on Mr. Shirley's bargain. You will Judge, what merit arises from this Aid.

Paragraphs 6, 7, 8, and 9

As to the words of my Letter, they were Copied from H. Ms: Instructions to me, which I thought, were the most proper for

me to use on this urgent

no Man in America would

6. I did not receive this Letter, my Lord, till Saturday the 27th August, and occasion; And I believe, took the first Opportunity, I had, of laying it before the Assembly, on the 30th of the same Month, in a Speech, pressing them to enable me to Comply with Your LordI demanded an Aid of ship's Demand; Copy of which I sent Carriages, to enable me You; and upon receiving your Lordsupply them with ships Letter of the 29th August I sent

have found the least fault with them, but Mr. Shirley, or by his Instigation.

Men with Arms, and

to

Provisions.

The reason of my de- them on the 2d Instant a Message furmand, arose from the Sit- ther Urging them to exert themselves uation of Affairs; which was, Oswego taken, and upon this Occasion.1

the only Accounts we then had, said by 4000 Men, against whom, Fort Ontario held out two days, against small Arms only; and Fort Oswego five hours, against a very small Battery.

Mr: Webb advanced to the great Carrying place, who had with him, and to guard the Posts West of Schenectady, the 44h Regiment, what he could

what remain'd of Col:

7. Upon enquiring the reason of the collect of the 50h and Assembly's keeping this Matter longer 51st Regiments, what there were of three In- under Consideration, than I expected, dependent Companies, I understood by some of their Members, Schuylers New Jersey that a very great number of them, took Regiment, and of the unbrage at The Terms in which Your Lordship required an Aid of Men; The Enemy at Oswego, which, though it ought not to have been supplyd with a very great An Obstacle with them, protracted the and Ammunition; their Affair some days before they got over own Fleet unhurt, and possessed of Ours; and their Difficulty; On the 8th Instant

North Carolina Com

panies.

quantity of Artillery

1 1 See this message, ante, p. 527.

to Montreal, and so round

tion stood thus;

At Fort William Henry

and Fort Edward, the

above 400 boats belong- they came to the enclosed Vote, which ing to Us; at liberty to chose, whether with those they sent me with their Message of the boats, they would ad- same day, which is likewise enclosed; vance to Attack Mr. Webb, and make their and as I dislik'd it, I sent them in the push that way, or Trans- Afternoon another Message, copy of port their People down which your Lordship hath likewise ento Crown Point, which clos'd; which produc'd their Vote they could do in a fortnight, where our Situa- and Message of the 11h Instant, by which Your Lordship will perceive that they have Voted 1000 Men to be fouthwhole of the Provincial with draughted out of Four of the RegiTroops; the whole of them it for duty not ments in the two Counties, nearest to above 4000 Men, the cir- Albany, to hold themselves in Readiness were raised, you have to March, as soon as the Several Coloin my former Let- nels, shall receive Certain Intelligence ters, to which I shall only from your Lordship or Mr: Winslow of in place of sending out the any Motions of the Enemy to Attack, Inhabitants of the Coun- the Provincial Forces; which is the did before, Mr. Shirley utmost I cou'd obtain from them; And gave leave to them, to hire this day I shall dispatch the Necessary Orders for draughting the Men, and appoint the Officers, as also inform the several other New England Goverments; are dying daily, from which wait to hear the Resolutions of a languishing to go home.

cumstances in which they

add, that on this occasion,

try, which they always

any Man they could get, to go in their stead; and by this means, the New England Men, are almost all of those hirelings, who

The 48th Regiment at the Massachusetts Assembly, of what Saratoga, in a fortified Camp, to secure that they have done, and press them to pass in the mean time, and exert themselves to the Utmost for His to be at hand to Garrison Majesty's Service.

the two Forts, as soon as

they can be made defensible, or a possibility of lodging them in them.

I at Albany, with about 900 Men of Lt. Gl. Otways and the Highlanders, to secure the Magazines_here; to secure the Communication with the two advanced posts of the Troops, and

1 Ante, p. 548. The message of the General Court to Shirley is in Mass. Arch. and in P. R. O., C. O. 5, 47. The vote of Assembly is also in Mass. Arch.

to provide them with Provisions; No Magazines having been advanced, nor any means taken, to provide Waggons for that purpose; And an impossibility to get the number necessary;

every one thing but Provisions still to provide; And the duty so hard for the Troops here, that neither Officers nor Men, had more than two Nights

a bed.

And here I am at hand, to go to either of the

Posts, where I may be most wanted; and if I were at either, and should be wanted at the other, it is impossible to get there in time.

