Less difficulty I might have refrained from sending you this message. I have higher motives, my duty to the king, and a regard to the public intereft.

T. HUTCHINSON." Council Cham. Cambridge Irth April 1770. To which message the honourable house on the 13th returned the following answer: May it please your honour:

"YOUR message of the 11th inft. laid before this house has been duly confidered; and in answer thereto, we would acquaint your honour that the house had before affigned Thursday next, to take under confideration a grant to his majesty for the fupport of the lieutenant governor and commander in chief. We conceive that nothing contained in the message affords sufficient ground for an alteration of that affignment. The house therefore do not think it proper to poftpone the business of the government now lying before them for the purpose of confidering of that grant. At the time appointed we shall confider the matter with all that attention which the duty we owe to the king, and our regard to the public welfare shall require."

On Tuesday last the house of reprefentatives, by a majority of seventy out of feventy-four votes, made choice of John Hancock, Efq; to be speaker pro tempore, for the present seffion, and during the bodily indifpofition of Thomas Cushing, Esq; and having presented him to the lieutenant-governor for his approbation, his honour was pleased to fend the house the following meffage, viz.

Gentlemen of the House of Representatives, YOU having fignified to me by a meffage that Tho. Cushing, Efq; your speaker is necessarily abfent by reason of fickness, and that you have chofen John Hancock, Esq; to be speaker pro tempore, for the present session, and during the indifpofition of the faid Thomas Cushing, Esq; and having presented him to me for my approbation, pursuant to the direction of the Royal Explanatory Charter:

By virtue of the authority given me by the faid royal explanatory charter I disapprove of the choice' you have made.

T. HUTCHINSON."

The foregoing message was read and then the houfe was adjourned till the next morning ten o' clock.

We hear that yesterday the house of representatives made choice of James Warren, Efq; member for Plymouth, speaker pro tempore; whom his honour the lieutenant-governor was pleased to approve of.

Extract of a Letter from Boston, April 22,

1770.

"A committee of the town-meeting having waited upon the fuperior court, requiring the judges to proceed on the trial of Capt. Prefton, and the other military delinquents, the court found it neceffary, in order to keep the people quict, to arraign Richardson for

the murder of young Snider. Richardfon was arraigned on the Monday, and directed to prepare for his trial on the Friday following. Accordingly on Friday he was brought to the bar, and asked by the court if he was then ready. He observed to the court, that he had made application to almost every lawyer in town to undertake his cause, which no one would do; that the conftables had refused summoning his witnesses; that the gaoler had used him in so cruel a mariner, that he was even frequently debarred the liberty of converfing with his friends; that every news-paper was crowded with the most infamous and false libels against him, in order to prejudice the minds of his jury; that, without council, without the privilege of calling upon his witnesses to support his innocence, he was now to be tried for his life. The judges, moved with compaffion at this representation, put off the trial to a further day. The court then made application to the several lawyers present, to appear as his council, but this one and all of them declined.

The court, finding that a requifition had. no effect, exerted their authority, and ordered Mr. Fitch, the advocate-general, to appear on his trial. Fitch made use of a variety of arguments in order to excuse himfelf, which the court did not judge sufficient:. He concluded with faying, that fince the court had peremptorily ordered him, he would undertake it. The court also ordered the high sheriff to give particular inftructions to his officers with respect to the summoning the witnesses.

The court the fame day adjourned to the Wednesday fortnight following. Since the, court met after their adjournment, Richardfon has been twice brought to the bar, but his well-difpofed council, Mr. Fitch, was fick both times; in consequence of which, the court appointed Jofiah Quincey, jun. to fupply his place, and Richardion was the day before yesterday upon trial, which trial continued till 12 o'clock that night, and the jury fat till eight o'clock yesterday morning; after the witnesses were examined, and the lawyers had done pleading, the judges gave their charge to the jury with great spirit and good fenfe. Judge Oliver said, the prisoner had been guilty of nothing but manslaughter, and expatiated upon the dangerous tendency of encouraging mobbing, and on the inherent right of mankind to defend themselves when attacked.

