A governor perhaps by foliciting at home and giving adequate gratuities and fees to the proper leading clerks of the feveral boards, may obtain additional instructions fuitable to his intereft or humour. I do not maintain but only mention, that we seem to have a late instance of this in the province of New-Hampshire. 1744-5, there was a difpute between the governor and houfe of representatives concerning the house's not admitting of members from the governor's new conftituted townships and diftricts, but not qualified by the houfe; the governor by folicitations, &c. at home, obtained, in the king's absence, from the lords justices an additional instruction as follows. Gower, P. S. Montagu, (Seal) By the LORDS JUSTICES. Additional inftruction to Benning Wentworth, Efq; his majesty's governor and commander in chief, in and over the province of New-Hampfhire, in NewEngland in America; or to the commander in chief of the faid province for the time being. Given at Whitehall, the 30th day of June, 1748, in the 22d year of his majesty's reign. Whereas it hath been reprefented to his majesty, That you having in his majesty's name, and by virtue of your commiffion, iffued a writ to the sheriff of the province under your government, commanding him to make out precepts, directed to the select-men of certain towns, parishes and districts therein mention'd, for the election of fit perfons qualified in law to represent them in the general affembly, appointed to be held at Portsmouth, within the faid province, on the 24th day of January, 1744-5; by which writ, the towns of South-Hampton and Chefter, and the diftricts of Haverhill, and of Methuen and Dracut, and the district of Rumford, were impowered to choose representatives as aforefaid; the faid general affembly did refuse to admit the perfons duly elected to represent the faid towns and diftricts to fit and vote in the choice of a fpeaker: And whereas the right of fending representatives to the faid affembly was founded originally on the commiffions and instructions given by the crown to the respective governors of the province of New-Hampshire, and his majesty may therefore lawfully extend the privilege of fending reprefentatives to fuch new towns as his majefty fhall judge worthy thereof. It is therefore his majefty's will and pleasure, and you are hereby directed and required to diffolve the affembly of the province, under your government, as foon as conveniently may be, and when another is called, to iffue his majesty's writ to the sheriff of the said province, commanding him to make out precepts, directed to the felect-men of the towns of South-Hampton and Chester, the diftricts of Haverhill, and of Methuen and Dracut, and the district of Rumford, requiring them to cause the freeholders of the faid towns and districts to affemble, to elect fit perfons to reprefent the faid towns and diftricts in general affembly, in manner following, viz. One for the town of South-Hampton, one for the town of Chester, one for the district of Haverhill, one for the diftrict of Methuen and Dracut, and one for the district of Rumford AND it is his majefty's further will and pleasure, that you do fupport the rights of fuch reprefentatives, when chofe; and that you do likewife fignify his majesty's pleasure herein to the members of the faid general affembly.' This would be nearly the fame as if the patricii of Rome (in our colonies they are called governor and council) had affumed the prerogative of regulating the + -tribuni plebis, or reprefentatives of the people. The + When the patricii or optimates came to lord it too much over the other people of Rome, thefe people infifted upon their having re presentatives The writs or precepts for electing of representatives for the feveral townships and diftricts returned into the fecretary's office, were produced in the house, Jan. 5. 1748-9, being the first day of the fitting of a new af fembly, they confifted of There were some other members returned by fome new towns, Chester, South-Hampton, and three other districts, but not admitted to fit : Richard Waldron, Efq; à worthy man, chofen speaker by all the votes, excepting one, was negatived or difallowed by the governor, because the representatives from the new towns were not admitted to fit and vote in the choice. The house were strictly required by the governor to admit these new reprefentatives, the refufal of them being the highest contempt of the king's authority, as he said, and to proceed to a new choice of a speaker. This was abfolutely refused by the house, denying the governor's power of negativing a speaker, and of introducing members not presentatives in the publick adminiftration, called tribuni plebis, to maintain the liberties and privileges of the commons against the power of the optimates; perhaps the house of commons in the British legislature had fome fuch original. If the king fends inftructions to his governors of colonies, concerning the negativing of fpeakers, and qualifying any new towns or districts that fhall be thought worthy to fend reprefentatives to their general affemblies; it seems an ancient established cuftom or practice, that is, privilege of the house to admit or refufe novel practices, it being a notorious privilege in the British conftitution for the reprefentatives of the people to regulate their own members. D 3 warranted warranted by law, ufage, cuftom, or any other authority. This houfe ftill fubfifts (June 1750) by many prorogations and alternate meffages, but have done no publick or ordinary provincial business; whether the governor or house of representatives are in fault I do not determine; I only relate matters of fact, and refer it to proper judg ment. As to a governor in the British colonies NEGATIVING A SPEAKER, it is faid to be a controverted point, therefore shall make a few remarks in relation to it. 1. As the king at home and his governors in the plantations abroad, never pretended to negative the election of a member for a county, town, or district; it seems inconfiftent that they should claim a negative upon a fpeaker, or chairman, or moderator, chofen amongst themselves. 2. In Great-Britain, towards the end of the reign of Charles II. all charters and other privileges of the people were defigned to be facrificed to the prerogative; there was a difpute between the prerogative and the privilege of the commons concerning the court's negativing of a speaker; but ever fince, this controverfy lies dormant; it is a tender point, a noli me tangere; and plantation governors, who endeavour to revive the like in their diftricts, by flily procuring inftructions from the court at home in favour of such a negative, are perhaps no true friends to their colony, nor to the British conftitution in general. 3. Notwithstanding that, in the new charter 1691 of the province of Maffachusetts-Bay, it is exprefly faid, that the governor fhall have a negative in all elections and acts of government; in their additional or explanatory charter 12 Geo. I. in the king's abfence granted by the guardians or juftices of the kingdom, it is faid, that no provifion was made in said charter, of the king by his governor, approving or difapproving the election of of a speaker of the house of reprefentatives. In confequence of this new charter, not by any abfolute royal command, but by the voluntary confent and act of the representatives themfelves, the commander in chief is allowed to negative the fpeaker. Thus perhaps an act of the general affembly of New-Hampshire or their tacit fubmiffion, might inveft their governor with the like power, but not to be affumed in any other manner. 4. The exclufive right of electing their own fpeaker is in the house of commons or reprefentatives; the confirmation by presenting him to the king, or to his governors, is a meer form in courfe: thus the lord mayor and sheriffs of London are prefented in the king's exchequer-court, but no negative pretended; and perhaps if the king in a progress should happen to be in any corporated city or town at the time of the election of their mayor and sheriffs, in compliment and form they would be presented to the king. As to the governor's difpute with the house of representatives concerning his fummoning NEW MEMBERS FROM UNPRIVILEGED PLACES OR DISTRICTS, we make the following remarks. 1. The present governor of New-Hampshire, without any prudential retenue or referve, impolitically expofing fuch an arbitrary proceeding; menaces them with ten more fuch representatives, he means an indefinite arbitrary number in his meffage, Feb. 15, 1748-9. 2. For many scores of years, which is generally construed a prescription; there have been no royal addition of members of parliament; and at the union of the two kingdoms of Scotland and England, to prevent multiplying of members, the fmall royal corporated towns of Scotland were claffed, that is, four or five of them jointly to fend one member or reprefentative; therefore as the royal appointing of new reprefentatives in Great-Britain has been discontinued time out of mind, why should the |