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REPORT

OF THE

LORDS COMMISSIONERS for

TRADE and PLANTATIONS

ON THE

PETITION

OF THE

Honourable THOMAS WALPOLE, BENJAMIN
FRANKLIN, JOHN SARGENT, and SAMUEL
WHARTON, Esquires, and their ASSOCIATES;

FOR

A Grant of Lands on the RIVER OHIO, in North
America; for the purpose of Erecting a new
Government.

WITH

OBSERVATIONS and REMARKS.



LONDON:

Printed for J. ALMON, opposite Burlington-House, in
Piccadilly.

MDCCLXXII.




REPORT

OF

The Lords Commissioners for
Trade and Plantations.

ON THE

PETITION of the Honourable
THOMAS WALPOLE and his Associates,
for a Grant of Lands on
the River OHIO in NORTH AMERICA.




MY LORDS,

Pursuant to your lordships order of the 25th May 1770, we have taken
into our consideration the humble memorial of the honourable Thomas
Walpole, Benjamin Franklin, John Sargent, and Samuel Wharton, Esquires,
in behalf of themselves and their associates, setting forth (among
other things) "That they presented a petition to his Majesty, in
council, for a grant of lands in America (_parcel_ of the lands
purchased by government of the Indians) in consideration of a price to
be paid in purchase of the same; _that in pursuance of a suggestion
which arose when the said petition was under consideration of the Lords
Commissioners for trade and plantations_, the memorialists presented a
petition to the Lords Commissioners of the treasury, proposing to
purchase a larger tract of land on the river Ohio in America,
sufficient for a separate government; whereupon their lordships were
pleased to acquaint the memorialists, they had no objection to
accepting the proposals made by them with respect to the purchase-money
and quit-rent to be paid for the said tract of land, if it should be
thought adviseable by those departments of government, to whom it
belonged to judge of the propriety of the grant, both in point of
policy and justice, that the grant should be made; in consequence
whereof the memorialists humbly renew their application that a grant of
said lands may be made to them, _reserving therein to all persons their
just and legal rights to any parts or parcels of said lands which may
be comprehended within the tract prayed for by the memorialists;_"
whereupon we beg leave to report to your lordships,

I. That according to the description of the tract of land prayed for by
the memorialists, which description is annexed to their memorial, it
appears to us to contain part of the dominion of Virginia, to the south
of the river Ohio, and to extend several degrees of longitude westward
from the western ridge of the Appalachian mountains, as will more fully
appear to your Lordships from the annexed sketch of the said tract,
which we have since caused to be delineated with as much exactness as
possible, and herewith submit to your Lordships, to the end that your
Lordships may judge with the greater precision of the situation of the
lands prayed for in the memorial.

II. From this sketch your Lordships will observe, that a very
considerable part of the lands prayed for, lies beyond the line, which
has, in consequence of his Majesty's orders for that purpose, been
settled by treaty, as well with the tribes of the Six Nations, and
their confederates, as with the Cherokee Indians, as the boundary line
between his Majesty's territories and their hunting grounds; and as the
faith of the crown is pledged in the most solemn manner both to the Six
Nations and to the Cherokees, that notwithstanding the former of these
nations had ceded the property in the lands to his Majesty, yet no
settlements shall be made beyond that line, it is our duty to report to
your Lordships our opinion, that it would on that account be highly
improper to comply with the request of the memorial, _so far as it
includes any lands beyond the said line_.

It remains therefore, that we report to your Lordships our opinion, how
far it may consist with good policy and with justice, that his Majesty
should comply with that part of the memorial which relates to those
lands which are situated to the east of that line, and are part of the
dominion of Virginia.

III. And first with regard to the policy, we take leave to remind your
Lordships of that principle which was adopted by this Board, and
approved and confirmed by his Majesty, immediately after the treaty of
Paris, _viz._ the confining the western extent of settlements to such a
distance from the sea coast, as that those settlements should lie
_within the reach of the trade and commerce of this kingdom_, upon
which the strength and riches of it depend, and also of the exercise of
that authority and jurisdiction, which was conceived to be necessary
for the preservation of the colonies, in a due subordination to, and
dependance upon, the Mother Country; and these we apprehend to have
been two capital objects of his Majesty's proclamation of the 7th of
October 1763, by which his Majesty declares it to be his royal will and
pleasure to reserve under his sovereignty, protection, and dominion,
for the _use_ of the Indians, all the lands not included within the
three new governments, the limits of which are described therein, as
also all the lands and territories lying to the westward of the sources
of the rivers which shall fall into the sea from the west and
north-west, and by which, all persons are forbid to make any purchases
or settlements whatever, or to take possession of any of the lands
above reserved, without special licence for that purpose.

IV. It is true indeed, that partly from _want of precision_ in
describing the line intended to be marked out by the proclamation of
1763, and partly from a consideration of justice _in regard to legal
titles to lands_, which had been settled beyond that line, it has been
since thought fit to enter into engagements with the Indians, for
fixing a more precise and determinate _boundary_ between his Majesty's
territories and their hunting grounds.

V. By this _boundary_, so far as it regards the case now in question,
your Lordships will observe, that the hunting grounds of the Indians
are reduced within narrower limits than were specified by the
proclamation of 1763; we beg leave however, to submit to your
Lordships, that the same principles of policy, in reference to
settlements _at so great a distance_ from the sea coast _as to be out
of the reach of all advantageous intercourse with this kingdom_,
continue to exist in their full force and spirit; and, though various
propositions for erecting new colonies in the interior parts of America
have been, in consequence of this extension of the boundary line,
submitted to the consideration of government (particularly in that part
of the country wherein are situated the lands now prayed for, with a
view to that object) yet the dangers and disadvantages of complying
with such proposals have been so obvious, as to defeat every attempt
made for carrying them into execution.

