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Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
Minutes of the Upper House of the North Carolina General Assembly
North Carolina. General Assembly
February 23, 1744 - March 08, 1744
Volume 04, Pages 714-719

[B. P. R. O. North Carolina. B. T. Vol. XI. B. 95. No. 5.]
LEGISLATIVE JOURNALS.
North Carolina—ss.

At an Assembly begun and held at Edenton the fifteenth day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and forty two [1743] and in the seventeenth year of the reign of his present Majesty King George and continued by prorogation until the twenty third of this instant February one thousand seven hundred and forty three [1744] at Bath Town being the fourth Session of Assembly


In the Upper House Tuesday the sixth The House met according to adjournment
Present
The Honble Nathaniel Rice. Esqr Member
The Honble Roger Moore Esqr Member
The Honble Eleazer Allen. Esqr Member
The Honble Cullen Pollock. Esqr Member
The Honble Mathew Rowan. Esqr Member
The Honble William Forbes. Esqr Member

Upon reading the Message of the Lower House sent up this day from the House of Burgesses this House was pleased to take notice that they had altered their stile of Address to this House by the Words Gentlemen of His Majesty's Council instead of the words May it please your Honours always heretofore used to this Board which alteration of stile this House takes to be an indignity offered to the House and Ordered the following Message to be sent to the House of Burgesses

Mr Speaker and Gentlemen

We observe by your Message this day by Col. Hill and Mr Starky together with the Bill for sinking the Bills of Currency &c. That you

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have taken occasion to alter your stile of Address to this House by substituting the words Gentlemen of his Majesty's Council in the place of those heretofore used in all Messages from your House to ours.

As we would not willingly enter into any dispute with the House of Burgesses and not knowing whether this alteration was by order of the House or by mistake We desire you would satisfy us in this point that if the latter the message may be amended and then we shall proceed to answer it in such a manner as the nature of it requires when we doubt not to give you full satisfaction

Then the House adjourned until tomorrow morning nine of the clock


Wednesday March seventh The House met according to adjournment
Present
The Honble Nath. Rice. Esqr Member
The Honble Roger Moore Esqr Member
The Honble Eleazer Allen. Esqr Member
The Honble Cullen Pollock Esqr Member
The Honble Math. Rowan. Esqr Member
The Honble Wm. Forbes. Esqr Member

Mr Sumner & Mr Wilson brought up the following Message Viz:

Gentlemen of his Maties Council

In answer to your Message in relation to the altering the stile of Address in our Message to your Honours We are of opinion that whatever may have been the method heretofore That the stile mentioned in your Message was proper especially when we considered His Maj. Instructions and that it is what we have always made use of in the enacting part of our Laws

As we are desirous of doing the business of the public we are unwilling to enter into any dispute but we apprehend it was a mistake when in your Message you call this House the House of Burgesses This House being stiled by his Majesty's Instructions and also in the Laws themselves the General Assembly

Then the House adjourned until three o'clock in the afternoon

Post Meridn The House met according to adjournment.

Present
The Honble Nath. Rice. Esqr Member
The Honble Roger Moore Esqr Member
The Honble Eleazer Allen. Esqr Member
The Honble Cullen Pollock Esqr Member
The Honble Mat. Rowan. Esqr Member
The Honble Wm. Forbes. Esqr Member

Upon reading and considering the Message of this Morning sent up by Mr Sumner and Mr Wilson This House came to the following resolutions Nemine contradicente

Resolved That it is the opinion of this House that the Message received this morning from the House of Burgesses in answer to one of this House yesterday relating to the alteration of stile used to this House is

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by no means satisfactory and that the said Message of this morning is a continuation of the affront and indignity put upon this House yesterday.

Resolved, That it is the opinion of this House that the Message of yesterday from the House of Burgesses to this House sent up by Mr Starky and Mr Hill in which the usual stile of Address was altered and was intended and put on foot by some evil disposed persons to destroy the harmony and good understanding that has hitherto subsisted between the two Houses thereby to serve some sinister ends and obtain some extraordinary demand they may have in view.

Resolved, That the House will not receive any Message from the House of Burgesses to transact any public business with that House until satisfaction be given to this House for the said affront and indignity.

The Messenger of this House brought a paper into this House which he said he found at the door signed by James Castellane a Member of the House of Burgesses as follows

We the subscribers Representatives of the County of Albemarle being met at Bath Town pursuant to His Excellency's prorogation in order to pass Laws for the public good of our Constituents judge it a duty incumbent upon us to declare that unless the Bill for appointing Wages for the General Assembly is returned from the Council we will not agree to the Money Bill or alter it upon any other scheme whatsoever Witness our Hands this sixth day of March 1743.[1744]

JAMES CASTELLANE.

Resolved, That the said Paper is a full confirmation of the former opinion and resolution of this House

Resolved, That an humble Address be presented to His Excellency the Governor and therein to set forth the several matters upon which the above resolutions were founded in order to vindicate this House from any imputation of obstructing the public business and put some stop to the indignity and affronts that are daily offered to this House in such manner as to His Excellency shall seem meet.

Then the House waited upon His Excellency and presented the following Address Vizt

North Carolina—ss.

