here, wishing for nothing more than to be able to give your Honor the most convincing Proofs of it.

"Signed by order of the House.

"October 21st, 1773."

"CŒESER RODNEY, Speaker.

To which the Governor was pleased to return an answer in these words, Viz':

"Gentlemen:

"I am very sincerely thankful for the kind and respectful Expressions of your address, which give me the highest Satisfaction, as the afford me an agreeable testimony not only of your approbation of my former administration, but of your Confidence in my future Conduct.

"I have a pleasing remembrance of the Harmony which subsisted between me and former Assemblies of these Counties, and shall always Chearfully concur with you in promoting the Continuance of so great a Public Advantage.

"As you cannot be more sensible than I am of the Intimate connection between the true Interests of the Proprietaries and your Constituents, I flatter myself you will always find me equally Solicitous to preserve it; and being sincerely disposed to promote the Happiness and Prosperity of the People you represent, I hope your expectations from the Personal Government of one of your Proprietaries will not be disappointed.

"October 22d, 1773."

"JOHN PENN.

MEMORANDUM, the 30th of October, 1773.

The Office of Chief Justice of the Supream Court of the Government of the Lower Counties being Vacant by the Death of John Nining, Esquire, The Governor was this day pleased to Issue three district Commissions, appointing Richard McWilliam, Esquire, Chief Justice, Casor Rodney, Esq second Justice, and Samuel Chew, Esq third Justice of the said Court.

November 3d, 1773.

The Governor was this day pleased to issue a General Commission, appointing Richard McWilliam, Cæsar Rodney, Samuel Chew, and David Hall, Esquires, Justices of the Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Goal Delivery for the Counties of New Castle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware.

November 4th, 1773.

Upon Dr. Finney's resignation of the Office of Naval officer for the Port and district of New Castle, The Governor was this day pleased to appoint his Son, David Finney, Esquire, to succeed him in that Office.

New Castle, the 6th November, 1773.

PRESENT:

The Honorable JOHN PENN, Esquire, Governor.

Esquires, Members of the Council.

The Assembly having since the Governor's attendance at this place, sent up to him six Bills which they had prepared during their Present sitting, they were severally read and duly considered; and a few amendments being made to two of them, to which the Assembly having for the most part acceded, they were all at different times returned to the House by the Secretary, with Messages that the Governor agreed to pass them into Laws whenever they should be presented to him for that purpose. The said Bills are entituled as follows, Viz' :

"An Act for erecting a Bridge and Causeway over Lewes Creek, from the Town of Lewes to the Cape side of the said Creek, in the County of Sussex."

"An Act for the encouragement of the Owners of Mills within this Government, and for the Repealing of an Act of Assembly entituled 'An Act to encourage the building of good Mills in this Government, and the Supplement thereto,' passed in the 34th Year of his late Majesty's Reign."

"An Act to prevent the Counterfeiting the Paper Money of other Colonies."

"An Act for making perpetual a former act entituled 'An Act for amending the Laws relating to Testamentary affairs, and for the better Intestates' Estates,' except such parts thereof as are hereby altered and amended."

"An Act to enable the owners and Possessors of several Tracts of Meadow Marsh and Cripple, on Augustine Creek and Silver run, in New Castle County, to make the Banks, Dams, and Sluices in Repair, and to raise a Fund to defray the Yearly expences accruing thereon;" and

"An Amendment to an Act entituled 'A Supplement to an act entituled 'An Act to enable the owners and Possessors of the Marsh Meadows on the North side of Christiana River, called Brandywine Marsh, and a Tract of Meadow Marsh and Cripple, on the south

side of the said River, called Holland's Creek Marsh, and also of a Tract of Marsh Meadow, near New Port, called Conrad's Cripple, to keep the Banks, Dams, and Sluices in Repair, and to raise a Fund to defray the Expences thereof,' so far as the same relates to the said Holland's Creek Marsh.'"

A Committee of Assembly waited on the Governor with a Message, desiring to know when and where he would be pleased to receive the House, in order to pass the several Bills to which he had given his assent; To which his Honor replied that he should be ready to receive the House for that Purpose at his Lodgings in half an hour. The Speaker and the whole House attended accordingly, and presented the six Bills above mentioned, which the Governor enacted into Laws, signed a Warrant for affixing the Great Seal to them, and directed the Secretary to accompany two members of Assembly to see them sealed and Deposited in the Rolls office.

Before the House withdrew, the Speaker presented to the Governor orders on the Trustees of the Loan office for £250, for which his Honor return'd the House his Thanks.

At a Council held at Philadelphia, on Monday the 6th December, 1773.