VI. Many objections, besides those which we have already stated, occur
to us to propositions of this kind; but as _every argument_ on this
subject is _collected together with great force and precision_, in a
representation made to his Majesty by the Commissioners for Trade and
Plantations in March 1768, we beg leave to state them to your Lordships
in their words.

In that representation they deliver their opinion upon a proposition
for settling new colonies in the interior country as follows, _viz._

"The proposition of forming inland colonies in America is, we humbly
conceive, entirely new: it adopts principles in respect to American
settlements, different from what have hitherto been the policy of this
kingdom, and leads to a system which, if pursued through all its
consequences, is, in the present state of that country, of the greatest
importance.

"The great object of colonizing upon the continent of North America,
has been to improve and extend the commerce, navigation, and
manufactures of this kingdom, upon which its strength and security
depend.

1. "By promoting the advantageous fishery carried on upon the northern
coast.

2. "By encouraging the growth and culture of naval stores, and of raw
materials, to be transported hither in exchange for perfect
manufactures and other merchandise.

3. "By securing a supply of lumber, provisions, and other necessaries,
for the support of our establishments in the American islands.

"In order to answer these salutary purposes, it has been the policy of
this kingdom to confine her settlements as much as possible to the sea
coast, and not to extend them to places inaccessible to shipping, and
consequently more out of the reach of commerce; a plan, which, at the
same time that it secured the attainment of these commercial objects,
had the further political advantage of guarding against all interfering
of foreign powers, and of enabling this kingdom to keep up a superior
naval force in those seas, by the actual possession of such rivers and
harbours as were proper stations for fleets in time of war.

"Such, may it please your Majesty, have been the considerations
inducing that plan of policy hitherto pursued in the settlement of your
Majesty's American colonies, with which the private interest and
sagacity of the settlers co-operated from the first establishments
formed upon that continent: It was upon these principles, and with
these views, that government undertook the settling of Novia Scotia in
1749; and it was from a view of the advantages represented to arise
from it in these different articles, that it was so liberally supported
by the aid of parliament.

"The same motives, though operating in a less degree, and applying to
fewer objects, did, as we humbly conceive, induce the forming the
colonies of Georgia, East Florida, and West Florida, to the South, and
the making those provincial arrangements in the proclamation of 1763,
by which the interior country was left to the possession of the
Indians.

"Having thus briefly stated what has been the policy of this kingdom in
respect to colonizing in America, it may be necessary to take a cursory
view of what has been the effect of it in those colonies, where there
has been sufficient time for that effect to discover itself; because,
if it shall appear from the present state of these settlements, and the
progress they have made, that they are likely to produce the advantages
above stated, it will, we humbly apprehend, be a very strong argument
against forming settlements in the interior country; more especially,
when every advantage, derived from an established government, would
naturally tend to draw the stream of population; fertility of soil and
temperature of climate offering superior incitements to settlers, who,
exposed to few hardships, and struggling with few difficulties, could,
with little labour, earn an abundance for their own wants, but without
a possibility of supplying ours with any considerable quantities. Nor
would these inducements be confined in their operation to foreign
emigrants, determining their choice where to settle, but would act most
powerfully upon the inhabitants of the northern and southern latitudes
of your Majesty's American dominions; who, ever suffering under the
opposite extremes of heat and cold, would be equally tempted by a
moderate climate to abandon latitudes peculiarly adapted to the
production of those things, which are by Nature denied to us; and for
the whole of which we should, without their assistance, stand indebted
to, and dependant upon other countries.

"It is well known that antecedent to the year 1749, all that part of
the sea-coast of the British empire in America, which extends
north-east from the province of Main to Canceau in Nova Scotia, and
from thence to the mouth of St. Laurence river, lay waste and
neglected; though naturally affording, or capable by art of producing,
every species of naval stores; the seas abounding with whale, cod, and
other valuable fish, and having many great rivers, bays, and harbours,
fit for the reception of ships of war. Thus circumstanced, a
consideration of the great commercial advantages which would follow
from securing the possession of this country, combined with the
evidence of the value set upon it by our enemies, who, during the war
which terminated at that period, had, at an immense expence, attempted
to wrest it from us, induced that plan, for the settlement of Novia
Scotia, to which we have before referred; and which, being prosecuted
with vigour, though at a very large expence to this kingdom, secured
the possession of that province, and formed those establishments which
contributed so greatly to facilitate and promote the success of your
Majesty's arms in the late war.

"The establishment of government in this part of America, having opened
to the view and information of your Majesty's subjects in other
colonies the great commercial advantages to be derived from it, induced
a zeal for migration; and associations were formed for taking up lands,
and making settlements, in this province, by principal persons residing
in these colonies.

"In consequence of these associations, upwards of ten thousand souls
have passed from those colonies into Novia Scotia; who have either
engaged in the fisheries, or become exporters of lumber and provisions
to the West Indies. And further settlements, to the extent of
twenty-one townships, of one hundred thousand acres each, have been
engaged to be made there, by many of the principal persons in
Pennsylvania, whose names and association for that purpose now lie
before your Majesty in council.

"The government of Massachussets Bay, as well as the proprietors of
large tracts to the eastward of the province of Main, excited by the
success of these settlements, are giving every encouragement to the
like settlements in that valuable country, lying between them and Novia
Scotia; and the proprietors of the twelve townships lately laid out
there, by the Massachussets government, now solicit your Majesty for a
confirmation of their title.

