Cottrell, Stephen (1738-1818) to George Granville Leveson-Gower
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00279 Author/Creator: Cottrell, Stephen (1738-1818) Place Written: London, England Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 6 August 1773 Pagination: 3 p. ; 32.4 x 20.1 cm Order a Copy
Written by Cottrell, secretary of the Board of Trade, to George Granville Leveson-Gower, the Duke of Sutherland, as the Lord President of the Privy Council. The Lord President's principle responsibility is to preside at meetings of the Privy Council, at which the British monarch formally assents to Orders-in-Council. Letter wants to know the recipient's's opinion of the independent powers the colonies have accumulated and are using. Says he has been ordered by Lord Suffolk to transmit the enclosed comments from the Board of Trade (not included). Thomas Pownall, a Member of Parliament who was previously Royal Governor of both New Jersey and Massachusetts, has asked for the dispatch and Lord Suffolk wants to move quickly. The committee wants his comments before they take any action. First issue has to do with the power of provincial legislatures to dissolve marriages by acts of assembly. Second issue has to deal with the New York-Massachusetts border dispute. Third issue has to do with recent acts passed by Pennsylvania legislature. The Board of Trade wants the proprietors of Pennsylvania colony or their agents to come before it. Fourth issue has to do with new instructions to the governors concerning grants of land made in the plantations. Ultimately, Cottrell is suggesting that the colonies be stopped from acting independently.
Stephen Cottrell was one of the clerks of the privy council for over fifty years.
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