to pay their Arrears, and Purchase their Quit-Rents, such Town or County shall have none of the said Priviledges granted them, but such Officers and Justices shall be appointed to be over them and commissionated as was formerly accustomed by you the Governor only. PROVIDED ALWAYS, that a Clause be inserted, if such law be passed for Priviledge to the Representatives for Nomination of double the Number of Officers, as abovementioned, that such Priviledges shall continue and be in force no longer time than the General Assembly do continue a sufficient Fund to Maintain and Support the Charge of the Government. VII.

That you do not consent to a Law for imposing or asscertaining the Yearly, Quarterly, or any other Sallary, Tax, or Allowance for the Maintainance of any sort of Preachers or Ministers of whatsoever Perswasion they be of in Matters of Religion.

VIII.

That you do not consent unto any Law, that may lay any Tax or Imposition whatsoever, upon any of the uncultivated Land in the said Province.

IX.

That you endeavour to get an Act of Assembly passed for recording all Deeds, Grants, and Conveyances of Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, within the said Province in the Publick General Regis ter in the Secretary's Office, for the better Security of Posterity, and the greater Satisfaction to all Purchasers, when all such Titles, as well those heretofore, as those that come after, shall appear upon publick Record.

X.

That you lay before the Assembly the great Advantage that will redound to the Trade of the Province in General, to cause the publick Road to pass through

the Port Town of Perth Amboy, from New-York, &c. to West-Jersey, and Pennsylvania, to which good end, that you endeavour to get an Act passed to lay a Tax on the Country, to bear the Charge of a Work tending so much to the publick Benefit of the Province.

XI.

That you consent to pass a Law or Act of Assembly that no Attorney or other Person be suffered to Practice or plead for Fee or Hire, in any Court of Judicature, in any Suit or Cause or Process in Law whatsoever, but such as are admitted to Practice by Licence of the Governor of the Province for the Time being.

XII.

That you cause all the laws already made in the Province to be effectually put in Execution, or that new Acts be pass'd to confirm or enforce the same.

XIII.

You are to cause Copies of all the Laws of the said Province, that shall be made hereafter, to be transmitted to the Committee of Proprietors in London, by the next Ships bound for England, from Time to Time.

XIV.

You are to cause these Instructions to be entered upon the publick Records of the Province.

SEAL.

A. Campbell. Thomas Hart. Thomas Fullerton. Thomas Barker. Walter Riddle, David Lyell. John Burnett, for my Father, Robert Burnett. Joseph Ormston. Walter Benthall. Thomas Gordon. William Bingley, for my self, and Anthony Sharpe. Thomas Cooper. Clement Plumstead, William Dockwra, Secretary and Register.

From Governor Basse to Secretary Popple, announcing his arrival in New Jersey.

S!

[From P. R. O. B. T. Proprieties, Vol. 2, B 13.]

L're from Mr. Basse, Gov! of the Jerseys, to the

Secry

Perth Amboy yee.
April 1698.

I cannot Omit giving you an Acco* that after a long and tedious voyage I at length arrived at New Yorke in Company of the Earle of Bellamont' and forthwith went over to the Jersies, and by the advice both of the Councill there & his Excellencye Published my Com'ission from ye Proprietors & ye Kings Com'ission for the takeing the Plantac'on Oath, which I accordingly did haveing as preparatory thereunto before his Excellency, taken the Oaths Appointed in yo Roome of the Oaths of Allegiance & Supremacie & Signed ye test & Association':-how I was Received by the People you will perceive by the inclosed letter to the Proprietors by the Councell of the Province, since my arrival nothing of moment hath happened but that on ye 9th of Aprill, a Pyrate, came into Sandy Hooke landed Some men & killed Sev'all Hoggs; some of the men being met with by the Count" inhabitants informed them that they belonged to Road Island, & that foure or five of the Red-Sea Pyrates, were, or wold bee soon on this Coast-I imediately sent advice of it to the Earle of Bellamont but the Sloop hearing

On April 2d. See following letter.-ED.

2 See Proceedings of Governor of Council, April 7th, 1698.-ED.

of the alteration of the Government: both at New Yorke, and in this Province, putt away to Sea, I cod most hartily wish that Some methods might bee fallen upon to Suppress these Sea Woalves, and Secure our East India trade, Another thing prejuditiall to his Mate that I have observed is the illegal tradeing to Corasee, & Madagascor wh his Excell! I p'ceive takes all due Methods to Discourage: I am of the Opinion that a Small Fortification placed at Sandy Hooke, with tenn or twelve men, one of wch ought as a Weighter to bee put on board every vessell bound up ye Bay, & Sent down p' the next: wold doe better Service for this end, & the preventing Smugling then the more chargable maintenance of a Man of Warr: I have comunicated this to Esq: Randolph the Surveyor Gen! who Seems much to approve of it, I must also begg leave to remind you y' in Order to end the various Controversies between ye Provinces about the imposeing of Rates & duties on goods exported & imported: it might not be amiss to bring all to an equall Levell by an Act of Parliam & I have just cause to believe no other means can prove effectual, the Severall Assemblies being very hardly brought to such a Complyance, & it being the only Method to reduce the trade of the severall Provinces to a greater degree of Eqallity St I cannot but hope y' you will excuse what is amiss & if in anything I may bee capable of Serving his Mate that you will be pleas'd not to be unmindfull of

S Yo! most Hum Serv

J BASSE.

Earl of Bellomont to the Lords of Trade.

[From New York Col. Docts., Vol IV., p. 305.]

To the Right Honourable the Lords of the Council of Trade.

MY LORDS

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In my letter of the eighth of January last I gave your Lordships an account of my arrival at Barbadoes. On the ninth of March I left that Island and on the second of April I landed at the City of New York, and entered on the Goverm I presume your Lords will likewise thinke it worth your serious consideration that the Govern of the Jerseys have obtained leave to make two Ports for trade in their Govern, which will be a destruction to the Trade of the City and province of New York, who have established laws, for Customs by which a considerable revenue is raised to support the Govern but if the said ports of the Jersies are permitted to lade and unlade ships free from such impositions, all Merchants will resort thither, being but twenty miles distance, which will be the ruine of this the King's Govern which is the Bulwark, defence, and support of His Majtes neighboring provinces, and the laws of this province that exacts customes & imports of goods do expire this next year, and I fear it will be difficult if not impossible to get them revived, or that the people will be willing to lay that Clog on their trade which the Jersies will be freed from, so that a revenue which well managed may advance six thousand pounds or £7000 p' annum will fall and nothing be left to support the Government.

I would not permit proclamations to be printed in this City establishing Perth Amboy and Burlington to be free ports: until I made your Lordships acquainted with this matter, and received His Majty further