the Crown ceased I know not, nor what was the Cause of a Matter of such Consequence being afterwards left to the Pleasure of the Assemblies. Certain it is, that they have often taken an undue Advantage of this Power, and in a manner compelled Governors to give their Assents to Laws destructive of His Majesty's just Prerogatives; Instances of which if necessary, I could readily point out. In Colonies where the Governor has the granting of the Lands belonging to the Crown, both he and the Attorney General have Emoluments which may compensate for any Deficiency of Salary, and render them independent of the Caprice of an Assembly. But the Lands in this Province are the property of private Proprietors, and are granted by them of course without any Concurrence of or Advantage to the King's Governor or Attorney General. The Fees and Perquisites of the latter have, as he sets forth in his Memorial, been from Time to Time considerably lessened by Acts of Assembly; and I can with Truth assure your Lordship, that all the Fees and Emoluments of every kind, received by a Governor of New Jersey do not amount with the Salary included, to One thousand Pounds Sterling Annum. A Sum which your Lordship must be sensible cannot be deemed sufficient to Support properly the Dignity of his Station, much more enable him to lay up anything against Old Age or Accidents. For a Governor here has not only a much less Income than any other of the King's Governors in America, but is put to much greater Expences than most of them, owing to his being obliged to do the publick Business at two different Seats of Government, and to this Colony being the great Thoroughfare between the two Cities of New York and Philadelphia, which Subjects him to the Entertainment of Numbers of Officers and Gentlemen who call upon him in their Way from one to the other. I have now had the Honour to Serve His Majesty above Ten Years in this Province, and am, I believe, the oldest in Commission of any of his Governors in America. But it has so happened, that whilst others in my Station have made handsome Fortunes, been promoted, or received considerable Honours and Rewards, my own private Fortune has been really lessening, and I have as yet only the Satisfaction of having Served His Majesty faithfully & to the best of my Ability. It would not become me to boast of my Services; I shall only mention that my Conduct has been such as has, on many Occasions, met with the Approbation of His Majesty and his Ministers, and that had it been otherwise I should not have had the Confidence to beg, as I now do, that your Lordship would do me the Honour to make known my Situation to His Majesty; from whose Goodness and Justice I have not the least Doubt I shall then either receive an Encrease of my Salary, or a Promotion to a better Government.' I have the Honour to be, with the greatest Respect and Regard, My Lord, Your Lordships most obedient Governor Tryon to the Earl of Dartmouth. [From New York Colonial Documents, Vol. VIII., My Lord, p. 349.1 NEW YORK, 7 Feb 1773. I received last evening, from Mr Elliot His Majtys Commission under the Seal of great Brittain, and proceedings had thereon, relative to the partition line be Benjamin Franklin wrote, April 6, 1773, to the Governor: "I saw Lord Dartmouth about two weeks since. He mentioned nothing to me of your application for additional salary, nor did I to him, for I do not like it. I fear it will embroil you with your people."-Works, VIII., 41. tween the Governts of New York and New Jersey, requesting, I would transmit the same to His Maj." M' Jay, clerk to the Commiss" refusing to deliver up the Commission and papers unless authorized by an express order of the Crown under the great Seal, or act of the Legislature, I yesterday passed a Bill of that tenor, a copy of which is herewith transmitted, with the Commission and papers, also Gov Franklyn's letter to me inclosing an Act of the Assembly of New Jersey, which was obtained in consequence of the conference I had at Amboy last September with the Gov & other parties concerned in the premises-Should these proceedings meet with his Majtys approbation, we may, I hope, soon receive the Royal confirmation to the territorial Jurisdiction between the two Govern Your Lord' will observe the Great Seal is entirely defaced and reduced to a small Lump of wax, which is the case of almost all the great seals sent from Great Brittain, occasioned by its being chiefly composed of Rosin which is reduced to powder by the friction of the voyage. Were the seals to be formed of a proper mixture of Bees wax and Turpentine without any Rosin, they would arrive uninjured; a circumstance not without its weight as the validity of those instruments have been doubted to which the Great seal has been affixed and defaced, like the one to this Commission. I am with all possible respect and Esteem, My Lord, Your Lord's most obedient Servant Letter from Chief Justice Smyth to the Earl of Dartmouth, relative to the destruction of the Schooner Gaspée. [From P. R. O. America & West Indies, Vol. 177 (195).] NEW YORK Feb 8th 1773. My Lord, I had the honour to receive your Lordships Letter dated 4th of September last, imparting his Majestys commands to me to repair to Rhode Island to assist in carrying into execution his Majesty's Commission for enquiring into the circumstances relative [to] the plundering and burning the Schooner Gaspee.' Your Lordships Letter was delivered to me on the 23a of December last, and on the 31st I arrived at Rhode Island. on the 5th of January all the Commissioners being met, and the Commission produced to us, the same was opened and published. A Review of the attrocious offence perpetrated in Rhode Island, must excite indignation in the mind of every lover of Justice, and real friend to the Authority and dignity of Government; and I should have been happy to acquaint your Lordship, that success in the execution of the Commission had been equal to my wishes, that the ends of public Justice might thereby be effectually attained, but from what I have hitherto observed, in the progress of our enquiry, and from such intelligence as I have obtained, I cannot help expressing my fears that that intention of Governm will be defeated, and the offenders screened from the hand of Justice. I must forbear giving your Lordships a particular 1 See page 375. detail of our proceedings upon the Commission, as that more properly ought to be reserved to the general report from the Commissioners, to his Majesty; but I cannot restrain myself from imparting to your Lordship some remarks and observations, which I think you ought to be possessed of tho' in this particular I happen to differ from the other Gentlemen named with me in the Commission, who in their Letter to your Lordship have contented themselves with informing you of an adjournment, and their reasons for so doing;' but I am willing to go a little farther, and hope I shall be excused for taking up your Lordships time and attention. Your Lordships Letter to the Governor of Rhode Island ought most certainly to have been kept secret from the people of that Country-how great then was my surprise to find most part of it in the public prints before I arrived at Rhode Island, so far from keeping it any secret, the utmost industry seems to have been used to publish the contents of it; the Governor immediately imparted it to his neighbors and friends, in a few days he laid it before the general Assembly of the Colony-in less than a week it was printed at Boston, and on the Sunday following a Sedicious preacher harangued his congregation on the Subject of it, by this means the allarm was effectually given, and the utmost horror excited in the minds of the people against the measures intended to be taken by Government in the cause of public Justice. I need not make any remarks on this instance of the imprudent conduct of the Governor of Rhode Island-I have expostulated with him on this subject, but however reprehensible such conduct w certainly be in a Commander in chief of a Royal Government-constituted as the Governm of Rhode Island now is by their popular 1 For Chief-Justice Horsmanden's report see N. Y. Col. Docs., VIII., 350, £90, 709. |