Supreme Court, have been & still appear to be sufficient to engage Gentlemen of the first Figure, both as to Capacity & Fortune IN THIS COLONY, to accept of those Offices, it would be highly improper, to augment the salary of the Chief Justice." And by the Act of Assembly subsequent to this Note, They make his Majesty receding from his Instruction respecting the Tenor of my Commission the necessary & previous Condition of my having even this £300, & consequently I am totally without one farthing salary, or future Prospect of any support from this or any other assembly.

'Tis not my Province to say whether his Majesty should or will confine his Appointments to Gentlemen of Capacity & Fortune in New York, & to such as will do the Business as cheap as the Assembly will be able to find Men willing to do it. Or whether his Majesty should or will agree to recede from his Instruction & make the Chief Justice totally independent on him, & at the same Time absolutely Dependant on the assembly for annual Grants. Yet I thought it necessary to have this Situation of my Office laid before the Lords of Trade & Plantations, & accordingly I have lately wrote a state of the Facts, & sent it Home for that Purpose.

And now beg Leave to submit the Case to Your Excellency, as a Matter that Concerns his Majesty's Rights, his Service & the real Interests of the People under your Gov

ernment.

Things are now come to an unhappy Crisis in this Respect, the Kings Power of appointing his Chief Justice must henceforth be Nugatory, unless some Expedient can be found to render the Office of the Consequence that his Majesty & his Peoples Interests require, which cannot be the Case untill the Profits of the office afford a Decent Support, & worth the Acceptance of one Fit for the Office. The Quit Rents are a sufficient Fund for this end. I submit to your Consideration, whether it would not be for the

public Good, that there should be an establishment charged upon them for that Purpose.

I only add my Wishes that the Office may some how or other, consistent with the Royal Prerogative & Peoples Privileges, be so supported as to render it practicable to serve his Majesty, & the Colony in it. If not — I am compelled to resign, That his Majesty may not disapprove my Conduct, and that it may Merit your Excellencys Approbation, which with my Consciousness of having acted upon the strictest Principles of Honor, are all that I shall have to console myself for the irreparable Damage done to my own Interest. Pardon the Length of this Letter & believe me to be with greatest Respect & Duty

After having, in a former Letter, given your Excellency a Detail of my Difficulties, relative to my office at New York, I hope you will not deem it unreasonable in me to desire to be excused from attending an Office in which I cannot be supported.

My leave of Absence expires next September. I beg your Excellency would please to consider how extremely hard it would be for me then, either, again to Leave my Family, or be at the Trouble & Expence to remove it, & return, without any Allowance for my past Attendance Time & Expence, Or the Least Assurance that the office will, in future, be provided for.

* Pratt was an eminent lawyer at Boston.

I have, May it please your Excellency, given up my Practice, & broke all my Measures to devote myself to this Office, this, together with my Absence from Home for Seven Months to do my Duty in it, & wait in vain for Justice, is a Sacrifice adequate to every Demand of Honor & Fidelity.

Neither his Majestys Service, nor the real Interest of the Colony can be promoted, by completing my Ruin.

And, I apprehend, I ought not to resign, untill I am sure of the Ultimate Determination of the Assembly, under your Administration, & if they persevere in their former sentiments, untill I can be apprized of his Majestys Pleasure, after he is informed of such Ultimate Determination.

I therefore beg your Excellency would please to give me Leave to continue where I am, & excuse my further Absence untill next Spring.

There is one Thing more, which renders it a peculiar Hardship to be obliged to return to, & reside at New York, during this, at the best, Uncertainty, that is this, I have never had the Small Pox, & where I am shall be safe from it. But at New York, must be so exposed, as to make it imprudent to be there without being inoculated, which to one of my Constitution & Age is no small Risque.

However unfortunate my situation might be, if it was a mere private Affair, & not the Consequence of my Attempt to Serve his Majesty, according to his Pleasure, in your Government, I could have no Right to trouble you with it. But I think the Public, & His Majestys Interest is concerned, & that my Suffering is in that Cause, & therefore presume to solicite the Honor of a Letter from your Excellency, & therein the Leave of Absence as requested.

I am may it please y* Excellency

with the Greatest Esteem & Regard

Y' Excellencys most Dutiful & Obed!

His Excellency the Gov! &c.

hum. sert

B. PRAT.

COLDEN TO MONCKTON.

SIR,

FLUSHING Aug 8th 1762.

I have the honour of your Excellencyes Letter of the 4th, with the papers inclosed, which I now return. As I had received your Excellencyes Instructions, before I received the Originals of which these are duplicates, & had acknowleged the receipt of them, I thought they were of no further publick use: the chief design being to guard against the inconveniencies which might happen by miscarriage of the Instructions.

Inclosed your Excellency will receive a Copy of a Representation made by the Board of Trade, to the King. In some part of this representation their Lordships have certainly been misinformed of facts, and for that reason I thought they might take it amiss to have it communicated, but I hope they cannot take amiss the sending of the Copy to you. In it their Lordships represent, on information, which, they say may be depended on, that the Lieutenant Governor & the Council had entered on to measures, for making fresh grants, more for the benefit of themselves & of their families, than for the subject in General. Your Excellency has now an opportunity of inquiring into the truth of this information, as to myself, I say, that I have not been interested in any grant of lands, or licence of purchase in any shape or share, either directly or indirectly, by any person in trust for me, since the administration has been in my hands, or for twenty years preceeding, nor have I had so much as an inclination to be interested. Nor do I know, that any of my Children have been inter

ested in any licence of purchase tho' I know no reason to debar them from any privileges or advantages which others have.

& most humble servant

CADWALLADER COLDEN.

SAME TO SAME.

Sr

FLUSHING Sept 20th 1762.

I have directed my son to deliver to your Excellency a state of the Account between you and me, for your examination & approbation. You may see that £169 is due to me from the Treasury for the payment of which please to issue your Warrants to the Treasurer. I have likewise directed my son to pay the Ballance of this account out of this money when received. when received. When this is done, please to deliver my bond with a receipt endorsed, as it will then have had its full effect, & it is of no farther use. Your Excellency would have received the same benefit had no such bond been given. I am now upwards of 70 years of age & this is the first bond I had ever given. I shall be glad to have the honour of your Excellencys Commands that I may shew how much I am with the greatest respect

Sir

Your most obedient

His Excellency the Honourable

ROBERT MONCKTON.

& humble servant

CADWALLADER COLDEN.