1757 between the Legislative Assembly
of Massachusetts and the Earl of Loudoun as to the extension of the
Mutiny Act to the colonies, and the passing of an Act by the local
Legislature for the billeting of the troops, as similar in its
provisions as possible to those of the Mutiny Act--so that it was
accepted by the Earl of Loudoun--the Massachusetts Assembly vindicated
their motives for denying the application of the Mutiny Act to the
colonies, and for providing quarters for the military by an Act of their
own, yet recognizing the legitimate authority of Parliament, in a
message to Governor Barnard containing the following words:

"We wish to stand perfectly right with his lordship (the Earl of
Loudoun), and it will be a great satisfaction to us if we may be able to
remove his misapprehension of the spring and motives of our proceedings.
His lordship is pleased to say that we seem willing to enter into a
dispute upon the necessity of a provincial law to enforce a British Act
of Parliament.

"We are utterly ignorant as to what part of our conduct could give
occasion for this expression. The point in which we were obliged to
differ from his lordship was the extent of the provision made by Act of
Parliament for regulating quarters. We thought it did not reach the
colonies. _Had we thought it did reach us, and yet made an Act of our
own to enforce it, there would have been good grounds for his lordships
exception_; but being fully persuaded that the provision was never
intended for us, what better step could we take than, agreeable to the
twentieth section of the Articles of War, to regulate quarters as the
circumstances of the province require, but still as similar to the
provisions made in England as possible? And how can it be inferred from
thence that we suppose a provincial Act necessary to enforce an Act of
Parliament?

"We are willing, by a due exercise of the powers of civil government
(and we have the pleasure of seeing your Excellency concur with us), to
remove, as much as may be, all pretence of necessity of military
government. Such measures, we are sure, will never be disapproved by the
Parliament of Great Britain, _our dependence upon which, we never had a
desire or thought of lessening_. From the knowledge your Excellency has
acquired of us, you will be able to do us justice in this regard.

"In our message to your Excellency, which you transmitted to his
lordship, we declared that the Act of Parliament,