Pardon of John Dodd and David Dodd, convicted of rioting at Horseneck.

[From Book AB of Commissions, Secretary of State's Office, Trenton, fol. 59.]

GEORGE the Third &c. To the Sheriff of our County of Essex and to all persons whom it may Concern Greeting. Whereas John Dodd & David Dodd of our County of Essex in our Province of New Jersey, at a Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Gaol Delivery lately held at Newark in & for our said County of Essex were severally convicted of aiding & Assisting in a riotous manner to Erect a certain Building of Loggs, called a Strong hold, or Gaol, at a place called Horse Neck in our said County of Essex' & other misdemeanors by the disturbances of our peace in the sd. County for which sd. Crimes the sd. John Dodd & David Dodd were by Sentence of our sd. Court condemned to pay certain Fines and suffer Imprisonment viz: the one for four Months and the other for three Months, and the sd. John Dodd & David Dodd are now Confined in the Common Gaol of our sd. County in Execution of the sd. Sentence. And Whereas the sd. John Dodd & David Dodd have by their humble Petition Acknowledged the Justice of the sd. Sentence and Solemnly promised to conduct themselves for the future as Dutiful and Loyal Subjects, and orderly Members of the Community and have supplicated our trusty and welbeloved William Franklin Esq. Captain General & Governor in Chief of our sd. Province, that they may be released from the said Imprisonment,

Horseneck, now Caldwell. The riot was doubtless one of the outbreaks against the lawyers referred to in Governor Franklin's speech to the Legislature, given above.

Now Know Ye that We of our special Grace Clemency & Compassion have pardoned & released and by these presents do pardon and release the sd. John Dodd & David Dodd from the sd. Sentence of our Court so far as relates to the Imprisonment of their persons, they paying all due Fees to the Officers of our sd. Court and others. In Testimony whereof We have Caused the Great Seal of our sd. Province of New Jersey to be hereunto Affixed Witness &c. dated at Burlington the 31 of March A. Dom. 1770.

PETTIT.

Representation of the Lords of Trade to the King, recommending the disallowance of an Act of the New Jersey Assembly relative to the Common lands of the township of Bergen.

[From P. R. O. B. T. New Jersey, Vol. 17, page 219.]

WHITEHALL, APRILL 11. 1770

To the King's most Excellent Majesty.

May it please Your Majesty

We have had under our consideration an Act passed in Your Majestys Colony of New Jersey in November 1769, intituled,

"A Supplementary Act to an Act intituled an Act "appointing Commissioners for finally settling and "determining the several rights titles and claims to "the common Lands of the Township of Bergen; and "for making partition thereof in just and equitable proportions among those who shall be adjudg'd by "the said Commissioners to be intituled to the same;" whereupon we humbly beg leave to represent to your Majesty,

66

That this Act is passed with a Clause suspending its

execution till September next, and is supplementary to the Act for dividing the Bergen Common; the Occasion of this Act is set forth in the preamble and Your Majesty's Governor of New Jersey in his Letter accompanying the transmission thereof states that the Circumstances of the Case make such an Act absolutely necessary; inasmuch as the claims of the several Parties who conceive they have a right to a share of the Commons allotted to the Secaucus Patent, are of so various, complicated & intricate a nature, that it is impossible they should be ever settled in the ordinary course of Law.

In answer to this observation of Your Majesty's Governor we have received a Petition from William Bayard Esquire of New York (Copy whereof we humbly beg leave hereunto to annex) setting forth, amongst other matters that in right of a Patent of the Island of Secaucus granted the 10th of Dec! 1663 to his Grandfather Nicholas Bayard and Nicholas Varlet as joint Tenants and confirmed to them by Governor Carteret on the 13th of October 1667, he had claimed before the Commissioners (appointed under the Act to which this refers) an Allotment of the said Common Lands of the Township of Bergen; That sundry other persons, claiming the said common Lands in virtue of a Sale from the said Nicholas Bayard of the said Island of Secaucus, did some time since commence a Suit in the Supreme Court of Judicature of the said Province against the Petitioner for recovering the possession of the said Lands; and that the Petitioner having caused a defence to be made in the said Suit, and the said Cause having been brought on to Trial, a special Verdict was found therein, which having been solemnly argued before the Judges of the said Court, they were ready to give their Judgment in the matter; That in the meantime advantage had been taken of his absence from the Province to obtain the above

supplementary Act for the purpose of removing this Question of Right which is entirely of a private nature and a mere point of Law depending between Individuals, from the ordinary course of Justice, where it has been brought by themselves in a regular Course of Procedure to a new erected Court of Commissioners, whose determination is to be final; thereby depriving the Petitioner of his legal right to the Judgment of the supreme Court of Judicature and of his Appeal from thence if necessary, for which reasons amongst others, he humbly prays that Intercession may be made with your Majesty to prevent this Act from passing into a Law.

In addition to the above objections, it does appear from the minutes of Your Majesty's Council for the province of New Jersey that a Petition addressed to the Governor Council and Assembly of the said Province and signed by the said William Bayard Esq was exhibited in Council, on the 13th of October 1769, setting forth that a Suit was then depending in the Supreme Court of that Province, respecting certain Lands in the County of Bergen included in the Patent of Secaucus in which the Petitioner was defendant; and He being informed that some persons interested therein intended to apply to the Legislature of that Colony to pass a Law to effect a Division of said Lands, thereby prayed that no Bill of that nature might pass that House for the reasons therein mentioned

This Petition by way of Caveat appearing on the Minutes of Your Majesty's said Council, we are humbly of opinion that as well on that account as likewise for the reasons assigned in the Petition presented to us, this Act should not be allowed to pass into a Law; and when we add as a further and effectual objection thereto, that being of a private nature, it is nevertheless accompanied with a Clause of temporary suspen

sion only and not until such time as your Majesty's pleasure shall be Known, we think it our duty to lay this Act before Your Majesty for Disallowance.

Which is most humbly submitted

HILLSBOROUGH.

W FITZHERBERT.

SOAME JENYNS.

ED. ELIOT.

Circular letter from Mr. Pownall to the Governors in America inclosing an Act of Parliament respecting certain duties.

Sir,

[From P. R. O. America & West Indies, Vol. 274.]

WHITEHALL 14th April 1770

To all the Governors in America

I am directed by the Earl of Hillsborough to send you the inclosed printed Copy of an Act, assented to by His Majesty on Thursday last, for repealing so much of an Act made in the 7th Year of His present Majesty for granting certain Duties in the British Colonies & Plantations in America &c as relates to the Duties upon Glass, Red-Lead, White Lead, Painters Colours Paper &c, & am &c

J POWNALL.

Letter from Governor Franklin to the Earl of Hillsborough relative to various matters of public interest.

[From P. R, O. and West Indies, Vol. 175 (193).]

BURLINGTON, New Jersey, April 28th 1770.

The Rt Honble the Earl of Hillsborough

My Lord,

I am honoured with your Lordship's Letters No 21, 22, & 23.

The Mandamus, appointing M Stephen Skinner of