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Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
Letter from Arthur Dobbs to William Pitt, Earl of Chatham
Dobbs, Arthur, 1689-1765
May 29, 1760
Volume 06, Pages 257-259

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[B. P. R. O. Am. & W. Ind. Vol. 72.]
Letter from Governor Dobbs.

New Bern, 29th May 1760

Sir, [Secretary Pitt]

It is with the Greatest Concern that I must Inform you that after A long session of a Month and a subsequent short session of Two days to Give the Assembly an Opportunity of Reconsidering a Bill I was Oblidged to Reject as being Contrary to his Majesty's Prerogative and Instructions to Me, I have been oblidged to Prerogue them without passing an Aid Bill: Which had been Brought on the first Session of Assembly and only once Read and laid by for a Month and used all the Arts they cou'd at the Instigation of Mr. Child his Majesty's Attorney who came over here to set this Colony in a flame By procuring by his Advice the Repeal of some Bills in England before he came over which put a Stop to Justice until They were reenacted and had here in Reenacting them Inserted Clauses Against his Majesty's Just right of Nomination to places, & Contrairy To my Instructions and this they Endeavoured to force me to Pass, before They wou'd pass any Aid, which after he by his Management, had Got Pass'd, Both Houses, I after Passing Other Acts was Oblidged to Reject The Bill and prerogue the Assembly for a day, to give them an Opportunity To Offer the Aid Bill. When they found me Resolved to Adhere to my Instructions, they consented to make it Temporary For Two Years, Until I shou'd know his Majesty's Pleasure, and in one day read & Passed that Bill, Which they had litigated for a Month; and Bro't in And read three times and Pass'd an Aid Bill in Two days so Crude and Undigested and so long Before the Men Cou'd be raised, Arm'd & Disciplined wou'd be of no Service to his Majesty in any Foreign Operations nor Even in the cherokee War, His Majesty was only to have an Aid of 320 added to 30 before in Pay these few Disciplined Men were to be made up Fifty, and Another Company of Fifty was to be Raised and these were Oblidged to Serve on the Frontier and not farther Act Against the Cherokees three Companys more of one hundred Each were To be raised in Order to join and Assist the Virginians if any were sent against the Cherokees. They were only to have Twenty Shillings Bounty Money when Before we Cou'd not raise 200 in Two months ten pounds Bounty was Given; These when raised I cou'd not give Commissions to for Forty days But Warrants to Militia Officers and

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Others to raise Men And upon their Return after forty days, I was to give the command according to seniority According to the Numbers Each raised to men at Random no way proper to have a Command; These afterwards were to have been Disciplined for which we had no Serviceable Arms in the Province, and were limited to serve only against the Cherokees, and If not Necessary there, then they were to be under the Command Of the General in Chief to assist his Majesty only on the continent And if the Cherokee War wou'd be soon Over, they were then to be Reduced, so that no Aid was to be Given to his Majesty, if Required to go by Sea, the Men Cou'd not be raised and fit for any Service Until the End of August And the few fit for Service were to be kept Idle on the Frontier For this pretended Aid of Men they raised no Tax but I must Be Oblidged to Issue £12000 in Notes Without a Sinking Fund. Which must much Depreciate our present Currency already above 50 per ct Discount, and probably not 2000 of it Wou'd be apply'd towards Raising the Men, who were to be reduced Again When the Cherokee war is Over, Which as the South Carolina Forces are March'd may be Over in a Month, so that there wou'd Be above £10000 in Notes Issued to no purpose, But to Give to Their favourites for making the Bills and to put money in the Treasurers pockets Who are the Leaders under Child and the Lawyers Of the Assembly, and this sum was to be Employ'd to future Contingencies But not to be Employ'd but According as future General Assemblys shou'd Appoint, so that the Governor & Council Cou'd not Command one Farthing Tho upon the greatest Emergency, This Nugatory Aid I was therefore Oblidged to Reject, hearing that I wou'd Reject the former Bill they form'd themselves into a Committee of the Whole House, and Without Any Committee of Enquiry they Enter'd into Several Resolutions against Me Equally False as Trifling, and lock'd their doors and Bound themselves To Secrecy under the penalty that if any shou'd Devulge their Resolutions They Shou'd be Expell'd the House, and for Ever Rendered Incapable of Being Re-elected a Member of any future Assembly! and these Resolutions Tho the Assembly is Prerogued, the Speaker has taken from the Clerk, and Refused me the View of, and have Petitioned his Majesty against me, and Order'd Letters to be Wrote to you, Lord Granville and Lord Halifax, to have Your Interest against me, but By what is Transpired, I cou'd fully Answer the Whole to Satisfaction in half an hour, But this I am to be deprived of, until they send away their Letters, That I may not Have a Power of Answering them By this
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Conveyance, Which I must Forward by an Express to get Sent Via Virginia having laid the Whole Scene [scheme] Open in a Letter to the Board of Trade, I shall Refer you to the Letter and Papers sent to them; and shall Only Desire your Favour According as you shall find I have Preserved my Integrity and trust to his Majesty in Supporting His Just prerogative and in Obeying his Instructions and preserving their Dependancies upon Britain Which I shall always adhere to, in Spite of all the Schemes form'd By A Juncto to Oppose my Administration under his Majesty

I am Sir &c
ARTHUR DOBBS


Additional Notes for Electronic Version: This letter was enclosed with another letter from Dobbs - See Related Documents.