Letters of Aristodemus and Sincerus. 245 



diet) then are there no people anywhere more fully 

 justified in doing this than the undersigned. 



" The Directors, being the gentlemen in charge of the 

 West India Company, thought fit in their meeting of 

 the Ten in 1784, to kick out the bottom of the original 

 basis of a true representative government, which had 

 been in force as a constitution from the very oldest 

 times of the colony. 



" The duty of free-born subjects compelled the planters 

 and inhabitants of this river to enter their opposition 

 against this arbitrary act. 



•' Being enemies to no government, it followed that 

 they proposed to the Gentleman Directeur-General, 

 that those Councillors, who are de jure, but not de 

 facto, should be provisionally allowed to sit in the 

 Council ; far from being heard, however, they received 

 a sharp and shameful repulse, which, if they had re- 

 sented as it deserved, the results would have been 

 deplorable. 



" However, not being intimidated by this, much less 

 induced to neglect their duty, they offered to pay the 

 head and colonial taxes on the old footing : 



" This act of moderation, which might have been 

 allowed in compliance with their request, was also 

 refused, and we have been referred to the Directors. 



" In obedience to this, as in duty bound, we, the plan- 

 ters and inhabitants, presented a petition to the Gentle- 

 men Directors of the West India Company, in which it 

 was asked that the Councillors who are legally qualified 

 should be admitted into the Council, and, further, we 

 offered to pay the taxes as above-mentioned. 



But these Directors were as little inclined to be 



