The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1785-12-12 00:00:00, page 2

The speaker laid before the house the following
report:
“ WE the subscribers, commissioners appointed in a
resolution of the legislature, passed August 30, 1784,
to examine and count all certificates received by John
Stevens, jun. esquire, late treasurer of this Rate, in
payment of taxes, &c. beg leave to report,
That we have spent a considerable time in exa
mining the said certificates, and the books said to
contain an account of the fame, and do find that al
tho' it might be possible to make out an account of
the said certificates, which would shew the amount
of them; yet it would be absolutely impossible to as
certain the sum which they have paid in taxes, or the
amount of the balance certificates which were issued
'on receiving them, as nothing on the face of the cer
tificates will discover either the one or the other,,and the
books are so irregular that nothing can ^e learned
from them, many of them neither Shewing the sum re
ceived in taxes, nor the amount of the balance certi
ficates, and some neither shew the person, township
nor county from which they were received. This
being the true Rate of the case, we conceive it would
be only burdening the state with a considerable ex
pence, without aniwering the design of the legislature,
if we were to proceed in the business.
GEORGE ANDERSON,
JAMES EWING,
BENJAMIN SMI TH.
Whereupon,
Ordered, That meffrs. R. S. Smith, Combs, Swain,
Arnold and Walton, or any three of them, be a com
mittee to join a committee of the council to deface,
by making a cross with a pen in the face of the surplus
certificates received by John Stevens, jun.and James
Mott, jun. late treasurers of this state, in payment of tax
es, &c. and that mr. Combs do wait on council, and re
quest them to appoint a committee to join the commit
tee of this house for that purpose.
The speaker laid before the house the following
accounts:
DANIEL HENDRICKSON,
JOHN STARKE.
Ordered, That the consideration of the said report
be postponed.
The speaker laid before the house a message from
his excellency the governor of this day, accompanied
with a copy of the continuation of the journals of
Congress, and a lift of the states represented, and the
members who have appeared in Congress during the
month of September last; which were ordered to lie
on the table.
A petition from John Sparks, esquire, of the coun
ty of Gloucester, was read, and ordered a second
reading.
The bill, intitled, ‘ an ad for incorporating sundry
persons as trustees of the Baptist congregation at Di
viding-Creeks, in the county of Cumberland,' was
read a second time, debated, and ordered to be en
grossed.
A petition from John Porch, of the county of
Gloucester, was read, and ordered to lie on the table.
A petition from John Lee, of the county of Bur
lington, read on the 31st Odober last, was read a
second time, and ordered to lie on the table.
On motion,
Ordered, That meffrs. Biddle, Combs and T. Clark,
be a committee to prepare'and prefect a bill to make
shares of propriety fubjed to the payment of debts.
The bill, intitled, ‘ an ad for ereding part of the
township of Nottingham, in the county of Burlington,
and part of the township of Trenton, in the county of
Hunterdon, into a city, and for incorporating the
fame by the name of The city of Trenton; and for
declaring the fame a free city and port for the term
of twenty-five years,' was read, and ordered a second
reading.
The petitions from a number of inhabitants of
the county of Monmouth, complaining of sundry il
legal proceedings had at the late annual eledion in
[For tbefe accounts we mufi refer our readers to
the pamphlet, which, will fan be published, it being
inconvenient to insert them in a news-paper.]
The house adjourned till to-morrow morning nine
of the clock.
Thursday, November 3, 1785.
The house met.
Mr. Hendrickson, from the committee appointed
to examine and report to the house such publick laws
as have expired since the last fitting of the legislature,
as well as those laws that are near expiring, reported
as follows, to wit,
I. An ad to ered and establish in the several coun
ties in this state, then colony,' for the trial of small
causes, and to repeal the former ad for that purpofe,'
hath expired the 11th February 1785.
2. ' An ad for the relief of persons who have pur
chased property for the use of the publick,' palled the
24th of December 1784, expires the 24th of Decem
ber 1785.
3. ' An ad for the further suspending the sales of
forfeited estates in this state, and for appointing an
agent in the county of Suffex,' passed the 20th De
cember 1784, expires the firft day of March 1786.
Ordered, That the further consideration thereof
be postponed.