"Such, may it please your Majesty, is the present state of the progress
making in the settlement of the northern parts of the sea coasts of
North America, in consequence of what appears to have been the policy
adopted by this kingdom. And many persons of rank and substance here
are proceeding to carry into execution the plan which your Majesty
(pursuing the same principles of commercial policy) has approved for
the settlement of the islands of St. John and Cape Breton, and of the
new established colonies to the south. And, therefore, as we are fully
convinced, that the encouraging settlements upon the sea coast of North
America is founded in the true principles of commercial policy; as we
find upon examination, that the happy effects of that policy are now
beginning to open themselves, in the establishment of these branches of
commerce, culture, and navigation, upon which the strength, wealth, and
security of this kingdom depend; we cannot be of opinion, that it would
in any view be adviseable, to divest your Majesty's subjects in America
from the pursuit of those important objects, by adopting measures of a
new policy, _at an expence to this kingdom, which in its present state
it is unable to bear_.

"This, may it please your Majesty, being the light in which we view the
proposition of colonizing in the interior country, considered as a
general principle of policy; we shall, in the next place, proceed to
examine the several arguments urged in support of the particular
establishments now recommended.

"These arguments appear to us reducible to the following general
propositions, viz.

First, "That such colonies will promote population, and increase the
demands for and consumption of British manufactures."

Secondly, "That they will secure the fur trade, and prevent an illicit
trade, or interfering of French or Spaniards with the Indians."

Thirdly, "That they will be a defence and protection to the old
colonies against the Indians."

Fourthly, "That they will contribute to lessen the present heavy
expence of supplying provisions to the different forts and garrisons."

Lastly, "That they are necessary in respect to the inhabitants already
residing in those places where they are proposed to be established, who
require some form of civil government."

"After what we have already stated with respect to the policy of
encouraging colonies in the interior country as a general principle, we
trust it will not be necessary to enter into an ample discussion of the
arguments brought to support the foregoing propositions.

"We admit as an undeniable principle of true policy, that with a view
to prevent manufactures, it is necessary and proper to open an extent
of territory for colonization proportioned to the increase of people,
as a large number of inhabitants, cooped up in narrow limits, without a
sufficiency of land for produce, would be compell'd to convert their
attention and industry to manufactures; but we submit whether the
encouragement given to the settlement of the colonies upon the sea
coast, and the effect which such encouragement has had, have not
already effectually provided for this object, as well as for increasing
the demand for, and consumption of British manufactures, an advantage
which, in our humble opinion, would not be promoted by these new
colonies, which being proposed to be established, at the distance of
_above fifteen hundred miles from the sea_, and in places which, upon
the fullest evidence, are found to be utterly inaccessible to shipping,
will, from their inability to find returns wherewith to pay for the
manufactures of Great Britain, be probably led to manufacture for
themselves; a consequence which experience shews has constantly
attended in greater or lesser degree every inland settlement, and
therefore ought, in our humble opinion, to be carefully guarded
against, by _encouraging_ the settlement of that extensive tract of sea
coast hitherto unoccupied; _which, together with the liberty that the
inhabitants of the middle colonies will have_ (in consequence _of the
proposed boundary line with the Indians_) of _gradually extending
themselves backwards_, will more effectually and beneficially answer
the object of encouraging population and consumption, than the erection
of new governments; such gradual extension might through the medium of
a continued population, upon even the same extent of territory,
preserve a communication of mutual commercial benefits between its
extremest parts and Great Britain, _impossible_ to _exist in colonies
separated by immense tracts of unpeopled desart_.--As to the effect
which it is supposed the colonies may have to increase and promote the
fur trade, and to prevent all contraband trade or intercourse between
the Indians under your Majesty's protection, and the French or
Spaniards; it does appear to us, that the extension of the fur trade
depends entirely upon the Indians being undisturbed in the possession
of their hunting, grounds; that all colonizing does in its nature, and
must in its consequences, operate to the prejudice of that branch of
commerce, and that the French and Spaniard would be left in possession
of a great part of what remained; as New Orleans would still continue
the best and surest market.

"As to the protection which it is supposed these new colonies may be
capable of affording to the old ones, it will, in our opinion, appear
on the slightest view of their situation, that so far from affording
protection to the old colonies, they will stand most in need of it
themselves.

"It cannot be denied, that new colonies would be of advantage in
raising provisions for the supply of such forts and garrisons as may be
kept up in the neighbourhood of them; but as the degree of utility will
be proportioned to the number and situation of these forts and
garrisons, which upon the result of the present enquiry it may be
thought adviseable to continue, so the force of the argument will
depend upon that event.

"The present French inhabitants in the neighbourhood of the Lakes will,
in our humble opinion, be sufficient to furnish with provisions
whatever posts may be necessary to be continued there; and as there are
also French inhabitants settled in some parts of the country lying upon
the Mississippi, between the rivers Illinois and the Ohio, it is to be
hoped that a sufficient number of these may be induced to fix their
abode, where the same convenience and advantage may be derived from
them; but if no such circumstance were to exist, and no such assistance
to be expected from it, the objections stated to the plan now under our
consideration are superior to this, or any other advantage it can
produce; and although civil establishments have frequently rendered the
expence of an armed force necessary for their protection, one of the
many objections to these now proposed, yet we humbly presume there
never has been an instance of a government instituted merely with a
view to supply a body of troops with suitable provisions; nor is it
necessary in these instances for the settlements, already existing as
above described, which being formed under military establishments, and
ever subjected to military authority, do not, in our humble opinion,
require any other superintendance than that of the military officers
commanding at these posts.

"In addition to this opinion of the Board of Trade, expressed in the
foregoing recital, we further beg leave to refer your Lordships to the
opinion of the Commander in Chief of his Majesty's forces in North
America, who, in a letter laid before us by the Earl of Hillsborough,
delivers his sentiments with regard to the settlements in the interior
parts of America in the following words, viz.

