248 Assembly Proceedings, Oct. 20-Nov. 12, 1698.

L. H. J.

deliberated and maturely weighed and it is wished you had
considered it as well before you sent it.
You say that upon your application for Philip Clarices
release you were prorogued so that you undertake to assigne
the reason of the Gov^r proroguing you, but the reason of
your prorogacon is a secret of his Maj^ties and believe never
yet discovered to you.
You say that the Gov^r prorogued you, but it seems by your
Iournall you thought that not sufficient and therefore under-
tooke to prorogue yourselves.

Its recomended to your Consideracon whether thereby you
have not done more then ever any house of cofnons did and
showne your great Contempt of his Maj^ties Authority.
You say you think it your duty to Insist of having M^r
Clarke released and come to your house.
Gent: You cannot be Ignorant of the crime M^r Clarke's
convicted of namely the breach of an Act of Assembly made
for preservacon of the peace of this province by him most
notoriously violated and for which he remaines under the
sentence of the Court for six months Imprison^t as part of the
punishment due by the said Law and his conviction was by
due process of Law in his Maty^ties provinciall Court of this
province, by the Oaths of a grand and petit Jury and Judgm^t
of the Court and by rneanes of which he remaines his Maj^tys
prisoner Convict as afor^sd from which without his Maty^ties
Mercy or reversing the said Iudgm^t we know no way to
Releive him, and we do not thinke it your priviledge to release
him or for his Maj^tys Service or your creditt to have him with
you and we beleive no house of comons ever attempted any
such thing and if you had considered your duty with your
priviledge you would not have offerred it nor have said he
stands rightly Qualified in your opinion.
But above all Gent: Your familarity and pretended Equallity
with the Right hon^ble the house of Comons in England is
enough to provoke and surprize us at once.
We take the Government of this Province in its farest and
Largest Extent to be a power derived from and depending on
his Maj^ty the King of England, by whose Laws we are bound,
and to whose sacred Authority we pay reverence and obedi-
ence, and although we have the hon^r to be of his Maj^ties Coun-
cill of this province yett we are far from pretending to that
R^t hon^ble house of Lords or R^t hon^ble house of cofnons in Eng-
land, and how you came to pretend to it we know nott.
We do not desire you should be abridged of the least privi-
ledge belonging to you, but when you demands are better