Good Sir, what fatall Dreadful things
The proclamation of French King’s
War ’gainst Emperour of Germany
May bring upon this new Country!
And Else how far it may effect
Tranquility of Europe great,
Approaching time must only speak.
But, Sir, great Britain, wee do hope
And other powers of Europe,
By prudent Mediation, may
Divert unto another day
Th’ alarming noise of cruell War,
With which wee so frightened are,
And then conclude a happy peace,
That war & war’s alarms may cease.
And this wee do believe full well,
Because, Great Sir, you did not tell
In Speech to us you lately made
The advise came from Board of Trade.
For surely wee do apprehend
That they would forward to us send
There timely wise Direction,
If of war they had Conception.[2]
If with such sums wee should Supply
The present wants of Treasury,
As wee do Judge Sufficient are,
The Walls & Towers to repair
Of Old Fort William and Mary,
And to pay poor Jos. & Harry;
If wee the Prison should rebuild,
Our promises not yet fulfill’d,
Together with the gen’rall Tax
Already laid by sev’ral Acts
For repaying and for drownding,
For Sinking & for Confounding
Money borrowed heretofore,
When Indians bad in Days of yore,
Like Dastard sons of Swarthy whore,
Proclaim’d a sad Unnatural War;
These things (if wee are right) wee Count,
To Sums so large would sure amount,
As Constable would not be able,
On Poles[3] & ’states (O Lamentable)
Of Subjects good of Majesty,
To gather in a Subsidy.
And such an Act would surely be
A great and sore Calamity,
And war itself by far outvye.
Which, should this house be Instrumental in,
It would not only much dishonour King,
But of Oppression be a peice,
And savour much of Injustice;
And wee presume you well do know
Peices this House are strangers to.
And to prevent such Imputations,
Wee once did, in December Sessions,[4]
An act pass for the Emitting
Pounds Six thousand paper bills in,
To repair William and Mary,
Treasury also to supply,
Which did both houses pass, ’tis said,
With the act which Courts Removed
From Portsmouth, O Unhappy Mischance!
To Towns from us a greater Distance.
And to say truth, O strange mistake!
Wee thought one Common happy fate
Would both these Laws attend,
And money stand poor Portsmouth Friend.
But your Excellence approved
That the Courts should be removed,
And the poor Ready money Act
Was into Breeches pocket clapt
Till pleasure of his Majesty
Be known to your Excellency,
Since which three Years are gon & past,
And yet this Act doth hang an Arse.
This House hath also often, too,
Made Estimate exact & true
Of province Debts, as well as Creditt,
(And being in debt have never paid it).
Into the Treasury wee voted
That what was due should be transported,
For to pay of the claims of Many,
Tho’ wee design’d not to pay any;
Which being sent down Non concur’d,
A written Message did Afford,
(And by the way a strange one, too).
[An explanation here seems necessary, beyond the possibilities of a
foot-note.
March 6, 1732–3, the House passed a bill for emitting £20,000 in paper
money. The province was much in debt on account of Indian warfare,
repairing and maintaining fortifications, etc., and provision for
payment of this debt had been made by heavy taxes to continue annually
until 1742. But money was very scarce, and the House considered that the
people would be unable to pay the taxes laid upon them for the want of a
proper medium. Therefore this £20,000 was to be placed in the hands of a
committee, to be loaned to the people at 5% interest for sixteen years,
and the principal of each loan was to be paid at the rate of 25% each
year for the four years next following the term of sixteen years for
which the loan was made. And for the supply of the treasury for the time
before the first interest payment was due, a further sum of £1,000 was
to be issued. The council, however, was unanimous in refusing to concur
with the House on this bill.
The House attempted to bring about a compromise by reducing the loan
term to eight years and by other changes in the original bill, but was
not successful, the Governor claiming that the approval of such a bill
would be contrary to his instructions.
Finally, March 9, the House addressed a message to the Governor, in
which the council is charged with saying that the House had nothing to
do with the matter of issuing money; and the House further defends its
action and position thus: “Now this House thinks they have and ought to
have a vote in the disposall of all Publick money and that the Board
were formerly of this opinion appears by their Sending down Mr.
Atkinson’s account to be past upon in the last Sessions. So that, that
money is Still unapplyed notwithstanding the Said Atkinson hath declared
his readiness to pay the Same. So that the House can See no other way of
Supplying the Treasury without oppressing the People whome we Represent
than what they have come into. Wherefore this House are humbly of
opinion that it will greatly tend to the Prosperity and welfare of his
Maj^{ties} Subjects of this Province to address his Maj^{tie} by the
hand of our agent to obtaine his Royall leave for a further Emission of
Paper Currency more Especially Since your Excell^y has informed this
House that you cant consent to. It being contrary to his Maj^{ties}
Royal Instruction to your Excell^y and if the Hon^{ble} Council Should
think proper to appoint a com’ittee to Joyne with a Com’ittee of this
House for the Ends aforesaid we are humbly of Opinion it would be
attended with the desired effect.”