VII. "As to increasing the settlements to respectable provinces, and to
colonization _in general terms_ in the _remote_ countries, I conceive
it altogether inconsistent with sound policy; for there is little
appearance that the advantages will arise from it which nations expect
when they send out colonies into _foreign countries_; they can give no
encouragement to the fishery, and though the country might afford some
kind of naval stores, the distance would be too far to transport them;
and for the same reason they could not supply the sugar islands with
lumber and provisions. As for the raising wine, silk, and other
commodities, the same may be said of the present colonies without
planting others for the purpose at so vast a distance; but on the
supposition that they would be raised, their very long transportation
must probably make them too dear for any market. I do not apprehend the
inhabitants could have any commodities to barter for manufactures
except skins and furs, which will naturally decrease as the country
increases in people, and the desarts are cultivated; so that in the
course of a few years necessity would force them to provide
manufactures of some kind for themselves; and when all connection
upheld by commerce with the mother country shall cease, it may be
expected, that an independancy on her government will soon follow; the
pretence of forming barriers will have no end; wherever we settle,
however remote, there must be a frontier; and there is room enough for
the colonists to spread within our present limits, for a century to
come. If we reflect how the people of themselves have gradually retired
from the coast, we shall be convinced they want no encouragement to
desert sea coasts, and go into the back countries, where the lands are
better, and got upon easier terms; they are already almost out of the
reach of law and government; neither the endeavours of government, or
fear of Indians, has kept them properly within bounds; and it is
apparently most for the interest of Great Britain to confine the
colonies on the side of the back country, and to direct their
settlements along the sea coast, where millions of acres are yet
uncultivated. The lower provinces are still thinly inhabited, and not
brought to the point of perfection that has been aimed at for the
mutual benefit of Great Britain and themselves. Although America may
supply the mother country with many articles, few of them are yet
supplied in quantities equal to her consumption, the quantity of iron
transported is not great, of hemp very small, and there are many other
commodities not necessary to enumerate, which America has not yet been
able to raise, notwithstanding the encouragement given her by bounties
and premiums. The laying open new tracts of fertile territory in
moderate climates might lessen her present produce; for it is the
passion of every man to be a landholder, and the people have a natural
disposition to rove in search of good lands, however distant. It may be
a question likewise, whether colonization of the kind could be effected
_without an Indian war, and fighting for every inch of ground_. The
Indians have long been jealous of our power, and have no patience in
seeing us approach their towns, and settle up on their hunting grounds;
atonements may be made for a fraud discovered in a trader, and even the
murder of some of their tribes, but _encroachments_ upon their lands
have often produced serious consequences. The springs of the last
general war are to be discovered near the Allegany mountains, and upon
the banks of the Ohio.

"It is so obvious, that settlers might raise provisions to feed the
troops cheaper than it can be transported from the country below, that
it is not necessary to explain it; but I must own I know no other use
in settlements, or can give any other reason for supporting forts, than
to protect the settlements, and keep the settlers in subjection to
government.

"I conceive, that to procure all the commerce it will afford, and as
little expence to ourselves as we can, is the only object we shall have
in view in the interior country, for a century to come; and I imagine
it might be effected, by proper management, without either forts or
settlements. Our manufactures are as much desired by the Indians, as
their peltry is sought for by us; what was originally deemed a
superfluity, or a luxury by the natives, is now become a necessary;
they are disused to the bow, and can neither hunt, or make war without
fire-arms, powder, and lead. The British provinces can only supply them
with their necessaries, which they know, and for their own sakes would
protect the trader, which they actually do at present. It would remain
with us to prevent the trader's being guilty of frauds and impositions,
and to pursue the same methods to that end, as are taken in the
Southern district; and I must confess, though the plan pursued in that
district might be improved by proper laws to support it, that I do not
know a better, or more oeconomical plan for the management of trade;
there are neither forts nor settlements, in the Southern department,
and there are both in the Northern department; and your Lordships will
be the best judge, which of them has given you the least trouble; in
which we have had the fewest quarrels with, or complaints from the
Indians.

"I know of nothing so liable to bring on a serious quarrel with Indians
_as an invasion of their property_. Let the savages enjoy their desarts
in quiet; little bickerings that may unavoidably sometimes happen, may
soon be accommodated; and I am of opinion, independent of the motives
of common justice and humanity, that the principles of interest and
policy, should induce us rather to protect than molest them: were they
driven from their forests, the peltry trade would decrease; and it is
_not impossible_ that worse savages would take refuge in them, for they
might then become the asylum of fugitive <DW64>s, and idle vagabonds,
escaped from justice, who in time might become formidable, and subsist
by rapine, and plundering the lower countries."

VIII. The opinions delivered in the foregoing recitals are so accurate
and precise, as to make it almost unnecessary to add any thing more:
But we beg leave to lay before your Lordships the sentiments of his
Majesty's Governor of Georgia, upon the subject of large grants in the
interior parts of America, whose knowledge and experience in the
affairs of the colonies give great weight to his opinion.

In a letter to us, on the subject of the mischiefs attending such
grants, he expresses himself in the following manner, viz.

"And now, my Lords, I beg your patience a moment, while I consider this
matter in a more extensive point of view, and go a little further in
declaring my sentiments and opinion, with respect to the granting of
large bodies of land, in the back parts of the province of Georgia, or
in any other of his Majesty's Northern colonies, at a distance from the
sea-coast, or from such parts of any province as are already settled
and inhabited.

"And this matter, my Lords, appears to me, in a very serious and
alarming light; and I humbly conceive may be attended with the greatest
and worst of consequences; for, my Lords, if a vast territory be
granted to any set of gentlemen, who really mean to people it, and
actually do so, it must draw and carry out a great number of people
from Great Britain; and I apprehend they will soon become a kind of
separate and independent people, and who will set up for themselves;
that they will soon have manufactures of their own; that they will
neither take supplies from the mother country, or from the provinces,
at the back of which they are settled; that being at a distance from
the seat of government, courts, magistrates, &c. &c. they will be out
of the reach and controul of law and government; that it will become a
receptacle and kind of asylum for offenders, who will fly from justice
to such new country or colony; and therefore crimes and offences will
be committed, not only by the inhabitants of such new settlements, but
elsewhere, and pass with impunity; and that in process of time (and
perhaps at no great distance) they will become formidable enough, to
oppose his Majesty's authority, disturb government, and even give law
to the other or first settled part of the country, and throw every
thing into confusion.