To His Excellency Gabriel Johnston Esq. Captain General Governor and Commander in Chief in and over the said Province

The Humble Address of the Members of His Majesties Council now met in General Assembly.

May it please Your Excellency

The Members of His Majesty's Council now met in General Assembly beg leave to represent to Your Excellency the strange and uncommon

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method by which the House of Burgesses have of late thought fit to carry on business of the Province with the Members of this House which we conceive not only imparliamentary but tending to subvert that order and decency which is so necessary to be observed between the two Houses during their intercourse in the transactions of public affairs.

That it's well known to Your Excellency how long the Members of Council attended at the place to which Your Excellency was pleased to prorogue the Assembly before a sufficient number of the Lower House were met to go upon business as well as how long after this period the time was with great indifference and unconcern protracted before any point which Your Excellency had recommended to them in your speech was so far brought to a maturity as to recite even the form of a Bill to be communicated to this House.

That when at last they had so far proceeded as to form a Bill intituled a Bill for sinking the present Bills of Credit of this Province for discharging the public debts and for making stamping and emitting a new Currency sixteen thousand pounds equal in value to Proclamation money and sent the same to this Board The Council upon reading the same the first time and apprehending it to be conceived in a manner contrary to equity as to that part of it which related to the public debts and for that which related to a new Currency not only so but to common sense and understanding of all who have the least notion of public credit sent it down without any amendments saving the erasement of two clauses for the payment of the wages of the Council and Assembly out of the funds on each Branch of the Bill and therewith a Message containing our disapprobation of it as it then stood and gave our reasons for the same.

That two days after the said Bill was returned to the Council in the same form it first came up together with a Message to this House in which we found the stile of Address to this House was altered and instead of the words May it please Your Honours always before by them used in such address the words Gentlemen of His Majesties Council were used which induced this House immediately to apply to them by Message whether the said alteration of stile was by mistake of the Clerk or designed that if the former it might be rectifyed To which an Answer was the day after returned wherein the House of Burgesses insisted on their alteration of stile to the Council notwithstanding any custom heretofore to the contrary all which papers we humbly lay before Your Excellency.

We further beg leave to represent to Your Excellency that the same day the Messenger of the Council found a writing at the door of the

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Council Chamber which being brought in was found to be the handwriting of and signed by James Castellane one of the Members of the House of Burgesses and contained the form of an Association of the Members of Albemarle County not to pass the Currency Bill in any other form unless provision was made for the wages of the Assembly which papers we also lay before Your Excellency

That it seems plain to His Maj. Council from these new and unheard of proceedings That the House of Burgesses are entirely governed by a few restless and uneasy Members of it who void of all regard for the public welfare and impelled by their own sinister & private views are using their utmost endeavours to render the meeting of this Assembly abortive notwithstanding the necessity of their sitting at this critical juncture by breaking the harmony and good understanding that hath hitherto existed between the two Houses and rendering their consultations for the public good ineffectual.

His Maj. Council having duly considered these matters found themselves under a necessity to enter into the several resolutions copies of which we here present Your Excellency with in order to preserve the honour & dignity of their House and support that part of the Legislature in which His Majesty has been pleased to place and we humbly hope the abovementd facts as they are very truly related will convince Your Excellency that whatever consequences may arise from this breach of intercourse between the two Houses they are by no means to be imputed to them but to the wicked and pernicious designs of some of the Members of the House of Burgesses.

Then the Members returned to the House and adjourned the same until tomorrow morning nine o' the clock


Thursday 8th The House met according to adjournment
Present
The Honble Nath. Rice. Esqr Member
The Honble Roger Moore Esqr Member
The Honble Eleazer Allen. Esqr Member
The Honble Cullen Pollock Esqr Member
The Honble Math. Rowan. Esqr Member
The Honble Wm. Forbes. Esqr Member

Then the House took under their consideration the Resolves of yesterday and ordered the three first of them to be sent down to the Lower House together with the following Message Viz:

Mr Speaker and Gentlemen of the House of Burgesses

Your Message of yesterday by Mr Wilson and Mr Sumner not being satisfactory has induced this House to come to the resolutions herewith sent you.

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In the Upper House March 8th Upon reading and considering the message of this Morning sent by Mr Wilson and Mr Sumner This House came to the following resolutions Vizt:

Resolved That it is the opinion of this House that the Message received this morning from the House of Burgesses in answer to one of this House yesterday to the alteration of stile used to this House is by no means satisfactory and that Message of this morning is a continuation of the affront and indignity put upon this House yesterday

Resolved That it is the opinion of this House that the Message yesterday from the House of Burgesses to this House sent up by Mr Starky and Mr Hill in which the usual stile of Address was altered was intended and put on foot by some evil disposed persons to disturb the harmony and good understanding that has hitherto subsisted between the two Houses thereby to serve some sinister end and to obtain some extraordinary demand they may have in view

Resolved That this House will not receive any Message from the House of Burgesses to transact the public business with this House until satisfaction be given to the House for the said affront and indignity

By order of the House
NATH RICE, President

Then His Excellency the Governor came to the House and sent a Mandate to the Lower [House] commanding their immediate attendance in the Council Chamber Whereupon the Speaker attended by the Lower House waited upon His Excellency in the Council Chamber When he was pleased to dissolve the said Assembly

True Copy
Rd LOVETT Clk.