thoughts, or I should have given you and Coll. H. orders to have sworn him, but its no great matter. If it be as you heard, I think Dr. Rogers has play'd his Cards well. If Lord W-ld- is gone to George's, perhaps he'll think he has play'd the Fool, when he comes back. I fancy he'll find that affair grow more heavy and burdensome every Day. If some of your Line Wretches had one about their Necks, it would be but a piece of Justice they richly deserve from the Province. I look upon that matter at an End upon the present Footing: and pray which of 'em is Politician enough to know what to do next? How barbarous would it be for the People of your Province to be burden'd with Taxes, to pay the charge of their vile management! I have prorogued this Assembly to 20th of Oct nor do I suppose they'll sit then. As to making a Visit your way, whenever you think it may be worth while, I'll come. I am heartily sorry to hear the Sickness is renew'd among you, and that your Son Richard is down with it. I pray God to recover him, and to take all your good Family into his merciful care. Boston August 234, 1736. Mr. Sec Waldron. Sir I am, Good Sir Your Friend and Servant No. 14. Gov'r Belcher to Lt. Gov'r Dunbar. J. BELCHER. Mr. Waldo brought me yours of 20th present and I wish I could omit remarking on your presuming to blot Packets with your Scrolls, directed on his Majesty's Especial service to the Gov': by what means you intercepted these Packets you best know, I assure you I take no notice of the copy of one you have sent me; but now demand of you the original, if there be such an one, for you must excuse me from giving any Faith to your attestations; but if I should, yet you have nothing to do with Packets primarily directed to me for the King's service, while I am either at Massachusetts or New Hampshire. Sure you can't be so silly and ignorant as to think the Direction on a Letter can countermand the Royal Hand and Seal. I heard you had some time since a Letter directed-To his Excell'y David Dunbar, Esq. Gov'r &c. which I suppose you took as a gross affront upon you, tho' I heard you said upon it-you have rec'd a Letter worth £600, a year. This I did'nt wonder at neither. These little thin artifices you find are not to be practic'd with me-and why do you worry yourself? Since I told you years ago that nothing less than the Royal Hand, that gave me my authority, should take it from me, & should I be in any other way of thinking, I should highly abuse the goodness & Honour his Majesty does me, & justly forfeit the Trust he has repos'd in me. You say you certainly imbark this week, but I am told the gout has got hold of your Toe, I hope you won't let it prevail to stop your (talkt of) voyage: I say this, because I found in yours to me of Decr last, you were willing I should have hindered it. And I took the main Design of your humble Complaint to the House of Represts of New Hampshire against the Gov' to be, that they might desire you to stay, instead of which you doubtless thought 'em very uncomplaisant upon the offers of your service saying, If you believe I can do anything to serve your Interest in England, & will be pleas'd to tell me wherein, you will find a grateful Return from me;-that they should think you not capable of doing any thing to serve their Interest, which appears in their lean answer:-To Thank his Honour for his kind offer. Methinks they might have wish'd you a good voyage, but perhaps they did'nt believe you was going; yet you have carry'd the jest so far, that I don't see how you can well avoid it. You don't want the Province's nor my good Wishes for their happy Riddance, but I have had so many Letters from you in six years past, saying, You was resolv'd to go home, go home, that I shall not believe it, till some vessell tells me, they have met you to the Eastward of St. George's. J. B. (Copy.) I have your alive Letter of 29th ult. pr Post. As to your new Bills, the way to know whether they'll pass, is, to make Dispatch in getting them out; the sooner that's done, the more readily they'll obtain a currency, and which I think nobody need trouble themselves about. I am glad the first sett of the Copies will be here tomorrow The Pr-t-nd-r will certainly be a long pending affair, & full of charge. I take a particular Notice of the whole Farce play'd off by Scarramoncho last We'nsday. R-dge is a Rascal, G-tts a Scoundrel, the Turner a Weathercock, a Fool, hardly worth notice, the Loon & the Ape are very impudent, old H. is a compound of Ignorance, Jealousy & Brittleness, so one must be wise to keep him steady,—Since things happened as they did, its well he went, for Sancho was near his Point: if they had been all alike brave with Coll. Jo. and D-nu-t, & have done as you directed, it had been better. G-mb-ng is knowing and honest, and its well he went. Don't you know five is a Quorum of the Council in ordinary, & even three in extraordinary cases? I wonder he does'nt try this Experiment, because he may always have four. I hope the T-nn-r (1) holds right & steady. As to calling the Assembly, you may depend he has no authority from home about it, not but that T- may write him to venture upon it, but you must watch their Waters, and timely issue the Preventer. I thank you for handing along the Dose I sent him pr the Post, it was exactly tim'd. I hope he'll read it to the Priest, & the rest of his minions. I much approve your Answers to his Epistle & Sumons but pray send him no more copies of any thing, 'till he pays you, its enough to say your hands are full at present with the Gov Commands. I am fully perswaded he never yet intended to go, but if he should I shall attribute it intirely to the strong Doses administered to him last week, that have made such a Ferment in his Bowels, & even in his Brains, as to throw him into a downright Dementation. If he vamps, shouln't some rough Game have a Hint (as wisely as possible) to make out some Tokens of Joy & Contempt. Boston I am, Sir Your Hearty Friend J. BELCHER. (1) Perhaps the Governor refers to Hon. Wm. Parker, who, in his youth, was a tanner in Portsmouth, but afterward was a lawyer, register of Probate, Judge of Admiralty and held other offices. ED. INDEX. [NOTE The Index, which follows, is designed to contain the name of every person When a name occurs more than once on a page, or on two pages in the same connec- 728 230 ..461 605 312 24 Dickey, John. James, 13, 21, 26, 35, 38, 45: Rep. pas- 415 2 Downing, Capt. John, 21, 45, 89, 92, 101, John. Tho's.. 92 DUMMER, Lt. Gov. 17, 169, 205, 213; Mr. DUNBAR, Col. DAVID, 568, 599; Com'n, DENNET, EPH..21, 26, 31, 45, 55, passim- E Eastman or Easman, Ebenezer, 507, 538, 504 | Emerson, Dan'l.. Sam'l, 45; Rep. 50, 101, 113, 121, 171, |