THIS Day Shines most happily upon us, wherein we see and enjoy Your Excellency Seated in the Chair of Govern­ment over this His Majesties Province, and Entered upon the Exercise thereof, to the great content of all.

I may well say this day, inasmuch as this Your Excellency's Presence is that which makes it to be more Day with us than lately it hath been, since it cannot more properly or fitly be lookt upon than as the Rising of that greater Light of a more conspicuous Orb, and proportionable Influences, which nature hath appointed to distinguish and rule the day,

We may truly say, That our long Expectation of Your Excellency hath been an Expectation with Desire; and we now begin to find that true which the Wise man tells us, That when the Desire cometh, it is a Tree of Life; Long may it Root and Flourish, that we may long sit under the Shadow, and Enjoy the Fruit thereof.

Had not Your Excellencys particular Instructions, and His Majesties more Especial Service in another Province belonging to Your Lordships Government, necessarily prevented, we had much sooner Enjoyed this days happiness: For sure we are, Your Lordship hath put no needless De­lays upon us, having more than redeemed all the time that hath been spent elsewhere, in doing those great and necessary things there brought to pass; [Page 2] and in the mean time not omitting to give unto us early and repeated As­surances of Your Lordships favourable inclinations and forwardness to be coming to us, and of Your having Entertained us very far into Your good Opinion and Good-Will, for which we do most humbly return our most Sincere Acknowledgments.

And since our Turn is so happily come at last, we will not begrudge, but Congratulate unto our Neighbours, that they have been so long the first in reaping the signal Fruits of your Lordships Government amongst them Ad­ministred with so much care and indefatigableness; so much Wisdom and Justice, and such a fixed resolution and zeal expressed against things evil, and to be discountenanced. And this we do the more freely, because that from this experience of theirs, it comes to pass, that we now receive Your Excellency more nearly known and understood, unto the greater, not only Confirmation, but also Enlargement of all our Expectations for our selves.

My Lord,

All men must needs take notice, but none can with the like Sense and Concernment as our selves, how highly His Majesty hath honoured & dig­nified this Province in placing over us Your Excellency, a person of so high and great Quality, noble in degree, and much more noble otherwise; who have stood so much in publick view for Merits and Services greater than ordinary, and who have in most Honourable Imployment stood so near, and been so acceptable to His Majesty, and His Late Royal Consort our late Soveraign Lady. Your Lordships Honour shall be ours, and the Lustre of Your Name and Character shall be reflected upon us, so as to ad­vance & encrease our reputation from this day forward in the world. And since [...] the great distance that we His Majesties Subjects here do stand in from His Sacred Person: Your Lordship is placed as the Great Medium of Intercourse and Communication: We most thankfully and joyfully ac­count our selves possessed this day of a greater advantage than ever heretofore, by reason of Your Excellencys Interposition, and the Improve­ment of Your Interest for us both in making our most humble Addresses and Applications to the Crown of England, and in the obtaining thence all those Favours, Supports and Cherishings of Supream Authority, which we do, and so often shall stand in need of, without the least doubt of Success; Having KING WILLIAM the Third, the Glorious Deliverer and Restorer of Three Kingdoms, the Bulwark of the true Protestant Religion, and all English Liberties: Most Princely, most Just, most rightfully appointed, Heavens Care, the Father of all His People, and the best of Kings, to Reign over us.

My Lord.