All the judges were agreed, that the pri foner had done nothing more than neceffity had conftrained him to, and made no doubt but the jury would acquit him. Vaft crowds of people attended during the whole trial. After the judges had delivered their opinion, the mob grew very outrageons: they repeatedly called out to hang, and were fure no jury dared to acquit him: they sometimes call

ed

ed out, Remember, jury, you are upon oath ! Blood demands blood! It is said they had got a halter ready to hang him in his way from the court house to the prison; but the judges kept him for upwards of an hour in the court-house, until the mob were principally dispersed. At eight o'clock this morning the jury brought in their verdict, guilty of murder. The judges immediately adjourned the court to the 29th of May, without paf fing sentence.

From the Massachusetts Gazette of Thursday April 26.

Cambridge, April 25, 1770. On the 7th instant, his honour the lieutenant-governor was pleased to send the following meslage to both houses of Affembly:

Gentlemen of the Council, and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives, T

HE fecretary will lay before you several papers which I have received from one of his majesty's juftices of the peace, and divers other persons, inhabitants of the town of Gloucefter, and which relate to a very diforderly riotous transaction in the said town. A person appears to have been most inhumanly treated for seeking redress in a course of law, for former injuries received. As this information comes to me while the general court is fitting, I have thought it proper to communicate it to the House of Representatives, as well as to his majesty's council, that if any act or order of the whole legislature shall be judged necessary for strengthening or encouraging the executive powers of government, there may be an opportunity for it. I must observe to you, that a number of persons of the same town were profecuted and fined at the superior court for the county of Effex, in June last, for injuring the person and property of the prefent complainant in a barbarous manner, and ifit be truely represented, that the fame persons have been concerned in this second offence, it is a great aggravation of their crime, and a defiance of the laws and the authority of government. Council Chamb. Apr. 7. T.HUTCHINSON. On Tuesday last Mr. Hancock, Colonel Warren, Major Hawley, Mr. Spooner, and Mr. Remmington, a committee of the house of representatives, waited on his honour the lieutenant governor, with the following anfwer to the foregoing message:

May it please your honour,

THE house of representatives have taken into due confideration your message of the 7th inft, with the papers laid before them by the fecretary, agreeable to your direction.

We affure your honour that we have the utmost abhorrence of all diforderly and riotous tranfactions: it is the disposition as well as the duty of this house to take the most effectual measures to difcountenance them, and to strengthen and encourage the executive of ficers in the exercise of all their lawful pow

ers of government. Nothing, therefore, shall be wanting on our part for the promoting of these purposes, whenever any further steps shall appear to us to be necessary: at present, it is the opinion of the house, that the laws now in being, duely executed, would be fully sufficient; and to add to the severity of the provifion made by them, without an apparent and very urgent neceffity, might put into the hands of the civil magiftrate a power that would be dangerous to the rights and liberties of the people.

When complaints are made of riots and tumults, it is the wisdom of government,

and it becomes the reprefentatives of the people especially, to enquire into the real caufes of them: if they arife from oppreffion, as is frequently the cafe, a thorough redress of grievances will remove the cause, and probably put an end to the complaint. It may justly be faid of the people of this province, that they seldom, if ever, have afssembled in a tumultuous manner, unless they have been oppreffed: It cannot be expected, that a people, accustomed to the freedom of the English conftitution, will be patient, while they are under the hand of tyranny and arbitrary power: they will discover their resentment in a manner which will naturally displease their opprefiors; and in fuch a cafe, the feverest laws and most rigorous execution will be to little purpose. The most effectual method to restore tranquillity would be to remove their burdens, and to punish all those who have been the procurers of their oppreffion.

Your honour, in your message, has pointed us to an inftance, which you are pleased to call "a very diforderly and riotous tranfaction in the town of Gloucester:" but we cannot think it confiftent with the juftice of this house, to come into meafures which may imply a cenfure upon individuals, much lefs upon a community hitherto unimpeached in point of good order; or even to form any judgement upon the matter, until more light shall appear than the papers accompanying your message afford. The house cannot eafily conceive what should determine your honour so particularly to recommend this inftance to the confideration of the affembly, while others of a much more heinous nature and dangerous tendency have passed altogether unnoticed in your message: your having received the information while the general court is fitting, cannot alter its nature and importance, or render it more or less necessary to be confidered by the legislature: the instance, admitting it to be truely represented in all its aggravating circumstances, certainly cannot be more threatening to government than those enormities which have been notorioufly committed by the foldiery of late; and in many instances have strangely escaped punishment, though repeated more than a fecond time, and in defiance of the laws and authority of government.

