The next day the House took into consideration the Governor’s Message, and after a rather theatric locking of the door and laying the key on the table (as though, as Clinton says in his Message of Oct. 13th, some one were attempting to break in,) drew up a set of Resolutions to be delivered to the Governor, in which his Message was declared to be an attempt to subvert the rights, privileges, and immunities of the House. In addition a long document, called “A Humble Remonstrance of the House on the present State and Condition of the Colony,” was ordered carried by a committee to the Governor. This document, which had taken a Committee several days to draw up, was a long and detailed statement of the Assembly’s side of the quarrel and an attempt to show that the wretched state of the colony’s affairs was due to the tactics of delay made use of by the Governor and not to any fault of the Assembly which was very willing to grant money provided it had some assurance that the sums voted would be expended for the purposes designated. This Remonstrance the Governor refused to receive, and by his Secretary directed James Parker, the official printer, not to print it in the proceedings of the Assembly; this direction was not heeded by Parker, a step which brought out from the Governor the following Order:
“By His Excellency the Honourable George Clinton, Captain General and Governor in Chief, of the Province of New York, etc.
To Mr. James Parker, Printer to the General Assembly of the Province of New York.
Whereas some Persons, calling themselves a Committee of the General Assembly of this Province, came into an Apartment of my House, on the 9th instant, while I was engaged in my private affairs; and without the least previous Notice, one of them offered to read a large bundle of Paper, which he said was a Remonstrance from that House, and desired my Leave to read the same, which I absolutely refused, or to have it left with me; and whereas the Speaker of the said General Assembly hath, in disregard to my Authority and Person, ordered the same to be printed by you in their Votes, although I forewarned you by my Secretary not to do it; but as you afterwards signified to him, that a Verbal Order was not sufficient to forbid you printing any Thing to that Purpose;
I do hereby in his Majesty’s Name, expressly forbid you or any other person in this Province, to re-print or otherwise publish, the said Paper, called, a Remonstrance of the General Assembly of this Province, as you and they shall answer the same at your and their Peril; the said Paper, containing many false, scandalous and malicious Aspersions on me, as Governor of this Province; and I do hereby, further require you to give publick Notice of this my Order, by publishing the same in your next News-Paper; and for your so doing, this shall be the warrant.
Given under my Hand, at the City of New York, October 24th, 1747.[1]
G. Clinton.”
This Order having duly appeared in Parker’s New York Gazette and Post Boy, the Speaker on Oct. 26th reported it to the House and requested “that the House would vindicate his Conduct therein.” Accordingly Parker was ordered to appear before the body. He came the next day and produced Clinton’s order in justification of his action, and the Assembly then passed the following resolutions;[2]
“Resolved, Nemine Contradicente, That it is the undoubted Right of the People of this Colony, to know the Proceedings of their Representatives in General Assembly, and that any Attempt to prevent their Proceedings being printed and published, is a Violation of the Rights and Liberties of the People of this Colony.
Resolved, Nemine Contradicente, That any Attempt to prohibit the printing or re-printing of any of the Proceedings of this House, is an infringement of the Privileges of this House, and of the People they represent.