Provoft-Marshalls, and Coroners, and other offices of Justice in the fame, fo as to leffen the taxes which it may be neceffary for the Governors, Councils, and Affemblies of the faid provinces to lay on the inhabitants of the fame for the faid purpose: and that a feparate receiver and collector of the faid quit-rents and other royal dues, be appointed by the several Governors of the faid provinces refpectively in every separate province, who fhall hold his faid office during the pleasure of the Governor of the province to which he shall belong, and his refidence in the faid province, and no longer, and who fhall receive and enjoy such falary, or fees, or other emoluments, during his continuance in his faid office, as fhall be allowed by an Act of the Governor, Council, and Affembly of the faid province. But the portions of the faid quit-rents that shall be affigned to the Governor, and Judges, and other officers of civil government in the faid provinces refpectively, shall be such as his Majefty, in his royal wifdom, fhall think fit to appoint.

Alfo it fhould be provided that no Governor, Judge, or other officer of the civil government of any fuch province, should receive any part of the falaries arifing from those quit-rents, or other royal dues, during the time of his abfence from the faid province, or after his return to the province, in confideration of his having held the faid office during fuch abfence; but that so much of his faid falary, arifing from the faid quit-rents and other royal dues, as would have accrued to him in the said space of time, if he had refided during the fame in the faid province, fhall be deemed to be forfeited by his faid abfence, and shall make a part of the publick treasure of the province, and be disposed-of by the joint Act of the Governor, Council, and Affembly of the faid province.

The amount of thefe quit-rents and other royal dues in

America

America fhould be made good to his Majefty out of the finking-fuud.

NINTHLY.-The offices of Secretary of the province, clerk of the Council, Register of deeds and patents, or clerk of the inrolments of deeds and patents, Provoft-marshal, or fheriff, Commiffary of ftores, Receiver-general of the king's révenue, Coroners, clerks, or regifters, of the courts of justice, Naval officer, Collector of the customs, Comptroller of the customs, in every province, fhould be given to perfons refident in the province, to be executed by themfelves, without a power of making deputies; and the fees to be taken by thefn fhould be fettled by Acts of the Governour, Council, and affembly of the faid province, in which they are holden; and they fhould be holden during the pleasure of the Governour, or of the King, as his Majefty, in his royal wisdom, fhall think fit, but fhould never be given by patents under the great feal of Great-Britain, to be holden during the lives of the patentees; and they fhould be holden by separate officers, fo that no two of them fhould be holden by the fame perfon.

The prefent patentees of any of thefe offices fhould have compenfations made to them for the lofs of their patents by penfions for their lives payable out of the finking-fund.

TENTHLY. In the governments called Royal Governments, (which are carried-on by virtue of the King's commiffions only, without charters,) the Councils of the faid provinces fhould be made more numerous than they now are, and the members of them fhould be appointed for life. They now ufually confift of twelve members, all of whom may be removed at the pleafure of the crown, and fufpended from the execution of their offices of counsellors, by the Governours of the province, till the pleasure of the Crown can be known. This renders them of little weight and confequence in the eyes of the people, and confequently of little advantage to the Governour in fupporting his Majefty's authority, and preferving the peace of the province

C

province. It would therefore be proper to enlarge their number to at leaft 23 members, and, in the more populous provinces to a greater number, (in Virginia, perhaps, to 43,) of whom at least 12 fhould be neceffary to make a board, and do business; and it would also be proper to appoint them for life or during their good behaviour, fo that they could not be removed from their faid offices without a charge of fome mifconduct that shall be a fufficient ground for removing them from the said office, and a proof and conviction of the fame in a trial by jury upon a writ of scire facias to repeal the patent by which they had been appointed to fuch office, or fome other law-proceeding analogous to fuch writ. This numerous council fhould be the Legislative Council of the province, and fhould concur with the Affembly in making laws. But, for the executive part of government, the King might appoint a leffer Council confifting of not fewer than 12 perfons, who fhould advise the Governour in all thofe matters relative to the execution of the powers of his commiffion, in which he was directed by his commiffion to act with the advice of his Council. And feven members of this Council fhould be neceffary to make a board, or do bufinefs. The members of this Council fhould hold their places at the pleasure of the Crown, as the King's privy Counsellors do in England; but should not be removeable or fufpendible by the Governour. They might either be fome of the members of the greater, or legislative, Council, or not, as his Majefty, in his royal wisdom, fhould think fit.

