Journal, July 1727: Journal Book D.D

Journal, July 1727

July 4. Present:—Mr. Chetwynd, Mr. Docminique, Mr. Pelham, Mr. Bladen, Mr. Ashe, Mr. Plummer.

St. Christophers.

Mr. Fane's report upon Act for establishing Courts.

Mr. Smith present.

Ordered letter to the Governor.

Mr. Fane's report upon an Act, passed at St. Christophers in 1724 [Jour. C. C. fo. 328], entituled, An Act for establishing a Court of King's Bench and Common Pleas, and for the better advancement of Justice in the Island of St. Christophers, and for settling certain fees, and repealing a former Act of the said Island, entituled, an Act for establishing of Courts and settling due methods for the administration of justice, was read; and Mr. Smith, Secretary to the Leeward Islands, attending, their Lordships, after some discourse with him upon the said Act, gave directions for preparing the draught of a letter [fo. 171] to the Governor of the Leeward Islands thereupon.

July 5. Present:—Mr. Chetwynd, Mr. Docminique, Mr. Pelham, Mr. Bladen, Mr. Ashe, Mr. Plummer.

Massachusetts Bay.

Letter from Mr. Willard.

A letter from Mr. Willard, Secretary to the Massachusetts Bay, dated the 19th of May last, was read; and the papers, therein referred to, were laid before the Board, viz:—
Papers.
Five Acts, passed in 1726.
Minutes of Council, from the 1st September, 1726, to the 23rd February following.
Minutes of Assembly, from the 23rd November, 1726, to the 5th January following.

Letter to Mr. Fane.

Ordered that the said Acts be sent to Mr. Fane, for his opinion thereupon in point of law.

South Carolina.

Two letters from Mr. Middleston.

Two letters from Mr. Middleton, President of the Council and Commander in Chief in South Carolina, to General Nicholson, Governor of that Province, were read; and the papers, therein referred to, were laid before the Board, viz:—
Papers.
Fourteen Acts, passed in 1726–7.
Minutes of Council, from the 4th October, 1726, to the 23rd December following.
Minutes of Council, from the 3rd January, 1726–7, to the 11th March following.

Letter to Mr. Fane.

Ordered that the said Acts be sent to Mr. Fane, for his opinion thereupon in point of law.

July 6. Present:—Mr. Chetwynd, Mr. Docminique, Mr. Pelham, Mr. Plummer.

New England.

The Secretary acquainted the Board, that he had spoke to Mr. Newman [fo. 165], agent for New Hampshire, according to their Lordships' order of the 28th of the last month, in relation to the papers concerning the boundaries between that Province and the Massachusetts Bay, said to be sent to Mr. Newman, in Mr. Wentworth's letter to the Board, mentioned in the Minutes of the same day, and that Mr. Newman had desired him to inform the Board, that he had received those papers; but as they were not sufficient to set forth the boundaries, he had again wrote to Mr. Wentworth upon this subject, and that he shortly expected his answer thereto; till which time, Mr. Newman desired the Board would defer making any representation in relation to the boundaries between the two Provinces.

Plantations General.

The Secretary also acquainting the Board, that he had received from the Council Office the duplicates of those letters from the Lords of the Council to the several Governors in America [fos. 164, 171], with directions for proclaiming the King in the respective Government, which were enclosed in the circular letters from the Board of the 26th of the last month; their Lordships were pleased to order that duplicates of their said letters be made, in order to be signed at their next meeting.

July 7. Present:—Mr. Chetwynd, Mr. Docminique, Mr. Pelham, Mr. Ashe, Mr. Plummer, Sir John Hobart.

The duplicates of the letters to the Governors of the Plantations [fo. 170], ordered yesterday to be prepared, were signed.

St. Christophers.

The draught of the letter to Colonel Hart [fos. 166, 177], Governor of the Leeward Islands, ordered to be prepared the 4th inst., in relation to the Act of St. Christophers for establishing a Court of King's Bench and Common Pleas, etc., was agreed and ordered to be transcribed.

July 11. Present:—Mr. Chetwynd, Mr. Pelham, Mr. Bladen, Mr. Plummer.

Plantations General.

The Secretary laid before the Board the proclamation declaring His Majesty's pleasure for continuing the officers in His Majesty's Plantations, till His Majesty's pleasure shall be further signified, dated the 5th inst., which was read; and a circular letter for inclosing the same to all the Governors in America, was signed, viz:— to the Governors of Jamaica, Barbadoes, the Leeward Islands, Bahamas, Bermuda, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina and to Hudson's Bay [fo. 187].

July 12. Present:—Mr. Chetwynd, Mr. Pelham, Mr. Bladen, Mr. Ashe.

New York.

The Secretary laid before the Board the Minutes of the 12th of January last [fos. 8, 203], wherein their Lordships resolved that, if no objections should be offered to the Board within six months from that time, against the confirming the Act, passed at New York in June, 1726, to vest in Thomas Hicks of Flushing in Queens County, Gentleman, in fee simple, certain lots of land, whereof he stands seized in the township of Flushing in the same County in fee tail, and to enable him, the said Thomas, to sell and dispose of the same, the said Act should be laid before His Majesty for his royal confirmation; and the Secretary acquainting the Board, that there had been no caveat entered in this office against the said Act, their Lordships agreed and signed a representation to His Majesty, proposing the confirmation thereof.

July 14. Present:—Mr. Docminique, Mr. Bladen, Mr. Plummer.

Leeward Islands.