At this time, I had not receiv'd the Accounts of the arrival of either the prest Men for Lt. Gl. Otways Regt., the Recruits for the Highland Regiment, the Artillery and Ammunition; and it was very long after, before I could get them here.

My Letters were wrote August 20th, this answer, which is the first Account I have receiv'd of any thing being done, arriv'd

8. It is easy, My Lord, to Conjecture, if after receiving your Lordship's Letter of the 20th August, I had embarked, (in Case the Mermaid had been then ready to sail) and left the Care of this Affair with the Lieut: Governor, what Turn might have been given to it; and not without reason by others, as well as Your Lordship.

9. This, my Lord, is part of the Busi

September 19h at Night; ness, which hath employed my time ever by the Papers Mr. Shirley since my Arrival here to this day, and

transmits to me, with

this Letter, you see he which I apprehend is not foreign to has brought his Assembly

to vote, an Aid to the the Service under your Lordship's Com

Provincials of 1000 Men, mand.

to be raised out of four

Regts. of Militia, for which he is still to send

Orders, and they are to Assemble their Men and March them, 200 Miles to Fort William Henry, on receiving from M. G. Winslow or me, an Account, that the Enemy, whose head quarters is

I must further refer to Governor Hopkins's Letter to his Son, and Mr: Fitch's Letter from himself, at the desire of

not reason, to have ex

10. Another Material thing for me to

his Assembly, if I had take care of, if possible, before I left pected immediate America, was the Replacing the £43,000, Supply from those two I had Advanced out of the Contingent Governments, if they had

an

This I do not look on,

not been kept by Mr: Money, to The Massachusetts, ConShirley's delays. necticut, and New Hampshire Governas an Aid to the Service, ments, for enabling them to raise Men, but as a Cloak, to cover and make other preparations for this the Obstructions he gives, Years Expedition against Crown Point with the like sum out of their Respec

to every part of it.

Paragraph 10th

at the Hook of New York,

to Sir Charles Hardy, to

The Stirling Castle, tive Quota's of the £115,000 granted with the Money, arrived by Parliament, to them, and the Other on the 17h of August; Colonies Concern'd: The effecting of the Money was delivered this, Mr. Alexander informs me, your keep for the several Gov- Lordship told him, You thought would ernments, till they sent be Attended with Difficulties, and bid for it; And I am now forced to him to Speak to me to take Care of: keep a Guard there, to This, my Lord, could not be done before secure it; and by my last Letters, none of the the arrival of the Stirling Castle, and Governments had sent I shall be able now to Compleat it.

for it. the Money to

be repaid to the Contingencies, which he had lent, has been repaid long ago, or I could not have carried on the Service; So this furnishes no good Excuse for his Stay.

Paragraph 11h If Mr. Shirley has no plan for keeping up a party; for what purpose does he inform his Assembly, in his Speech, that he may come back?

he abuse Mr. Pownall in

For what reason, are

his friends dispersed all over America, to give out, that he goes home to con

II. As to Your Lordship's Observation upon my Speech, to the Assembly, on my first Meeting them, after my Return to Boston; it was known at the time of my making it, to many of the Members, to For what reason, does whom I had declar'd it, and to some by the News Papers of every a Sight of Mr. Fox's Letter, that it was Colony on the Continent? his Majesty's Intention, as a mark of His Royal Favour, to Appoint me to be Governor of Jamaica; and that Mr. Pownall Had been thought of by His Majesty as a proper person to succeed me as Governor of the Massachusetts Bay; and I must further inform Your Lordship, that both I and Mr. Alexander understood from Mr. Pownall himself, that no new Commission would be made out for the Government of the Massachusetts Bay, 'till my arrival in England; all which is, I think a Sufficient Answer to Your Lordship's Observation on my Speech.

cert the plan for the next Campaign, and have the Sole Management of Affairs in America?

Paragraph 12h

erica but himself; and

12. The Inference, your Lordship I do think he is rais- would make from that Part of my Speech, ing parties to support is that I am endeavouring by it to Suphimself, and to convince You that no Man can port and draw after me parties. What serve the King in Am- parties, my Lord? Surely Your Lordthis he does by two ship Can't mean parties to Obstruct methods, by enriching his His Majestys Service, either under Your friends, by lavishing the Publick Treasure, and Lordships Command, or in the Civil by imposing on People, that he is the Department, within this Government, only Man entrusted in in the Hands of my Successor; A long American Affairs, by the Series of Faithfull Services to His MajKing or his Servants.1 As to his Services, you esty, and my Establish'd Character

1 See Shirley to Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, post, p. 581. The charge that the Massachusetts governor was reckless at the public expense is not borne out by the facts. See also Shirley to the Lord Bishop of Lincoln, Mar. 16, 1757, post, p. 584.