The Duke, though strongly prejudiced against democratic affemblies, yet, in expectation that the inhabitants would agree to raise money to discharge the public debts, and to fettle fuch a fund for the future as might be fufficient for the maintenance of the government and garrifon, informed the lieutenant-governor, in 1682, that "he intended to establish the fame frame of government as the other plantations enjoyed, particularly in the choofing of an affembly."

Mr. Dongan was appointed governor in September, and inftructed to call an affembly, to confift of a council of ten, and of a house of reprefentatives, chofen by the freeholders, of the number of eighteen members. The affembly was empowered to make laws for the people, agreeable to the general jurisprudence of the ftate of England, which should be of no force, however, without the ratification of the proprietary. "Thus the inhabitants of New-York, after being ruled almost twenty years at the will of the Duke's deputies, were first admitted to participate in the legislative power."

An affembly was called on governor Dongan's arrival, which paffed an act of general naturalization, in order to give equal privileges to the various kinds of people then inhabiting the province; together with an act declaring the liberties of the people;" as alfo one "for defraying the requifite charges of government for a limited time.” The legislature was convened once more in August 1684, when it explained the laft act. These feem to have been the only affemblies called prior to the revolution.

When the Duke became King of England, he refused to confirm that grant of privileges to which as Duke he had agreed. He established a real tyranny, and reduced New-York once more to the deplorable condition of a conquered province.

NEW JERSEY.

New-Jerfey, which was also taken from the Dutch (who were confidered as having no right to any of their fettlements in these parts of America) was included in the grant to the Duke of York. The Duke difpofed of it to Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret, in 1664, who being fole proprietors, for the better fettlement of it agreed upon certain conftitutions of government, fo well relished, that the eastern parts were foon confiderably peopled. One of the ftipulations was, "no qualified perfon, at any time, shall be any ways molested, punished, difquieted, or called into question, for any difference in opinion or practice in matters of religious concernments,

who

who does not actually disturb the civil peace of the province; but all and every fuch perfon and perfons may, from time to time, and at all times, freely and fully have and enjoy his and their judgments and coníciences, in matters of religion, they behaving themfelves peaceably and quietly, and not ufing this liberty to licentiousness, nor to the civil injury or outward disturbance of others; "any law, fta, tute, or claufe contained, or to be contained, ufage or cuftom of the realm of England, to the contrary thereof in any wife notwith standing."*

The lords proprietors further agreed, "for the better fecurity of all the inhabitants in the province-that they are not to impofe, NOR SUFFER TO BE IMPOSED, any tax, cuftom, fubfidy, tallage, affeffment, or any other duty whatsoever, upon any colour or pretence, upon the faid province and inhabitants thereof, other than what shall be impofed by the authority and confent of the General Affembly." What can more strongly exprefs the then opinion of Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret, as to the parliament's having no right to tax the inhabitants of the province, poffeffed by them as lords pro prietors!

Lord Berkley fold his moiety of the province to John Fenwick, in truft for Edward Byllinge and his affigns in 1674. After which the proprietors, E. Byllinge, William Penn, Gawen Lawrie, Nicholas Lucas, and Edmond Warner, of the Quaker perfuafion, agreed with Sir George Carteret upon a divifion, 1676; and that his moiety should be called New Eaft-Jerfey, and their's New Weft-Jersey. The agree ment refpecting the not impofing or fuffering to be impofed any tax, &c. was adopted; the other ftipulation is worded fomewhat differently; "no men, nor number of men upon earth, hath power or authority to rule over men's confciences in religious mat ters; therefore it is confented, agreed and ordained, that no perfon or perfons whatsoever within the province, at any time or times hereafter, fhall be any ways, upon any pretence whatfoever, called in question, or in the leaft punished or hurt, either in perfon, eftate, or privilege, for the fake of his opinion, judgment, faith, or wor ship towards God, in matters of religion; but that all and every fuch perfon and perfons may, from time to time, and at all times, freely and fully have and enjoy his and their judgments, and the exercise of their confciences, in matters of religious worship, throughout all the

Smith's Hiftory of New-Jersey, p. 513.

1

+ Ibid. p. 517.

province."

It was alfo agreed, "that all elections be not determined by the common and confufed way of cries and voices, but by putting balls into balloting boxes, to be provided for that purpose, for the prevention of all partiality, and whereby every man may freely choofe according to his own judgment and honeft intention."+

