greatly exceed the sum limited by his 12th Instruction to me for that purpose; as without exceeding it, his Service must suffer in every respect, and the People, who cannot possibly otherwise supply the Treasury at present, must be laid under unsurmountable Difficulties, & be thrown into Confusion; And these Inconveniences will ensue without answering any other Purpose, that I can think of, which ought to have weight when put into Competition with them, for the particulars of which I beg leave to referr your Lordships to my last Letter upon that Subject; I have been obliged to consent to a partial supply only for this year, in order to keep within the £30,000 limited by the Royal Instructions, in hopes of obtaining by November next a permission from his Majesty, to exceed it in such manner as his Service may necessarily require, & should esteem it a singular Act of Favour in your Lordships, if I might receive by that time some directions for my Conduct under the Dilemma, which I shall then find myself under, of either using a discretionary Latitude in Acting upon the Twelfth Instruction by Exceeding the Sum of Paper Money there limited, or wholly refusing to supply the Treasury, for the Support of the Government & every other Service, in the only way by which it can be provided for at present. I am with the most perfect Respect, Letter from Mr. Shirley, Govr of the Massachusets Bay to the Board, dated at Boston August the 10th 1744, giving acct of what he has done for the Defence of the Province, Exchange of Prisoners & Peace with the Indians, and desires an Enlargemt of his Instruction about issuing Paper Money. Recd Octobr 31st Read Novbr 8 1744 Upon reading at the Board a Report from the Right Honourable the Lords of the Committee of Council for Plantation Affairs dated the 29th of last Month in the words following Vizt. Your Majesty having been pleased to referr unto this Committee a Letter from William Shirley Esqr. your Majesty's Governour of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay to his Grace the Duke of Newcastle dated the 25th of June2 last, representing the several Steps he hath taken, and the endeavours he hath used towards raising within that Province a Body of Forces for the Assistance of Annapolis Royal in your Majesty Province of Nova Scotia, and that he hath prevailed with the Assembly of the Massachusetts Bay not only to consent to the raising of three Companys of Sixty Men each exclusive of Officers but as an encourage 1B. M., Additional Manuscript 33026, 3. A transcript is in the Library of Congress. 2 On Aug. 6 Shirley had sent to Newcastle and on Aug. 10 to the Lords of Trade an account of what he had done for the protection of the province, the treaty of friendship made with the Indians and financial measures taken (P. R. Ó., C. O. 5, 884, 361; C. O. 5, 900, 110). This order passes on Shirley's acts up to an earlier date. The editor has found no trace of any letter of June 25 as mentioned, but two letters of July 25, one to Newcastle (C. O. 5, 900, 97), the other to the Lords of Trade (C. O. 5, 884, 447), seem to him to be the manuscripts mentioned as those upon which this order is based. ment for the speedy raising of the same to give a bounty of near Four Guineas to each Man as likewise to Victual them for three Months and to be at the further Expence of Transporting them to Annapolis Royal; But that with regard to the pay of the said Forces, the Governour represents That he stands engaged for your Majesty's Providing for the same, as also, that they shall be Discharged upon the arrival of a reinforcement from Great Britain, which he hopes your Majesty will be pleased to approve of, as he could not otherwise have obtained the said succour. The Lords of the Committee have in Obedience to your Majesty's Commands, taken the said Letter, as also several other papers relating to this affair, into their consideration, And Do agree humbly to Report to your Majesty as their opinion, That your Majesty's said Governour of the Massachusetts' Bay hath acted as became a Dutifull and Zealous Servant to your Majesty in obtaining the aforementioned Succours for the assistance of your Majesty's other Province of Nova Scotia and that therefore It may be adviceable for your Majesty not only to enable him to make good the engagement he hath entred into for the pay of the said forces but also to Signify your Royal approbation of his conduct in this affair and in order to Your Majesty's being informed of the time when the pay of the said forces is to commence the committee begg leave to propose that the sd Governour should be directed to Transmit forthwith an exact account thereof to your Majesty in Council. His Majesty in Council this day took the said Report into Consideration and being well pleased with the dutifull and Zealous behaviour of William Shirley Esqr. His Governour of the Massachusetts Bay in obtaining the aforementioned Succours for His Province of Nova Scotia, Doth therefore hereby signifye His Royal approbation of the said Governour's conduct therein And his Majesty is likewise pleased to Declare that He will make good the Engagement entred into by the said Governour for the pay of the Succours, and to that end the said Governour is to transmit to His Majesty at this Board an exact account of the time. when their pay is to Commence.1 Endorsed: Kings Order in Council approving of Governour ROYAL INSTRUCTIONS TO WILLIAM Instruction to our Trusty and Wellbeloved Whereas by the 12th Article of Our Instructions You are restrained from consenting to the Emission of more than Thirty Thousand Pounds of Bills of Credit, at one and the same time, without inserting a suspending Clause in the Acts for that Purpose, to prevent their taking Effect, untill Our Pleasure shall be known, And Whereas It has been represented to Us, that the said Sum of Thirty Thousand Pounds may not be sufficient during the Time of War for the Defence and necessary Support of Our Government; And forasmuch as many unforeseen Accidents may arise which may demand an immediate Supply, It is therefore Our Will and Pleasure for the present to dispense with our 1 Upon the news of this Order in Council reaching Boston the Massachusetts House of Representatives on Oct. 13 passed resolutions acknowledging Governor Shirley's attention to the protection of the province and his good use of the provincial troops in Nova Scotia. Mass. Arch. 2 P. R. O., C. O. 5, 200, 49. A transcript is in the Library of Congress. See also Instructions of Aug. 9 allowing Shirley to give his consent to acts for the supply of the treasury during the war, C. O. 5, 918, 136. For original instruction see ante, p. 47, § 12. said 12th Instruction, and We do hereby allow you in case of Emergencys to give your Consent to such Acts as may be necessary for the Supply of the Treasury of Our said Province with Bills of publick Credit during the Continuance of the present War, provided the Money thereby raised be appropriated to the necessary Support and Defence of Our said province only. Endorsed: Instructions to William Shirley Esqr., Governor of the Massachusets Bay. WILLIAM SHIRLEY TO THE DUKE OF MY LORD DUKE, Boston, N. England, September 22., 1744.. I have given the inclos'd papers all Possible Dispatch to your Grace on Account of the Intelligence contain❜d in four of them, the substance of which has been confirm'd to me by all the Officers of his Majesty's Troops lately taken at Canso, who arrived here yesterday with other prisoners of War to the Amount of 340 from Louisbourg in three Flaggs of Truce; and from whom I learn that it is likely that the India Merchant Ships mentioned in the Inclosed Papers will not sett out till late in October or the Middle of November, so that if the Vessell by which this goes should have a quick Passage, it is possible that these Ships whose Value is reported here to be exceeding great, may be intercepted by Some of his Majesty's Ships, if it shou'd be thought proper to send some of them out for that purpose upon the Arrival of this Intelligence. I have also sent Commodore Warren the Account of the French India Ships, but much doubt whether he can draw together a sufficient Force from these parts to Cope with the French Men of Warr and Merchant-Men' being all ships of considerable Force. 1 P. R. O., C. O. 5, 900, 117. See Shirley to Governor William Greene of Rhode Island (Kimball, Corres. Col. Govs. of R. I. 1, 271), with depositions of |