"My Lords, I hope I shall not be thought impertinent, when I give my
opinion freely, in a matter of so great consequence, as I conceive this
to be; and, my Lords, I apprehend, that in all the American colonies,
great care should be taken, that the lands on the sea-coast, should be
thick settled with inhabitants, and well cultivated and improved; and
that the settlements should be gradually extended back into the
province, and as much connected as possible, to keep the people
together in as narrow a compass _as the nature of the lands, and state
of things will admit of_; and by which means there would probably
become only one general view and interest amongst them, and the power
of government and law would of course naturally and easily go with
them, and matters thereby properly regulated, and kept in due order and
obedience; and they would have no idea of resisting or transgressing
either without being amenable to justice, and subject to punishment for
any offences they may commit.

"But, my Lords, to suffer a kind of _province within a province_, and
one that may, indeed must in process of time become superior, and too
big for the head, or original settlement or seat of government, to me
conveys with it many ideas of consequence, of such a nature, as I
apprehend are extremely dangerous and improper, and it would be the
policy of government to avoid and prevent, whilst in their power to do
so.

"My ideas, my Lords, are not chimerical; I know something of the
situation and state of things in America; and from some little
occurrences or instances that have already really happened, I can very
easily figure to myself what may, and, in short, what will certainly
happen, if not prevented in time."

IX. At the same time that we submit the foregoing reasoning against
colonization in the interior country to your Lordships consideration,
it is proper we should take notice of one argument, which has been
invariably held forth in support or every proposition of this nature,
and upon which the present proponents appear to lay great stress. It is
urged, that such is the state of the country now proposed to be
granted, and erected into a separate government, that no endeavours on
the part of the crown can avail, to prevent its being settled by those
who, by the increase of population in the middle colonies, are
continually emigrating to the Westward, and forming themselves into
colonies in that country, without the intervention or controul of
government, and who, if suffered to continue in that lawless state of
anarchy and confusion, will commit such abuses as cannot fail of
involving us in quarrel and dispute with the Indians, and thereby
endangering the security of his Majesty's colonies.

We admit, that this is an argument that deserves attention; and we
rather take notice of it in this place, because some of the objections
stated by Governor Wright _lose their force upon the supposition that
the grants against which he argues are to be erected into separate
governments_. But we are clearly of opinion, that his arguments do, in
the general view of them, as applied to the question of granting lands
in the interior parts of America, stand unanswerable; and _admitting_
that the settlers in the country in question are _as numerous as report
states them to be_, yet we submit to your Lordships, that this is a
fact which does, in the nature of it, operate strongly in point of
argument _against_ what is proposed; for if the foregoing reasoning has
any weight, it certainly ought to induce your Lordships to advise his
Majesty to take every method to _check_ the progress of these
settlements, and _not_ to make such grants of the land as will have an
immediate tendency to encourage them; a measure which we conceive is
altogether as unnecessary as it is impolitic, as we see nothing to
hinder the government of Virginia from extending the laws and
constitution of that colony to such persons as may have already settled
there _under legal titles_.

X. And there is one objection suggested by Governor Wright to the
extension of settlements in the interior country, which, we submit,
deserves your Lordships particular attention, viz. the encouragement
that is thereby held out to the emigration of his Majesty's European
subjects; an argument which, in the present peculiar situation of this
kingdom, demands very serious consideration, and has for some time past
had so great weight with this Board, that it has induced us to deny our
concurrence to many proposals for grants of land, even in those parts
of the continent of America where, in all other respects, we are of
opinion, that it consists with the true policy of this kingdom to
encourage settlements; and this consideration of the certain bad
consequences which must result from a continuance of such emigrations,
as have lately taken place from various parts of his Majesty's European
dominions, added to the constant drains to Africa, to the East Indies,
and to the new ceded Islands, will we trust, with what has been before
stated, be a sufficient answer to every argument that can be urged in
support of the present memorial, so far as regards the consideration of
it in point of policy.

XI. With regard to the propriety in point of _justice_ of making the
grant desired, we presume this consideration can have reference only to
the case of such persons who have already possession of lands in that
part of the country under legal titles derived from grants made by the
Governor and Council of Virginia; upon which case we have only to
observe, that it does appear to us, that there are _some_ such
possessions held by persons who are not parties to the present
Memorial; and therefore, if your Lordships shall be of opinion, that
the making the grant desired would, notwithstanding the reservation
proposed in respect to such titles, have the effect to disturb those
possessions, or to expose the proprietors to suit and litigation, we do
conceive, that, in that case, the grant would be objectionable in point
of justice.

XII. Upon the whole, therefore, we cannot recommend to your Lordships
to advise his Majesty to comply with the prayer of this Memorial,
either as to the erection of any parts of the lands into a separate
government, or the making a grant of them to the Memorialists; but, on
the contrary, we are of opinion, that settlements in that distant part
of the country should be as much discouraged as possible; and that, in
order thereto, it will be expedient, not only that the orders which
have been given to the Governor of Virginia, not to make any further
grants beyond the line prescribed by the proclamation of 1763, should
be continued and enforced, but that another proclamation should be
issued, declaratory of his Majesty's resolution not to allow, for the
_present_, any new settlements beyond that line, and to forbid all
persons from taking up or settling any lands in that part of the
country.