The Governor laid before the Board a Transcript of a Record of the last Court of Oyer and Terminer held at Lancaster, for the County of Lancaster, by which it appears that Samuel Brandt, of the said County of Lancaster, was Convicted of Felony and Murder, committed on the Body of a certain Valentine Brandt, and had received Sentence of Death for the same, and the Judges of the said Court having reported no circumstances in favor of the Criminal, it was the opinion of the Board that the Sentence of the Court should be executed against him on Saturday the 18th of December Instant, and the Governor directed a Warrant to be Issued for that Purpose accordingly.

At a Council at Philadelphia, on Thursday 9th December, 1773.

The Board taking into due consideration an Application made to the Governor by Mr. Judah Foulke, the Present Clerk of the Market of the City of Philadelphia, to be appointed the Officer for keeping the Standard Weights and Measures for the County of of Philadelphia, advised the Governor to appoint Mr. Foulke to the said Office, and the Governor directed the Secretary to make out a Commission accordingly.

The Governor laid before the Board a Petition from the Magistrates, Grand Jury, and other principal Inhabitants of Northumberland County, which was read, and follows in these words, Viz

"To the Honourable JOHN PENN, Esquire, one of the Proprietaries, and Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province of Pennsylvania, &c.

"The Petition of divers of the Inhabitants of Northumberland County, in the said Province, humbly Sheweth :

"That your Petitioners being seated, in Consequence of regular Purchases from the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania, in the said County of Northumberland, within the known Limits, and under the Protection of the Laws of the Province of Pennsylvania, have nevertheless been under the necessity of Combating and struggling with many Difficulties and Embarrassments of so alarming a nature as scarce to be parallelled in the History of any Civilized Country; that the Colony of Connecticut sets up a Claim to the lands seated, improved, and rendered Valuable by your Petitioner's Labour; happy might your Petitioners be, would those Claimants bring their Pretensions to some Tribunal whose decision would equally bind both Parties, but with them Violence usurps the Place of Argument, and force of Legal Decision; that about two years agoe a number of your Petitioners were in a Hostile manner ousted of their Possessions at Wyoming, and Cruelly Stripped and Plundered of their Effects; that, not content with the acquisition of Wyoming and the Parts adjacent, sundry attempts have been made to extend their Conquests. A large Body of Armed Men from Connecticut in June last attempted to dispossess the Inhabitants of the West Branch of Susquehanna, and, though prevented, it was not without much Fatigue, Expence, and Great Danger of Bloodshed;

these People, lawless among themselves, afford an Assylum and secure Retreat to disorderly Persons, not only of this Government, but of all the neighbouring Provinces, by which accessions, and the Constant Countenance of the Colony of Connecticut, their numbers have of late greatly increased; that the avowal of their Intentions is uniformly the same, especially since the account from Connecticut that "the Government has open espoused their Cause, and taken them under their Protection." Deplorable indeed must be the situation of your Petitioners, if called on to defend by Force of Arms their Infant Settlements against the Power of a whole Colony; that the Consequence must be ruin to their fortunes and Families in their present distracted Situation; as common Subjects of the Province, and entituled to the Protection of the Laws, your Petitioners cannot help looking up to your Honor for the aid of Governm't; they have hitherto maintained an unequal Contest, possessed of Property themselves, they have been obliged with arms in their hands to defend it against those who had no property, subject themselves to Law; they have had to Contend with those who refused Subjection to any Law, and have not been able to reduce them to order, which is confessing a Weakness they can no longer conceal; that the whole Posse of the County is not sufficient to enforce the Laws at Wyoming, and as the Inhabitants have not hitherto been able to prevent the Continuance of the Connecticut Intruders in that Part of the Province contrary to Law, and the Repeated Proclamations of Government, they fear their utmost Efforts will not be sufficient to keep their Possessions without the Interposition and Protection of the Legislature, which therefore, they Implore, aud from the known Clemency and Justice of the administration, consider themselves as having reason to expect."

The said Petition being taken into Consideration, it was the opinion of the Board that the same should be laid before the Assembly, accompanyed by a Message from the Governor to enforce it; Mr. Chew, Mr. Tilghman, Mr. Allen, and Mr. Shippen, are appointed to prepare a Draught of a Proper Message for that Purpose.

The Secretary laid before the Board a new Return and Draught of the Public Road or King's Highway, from the Middle Ferry on Schuylkill to the Village of Strásburg, in Lancaster County, as the same was resurveyed and laid out, with the Errors and Mistakes made in the former Survey Corrected pursuant to an Order of Council of the fourth day of February last. The said return and draught being taken into Consideration by the Board, it is ordered and adjudged, that the Road as therein mentioned to be resurveyed and laid out, be forever heroafter a Public Road or King's Highway. And it is further Ordered that the Supervisors of the High Ways for the Several Townships in the Counties of Philadelphia, Chester and Lancaster, through which the said Road leads, do, with all convenient speed, cause the same to be Cleared and opened of the Breadth of sixty feet through their Respective Townships, accord