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Digital Paxton: Digital Collection, Critical Edition, and Teaching Platform

The Plain Dealer, Numb. II - 14

tors of that Province, or their Agents;---unto which they also added, That during the whole Time that said Proprietors have governed, or pretended to govern, that Province, they have never taken care to preserve or defend the same from the Indians or other Enemies, by sending or providing any Arms, Ammunition, or Stores, as they ought to have done; and they prayed His Majesty would be pleased to commissionate some fit Person to be Governor over them.”

THE Proprietaries of Pennsylvania have acted by Consent of His Majesty, and under the Sanction of His Orders; and during the whole Terms of their Government, have taken every Step in their Power to preserve and defend the Province from the Indians, by offering Money to build Forts, and for the Maintainance of Garrisons; and by their Governors, have from Time to Time endeavored to prevail on the People to put themselves in a Posture of Defence; and no Person can be Governor of this Province without the King’s Approbation.

MASSACHUSETTS-BAY, in New-England, also lost its Charter in KING CHARLES’S arbitrary Reign, and had a better Constitution given them at the Revolution; therefore the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania, under the Auspices of GEORGE the Third, the FATHER of His People, shall, for having complied with His Majesty’s INSTRUCTIONS and AWARD, solemnly given in Council, be deprived of their Charter without their Consent, or having committed any Act by which it is forfeited.---Thus having pointed out the Resemblance of those several Proprietary Provinces, there can no Doubt remain, but that the same Fate will attend them all.

IT is happy for the People who are under the Patronage of so watchful a Guardian as our Author, that no Device of their Adversaries, however artfully disguised, can escape his Penetration; and that they may be armed at all Points, every Artifice calculated for their Prejudice, is revealed; as well those that submit, as those which do not.-----We have already taken Notice of the Danger they are exposed to, of being turned out of the Administration; and the forceable

Contents of this annotation:

Mistakenly attributed by Evans to Hugh Williamson, author of numbers 1 and 3. Cf. the Advertisement in number 3, where it is stated: The author of this is obliged to the gentleman, who wrote the piece which was published on Teusday [sic], by the title of Plain dealer, no. 2. As his endeavours to prevent the people from being deceived by the chicane of a faction, prove him to be a friend to the oppress'd inhabitants of this province. Dated May 7, 1764. Imprint supplied by Evans.