We are,

My Lords,

Your Lordships most obedient and

Most humble servants,

WHITEHALL, April 15, 1772.




OBSERVATIONS on, and ANSWERS to, the foregoing REPORT.


I. The first paragraph of the Report, we apprehend, was intended to
establish two propositions as facts;--viz.--

First, That the tract of land agreed for with the Lords Commissioners
of the Treasury, contains _part_ of the dominion of Virginia.

Second, That it extends several degrees of longitude _Westward_ from
the Western ridge of the _Allegany_ mountains.

On the first proposition we shall only remark, that no part of the
above tract is to the _Eastward_ of the Allegany mountains;--and that
these mountains must be considered as the true Western boundary of
_Virginia_;--for the King was _not_ seised and possessed of a right _to
the country Westward_ of the mountains, until his Majesty purchased it,
in the year 1768, from the Six Nations: and since that time, there has
not been any annexation of such purchase, or of any part thereof, to
the colony of Virginia.

On the second proposition,--we shall just observe, that the Lords
Commissioners for Trade and Plantations appear to us to be as erroneous
in this as in the former proposition; for their Lordships say, that the
tract of land under consideration _extends several degrees_ of
longitude _Westward_. The truth is, that it is not more, on a medium,
than one degree and a half of longitude from the Western ridge of the
Allegany mountains to the river Ohio.

II. It appears by the second paragraph, as if the Lords Commissioners
for Trade and Plantations apprehended,--that the lands south-westerly
of the _boundary line_, marked on a map annexed to their Lordships
_report_,--were either claimed by the Cherokees, or were their hunting
grounds, or were the hunting grounds of the Six Nations and their
confederates.

As to any claim of the Cherokees to the above country, it is altogether
new and indefensible; and never was heard of, until the appointment of
Mr. Stewart to the superintendency of the Southern colonies, about the
year 1764; and this, we flatter ourselves, will not only be obvious
from the following state of facts, but that the right to _all the
country_ on the Southerly side of the river Ohio, quite to the Cherokee
River, is _now_ undoubtedly vested in the King, by the grant which the
Six Nations made to his Majesty at Fort Stanwix, in November 1768.--In
short, the lands from the _Great Kenhawa_ to the _Cherokee river_ never
were, either the dwelling or hunting grounds of the _Cherokees_;--but
formerly belonged to, and were inhabited by the _Shawanesse_, until
such time as they were conquered by the Six Nations.

Mr. Colden, the present Lieutenant Governor of New York, in his History
of the Five Nations, observes, that about the year 1664, "the Five
Nations being amply supplied by the English with firearms and
ammunition, gave a full swing to their warlike genius. They carried
their arms _as far South as Carolina_, to the Northward of New England,
and as _far West as the river Mississippi_, over a vast country,--which
extended 1200 miles in length from North to South, and 600 miles in
breadth,--where they entirely destroyed whole nations, of whom there
are no accounts remaining among the English."

In 1701,--the Five Nations put all their hunting lands under the
protection of the English, as appears by the records, and by the
recital and confirmation thereof, in their deed to the King of the 4th
September 1726;--and Governor Pownal, who many years ago diligently
searched into the rights of the natives, and in particular into those
of the Northern confederacy, says, in his book intituled, the
_Administration of the Colonies_, "The right of the Five Nation
confederacy to the hunting _lands of Ohio_, Ticucksouchrondite and
Scaniaderiada, by the conquest they made, in subduing the _Shaoeanaes_,
Delawares (as we call them) Twictwees and Oilinois, may be fairly
proved, as they stood possessed thereof at the peace of Reswick
1697."--And confirmatory hereof, Mr. Lewis Evans, a gentleman of great
American knowledge, in his map of the middle colonies, published in
America in the year 1755, has laid down the country on the
_South-easterly side_ of the river Ohio, _as the hunting lands of the
Six Nations_; and in his Analysis to this map, he expressly says,--"The
_Shawanesse_, who were formerly one of the most considerable nations of
those parts of America, whose seat extended from _Kentucke_
South-westward to the Mississippi, have been subdued by the
confederates (or Six Nations) _and the country since became their
property_. No nation," Mr. Evans adds, "held out with greater
resolution and bravery, and although they have been scattered in all
parts for a while, they are again collected on _Ohio_, under the
dominion of the confederates."

At a congress held in the year 1744, by the provinces of Pennsylvania,
Maryland, and Virginia with the Six Nations,--the Commissioners of
Virginia, in a speech to the Sachems and Warriors of that confederacy,
say, "tell us what nations of Indians you conquered any lands from in
Virginia, how long it is since, and what possession you have had; and
if it does appear, that there is any land on the _borders_ of Virginia
that the Six Nations have a right to, we are willing to make you
satisfaction."

To this speech the Six Nations gave the following animated and decisive
answer:--"All the world knows we conquered the several nations living
on Sasquehanna, Cohongoranto [_i.e._ Powtomack] _and on the back of the
great mountains in Virginia_;--the Conoy-uck-suck-roona,
Cock-now-was-roonan, Tohoa-irough-roonan, and Connutskin-ough-roonaw
_feel_ the effects of our conquests; being now a part of our nations,
and their lands at _our_ disposal. We know very well, it hath often
been said by the Virginians, that the King of England and the people of
that colony conquered the people who lived there; but it is not true.
We will allow, they conquered the Sachdagughronaw, and drove back the
Tuskaroras [the first resided near the branches of James's River in
Virginia, and the latter on these branches] and that they have, on that
account, a right to some parts of Virginia; _but as to what lies beyond
the mountains, we conquered the nations residing there, and that land_,
if the Virginians ever get a _good right to it, it must be by us_."

In the year 1750, the French seized four English traders, who were
trading with the Six Nations, Shawanesse and Delawares, on the waters
of the Ohio, and sent them prisoners to Quebeck, and from thence to
France.

