Brunswick

9. Augt. 1762

My Lords

The Duplicate of your Letter of the 22d. December together with the Duplicate of His Majesty's order in Council for repealing the Superior and Inferior Court Bills and Orphan Bill I recd. not until yesterday by Captain Heron, the Originals having never come to hand, tho I understand from him they were sent by a Man of War which arrived safe to this Continent, what the Reason can be of the Delays and Miscarriages of the publick Dispatches I can't find out, whether by Design or Carelessness in the Port Office, in having all their Letters exposed to any to take up where Post Houses are not continued, and the Post Masters where appointed take no Oath nor do I believe give any Security to be faithful to their Trust, but many of my Northern Dispatches have been 3 or 4 Months on the road from New York, and sometimes near 12 Months—I have also recd. your Lordships Letter of the 17th. of February about the Agent's Bill, and about a fortnight ago I recd. your Letter of the 8th. of April inclosing His Majesty's order in Council of the 4th of March 1762, repealing the Bill for the Currituck Navigation, the altering the days of holding New Bern Superior Court and that of admitting Copies of Bills to be given in Evidence.

I am greatly concerned at having incurred His Majesty's Displeasure in having passed the Superior and Inferior Court Bills and hope I shall never give Occasion for the like Reprimand for the future, but in Alleviation of my Fault if your Lordships will consider that in the great Ferment in the Province & Assembly occasioned by the Management of Lord Granville's Agents, and the unprecedented Attack against me by Child the late Attorney General and Jones the present Attorney in passing severe Resolutions upon false facts against me without any Petition or Committee of Enquiry because I peremptorily refused to pass those Bills, and that my Reason of propounding those Questions to Child as Atty General was not with any Intention to concur with him in Opinion but only to shew Your Lordships how far he was embarked against the Crown instead of supporting it—and that after getting his Answers to the Queries I rejected the Superior Court Bill in the first Session, and in Case I had at the same time rejected the Inferior Court Bill, the Colony would have been in Distress by having no Courts of Justice until His Majesty's pleasure cou'd be known, & the Province then thrown into a ferment by Child's Schemes, I thought it more prudent to pass it, and have it repealed by His Majesty than leave the Colony without any Courts of Justice, and when I had made a short Prorogation to try to get them to come to make some Alteration in the Superior Court Bill; I thought it better to pass it for two Years only, than to put the Province into a greater Ferment at so critical a Juncture, and therefore hope you will believe it was an Error in Judgment without any Intention of infringing his Majesty's Prerogative, which I shall always support or of disobeying his Instructions.

I am with the greatest Regard

My Lords

Your Lordships

most obedient

humble Servant

Arthur Dobbs

North Carolina.
Letter from Govr. Dobbs dated 9. Augst. 1762, acknowledge the receipt of sevl. Letters & Papers from the Board—Is very sorry he has incurred His Majesty's Displeasure by passing the Superior & Inferior Court Bills, but offers some Reasons in Alleviation of his fault.

Read July 6. 1763.
E.73.