Soon after, many Quakers reforted to Weft-Jerfey from England, and the country filled apace. But the people early experienced the dreadful effects of arbitrary power. Major Andros, the governor of New-York, impofed ten per cent. on all goods imported at the HoarKill, and demanded five per cent. of the fettlers at arrival or afterward, though neither Weft-Jersey, nor the Hoar-Kill, was legally under his jurifdiction. They complained of the hardship from the first, but bore it patiently, till about 1680, when applica tion was made to the Duke of York, who referred the matter to the council, where it refted for a confiderable time, and then was reported in their favour, and the duty ordered to be difcontinued. Among the arguments used by Meffrs. William Penn, George Hutchinfon and others, chiefly, if not all quakers, in the paper prefented to the Duke's commiffioners, were thefe, "powers of govern ment are exprefsly granted in the conveyance Lord Berkley made us, for that only could have induced us to buy it; and the reason is plain, because to all prudent men, the government of any place is more inviting than the foil; for what is good land without good laws? the better the worfe. And if we could not affure people of an cafy and free, and safe government, both with respect to their fpiritual and worldly property, that is, an uninterrupted liberty of confcience, and an inviolable poffeffion of their civil rights and freedoms, by a just and wife government, a mere wilderness would be no encouragement; for it were a madness to leave a free, good, and improved country, to plant in a wilderness, and there adventure many thousands of pounds, to give an abfolute title to another person to tax us at will and pleasure. Natural right and human prudence oppose fuch doctrine all the world over, as fays, "that people, free by law, and under their prince at home, are at his mercy in the plantations abroad." The king's grant to the Duke of York is plainly restric tive to the laws and government of England. Now, we humbly con

Corrupted by time into Whore-Kill. The names of many rivers, in NewYork government particularly, terminate with kill, which means both river and rivulet.

ceive, it is made a fundamental in our conftitution and government, that the King of England cannot justly take his fubjects goods with out their confent: this needs no more to be proved than a principle, it is jus indigene, an home-born right, declared to be law by divers ftatutes; as in the great charter, ch. 29, and thirty-fourth Ed. III. ch. 2; again twenty-fifth Ed. ch. 7.* To give up the power of making laws is to change the government, to fell or rather refign our felves to the will of another, and that for nothing; for we buy nothing of the Duke, if not the right of an undisturbed colonizing, with no diminution, but expectation of fome increase of those freedoms and privileges enjoyed in our own country. We humbly fay, that we have not loft any part of our liberty by leaving our country; but we tranfplant to a place, with exprefs limitation to erect no polity contrary to the ef tablished government (of England) but as near as may be to it; and this variation is allowed, but for the fake of emergencies; and that Jatitude bounded with thefe words, for the good of the adventurer and planter. This tax is not to be found in the Duke's conveyances, but is an after bufinefs. Had the planters forefeen it, they would fooner have taken up in any other plantation in America (a plain intimation that no fuch tax was impofed in any other American plantation.} Befide, there is no end of this power; for fince we are by this prece dent affeffed without any law, and thereby excluded our English right of common affent to taxes; what fecurity have we of any thing we poffefs? We can call nothing our own, but are tenants at will, not only for the foil, but for all our perfonal eftates; we endure pe nury, and the sweat of our brows, to improve them at our own hazard only. This is to tranfplant from good to bad. This fort of conduct has destroyed government, but never raised one to any true greatne ."

The paper prefented to the Duke's commiffioners evidently proves, that it was the opinion of those gentlemen, who were Qua« kers, that no tax could be juftly impofed upon the inhabitants with out their own confent firft had, and by the authority of their own General Affembly. The report of the council in favour of the ag grieved, and the relief that followed, were virtual conceffions to the fame purport. This will not be judged wholly unprecedented by

The manufcript copy contains a number of authorities from Bracton, Fortefque the Petition of Right, &c. Sce Smith, p. 120, the note.

+ Smith, p. 117, 123.

thofe

those who are acquainted with what happened relative to the county-palatine and city of Chester, in the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Henry VIII. The inhabitants complained in a petition to the king, "that for want of knights and burgeffes in the court of parliament they sustained manifold damages, not only in their lands, goods, and bodies, but in the civil and politic governance and maintenance of the commonwealth of their faid county: and that while they had been always bound by the acts and statutes of the faid court of par liament, the fame as other counties, cities, and boroughs that had knights and burgeffes in faid court, they had often been touched and grieved with acts and statutes made within the faid court, as well derogatory unto the most ancient jurifdictions, liberties, and privileges of the faid county-palatine, as prejudicial unto the commonwealth, quietnefs and peace of his majefty's fubjects." They proposed to the king, as a remedy, "that it would please his highness, that it be enacted, with the affent of the lords fpiritual and temporal, and by the commons in parliament affembled, that from the end of the feffion the county-palatine fhall have two knights for the faid county, and likewife two citizens to be burgeffes for the city of Chester." The complaint and remedy were thought to be so just and reasonable, that the relief for which they prayed was granted, and they were admitted to fend reprefentatives to parliament.

PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE.

Mr. William Penn, one of the joint purchasers of the western part of the Jerfeys, having received correct information of the country to the weftward of the Delaware, while engaged in the administration of the joint purchase, became defirous of acquiring a separate estate.

He accordingly prefented a petition to Charles II. in June, 1680, ftating not only his relationship to the late admiral, but that he was deprived of a debt due from the crown when the exchequer was fhut, and praying for a grant of lands, lying to the northward of Maryland, and weftward of the Delaware: adding, that by his intereft he fhould be able to fettle a province which might in time repay his claims. Having the prospect of fuccefs, he copied from the charter of Maryland the sketch of a patent, which in November was laid before the attorney-general for his opinion. Mr. Penn had the fame object in view as Lord Baltimore, the guarding against the exertions of prerogative, which both had found to be very inconvenient. The attorney-general declared the clause of exemption from taxation illegal: and Chief Justice North being of the fame opinion, and observing its VOL. II. P P

ten