In 1754, the French took a formal possession of the river Ohio, and
built forts at Venango,--at the confluence of the Ohio and Monongehela,
and at the _mouth of the Cherokee River_.

In 1755, General Braddock was sent to America with an army, to remove
the French from their possessions _over_ the Allegany mountains, and on
the river Ohio; and on his arrival at Alexandria, held a council of war
with the Governors of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and
the Massachusets Bay;--And as these gentlemen well knew, that the
country claimed by the French, _over the Allegany mountains, and
South-westerly to the river Mississippi_, was the unquestionable
property of the _six Nations_, and _not_ of the Cherokees, or any other
tribe of Indians,--the General gave instructions to Sir William
Johnson, to call together the Indians of the _Six Nations_, and lay
before them their before-mentioned grant to the King in 1726,--wherein
they had put all their hunting lands _under his Majesty's protection;
to be guaranteed to them, and to their use_:--And as General Braddock's
instructions are clearly declaratory of the right of the Six Nations to
the lands under consideration, we shall here transcribe the conclusive
words of them,--"And it appearing that the French have, from time to
time, by fraud and violence, built strong forts _within the limits of
the said lands_, contrary to the covenant chain of the said deed and
treaties, you are, in my name, to assure the said nations, that I am
come by his Majesty's order, to destroy all the said forts, and to
build such others, _as shall protect and secure the said lands to them,
their heirs and successors for ever_, according to the intent and
spirit of the said treaty; and I do therefore call upon them to take up
the hatchet, _and come and take possession of their own lands_."

That General Braddock and the American Governors, were _not_ singular
in their opinion, as to the right of the Six Nations to the land _over_
the Allegany mountains, and on both sides of the river Ohio, quite to
the Mississippi,--is evident, from the memorials which passed between
the British and French Courts in 1755.

In a memorial delivered by the King's Ministers on the 7th June 1755,
to the Duke Mirepoix, relative to the pretensions of France to the
above-mentioned lands, they very justly observed--"As to the
exposition, which is made in the French memorial of the 15th article of
the treaty of Utrecht, the Court of Great Britain does not think it can
have any foundation, either by the words or the intention of this
treaty.

1st, "The Court of Great Britain cannot allow of this article, relating
only to the persons of the Savages, and _not their country_: The words
of this treaty are clear and precise, that is to say, the Five
_Nations_ or Cantons, are subject to the dominion of Great
Britain,--which, by the received exposition of all treaties, must
relate to the _country_, as well to the persons of the inhabitants;--it
is what France has acknowledged in the most solemn manner;--She has
well weighed the importance of this acknowledgement, at the time of
signing this treaty, and Great Britain can never give it up. The
countries possessed by these Indians, _are very well known, and are not
at all so undetermined_, as it is pretended in the memorial: they
_possess_ and _make them over, as other proprietors do, in all other
places_."

5th, "Whatever pretext might be alledged by France, in considering
these countries as the appurtenances of Canada; _it is a certain truth,
that they have belonged, and_ (as they have not been given up, _or made
over_ to the English) _belong still to the same Indian nations_; which,
by the 15th article of the treaty of Utrecht, France agreed not to
molest,--Nullo in posterum impedimento, aut molestia afficiant."

"Notwithstanding all that has been advanced in this article, the Court
of Great Britain _cannot_ agree to France having the least title to the
river Ohio, and the _territory in question_." [_N.B._ This was all the
country, from the Allegany mountains to the Ohio, and down the same,
and on both sides thereof to the river Mississippi.]

"Even that of possession is not, nor can it be alledged on this
occasion; since France cannot pretend to have had any such before the
treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, nor since, unless it be that of certain
_forts_, unjustly erected lately _on the lands which evidently, belong
to the Five Nations_, or which these have made over to the Crown of
Great Britain or its subjects, as may be proved by treaties and acts of
the greatest authority.--_What_ the Court of Great Britain _maintained,
and what it insists upon_, is, _That the Five Nations of the Iroquois,
acknowledged_ by France, _are_, by origin, or _by right of conquest_
the _lawful proprietors of the river Ohio, and the territory in
question_: And as to the territory, which has been _yielded and made
over by these people_ to Great Britain (which cannot but be owned must
be the most just and lawful manner of making an acquisition of this
sort) she reclaims it, as belonging to her, having continued
cultivating it for above 20 years past, and having made settlements in
several parts of it, from the sources even of the Ohio to
Pichawillanes, in the center of the territory between the Ohio and the
Wabache."

In 1755, the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations were so
solicitous to ascertain the territory of the Six Nations, that Dr.
Mitchel, by their desire, published a large map of North America; and
Mr. Pownal, the present Secretary of the Board of Trade, _then_
certified, as appears on the map,--That the Doctor was furnished with
documents for the purpose from that Board.--In this map Dr. Mitchel
observes, "That the Six Nations have extended their territories, ever
since the year 1672, _when they subdued and were incorporated with the
antient Shawanesse, the native proprietors of these countries, and the
river Ohio_: Besides which, they likewise claim a right of conquest
over the Illinois, and all the Mississippi, as far as they extend.
This," he adds, "is confirmed by their own claims and possessions in
1742, which include all the bounds here laid down, and none have ever
thought fit to dispute them." And, in confirmation of this right of the
Six Nations to the country on the Ohio, as mentioned by the King's
Ministers, in their memorial to the Duke of Mirepoix in 1755, we would
just remark, that the Six Nations, Shawanesse and Delawares, were in
the _actual occupation_ of the lands _Southward_ of the Great Kenhawa
for some time after the French had encroached up on the river Ohio; and
that in the year 1752, these tribes had a large town on Kentucke
River,--238 miles below the _Sioto_:--That in the year 1754, they
resided and hunted on the _Southerly_ side of the river Ohio, in the
_Low Country_, at about 320 miles _below_ the Great Kenhawa;--and in
the year 1755, they had also a large town opposite to the mouth of
Sioto;--_at the very place_, which is the _Southern boundary_ line of
the tract of land applied for by Mr. Walpole and his associates.--But
it is a certain fact, that the Cherokees _never_ had any towns or
settlements in the country, _Southward_ of the Great Kenhawa;--that
they do _not_ hunt there, and that neither the Six Nations, Shawanesse
nor Delawares, do _now_ reside or hunt on the Southerly side of the
river Ohio, nor did _not_ for several years _before_ they sold the
country to the King.--These are facts, which can be easily and fully
proved.

