The Petitioner’s Committment, is merely for a Contempt, and he might have been discharged so easily as upon a bare submission; Is this Mans Case then such as calls for an Enquiry into the privileges of the Representatives of the people in Pensilvania? nay in all the several Colonies in America, for they all must be affected by it—or ought not this Case rather to be got rid off upon some previous point.

We do not see how any Application can lye in this summary way to the Crown, no appeal lies in any Case from Committments for Contempts—nor a Complaint neither that we know of, to the Crown, or the King in his Courts, to release a party Committed for a Contempt, and, tho’ an Habeas Corpus, or a proceeding in nature thereof, may lie as in the late Case of Murray Committed by the House of Commons in England, yet what was the Event when it appeared his Committment was for a Contempt? they never offered to Enquire further into it, but remanded the prisoner till he had cleared his Contempt, so that We think the present application is wholly irregular and therefore ought to be dismissed.

And it is probable this Man has been released before now, if not upon his own Submission, as he is so obstinate yet upon some Adjournment of the House, for tho’ there is no such thing as a prorogation used in pensilvania, yet they have adjournments that are always deemed there of the same nature, and put an end to a Session, as it is called and they begin that Business De novo, when they meet again, and the whole of an Assembly is only for a period of 12 months.

But if We are to go into a particular discussion of the Authority of Assemblys We then submit it to Consideration that the Representatives of the people Assembled, for the purpose of making Laws, in these large and distant provinces, and who are convened after the manner and for the same purpose and bear great resemblance to the parliament here, having a kind of like Legislative power and in the highest instance of it, that of levying money on the Subject—cannot be without so necessary a power as to commit for Contempts shewn them, incident to every Jurisdiction from the House of Lords down to the lowest Court of Justice—nay it is incident to every Magistrate, for even a single Justice of peace may Commit for a Contempt shewn him in Office—and without such power no Authority or decency can be preserved.

If the power of the Assembly to commit at all is at once established, and it must be strange Doctrine and policy too to deny it, We think it puts an end to all further discussion about the Cause of Commitment—for it is apprehended, if the Court of Kings Bench here, upon a prisoner being brought up by Habeas Corpus upon the return of the Writ, [know?] he has been committed by another Jurisdiction(having Authority so to do) for a Contempt, the Court of Kings Bench would not enter into a discussion whether he was guilty of a Contempt or not, it was sufficient the Jurisdiction who Committed him had determined it so, who are Judges of the Contempts offered them.

But it appears this Man’s Contempt was for a most virulent Libel—which tho he was not the first Author of, yet he was next to him by Causing the Libel to be new dress’d and put on a new Garb, for the sake of introducing it into the Company of many, it could not otherwise have made its way to, and therefore he deserved punishment next to the Author himself, and more than any common inadvertent printer.

Those printers of the pensilvania Gazette and pensilvania Journal are not Officers of the Assembly tho they sometimes print the Votes and Messages of the House by their special Order; And were called before the House as well as the petitioner, but on discovering the Author, and behaving openly and properly to the House were dismissed.

The petitioner has no Charge as a Clergyman—his Character as such, or as a Schoolmaster was not now to be hurt by the Censure of the House for publishing a Libel, he having been long considered as a common Scribbler of Libels and false Abusive papers, both against publick Bodies and private Persons, thereby keeping up party heats in the province, on which account he had been refused the pulpit by the Minister and denied a Certificate of good behaviour by the Vestry. The place of his Confinement is in a seperate Building from the Criminals, where only Debtors are confined in Airy Commodious Apartments, where the Confinement is the only Inconvenience, and this (incurred by his contumacy) he was told by the House he might be prevented by his making proper acknowledgment, which he refused.

It appears by the Votes that during the hearing, Copies of all papers necessary for his Defence were Delivered to the petitioner.

The address of Wm. Moore speaks for itself, and will shew whether it was such as good Lawyers ought to approve. The Speaker and 2 other Members, Charged with Authorizing the publishing that Address, never saw it till it was printed, and only refused to Assume to themselves any Authority of restraining the press and advised the printer to prudence and Caution.

We hope upon the whole that the Petition shall be dismissed.