The house adjourned till to-morrow morning nine
of the clock.
Friday, November 4, 1785.
The house met.
A petition from Caleb Brewer, of Newark, in the
county of Essex, was read, praying, for reasons there
in contained, that a law may pass to discharge him
from the payment of a fine of £. 100, laid by the
court of oyer and terminer in the said county, for
going into the enemies lines, without a permission or
passport;
Ordered, That he have leave to present a bill a
greeably to the prayer of his petition.
The house took into consideration the petitions of
the inhabitants of the county of Monmouth, complain
ing of an undue election in the choice of members to
serve in general assembly, and the examination of
witnesses had therein yesterday ; and, on the question,
whether the late election in said county for the choice
of representatives in general assembly waslegal or not ?
It was carried in the negative unanimously; whereupon,
Resolved, That the election of meffrs, Walton,
Hendrickson and Henderson, as members of this
house, was illegal, and that the fame thereupon be void.
Resolved, That in the opinion of this house the
late annual election in the county of Monmouth was
illegal, as well in the choice of a fheriff as the mem
bers of this house, and no coroners having been cho
sen at said election, and doubts arising whether there
is any officer in said county to whom a writ for a new
election can be properly direded, a law ought to be
palled for holding a new election in said county;
whereupon,
Ordered, That meffrs. A. Clark, J. Smith and
Schuurman, be a committee to prepare and bring in
a bill for the above purpose.
A memorial from John Lloyd, late contraflor for
supplying the troops Rationed on the frontiers of
Monmouth county, accompanied with an order from
Azariah Dunham, on the treasurer for fix hundred
pounds, was read, praying that the treasurer may be
directed to difehafge the fame;
Ordered, That the consideration thereof be post
poned till the accounts of Azariah Dunham are fet
tled.
Resolved, That the treasurer be directed to prose
cute the said Azariah Dunham, for the penalty in
curred by his negled in fettling his accounts.
The house adjourned to three o'clock, P. M.
The house met.
The petition from sundry inhabitants of the coun
ty of Monmouth was read, praying that the said
county may be divided, and that a new county may
be set off.
Ordered, That the fame be read a second time.
A petition from a number of inhabitants of the
county of Hunterdon and elsewhere, was read, pray
ing that the legislature would provide for the gradual
abolition of slavery.
Ordered, That the said petition be read a second
time.
Mr. Sheppard, from the committee to whom was
referred the petitions of John Butler and Samuel
Hough, reported as follows:
THAT we find in the journals of the house of as
sembly a report of a committee of the house, made
the 14th of December 1782, that the depreciation
on £• 536° '7 6> th at stands charged against the
said John Butler, ought to be paid by the person
who had the use of said money.
To which report the house agreed.
the said county, were read a second time, and the
parties attending pursuant to the order of the house,
they were called in and heard, and sundry witnefTes
being sworn and examined, touching the proceedings
at the said eledion.
Ordered, That the further consideration and exa
mination of witnesses be postponed.
Mr. Combs' reported, that he had obeyed the or
der of the house.
The house adjourned to three o'clock, P. M.
The house met.
The engrofTed bill, intitled, ' an ad for incorpo
rating sundry persons as trustees of the Baptist con
gregation at Dividing-Creeks, in the county of Cum
berland,' was read and compared; on the question,
whether the fame do pass? it was carried in the af
firmative, as follows:
Yeas. Messrs. Terhune, Blauvelt, Nicoll, Garritfe,
A. Clark, Marsh, Combs, Bonney, Hendrickson, Bunn,
Blair, Kelly, R> S. Smith, J. Smith, Hall, Sharp, Ba
ker, Swain, Lambert, Houghton, Cook, Starke, Bur
gin, Bowen, Sheppard, Hankinfon, Beardflee.
Nays. Messrs. Biddle, Arnold.
Ordered, That the speaker do sign the fame.
Ordered, That mr. Schuurman do carry the said bill
to council, and request their concurrence therein.
