Assembly Proceedings, April — May 1666. 111

men will bee a aduantage of the ffreeholder. &
Prouince, not the ffreemen. the burthen of the Gouerm^t
doth in peace War en, who can easily abandone
us, & could they the Province in generall, w^ch wee know
they cannott. And would the ffreemen doe it, ye — if to gaine
them to stay wee should forbeare to doe that w^ch is best for the
ffreeholder of the Prouince, that hath stock, Wife & Children
fixed, & irremoueable as wee may say here, Wee were unworthy
to bee called the Two howses of Assembly. But wee know
that eyther they cannot leaue the Prouince for poverty, or will
stay in itt, 'till the meane price of Tob driue them out of it; or
ells (w^ch wee more feare) force them to committ Outrages in itt,
for want of Necessaries, not to bee prouided by Tob. because
worth nothing,
5. Yo^r fift reason sayes, the quantity of Tob. doth not lessen
the price here, but the want of ships to fetch it away. What
is this in plaine English, but to say, That there is more Tob
then the ships that are or were here this yeare can carry away?
Have wee not then glutted the present markett here? Why
then shall wee not haue a Cessaon to make Tob beare a price
here? And that it will beare, when Every ship that by chance
comes, cannott haue Loading.

L. H.
Journal 1666

Wittnes that yeare when M^r Humphrey Warren
2^d p^r H. Bills of Exchange, rather then att London
yeilded not aboue three halfe offer att any time hopes of
more spect the War should end this two uaine to
plant that w^ch by yo^r owne uppon the whole matter Wee
see noe reason that Act for Encowragem^t of Trade
ports it us, to heare that T beare if it will not buy
us shirts here & then it will bee deare, & p w^ch
now it will not, & w^thout
Wherefore the Gouerno^r & men of the Lower howse,
to uince in want of Cloaths, noe meanes prouided
as yett Comodity Tob of sufficient ualew to purchase
eyther Cloathing or Armes to defend us. The last
assembly denyed us a power to maintaine War w^thout the
Limitts of the Prouince. The consequence of that was, the
unreuenged, nay as yett unreuengeable murther of Thirty in-
nocent poeple, & the ruine of more yett lyuing, in their Estates
& Plantations. Yo^u thinke yo^u have done better by gyuing us
a power to maintaine War w^thout the Prouince, by Leavying
Tob. What signifyes th^t Act unlesse by a Cessaon yo^w bring
it to a ualue & Estimaon ? Could Tob procure soe much as
Creditt for meate & drinke & necessary Expences att New
Yorke for p^rsons to bee sent thither. Co^ll Nicholls might
p^rhaps procure us a Certaine & Cheape peace w^th the Cinigoes,
as is manifest by his noble obliging & friendly Letters sent into

p.75