This measure, "of making the members of the legislative councils more numerous than they now are, and independent of the Crown, in order to give them more weight and dignity in the eyes of the people, and thereby to render them more capable of being useful in the fupport of his Majesty's government," is recommended by fome of the warmest friends of Great-Britain in North-America; of which I will

mention

mention an inftance or two. In the year 1774 a very fenfible pamphlet was published by Thomas Cadell, in the Strand, entitled, "Confiderations on certain Political Tranf actions of the Province of South-Carolina." This pamphlet has been generally afcribed to Sir Egerton Leigh, baronet, his Majefty's attorney-general for that province. But, whofoever the author of it may be, he appears to be a perfon well acquainted with the affairs of America, and more efpecially of that province, and a zealous friend to the interefts of Great-Britain in America, and to the continuance of an amicable connection between the two countries, upon the old footing of a fubjection of them both to the authority of the British Parliament. In pages 68, 69, 70, of this pamphlet there is the following paffage. "In "my apprehenfion it feems abfolutely neceffary, that the "numbers of the Council fhould be increased; and for this "plain and obvious reafon, Because a body of Twenty-four "Counsellors, for inftance, appointed by the King from the "first rank of the People moft diftinguifhed for their wealth, "merit, and ability, would be a means of diffufing a confi"derable influence through every order of perfons in the "community, which muft extend very far and wide, by "means of their particular connections; whereas a Council "of Twelve, feveral of whom are always abfent, can have "little weight, nor can their voices be heard amidst the cla"mour of prevailing numbers.

"I think this body, acting legislatively, ought to be made "independent, by holding that station during the term of their natural lives, and determinable only on that event, or "on their intire departure from the province. But the fame

perfon might nevertheless, for proper caufe, be displaced "from his feat in Council; which regulation would, in a "great measure, operate as a check to an arbitrary Gover"nour, who would be cautious how he raifed a powerful enemy in the Upper House by a rash removal; at the fame time

02

"time that the power of removal would keep the Member "within proper bounds. The life-tenure of his legiflative "capacity would likewife fufficiently fecure that indepen "dency which is fo neceffary to this ftation, and fo agree"able to the conftitution of the Parent-State. I know fome "folks will raife both fcruples and fears; but for my own "part, I think without much reafon for, if we attend to

the workings of human nature, we fhall find, that a cer"tain degree of attachment commonly arifes to the fountain "from whence an independent honour flows. Oppofition "feldom fettles upon the perfons who are raifed to dignity "by favour of the Crown, it having fo much the appearance "of Ingratitude, one of the moft detefted vices; and it ever "acts a faint and languid part, till a defcent or two are past, "and the author of the elevation is extinct. From this rea"foning it feems tolerably clear to me, that the Legislator,

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being for life, and deriving his confequence from the "Crown, will rather incline to that fcale; and it is not probable that his oppofition would in any inftance be ran"corous or fatiious; inafmuch as, though his life-eftate is "fecure, he would not with unneceffarily to excite the re"fentment of the Crown, or exclude his defcendants or con

66

nections, perhaps, from fucceeding afterwards to fuch a "6 post of honour and diftinction in their native country: in "fhort, this idea feems to admit fuch a qualified dependency,

as will attach the perfon to the fide of the Crown in that "proportion which the conftitution itfelf allows, and yet fo "much real independency, as will make him fuperior to acts "of meannefs, fervility, and oppreffion. Whether thefe "fentiments are well-founded, or not, I fubmit to the impar"tial judgement of my reader; what I principally mean to "infer is, that the happinefs of thefe colonies much de"pends upon a due blending, or mixture, of power and "dependence, and in preferving a proper fubordination of "rank and civil difcipline."

And