The good people of this Province (as hath already been more publickly signified) cannot, nor indeed ought they to forget that great difference of Interest and Design, upon which their Fathers and Predecessors, truly Great and Good Men in this respect, did with so much cost and hazard, transport themselves and settle this wilderness: Most other Plantations declared for nothing more than Trade and Gains; but those good men publickly Owned that of Religion. That they and theirs might more freely Enjoy the Worship and Ordinances thereof; That their Children might be Educated more free from the growing Vices and Debauche­ries of other places, that they might be brought up in a Land where [Page] the Examples of Piety, Sobriety, Diligence, Strict Observation of Gods Holy Sabbaths; and all other Vertues and Good Behaviour might be more abundantly in their View. The Settlement of these things under the Government and Royal Charter then obtained, was the First Set­tlement which they chiefly laboured in. The Enjoyment of these was the first and principal Enjoyment which they took contentment in. And from those times, SIR, until now, the same Interest and Design hath (Thanks be to God) continued in some good measure the great Standard and Rule whereby this people have made an Estimate of all their Concernments. By this they have judged of Things and Persons, of themselves and others, and of the Times and Providences that have passed over us. Whilst they have kept up to this great Design, they have reckon'd themselves to be going forward, but otherwise to be go­ing backward: When Divine Providences have Smiled on them as to these things, they have ever thought themselves to enjoy much of the Fa­vour of Heaven; but otherwise to be under its Frowns. When it was in their power, they have ever Chosen such to be Over them in chiefest place as were Lovers, and would be Promoters of this Great Interest and Design, and the great things mentioned under the same. And all this I take the boldness thus plainly to mention to Your Lordship, that I may also as plainly say, that one great and principal cause of the joy and thankfulness of this day, is, that God and the King have made so favoura­ble a Choice for us, that in the Person of Your Excellency we do at this time receive a Captain General and Governour in Chief, who hath given so many and great proofs of His great Esteem of Sincere Love to, and Care for all these Things; and by whose Example and Authority, as a Patron and Favourer, they may be promoted and secured to us; and all that which is contrary and destructive of them, Discouraged and Suppressed.

As to the State of the Province, Your Lordship will soon fully acquaint Your Self therewith, and therein I am not so confident that you will not find many things, and some material ones, out of order, as I am, that by Your Excellencys Authority, Happy Conduct, and Universal Influence, a favourable, proper and speedy Remedy will be given to them all: Each Order and Degree amongst us, co-operating with Your Excellency thereun­to, as in Duty we are bound: Nor do we doubt, but that in judging of our Affairs, and of the Management of the last Years, Your Lordship will make favourable Allowances for the Emergencies, Difficulties and Distractions of the late War, that continued so long, and did so sorely press upon us; from all which we rejoyce, that Your Excellency, in Your Time, shall be so happily delivered; and that we shall so seasonably receive Your Excel­lencys Assistances unto the Improvement, better Settlement and Enjoyment of that Peace, which through the prosperousness of His Majesties Great and Glorious Undertakings in Europe, we do at this day so far see the be­ginning of

We must not now call them Enemies whom we have found to be the most pernicious of all other. I mean our French Neighbours; but Your Excellency understands them well enough; and will as well watch and counterwork them in all their sinister and crafty methods and underminings; Since they cannot but everlastingly adhere to all their Envyings of us, and [Page 4] of our Prosperity; and to their most unjust Designs of Encroaching upon us▪ as to the Bounds, Rights and Priviledges, of this and all other His Majesties Provinces bordering upon them.

But by this time I have too long delayed Your Lordship and the pub­lick Occasions of the Day. I have only therefore to add for my self, that as it was a great Honour done me, and far greater than I could reasonably ever aspire unto, to be placed in the Government of this Province, by His Majesties Most Gracious Command; first during the absence of the late Governour, and then to be continued therein during the Vacancy of the Place, till Your Excellencys most happy Arrival: So I do now most sin­cerely own it to be the greatest Honour that ever I do in this World ex­pect, that I have Resigned it into so Noble Hands as those of Your Excel­lency; and so much the more, because the latter is of so much greater advantage unto the Publick, than the former could be capable of.

And now, My Lord, let the Station that I have Held, which hath much increased the intenseness of my Affection unto the good people of this Pro­vince, with whom I have long been Joyned; both in Prosperity and Ad­versity, and unto whom (I mean those that shall be gone before) I must ere long nextly be gathered as unto my people: Let this excuse my free­dom and boldness, that I do now by way of affectionate Request, most humbly and earnestly Recommend them to Your Excellencys most Gene­rous and Favourable Regards; whom by way of Authority, GOD and the KING have Committed unto Your Charge and Government, which I pray may be long and prosperous; both to Your Self, and to us all.

Finally, My Lord, (which indeed should have been the first thing spo­ken at this time) we do all most humbly Thank Your Excellency for all the most kind and obliging Expressions of Favour to us in Your Lordships Speech made this Day.