1 76 Assembly Proceedings, October 6-November 4, 1724.

L. H. J.

last night by Col^o Holland and Col^o Young that instead of

Carrying on an Amicable Correspondency between the two
Houses by messages in order to Cultivate a Good understand-
ing and dispatch the publick Busieness you turn every thing
into Banter and Ridicule a method of proceeding unbecome-
ing that Gravity and wisdom which ought to be a Rule to every
part of a Legislature, which method if pursued must neces-
sarily prolong this Sessions of Assembly, Create most un-
happy misunderstandings between the two Houses & impose
a very Great Charge on our Country, to avoid which on our
parts we shall wave all those indecent Reflections you have
most unjustly cast upon us in your last message above men-
coned, & confine ourselves to the busieness now before us. In
order thereto, we insist that the word Reasonable, as it stands
in the oath propos'd by our House or Some such Expression
is highly necessary; otherwise, the Judges would have no Dis-
cretionary Liberty to consider what Statutes of England
[are] or ought to be in force here; but would be obliged by
their Oaths to Give Judgment according to the Statutes of
England whether Located or otherwise, and in this opinion
the Judges who are members of our house Concurr, there-
fore we Cannot Consent that the oath propos'd by M^r Attor-
ney Generall should be imposed upon the Severall Judges
within this province
Sign'd p order Sam^ll Skippon Cl Up Ho.

In Answer whereto the following message is prepar'd Viz.

By the Lower House of Assembly, Nov^r 3^d 1724.

May it please Your Honours
We should think ourselves very Easy in the dispatch of the
publick busieness and the discharge of our Duty if your
Hon^rs were pleas'd yourselves to observe the many Good
Rules you Recommend to us, nay would your Hon^rs but be
pleas'd to observe in your message of the 22^d past by Coll^o Hol-
land & Coll^o Young how warmly you argue against the un-
reasonableness of that Arbitrary power in the Judges which
by your message this day by Esq^r Hall & Coll^o Addison you
now Contend for, We hope you would not think it unreason-
able for us to insist upon, nor again to repeat the necessity
of using the form of the oath by M^r Attorney laid before
you since you seem not hitherto to have taken notice of the
reasons for it as they are menconed in our former messages
to wit, that the Judges being sworn to Judge according to the
Laws of England and the useage of the province will be
thereby obliged to Judge no other wise according to the
Laws of England than is agreeable to the useage of this