A

A military force, if pofted among the people without their express confent, is itself one of the greatest grievances, and threatens the total fubversion of a free conftitution; much more if defigned to execute a system of corrupt and arbitrary power, and even to exterminate the liberties of the country. The bill of rights, passed immediately after the revolution, exprefsly declares, that "the raifing and keeping a standing army within the kingdom in a time of peace, without the confent of parliament, is against law:" and we take this occasion to say with freedom, that the raising and keeping a standing army within this province in a time of peace, without the confent of the general assembly, is equally against law. Yet we have seen a ftanding army procured, posted and kept within this province, în a time of profound peace, not only without the consent of the people, but against the remonftrance of both houfes of affembly. Such a standing army must be defigned to fubjugate the people to arbitrary measures: it is a most violent infraction of their natural and constitutional rights: it is an unlawful assembly of all others the most dangerous and alarming; and every inftance of its actually restraining the liberty of any individual, is a crime which infinitely exceeds what the law intends by a riot. Surely then your honour cannot think this house can descend to the confideration of matters com

paratively trifling, while the capital of the province has so lately been in a state of actual imprisonment, and the government itself is

under duress.

this affembly, which your honour must undoubtedly have heard of: But not the leaft notice of these outrageous offences has been taken; nor can we find the most distant hint of the late inhuman and barbarous action, either in your speech at the opening of the prefent feflion, or even in this message to both houses. These violences so frequently committed, added to the most rigorous and oppreffive prosecutions carried on by the officers of the crown against the subjects, grounded upon unconftitutional acts, and in the court of admiralty, uncontrouled by the courts of common law, have been juftly alarming to the people. The disorder which your honour to earnestly recommends to the confideration of the affembly very probably took its rife from such provocations; the use, therefore, which we shall make of the information in your message, shall be to enquire into the grounds of the people's uneasiness, and to feek a radical redreis of their grievances. Indeed, it is natural to expect, that while the terror of arms continues in the province, the laws will be in some degree filent; but when the channels of justice shall be again opened, and the law can be heard, the perfon who has complained to your honour, if he has truely represented his cafe, will have his remedy. We yet entertain hopes that the military power, so grievous to the people, will soon be removed from the province to stations where it may better answer the design for which it was originally raised; till then we have nothing to expect but that tyranny and confufion will ftill prevail in defiance of the laws of the land, and the just and conftitutional authority of govern

ment.

The Latin poem beginning Mania doctrinæ linquens, &c. may be bad at the publisher's it is not calculated for our Magazine, nor is it customary for us to send what we ourselves decline to other publications.

I. I. we buve fuppreffed in confequence of the alternative allowed us by the author.

A Lover of Poetry would do well if be fent bis remarks to the Magazine which bas criticised the poem be mentions.

The Verfes from Cambridge are not correct. D. B. with feveral others shall be attended to, The favour from our Hitchin friend is re ceived, but we cannot at present make use of it. J. W's bint is a good one, and if be can affift us in putting it is execution, we shall be obliged to bim,

Priceofcorn

Stock

Stock

Ann. Ann.

reduced confel.

1758.

84

86

86

90

84

86

85

90

PRICES of STOCKS, &c. in JULY, &c. 1770.

India Sou. Sea. Old S. S. New S. S. 3 per C. 13 per C. 13 per C. 31⁄2 per C.

80

23470

5858

1756.

per C. 14 per. C. 14 per C. In. Bond. Long. Lottery | Wind Weather

86

86

90

14

4

90

3434

Shut

95

2

I

14

8

SW

95

2

14 8

C

SW

Fair

95

21

14

8

S.W.

Fair

95

2

1

95

2

I

14 8

Ν. Ε.

Faie

21

w.

CHARLES CORBET, at No. 30, facing St. Dunstan's Church, Fleet-Street, STOCK-BROKER, who buys and fells in the Stocks.

by Commiffion, and transacts the Lottery Business as usual.

5806d bushel 5s ód buf9g 53 bush. 10gal Hay per load 275. to 30. 38 od to 3s 3dios od to 4s od 4s 2d to 4 4d Straw from 14s. to 198. 33 4d to 3s 6d 2s 6d to os od 28 4dto2sord Coals 34s. per cha. 38 6d to 35 Sdios od to os odios od to os od Hops 21, to 21. 6d.