The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1836-09-28
PRINTING
MEMOIR OF RHODE-ISLAND.


1871.
A petition from several Of the Inhabitants o.
Newport
To the Kings most excellent Majesty.
The petition of several gentlemen, mer.
chants. tradesmen AMI others, inhabitants
of Rhode- Island, within tfe Colony OF
Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations
Mos, Gracious Sovereign
We your majesty's mos, duilul and 10y
al subjects, humbly crave leave, in hehalf oi
ourselves and others, inhabitants within this
colony. to lay before your majesty the great
wrongs and grievances we have lain under,
and the damages We have sustained within
these twenty years last passed, by the ex-
cessivc emitting of bills of public credit on
the colony, and enforcing The same in equal
value with silver money since the Begin
ming Of the year l7l0 to the beginning cf
May 1871: and we hInibly crave leave TO
inform, that in and before the wear l7iO
the crrcnt money OF This, aud the neighhor-
ing governments in New England was Sill
yer money, at eight shillnes pei. ounce but
since the said time, this colony, having by
the several acls Of the General Assembly
caused to make, and emitted the sum of
one hundred uincty-fve ,huusInd three hun
dred pounds, in bills of public credit of This
col"ny, besides The sixty thousand pounds
by the last nc, ordered TO tc emitted, and
by tn. said act enforced to be taken in my
tnent in equal value to The silver money
then current, hy reason thereof The said sill
yer money which was formerly eight sInl-
Iings per Gu ce has been gradually raised to
abou. twenty shillines pei ounbe IN en-
change for said bills Of credit. TO pre-
-ent, therefore, the further emitting of
more bills Of credit, your petitioners,
did, at the last session of our honorable
Geaeral Assembly held at Newport the
fifth day of May 1881, present memorial
fom ourselves and several others, your ma
jesty's subjects in this colony, to the said
General Assembly, therein setting forth our
grievances, and the great damage sustained,
not only by ourselves and others, inhabi-
tants within the colony, but also by the
merchants Of your majesiy's kingdom of
Great Britain trading to these parts, by the
emitting of said bills; +; praying the said
General Assembly would put stop to the
further emitting such bills. Notwithstanding
which, and having our counsel thereupon,
they proceeded to pass an act without the
assent IF the Hon. Joseph Jenckes Esq. our
Governor, for emitting another bank of six
ty thousand pounds in bills of publick cred
it, to be let out upon loan, as most of the
former were, for ten years whereupon
your petitioners making known their inten-
tion to address your royal majesty for re-
lief, and having taken out copies of our said
memorial and the other papers laid before
the said General Assembly Herewith, and
also copy Of the said act of the General
Assembly attested under the hand of Rich
ard Ward Esq. secretary; John Wanton
Esq. our Deputy Governor on our Honor
able Governors r,fusa summoned a Cen
eral Assembly, who met the ,hlrd day ofihis
present August at Newport, and tool, away
all our attested copies, forbiddng the seal of
the colony to be affixed To them which
were to be affixed to all papers of records
of any court in the colony, when seat to
England, to certify their being true copies,
and then rejected our memorial, orderin.
the clerk If the assembly to return i, to US
taking rcceip, for the same.
All which proceedings we humbly con-
ceive are highly derogatory to your maies-
iy's royal prerogative. the laws of Grra,
Britain, and the rights Of your majesty's
subjects.
First. In that by tho said several ac.s of
Assembly, the royal proclamation pu, forth
by our late Sover IGN Qurcn Annr. beur-
log date The 18th day of June 1904 and
Confirmed by AN act OF ParllhInen; made in
the SIKH year of her reign--eniIiied an act
for asceraiuing ,ho rate of foreign coin in
her majesty's Plantations in America, is
eIuded, and rendered of no force. /.
Secondly. For tia, the said acts of
Assembly 1rc directly contrary TO M order
OF e1-,.t~il tr,,de the IQth nf Nav l,2D by