chap, ii.] WEST INDIES. 5* 
“ protection for the enjoyment of the benefit of the 
“ laws of England, with the right of appeal to the 
“ king in council, as fully as the inhabitants of the 
“ other British colonies in America, under the 
“ king’s immediate government.”—It also sets 
forth, “ that the king, by letters patent under the 
“ great seal, had given express power and direction 
“ to the governor, as soon as the state and circum- 
“ stances of the colony would admit thereof, with 
t£ the advice and consent of the council, and the re- 
“ presentatives of the people, to make, constitute, 
“ and ordain laws, statutes, and ordinances for the 
“ good government thereof, as near as may be 
(S agreeably to the laws of England, and under such 
regulations and restrictions as are used in the 
“ other British colonies.” 
This proclamation was followed by another, da¬ 
ted the 26th of March 1764, inviting purchasers 
upon certain terms and conditions. 
The governor thus said to have been appointed, 
was general Melville, whose commission however 
did not bear date until the 9th of April 1764, and 
the assembly which he was directed to summon, 
met for the first time in 1765; previous to which, 
the British inhabitants were irresistibly called to the 
discussion of the great constitutional question; of 
which it is proper I should now give some account. 
The question arose from the information, that 
the crown, conceiving itself entitled by the terms 
