the claims, and rights of the parties were fully discussed; but all to no effect, both parties were firm. On the 4th of September the house again requested leave to rise; which was peremptorily refused. The council interfered, and passed a resolution in favour of a fixed salary, for a term of years, and sent it to the house; this was rejected, and if it had passed, would not have been accepted by the gov

ernor.

On the 20th of September, the house made a grant 3000!. (currency) equal to 1000l. sterling, which was rejected by the governor; again in October, the house by message, pressed the governor to accept the grant, with encouragement that subsequent assemblies would probably enlarge the grant; but all to no effect, the governor was fixed. The town of Boston entered warmly into this question, and by a special resolve in a special town meeting, approved the doings of the House of Representatives. The governor resented this act, and adjourned the court to the 31st of October, then to meet at Salem. This widened the breach, and the court began to lament that they had quarrelled away Governor Shute, who had been, and would have continued to be, content with an annual sum of half the amount voted to Governor Burnet.

The house appealed to the crown through their special agent in London; who was assisted by Mr. Belcher, sent out specially for the purpose, and money was raised by subscription, by the Boston merchants, to defray the expense. This agency failed, and the liberties of the colony became endangered. The general court applied to the governor, to sign a warrant upon the treasuary for their pay; this he refused, alledging that one branch of the government might as well go unpaid as the other, and the breach still widened. The governor, pressed for a support, had recourse to a new expedient: he levied a tax or contribution, upon all vessels that cleared out of the ports

of the colony, either upon a foreign, or coasting voyage which put him into the power of his enemies; they appealed to the crown through their agents, and the measure of the governor was disapproved.

Pending this controversy, a new scene opened in the appointment of an attorney-general; the governor claimed the right of nomination, and the house refused the claim. The house passed a resolution to supply the treasury with 20,000/.; but the governor assured them that he would consent to no supply, but such as had been in practice before the year 1721.

The legislature of New-Hampshire, made a grant to the governor for three years, or during his administration, which was accepted; but he lived to pay them only one visit. The general court adjourned from the 20th of December to the 2d of April following. They met agreeable to adjournment, and continued their sittings until the 18th; at the same time a new assembly for the election of counsellors, was held at Salem, and four new counsellors were chosen ; two of whom were negatived by the governor, and then he prorogued the assembly until the 25th of June. The assembly met again on the 25th of June, and continued their sittings until the 10th of July; the governor then prorogued them until the 20th of August, to meet at Cambridge.

In the mean time, the appeals of the parties to the crown, through their agents, had been heard, and determined in due form, and the conduct of the governor fully approved, and that of the house highly condemned. His majesty had also signified his wish, that the controversy should be laid before the Parliament. In the midst of this controversy, the governor fell sick, and died, September 7th, 1729.

The administration again devolved upon Lieut. Governor Dummer, whose conciliatory disposition, gave a temporary relief to the public feeling.

In order that the true characters of the parties, as well as the true spirit of this interesting controversy may be fully ascertained, I shall give the proceedings of the agents of the parties in England, by the way of appendix. [See Appendix s.]

Mr. Belcher was at this time in England, acting with Mr. Wilks, as agent for the assembly, in their defence against Governor Burnet, and being a native of the colony, and a popular man, the king was pleased to appoint him to the government, as successor to Governor Burnet; and a Col. Tailor was appointed Lieut. Governor, in place of Mr. Dummer. Col. Tailor being in the province, entered immediately upon the duties of his office. One of his first acts, was to secure a grant of 900l. to Mr. Dummer, by signing the act, authorising the grant, although it was pas sed before he came into office, and actually embraced the future, as well as the past services of Lieut Governor Dummer, as a part of its consideration.

In August 1730, Governor Belcher arrived at Boston, in the Blanford man of war, and was received with great parade and applause; by both parties; disclosed his instructions, and entered upon the duties of his office. Mr. Beicher was both a scholar and a gentleman; and although he was an American by birth, yet he had been much abroad, and visited the courts of Europe, as a private gentleman, as well as a public agent; and his affluent fortune had given him high advantages, both as a traveller and a merchant : added to all this, both parties in the government, claimed him as their friend.

Under these favourable advantages, Governor Belcher entered upon the duties of his office; but the same embarrassments lay before him, that had awaited his predecessors; a permanent salary composed one of the permanent articles of his instructions, which on his part, could not be dispensed with, and on the part of the house, could .not be granted, consistent with their former resolutions :

here the parties were at issue as before. The council went all lengths to favour the governor; but the house, were fixed. A conference between the two houses, was agreed to upon the subject, in the presence of the governor; but to no effect, the house was fixed. The gov ernor closed the conference with an address, in which he applauded the council for their conciliatory disposition, and reminded the house, that he was not only instructed by his majesty to insist on a permanent salary, but that he was also instructed, in case of their refusal, to repair to England, and lay the whole facts before his majesty, and warned them of the danger the charter would be in, if his complaint should be laid before parliament. The governor was popular; but his speech had no effect, and the house continued inflexible.

In this state of the parties, the governor advised the house to petition his majesty, that he might have leave to accept of temporary grants, by the way of salary, which was finally obtained, and thus the controversy ended,

1731.

The next act of sovereignty exercised by the house, was a check upon the treasury, by a special act. The charter provides that all monies shall come into the treasury, by acts originating in the house, for specific purposes; and shall be drawn out for those purposes, by warrant from the governor, with advice of the council. The house infringed this article of the charter, by a special act, which barred the governor from the exercise of this power, except some trifling sums for expresses, &c. and held the controul of the treasury in their own hands. This act embarrassed the disbursements from the treasury, and the servants of the government suffered; and again the house exercised their

soverignty, and supplied the treasury by their special

act.

In 1732, a sharp controversy sprang up between the

governor, anda Col. Dunbar, (an officer of the crown,) about

the government of the fort at Pemaquid, and the eastern province; but it was amicably adjusted,

In 1733, a general complaint of the scarcity of money extended throughout New-England. This was an artificial scarcity, arising from the depreciation of the paper currency, and from its being too much, became too little. Massachusetts and Rhode-Island, issued new emissions of about 100,000l. each, which by its depreciation, increased the evils; embarrassed trade, and did great injustice to honest, and indrustrious creditors. At this time efforts were made to settle the contested line between Massachusetts and New-Hampshire, and in 1737, the parties obtained a commission from the crown, for the special purpose; but the report of the commissioners not being satisfactory, the question was referred to the decision of the crown. This decision fixed the boundary, as it now stands, by a special committee of the council, and the line was established. At the same time, and under similar circumstances, the line was settled between New-Hampshire and the Province of Maine, as it now stands.

Pending this controversy of claims and boundaries, the assembly of Massachusetts made a grant of 8001. currency, to Governor Belcher, for divers good considerations therein named, particularly as an addition to his salary. This act of the assembly of Massachusetts, was viewed with a jealous eye by New-Hampshire, and ascribed to motives of bribery and corruption, to influence the interest of Governor Belcher in their favour, upon the dispute in question.

As soon as the controversy of claims and boundaries was settled, the accumulated weight of taxes, and of papermoney, with its depreciation, began to claim the serious attention of the Province of Massachusetts. One party advised, (and laid their scheme before the general court,) to borrow specie in England, payable at different future instalments, and redeem all their paper currency, and thus