The Virginia Gazette

The SPEECH of the Honourable JAMES LOGAN, Esq; President of the Council of the Province of Pennsylvania, and of the Counties of New-Castle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, in Council ; to the Representatives of the Freemen of the Said Province, in General Assembly met, at Philadelphia, the Eleventh Day of August, 1736.

GENTLEMEN,

It cannot, we are persuaded, but deeply affect you, to find at your convening in Assembly, in Pursuance of your last Adjournment, that instead of meeting that worthy Gentleman, our late Governor, at the Head of this Board, you now see only the Council with a President. It has pleased the Almighty, on whom all our Lives depend, to take him from us, and from the Cares of this Life : and those who were Witnesses, as our Assemblies generally have been, of his constant Inclinations to promote the Welfare of the Public, with a just Discharge of his Duty to the King and our Proprietors, and a due Regard to the People's Rights, cannot but the more deeply regret our Loss.

The Administration of the Government, being by this Change, by Virtue of an Act passed in the 10th and 11th Years of Queen Anne, and confirmed by her said Majesty in Council, now devolved on this Board, We, on the 5th Instant, the Day of the Governor's Decease, accordingly met, and taking the Charge upon us, published our Proclamation for the continuing of all Magistrates and Officers, requiring them to proceed with Diligence in the Discharge of their respective Duties and Trusts; from whence there can be no Deficiency in the Administration of Justice. The Assembly, by our happy Constitution, are inherently in themselves invested with the same Rights in all Respects as before, Legislation only excepted : Nor in This, probably, shall we find any considerable Inconveniency, since it may rationally be hoped, that during the Interval, 'til another Appointment can be made, there may not arise any Emergency requiring a further immediate Provision. It has been the Sense of all those who have more closely and justly consider'd the Nature of Government, that the most desirable Advantages of it arise, not from multiplying of Laws, but from a strict Observance and due Execution of good and wholesome Ones in Force. You, Gentlemen, represent the whole Body of the Freemen of the Province, who are the principal Objects to be considered in Government ; and as your House subsists throughout the Year, it may be as convenient for you to meet from Time to Time on your Adjournments, as before ; for thus you will have Opportunities of consulting and advising of what may best contribute to the Public Weal : And you will always find this Board, in whom the Powers of the Administration are lodged, most ready and willing to concur with, and put such Advice in Execution. We have also the further great Advantage of the Presence of One of our Honourable Proprietors amongst us, who, as the true Interest of his Family is inseparable from that of the People, cannot but be always actuated by the warmest Inclinations to advance the general Good of the Whole.

As to Myself, on whom the Burthen of the Administration falls the heaviest, tho' it truly gives me no small Uneasiness that I am hereby called from the quiet Retirement I had proposed in these advanced Years of my Life : yet as I have ever been animated with a most sincere Zeal
for the Honour and true Interest of this Province, I shall submit to the Necessity; and to the best of my Ability; with the Assistance of the Gentlemen my Brethren of this Board, endeavour to acquit myself in all Things with Fidelity to His Majesty and to our Proprietors, and with a just and due Regard to the People.

And as nothing contributes more directly to the Honour and Prosperity of any Government than a perfect Unanimity amongst all the Parts of it, We shall hope that, in a sincere View to the Common Good, all proper Measures and Endeavours will on every Hand be used to promote and improve the same.

To the PRESIDENT and COUNCIL of the Province of Pennsylvania.

The ADDRESS of the Representatives of the Freemen of the said Province in Assembly met, in Answer to the SPEECH of the said President and Council.

May it please the President and Council,

THE Death of the worthy Gentleman our late Governor, sensibly affects us: The Inclinations he has shewn to promote the Welfare of the Public, with a due Discharge of his Duty to the King and to our Proprietors, and a Regard to the Rights and Liberties of this Province, gives us just Cause to regret our Loss.

The Administration of Government by this Change and the Laws of the Province, devolving on the President and Council, the Steps they have been pleased to take in Pursuance of those Laws, for the Continuance of Magistrates and other Officers in their several Stations, and preventing a Deficiency in the Administration of Justice, is Matter of Satisfaction to us, as it needs must be to every other Well-Wisher to our happy Constitution.

To multiply Laws, unless the Circumstances of Government require it, we agree, cannot be productive of the most desirable Advantages of it: but the infant State of the Colonies in America, often require the Aid of the Legislature in making of new, or amending of old Laws: And tho' we were disappointed last Session in obtaining the Bills we prepared to be pass'd into Laws, yet we hope a prudent Administration of Justice in our Courts of Law, may prevent any great Inconveniency until another Appointment of a Governor shall be made.

In the mean Time, if any Advice or Assistance of ours, during our Continuance, shall be necessary, in respect to the putting in Execution the Laws now in Force, or to any other Thing which may relate to the Public Weal, we shall always be ready to contribute what lies in our Power to so good Purposes. The Declaration you are pleased to make of your Readiness to concur with, and put such Advice in Execution, merits our Acknowledgment, and we esteem it an Instance of the Regard you have for the Welfare of the Province.

The Presence of one of our Proprietors amongst us was formerly much desired, and is now happily enjoyed. The Interest of that honourable Family and ours are undoubtedly inseparable, and therefore we have just Reason to hope their warmest Inclinations will be joined with ours, to promote the Common Benefit.

To be called from Quiet and Retirement in an advanced Age of Life, to undergo the Fatigue and Burthen of Government, may give the President some Uneasiness, yet the Advantages that may result to the People of this Province, by having One at the Head of the Administration, of long and great Experience, animated with a sincere Zeal for their true Honour and Interest, will, we hope, induce him to pursue the laudable Purposes he has proposed, and with the Assistance of the Gentlemen of the Council, to acquit himself of the Trust reposed in him, with Fidelity to the King and to the Proprietors, and with a just Regard to the People of this Province.

And as it is our Duty while we have the Honour to be a House, so we hope it will be the Care of the succeeding Assemblies, by a becoming Unanimity, and with a sincere View to the Public Good, to do what may contribute to the Happiness and Prosperity of the People of Pennsylvania.

Sign'd per Order of the House, A. HAMILTON.