A letter from Colonel Hart [fo. 176], Governor of the Leeward Islands, dated the 10th of April, 1727, was read, and the papers, therein referred to, were laid before the Board, viz:—
Letter from Colonel Hart to Don Francisco la Rocha Ferrer, Governor of St. Domingo, relating to the seizure of some vesels by the Spaniards in Sta. Crux, dated the 6th March, 1727.
Letter from Captain Bardin to Colonel Hart, dated at St. Domingo, the 8th April, N.S., 1727, inclosing some papers, relating to the seizure of some vessels in Sta. Crux by the Spaniards.
Mr. Robert Galbraith's letter to Colonel Hart, relating to the seizure of some vessels in Sta. Crux by the Spaniards, dated 7th April, N.S., 1727.
Minutes of the Council of Antego, of the 2nd of March, 1726–7, and 5th of April, 1727, relating to the Spanish ship lost at the Island of Barbuda.
Copy of the 98th Article of His Majesty's royal instruction to John Hart, Esq.
A list of the negroes imported into the Island of Nevis, from December, 1721, to December, 1726.
The number of slaves imported into Montserrat, from 25th December, 1721, to 25th December, 1726.
Two Acts, one passed at Antego, the 17th February, 1726–7, and the other at Montserrat, the 18th February, 1726–7.

Ordered that the said Acts be sent to Mr. Fane, for his opinion thereupon in point of law.

Ordered that the draught of a letter be prepared, for enclosing an extract of the said letters and papers [fos. 174, 178], to His Grace the Duke of Newcastle.

Ordered that the bag of papers, transmitted with Colonel Hart's letter, be likewise sent to the Duke of Newcastle.

Ordered that the Secretary do go to the Treasury [fos. 178, 214], and that he write to Mr. Carkesse, Secretary to the Commissioners of the Customs, to know whether Mr. Dunbar, Surveyor General of the Leeward Islands, had sent to those offices the account of his proceedings relating to the Spanish vessel lost at Barbuda, as mentioned in Colonel Hart's aforesaid letter [fo. 174].

July 18. Present:—Mr. Chetwynd, Mr. Docminique, Mr. Ashe.

The letter to Colonel Hart, Governor of the Leeward Islands [fo. 171], agreed the 7th inst., was signed.

A letter from the Duke of Newcastle [fos. 141, 179], dated yesterday, signifying His Majesty's having appointed Major General Hunter to be Governor of Jamaica, and directing the draught of a commission and instructions to be prepared for that purpose, was read; whereupon ordered that the draughts be prepared accordingly.

The letter for enclosing to the Duke of Newcastle [fo. 176] extracts of Colonel Hart's letter, and of some papers, therein referred to, as also the bag of Spanish papers, mentioned in the Minutes of the last meeting, was agreed and signed.

The Secretary then acquainted the Board, that he had been with Mr. Scrope, Secretary to the Lords of the Treasury, according to the Board's order of the 14th inst. [fo. 177], to know whether Mr. Dunbar, Surveyor General of the Leeward Islands, had sent to the Lords of the Treasury, the account of his proceedings with respect to the Spanish vessel lost at Barbuda, as mentioned in Colonel Hart's letter, read at the last meeting; but that Mr. Scrope had informed him, that Mr. Dunbar had sent no such account; whereupon ordered that extracts of so much of Colonel Hart's said letter, and of the papers, therein referred to, as relate to the said Spanish vessel, be sent to Mr. Scrope, to be laid before the Lords of the Treasury.

July 19. Present:—Mr. Chetwynd, Mr. Docminique, Mr. Bladen, Sir John Hobart.

Jamaica.

Governor's commission agreed.

Representation therewith signed.

The Secretary laid before the Board the draught of a commission [fos. 178, 180, 201], for General Hunter to be Governor of Jamaica, ordered yesterday to be prepared, which being agreed, a representation for laying the same before His Majesty, was signed, as also a letter for enclosing the said draught of a commission and representation to the Duke of Newcastle.

July 24. Present:—Mr. Chetwynd, Mr. Docminique, Mr. Bladen, Sir John Hobart.

Jamaica.

Letter from Duke of Newcastle.

Additional salary General Hunter.

A letter from the Duke of Newcastle [fos. 179, 181], dated the 20th inst., signifying His Majesty's pleasure that an instruction be prepared for General Hunter, impowering him to received an additional salary, was read; and an instruction ordered to be prepared accordingly.

General Hunter's instructions agreed.

The Secretary then laid before the Board the draught of General Hunter's instructions [fos. 180, 182], ordered to be prepared the 18th inst., which being agreed, their Lordships gave directions for preparing the draught of a representation for laying the same before His Majesty.

New England.

Order in Council.

Petition of John Elliot to be Collector of the Customs.

An Order in Council, dated the 5th inst., referring to the Board a petition of John Elliot, praying that His Majesty will give him the office of Collector of the Customs for the town of Newberry, in New England, in consideration of his services, in engaging and taking seven sloops, manned with Indians, in order to destroy the fishery at Canso, was read; and their Lordships resolved to consider further thereof at another opportunity.

July 25. Present:—Mr. Chetwynd, Mr. Docminique, Mr. Bladen, Sir John Hobart.

Jamaica.

Representation with General Hunter's instructions and letter to the Duke of Newcastle.

The representation, ordered yesterday to be prepared [fos. 181, 201], upon General Hunter's instructions, was signed; as also

A letter for enclosing the same to the Duke of Newcastle.