their Scituation being now very much altered, the reason of it doth not now continue the Same it was; & I am in hopes his Majestie may be induc'd to leave that matter to the govern' & councill

I have wrote a book instead of a letter but believ'd the being particular would give you the best Accounts of things So as to enable you to form a Judgment of them and am Sir

Your most obliged &c L. M.

To the Right Honble Sir Charles Wager first Lord Commiss' of the Admiralty & one of his Majesties Most honble Privy Counsel.

From Ex-Governor Hamilton to the Lords of Tradecomplaining of certain proceedings of Governor Morris.

[From P. R. O. B. T. New Jersey Vol 4. F 33.]

Letter from Mr Hamilton late Commander in Chief of New Jersey, dated May 30th 1739, complaining of Col: Morris the present Gov for threatning to sue him for the Salary he received as President, when he commanded.

My Lords

Amboy May 30th 1739.

I humbly hope your Lordships will pardon the presumption. I now am Guilty of by taking up Any of your time with my trifleing Affairs but Your Lordships haveing been pleased to Approve of My Conduct during the time I presided in this Province & directed me in a Letter You did me the honor to Send of the 22 of June 1737 to doe my utmost to preserve the tranquility of the Province under my Command untill

the Arrival of the Lord De La Warr. I take the Liberty to Acquaint Your Lordships that as Soon as Coll: Morris recd his Commission for Governor of this Province he came here to publish it and att the Same time did declare he came as an Intire Stranger and Void of all resentments to Any person whatsoever. In the Winter Coll Morris held An Assembly att Amboy in the Council I acted as President & forwarded his Majestys Interest & the good of the Country as much as Lay in my power the first Council that was held after that Assembly was disolved the Warrants for the Salarys of the Officers of the Goverm were Signed, I Applyed for my Salary as Commander in Cheif from the 23d of June 1738 (to which time I had received My Salary) to the 28th of Augt following the day he published his Commission w he not only refused to grant but likewise told me he Expect'd I Should pay him all the Salary I had received as PresiIdent of the Council from the 20th of Oct! 1736 the time he came here and demanded the Goverm! & that If I did not pay him he Should be Obliged to Sue me. I told him if he did & Judgment went against me I would certainly Appeal Since that I have not heard any thing further nor doe I yet know what he Intends to doe, however I thought it my duty to Acquaint Your Lordships with it & begg You will consider what a Situation I shall be in if he does, He is the Govern has made his Youngest Son Cheif Justice of the province. & Appoints Sheriffs & other Officers of the Court. So if I should be Cast I must first Appeal to him in Council befor I can carry it to England wherein I may meet with great difficulty. I humbly begg Your Lordships will be pleased to consider me I hope You will pardon me for this Long Acc

I have the Honor to be w" the most profound regard My Lords Your Lordships most humble

and most Obedient Servant JOHN HAMILTON

Letter from James Alexander to Peter Collinson'relating to his difficulties with Governor Cosby and President Clarke.

Sir

From the Original Draft in Rutherfurd Collection, Vol. IV, p. 63.]

New York June 4 1739.

hearing by this post that a new Gov' is nominated for this place, tho' I am Extremely Straitened in time yet Least the news should prove true I thought that I ought not to miss this opportunity of answering yours concerning my place in the Council as particularly as I could.

About 18 years agoe I was appointed one of the Council of New York by Governor Burnets recomendation on his first arriveal to whom I was in the Strongest manner recommended by Brigadier Robert Hunter his predecessor who were two of the best Gov's that ever this place has had & if I am not out, I am now the oldest but one of the Council.

I Stood So well with Brigadier Hunter Gov' Burnet & Gov Montgomerie, that I was not without Envy on that head, tho God knows it I never used my Interest with them to the hurt of this my Country or any one in it but the Contrary to the utmost of my power.

Before Coll Cosby Came I thought I Laid in a Sufficient Stock of Obligations upon him that I might have Stood as well or better with him than any former Gov' because he was more Obliged to me before ever he

1 PETER COLLINSON was for many years the business correspondent of Mr. Alexander in London, making purchases for Mrs. Alexander's store, and performing important services otherwise-ED.

Saw me than any one in this place & by the advice & assistance I gave him in England before his arriveal here he owned he Saved the payment of the Companys here which was at Least £2000 p! annum to him all the time of his Government.

The assistance I gave him was not by advice before hand only but also by Advancing much above 4000 of our money for the payment of the Companys before his arriveal when no other body would do it at first to Save him from the necesity of the thing because no provision was [made] for it and afterwards by his approbation & thanks for what I had done & Express directions to Continue to do So till his arriveal.

Upon his arriveal he Seemed very gratefull for these Services, but Soon after I had a notice from my friends Penn & Barclay that his agent refused payment of above £500 Sterling of what I advanced at his request, which I acquainted him of & he buffled with me about it for three months when I would be no Longer so put off. I told him I must beg his appearance to a Suit agt him for my money, & beg'd that it might make no alterration of friendship betwixt us-This put him in a Rage & Storm in which he threatned terribly; on this Treatment I immediatly Engaged all the best Council in this place ag1 himhe Sent soon to the Same Council but found I had been before hand with him, upon which he Complyed by giving me a Note under hand for bills of Ex" to the value of my Demand but £140 of that money is still unpaid & Ever will be I Suppose for I happened afterwards on a Shop account to Sign a Rec' in full of all Demands without reading it thinking it to have been drawn in the Shop by my Wifes Directions & he had the grace to Declare he made use of that to barr me of that demand under his own hand.

This useage of me to whom he was So much Obliged was but the first appearance of his madness (the most

charitable name I can give to his Conduct here) it Soon broke out after with a full Lustre agt Mr Vandam Coll Morris & others, & Did Such things that few men thought their Lives, Libertys or Estates in that Colony in Safety, I heartily opposed his mad measures, This Led him to represent me in a Strange Light to the board of Trade, They without hearing me (tho a Caveat was there Entered) & without any proof reported ag me to be Displaced but Coll Morris hearing of it before confirmed in Council wrote to Lord Wilmington against it, which put a Stop to the Matter then & there it Lyes unconfirmed-but I have been too Long on that Madman-to come a little nearer to the point, most men believed that M' Clark was an adviser & a helper in Cosbys Schemes in order to ruin him & make way for himself (tho he has Strongly Denyed it since his Death) Cosby Suspended Vandam to make room for Clark to be president-most men abhorred the action & believed the Suspension Died with Cosby because not in the Kings name but a personal act of Cosbys of which opinion I was and still am & Disowned M' Clarks government as president accordingly. I was not once Summoned to Council from the time of my threatning of Cosby with a Suit as before till the day of his death when I was Summoned & opposed M' Clarks taking the Government on him, but Mr Vandam was heard & had my dissent Entered on the minutes of Council & a Coppy of my dissent attested by the Clerk as a proclamation The Council Delivered me [?] but notwithstanding that Caution notifying the death of Cosby & his taking the Government by unanimous advice of the Council nameing my name the first of them. I Lookt on this as a horrid abuse of me & immediatly I published a Declaration that I had not advised or Consented as that proclamation Set forth-various papers were published on this point from the 10th of March 1735-6 the