SIR EDMUND ANDROS’S SECOND COMMISSION242 as VICE-ADMIRAL OF NEW ENGLAND

    30 April, 1688

    James king.

    James the Second by the Grace of God of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland king, Defender of the Faith, &c.

    Inasmuch as the office of Lord High Admiral, formerly to us by the Most Serene King Charles the Second, our most dear brother, by his letters patent under the great seal of England granted, still remains in our royal person from divers causes us in that behalf specially moving, — to our beloved Edmund Andros, Knight, Greeting:

    To take cognizance of and proceed in whatsoever causes civil and maritime, and in complaints, contracts, offences or suspected offences, crimes, pleas, debts, exchanges, accounts, charter parties, agreements, suits, trespasses, injuries, extortions, demands, and businesses civil and maritime, commenced or to be commenced, whatsoever, between merchants or between owners and proprietors of ships and all other vessels and merchants, or others whomsoever, with such owners and proprietors of ships and all other vessels whatsoever employed or used within the jurisdiction of our Admiralty of our Colonies of Massachusetts Bay and New Plymouth, of our Provinces of New Hampshire and Maine, of our Country of Narranganset, or of our Province of New York and East and West Cæsarea, and of the whole tract of land, circuit, continent, borders, and limits in America, being in latitude from forty243 degrees of latitude north of the Equator to the River of St. Croix on the east, and thence directly toward the north to the River of Canada, and in longitude throughout the whole latitude aforesaid into and through the continent from the sea and the Atlantic or Western Ocean on the east to the South Sea on the west, together with all the islands, seas, rivers, waters, rights, members, and appurtenances whatsoever belonging to the same (our Province of Pennsylvania and our Country of Delaware alone excepted), to be named and known (as heretofore) by the name and title of the Territory and Dominion of New England in America, or between whatsoever other persons, had, made, begun, or contracted for any thing, matter, cause, or business, or injury whatsoever, done or to be done as well in, upon, or by the sea or public rivers, or fresh waters, ports, streams, or creeks and places overflowed whatsoever within the flowing and ebbing of the sea and to high-water mark, or upon the shores or banks whatsoever adjacent to the same or to any one of them, from whatsoever first bridges toward the sea, throughout our Colony of New England and the parts aforesaid respectively, or elsewhere beyond the sea or in whatsoever parts beyond the sea, together with all and singular their incidents, emergencies, dependencies, annexed and connexed causes and businesses whatsoever, wheresoever or howsoever such causes and complaints, contracts and other premises abovesaid, or any one of them, may happen to arise, be celebrated, contracted, or done, to hear and determine according to the laws civil and maritime and the customs received in the Principal Court of our Admiralty of the Colony of New England and the parts aforesaid and every of them, and moreover, &c.

    Given in our palace of Whitehall under our seal of Admiralty, representing an anchor, which we use in this behalf, on the 30th day of April in the Year of our Reign the fourth and the Year of our Lord 1688.

    By Command of the Most Serene Lord the King

    S. PEPYS