The next day, March 10, the council sent down a sharp and angry reply,
as follows:
“Whereas in a Mess^a from the Hon^{ble} House to his Excellency the
forenoon bearing date the 9th Curr^t & Sent up this day and communicated
to the Council There are Sundry things mentioned which Seem to cast an
Odium on the Council as tho it lay at their door that there is not a due
Supply of the Treasury to which the Council in justice to themselves are
oblidged to Say that the reason of their non-concurrence to the 20000£
Bills on Loan was (as the House has been Heretofore once and againe
Informed) because the Emission of Bills on Loan is directly contrary to
his Maj^{tie} Royal Instructions And as to the thousand pounds Mentioned
for the im’ediate Supply of the Treasury it was couched in the Twenty
thousand pound Bills from whence tis plaine that the House never
intended one Should pass without the other but that if the thousand
pounds for the Supply of the Treasury would not tempt the Council to
break this the Kings Instruction their complyance with the Kings
Instruction Should defeat the Supply of the Treasury but if they had a
Sincere disposition to Supply the Treasury as they pretended and Sent up
a Bill for the Same they would have soon seen the heartiness of the
Council in doing their Duty to his Maj^{tie} and the utmost Justice to
this Province by the rediest concurrence as to the Interest of the 1730£
the Council have been long Endeavouring that that Loan Might by some
means or other be beneficial to the Publick Tho to their great grief by
the disappointment of their attempts in the Honb^{ble} House Private
psons have enjoyed the benefit of that money at 2½ p Ct when there have
been many that would gladly have given more than double yea treble for
the same if they might have been favoured with it and the Council have
this day Sent down a vote for the Setting that Loan at 6 p C^t for 2
years instead of 2½ p Ct in order to Ease the Tax of the Province which
has at last Succeeded as to the Money in Mr. Atkinsons hands which he
recd of Hughs’s Estate long agoe and which ought for Several years past
to have been in the Treasury the Council presume his Excell^y will take
a due Care that that £292 Ball^{ce} Settled under his hands be paid by a
Course of Law Since there is no prospect of its being done without it
even after So much indulgence to him who has been So notoriously
delinquent to the vast dishon^r of the Goverm^t & unspeakable oppression
of Sundry poor distressed Creatures to whome the Province is indebted—as
to the Houses Saying they ought to have a vote in the Disposal of the
Publick Money the Council Reply when they the Council think proper to
deny that Point in Politicks it will be time En^o for them to form an
argum^t against it but that is not yet got unto the Question for saying
the House of Representatives have nothing to do with a Confiscation or a
forfeiture to his Maj^{tie} by a Judgm^t in Court Is not Saying the
House have nothing to do with the disposal of Publick Money unless it
[is] So by some Logick in the House w^{ch} the Council have not
Learn’d—As to Mr. Atkinsons declaration of his readiness to pay the
Money in his hands what is there in it did he not declare heretofore
even in the House and most Solemnly at the Council Board too that he
would pay part of his Debt at Such a time and the Residue in a Short
Space after & are not the terms long Since Expired But are the paym^{ts}
made let the Treasurers accounts answer which Say no not one penny why
then Gen^t Should you trouble your Selves in making Such a mess^a &
boasting of Such declarations the Council might further verry well
observe too that the Scheme of the House for an audit to be appointed by
the Gen^{ll} Court to Examine a Sheriffs Return of an Execution is
intirely new however is a full Evidence that the House have been much
bent on trifling as to what the House propose of the Councils Joyning
with them in addressing his majesty by the hand of our our agent as they
express it) &c the Council Say they know of no Person So qualified But
if the House mean Cap^t John Rindge, Marriner then they answer That when
it appears to them that his Capacity & other Quallifications are Equal
to Such a Trust & he is hon^d with a Comiss^n for that place the Council
will readyly do w^t is proper on those heads.”]
They say the House had nought to do
With money to the province due,
And by which means that Money
Still is out of Treasury,
As also is the Interest
(As some do say who know it best)
Of pounds more than seventeen hundred,
And is not this much to be wondred,
Which the verry last assembly
Voted into the Treasury.
And if any wicked elf
Refused, for the sake of pelf,
To pay the Interest then due,
Also his Bonds for to renew,
Then Speaker he the Bonds must see,
And Borrower to Hampton send,
His Destiny there to attend.
Butt, Oh! when Mortals most are pleas’d,
How Subject are they to be Teaz’d!
The house disolv’d,[5] the Speakers gone,
And none the Affair can carry on,
Which to the province, and to us,
Has been occasion of much loss.
And this wee hope will imputation
Of Injustice or Oppression
Take from a Guilty Generation,
And so Confirm the good Opinion
You express’d towards us whilome,
By saying that wee always acted
What a good and gracious King expected,
A Charracter wee always merritted,
And so shall never be Dispirritted.
Wee think it then our Duty is
His Majesty for to address,
That wee may Cash sometimes Emitt,
(You know ’tis Money that buys wit),
Upon this province’s Credit.
And so wee hope for the Concurrence
Of the Council & Your Excellence.
Of the house you do receive the Thanks
For telling of the Circumstance
Of Borderers on line distressed,[6]
And staying process ’gainst th’ Oppressed,
Unto your other Government,
Tho’ what you said had no Effect.
Some of these towns, being offended,
Money at Law have much expended.
And is not this a Dismal sound?
Some say ’tis full a thousand pound,
Besides there time and loss of Ground.
But this, by what in yours you said,
And the Success our agent[7] had,
When at great Britain he resided,
Gives hopes that soon ’twill be decided.
For Copy, wee do Understand,
Of Memoriall from the Land.
From King and Council hath been sent
To Massachusetts Government
For answer, (if wee right remember),
By the first day of Last November.
After which wee dare boldly say
Wee hope there will be no Delay.
Wee beg leave to tell you next,
That wee are met with good pretext,
Such things Determined to act
As C——k May in our Noddles pack;
Which wee conceive was the Intent
Of those whom we do represent—
OTIS G. HAMMOND.