Brunswick

11th. Septr. 1759.

My Lords

I received Your Lordships Letter of the 1st. of June about a fortnight ago along with a Letter of Mr. Pownals of the 30th. of May including your Report to His Majesty in Council and His Majesty's Repeal of the 7 Acts therein mentioned—Upon Receipt of which I summoned the Council whether I shou'd immediately promulge the Repeal of these Acts or wait the Arrival of the Chief Justice and Attorney General, till I cou'd consult them upon so critical an Affair or if they shou'd not arrive soon whether I cou'd justify the Delay of promulging the Repeal until the Assembly shou'd meet in order to have a proper Bill or Bills past and allow the Courts of Justice to proceed and finish the Causes that are before them until the Meeting of the Assembly, and they were unanimously of Opinion that I shou'd delay the publishing the Repeal either until the Arrival of the Chief Justice and Attorney General or until the Meeting of the Assembly in Novr. next; because in the interim there wou'd be a total Stagnation of Justice; For the former Bills about the General Court and Courts of Oyer and Terminer having been repealed and promulged after we had passed these Laws, now these are repealed we have no Laws subsisting about them from the Year 1715; nor no place appointed to hold them in but at Edenton, the only place then in the Province in the extream part of the Province; I believe the hasty Repeal of these Laws which certainly wanted to be amended or repealed was inadvertently advised by the Attorney General and Chief Justice, who did not consider that there wou'd be a Stagnation of Justice, for I am convinced they wou'd not have done it solely with a View of thier own Conveniency to have all the Courts held at Edenton, where they choose to reside, to be so inconvenient to the rest of the Province, and there was such a Confusion in the Laws before and since 1715 until the former Supream and County Court Laws were made, that neither Judge nor Lawyers can know how to act, until these Laws are again amended and enacted, so that I hope your Lordships won't blame me for delaying the publishing the Repeal for two Months until new Laws be passed; and then the Repeal hanging over them proper Laws must be pass'd by the Assembly; the Vestry Law in like Manner must be properly amended, for though last Winter a Law was passed to allow a better Stipend to the Clergy, yet as the Vestry Bill is repealed, there are now no Vestries to levy the Tax for the Clergy, until a new Bill be pass'd.

I find by your Lordships Letter that you had only received my Letters of Decr. 27th. 1757, and of the 20th. of Decr. 1758, and that my Dispatches of last Febry. were not come to hand; I have heard since that the Vessel which carried them was lost in the Channel, but hope êre this the Duplicates I sent by my Son who went in the Packet from New York are safely arrived with another Packet of May last, which I also sent by the Packett—I am extremely sensible of your Lordships Goodness to me in Your Report to His Majesty upon the Suspension of Mr. Rutherford and Murray from the Council, and in your Answer to the Lords of the Committee of Council upon Mr. Rutherford's Letter to the Lord President upon it, but find the Council have not yet laid your Report before His Majesty.

As I don't find the Lords of the Treasury have yet done any thing as to Mr. Rutherford's Suspension from being Receiver General nor in Relation to the Provincial Treasurers, I hope the Copy of the Act which you will receive by my Son along with my other Letters, will come time enough to be laid before them, and will apologize for my passing the Law for fixing the Seat of Government without a suspending Clause, as it is sufficiently suspended by the other Bills being thrown out, without which it can't be executed without his Majesty's appropriating part of our Proportion of the £50,000 when paid to that purpose, as no Tax is laid to finish the Buildings appointed by the Act. By these Letters you will also see the Difficulties I ly under in making out Charters & issuing Writs before I can dissolve this Assembly.

The fixing the Boundary Line being so necessary for the Wellfare of both the Northern and Southern Provinces of Carolina, I hope your Lordships will have it decided as soon as you can prudently apply for it; as it is entirely in his Majesty's pleasure in what Manner to fix it, neither Province having any legal Claim to any part of it but from His Majesty's pleasure, nor can the Council have any Difficulty in recommending a proper Line to his Majesty, as they have in proprietary Governments granted by Charter.

Colonel Innes one of His Majesty's Council, died at Wilmington the 5th. instant, by which there are at present 3 Vacancies in Case His Majesty confirms the Suspension of Murray and Rutherford—As I have already recommended 3 in their Room, Justice Henley who was the 4th. being dead, I beg leave to recommend the new Chief Justice, whose name I hear is Barry, and John Sampson Esqr. of Dupplin County to succeed in place of Colo. Innes.

I have had Complaints sent to me that Haglar King of the Catawbas has threaten'd and dispossessed several of the Planters who Had got out Patents within 30 Miles of the Catawba's Town, under Pretence that Govr. Glenn had assured them that his Majesty had given them a scope of 30 Miles round their Towns, about 18,000,000 of Acres for 250 Men capable of bearing Arms—I hope when the French are drove out of America, their Boundary will be also fixed upon a more just footing—300 Tuskeroras were content with 12000 Acres.

I am with due Respect

My Lords

Your Lordships

most obedient and

most humble Servant

Arthur Dobbs

North Carolina
Lre from Arthur Dobbs Esqr. Govr. of No Carolina, to the Board, dated 11. Sepr. 1759, acknowledging the receipt of their Ldsp's Lre of 1. June & of H. M's order repealing the seven Acts giving a State of Council & inclosing

Reced 26. Novr.
Read 12 Decr. 1759

D.58.