The house resumed the consideration and exa
mination of witnesses on the hearing before them, re
lative to illegal proceedings had at the late an
nual election in the county of Monmouth, and hav
ing gone through the examination of the witnesses;
The engrossed bill, intitled, 6 an ad for incorpo
rating the Trenton school company, by the name of
That on examining the proofs and vouchers pro
duced by the said John Butler, we find that {.7607 26;
of the publick money that came into the hands of said
Butler, was lent by him to colonel William Shreve,
for a short time, in order to pay the bounty and wa
ges to sundry militia-men that were to march imme
diately on a tour of duty ; that said Shreve did not
return the said money according to agreement; but
that the said money was out of the hands of said But
ler, from the 20th day of July 1779, until the I2tli
day of December 1780; that immediately on the said
Butler's receiving the money from said Shrev
paid the fame into the treasury.
Your committee beg leave further to report,
on examination we find that the case of Will
Hough is nearly similar to the case of Joseph Bor
den, that was decided a few days ago.
By order of the committee,
JOHN SHEPPARD.
Whereupon the house tool; into consideration so
much of the above report as relates to John Butler;
and thereupon
Resolved, That altho' the money mentioned in said
report might be in the hands of colonel William
Shreve therein mentioned, it appears to be the ad
of said Butler in his private capacity, and cannot ex
cuse him from accounting to the publick for the fame.
To the last paragraph of the said report the house
agreed.
Whereupon,
Ordered, That the petition of Samuel Hough, ex
ecutor of the testament and last will of William
Hough, do lie on the table.
The house adjourned till to-morrow morning nine
of the clock.
Saturday, November 5, 1785.
The house met.
Mr. A. Clark, with leave heretofore given, pre
sented the draught of a bill, intitled, ‘ an ad for the
relief of Caleb Brewer, of the county of Essex ; which
was read, and ordered a second reading.
Mr. A. Clark, from the committee appointed for
that purpose, reported the draught of a bill, intitled,
6 an ad for holding an eledion in the county of Mon
mouth;' which was read, and ordered a second read
ing. .
The bill, intitled, ' an ad for incorporating the
Trenton school company, by the name of The pro
prietors of the Trenton Academy; was read a second
time, debated, and ordered to be.engroffed.
Mr. Schuurman reported, that he had obeyed the
order of the house of Thursday last.
The bill, intitled, ' an ad for holding an elediop
in the county of Monmouth, ' was read a second time,
debated, and ordered to be engrofTed.
On motion,
Ordered, That mr. A. Clark, mr. Sheppard, mr.
J. Smith and mr. Schuurman, be a committee to
bring in a supplement to the eledion law.
The bill, intitled, ' an ad for the relief of Caleb
Brewer, of the county of Effex,' was read a second
time, debated, and ordered to be engrossed.
The engrossed bill, intitled, ‘ an ad for holding an
eledion in the county of Monmouth,' was read and
compared;
Resolved unanimously, That the fame do pass.
Ordered, That the speaker do sign the fame.
Ordered, That mr. Bunn do carry the said bill to
the council for concurrence.
Two messages from the council by mr. M. Ogden.
' Ordered, ''Council-chamber, Nov. 5, 1785.
6 THAT mr. Mayhew, mr. Hoops and mr. Mar
-6 tin, or either of them, be a committe to join the
' committee of the house of assembly, for the pur
' pose of defacing the surplus certificates received by
' John Stevens, jun. and James Mott, jun. late trea
' furers of this state, in payment of taxes, &c. and
'that mr. M. Ogden do wait,on the house of affem
'bly, and acquaint them therewith.'
6 Ordered,
' THAT mr, M. Ogden do wait on the house of
' assembly, and acquaint them that the bill, intitled,
" an ad for incorporating sundry persons as trustees
6 of the Presbyterian congregation at Pitts-Grove, in the
' county of Salem,' is patied by this house without
' amendment.'
The house adjourned till Monday morning nine
of the clock.
Monday, November 7, 1785.
The house met.
Thomas „Sinnickfon, efq. appeared in the house.
and produced the certificate of his eledion, wf
was read, approved, and ordered to be filed; wh
upon, being duly sworn by speaker, he took
feat, and gave the reasons of his non-attendai
which were deemed fatisfadory.
Mr. Marsh, with leave, presented the draught of
a bill, intitled, ‘ an ad to repeal an ad, intitled,
an ad for the better regulation of juries ;' which bill
was read, and ordered a second reading.
Mr. Cooper returned and took his feat.