the family whereto he or she shall respectively belong, or be found abroad in the night time, after 9 o'clock, unless it be upon some errand for his or her respective master or mistress, or owner. The act also prohibited all traffic with any servant or slave. 41 VOL. V. |