Page:American History Told by Contemporaries, v2.djvu/212

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184
Colonial Assemblies
[1771

which occurred to the former Bill, or upon a consideration of so irregular a proceeding as that of entering upon a proposition of this nature & passing it into an Act pending the consideration of it before Your Majesty in Council there may be no delay in having Your Majestys Pleasure thereupon signified to the Colony, so as to reach it before that part of the Act which authorizes the emission of the Bills can take effect that is to say on the last Tuesday in June.

How far the Lieutt Govr is justified in the conduct he has thought fit to pursue on this occasion must be submitted to your Majesty upon the reason assigned by him in his letter to one of your Majestys principal Secretaries of State & to this Board extracts of which are hereunto annexed, but it is Our further duty to observe that the Instruction of July 1766, on the ground of which he says the Council advise him to this step does expressly forbid any law of this nature to be passed without a Clause suspending its execution until your Majestys [pleasure] could be known

E. B. O'Callaghan, editor, Documents relative to the Colonial History of the State of New-York (Albany, 1857), VIII, 202-203.


68. Dispute over the Agency (1771)

BY AGENT BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

From about 1680 the colonies were in the habit of appointing some person to represent their interests in London; and such agents received salaries. Franklin was agent for several colonies at the same time. — Bibliography : Winsor, Narrative and Critical History, V, 216, VI, 53, 89.

Wednesday, 16 January, 1771.

I WENT this morning to wait on Lord Hillsborough. The porter at first denied his Lordship, on which I left my name and drove off. But, before the coach got out of the square, the coachman heard a call, turned, and went back to the door, when the porter came and said, "His Lordship will see you, Sir." I was shown into the levee room, where I found Governor Bernard, who, I understand, attends there constantly. Several other gentlemen were there attending, with whom I sat down a few minutes, when Secretary Pownall came out to us, and said his Lordship desired I would come in.

I was pleased with this ready admission and preference, having some times waited three or four hours for my turn ; and, being pleased, I could