In October 1768, at a congress held with the Six Nations at Fort
Stanwix, they observed to Sir William Johnson: "Now, brother, you who
know all our affairs, must be sensible, that _our_ rights go much
farther to the _Southward_ than the _Kenhawa_,--and that we have a very
good and clear title as far _South_ as the _Cherokee River_, which we
cannot allow to be the right of any other Indians, without doing wrong
to our posterity, and acting unworthy those warriors who fought and
conquered it;--we therefore expect this our right will be considered."

In November 1768, the Six Nations sold to the King all the country on
the Southerly side of the river Ohio, as far as to the Cherokee river;
but notwithstanding that sale, as soon as it was understood in
Virginia, that government _favoured_ the pretensions of the Cherokees,
and that Dr. Walker and Colonel Lewis (the commissioners sent from that
colony to the congress at Fort Stanwix) had returned from thence, the
late Lord Bottetourt sent these gentlemen to Charles-town,
South-Carolina, to endeavour to convince Mr. Stuart, the Southern
superintendent of Indian affairs, of the necessity of enlarging the
boundary line, which he had settled with the Cherokees;--and to run it
from the _Great Kenhawa_ to Holston's river.--These gentlemen were
appointed commissioners by his Lordship, as they had been long
conversant in Indian affairs, and were well acquainted with the actual
extent of the Cherokee country.--Whilst these commissioners were in
South Carolina, they wrote a letter to Mr. Stuart, as he had been but a
very few years in the Indian service, (and could not, from the nature
of his former employment, be supposed to be properly informed about the
Cherokee territory), respecting the claims of the Cherokees to the
lands _Southward_ of the Great Kenhawa, and therein they expressed
themselves as follows:

    "Charles-town, South Carolina,
    February 2, 1769.

    "The country _Southward_ of _the Big Kenhawa was never claimed
    by the Cherokees_, and now is the property of the Crown, as Sir
    William Johnson purchased it of the Six Nations at a very
    considerable expence, and took a deed of cession from them at
    Fort Stanwix."

In 1769, the house of burgesses of the colony of Virginia represented
to Lord Bottetourt, "That they have the greatest reason to fear the
said line," (meaning the boundary line, which the Lords Commissioners
for Trade and Plantations have referred to, in the map annexed to their
Lordships report) "if confirmed, would constantly open to the Indians,
and others _enemies_ to his Majesty, a free and easy ingress to the
heart of the country on the Ohio, Holston's river, and the Great
Kenhawa; whereby the settlements which may be attempted in these
quarters will, in all probability, be utterly destroyed, and _that
great extent of country_ [at least 800 miles in length] _from the mouth
of the Kenhawa_ to the _mouth of the Cherokee river_ extending Eastward
as far as the Laurell Hill, _so lately ceded to his Majesty, to which
no tribe of Indians at present set up any pretensions, will be entirely
abandoned to the Cherokees_; in consequence of which, claims, _totally
destructive_ of the true interest of his Majesty, may at some future
time arise, _and acquisitions justly ranked among the most valuable of
the late war be altogether lost_."

From the foregoing detail of facts, it is obvious,

1st. That the country _Southward_ of the _Great Kenhawa_, at least as
far as the Cherokee river, originally belonged to the Shawanesse.

2d. That the Six Nations, in virtue of their conquest of the
Shawanesse, became the lawful proprietors of that country.

3d. That the King, in consequence of the grant from the Six Nations,
made to his Majesty at Fort Stanwix in 1768, is _now_ vested with the
undoubted right and property thereof. 4th. That the Cherokees _never_
resided, nor hunted in that country, and have _not_ any kind of right
to it.

5th. That the House of Burgesses of the colony of Virginia have, upon
good grounds, asserted, [such as properly arise from the nature of
their stations, and proximity to the Cherokee country], that the
Cherokees had not any just pretensions to the territory _Southward_ of
the Great Kenhawa.

And lastly, That neither the Six Nations, the Shawanesse nor Delawares,
do _now_ reside, or hunt in that country.

From these considerations, it is evident no possible injury can arise
to his Majesty's Service,--to the Six Nations and their
confederacy,--or to the Cherokees, by permitting us to settle the
_whole_ of the lands comprehended within our contract with the Lords
Commissioners of the Treasury:--If, however, there has been any treaty
held with the Six Nations, _since_ the cession made to his Majesty at
Fort Stanwix, whereby the faith of the crown is pledged, both to the
Six Nations and the Cherokees, that no settlements should be made
beyond the line, marked on their Lordships report; we say, if such
agreement has been made by the orders of government with these tribes,
(not withstanding, as the Lords Commissioners have acknowledged, "_the
Six Nations had ceded the property in the lands to his Majesty_)"--We
flatter ourselves, that the objection of their Lordships in the second
paragraph of their Report, will be entirely obviated, by a specific
clause being inserted in the King's grant to us, _expressly prohibiting
us from settling any part of the same_, until such time as we shall
have _first_ obtained his Majesty's allowance, and the full consent of
the Cherokees, and the Six Nations and their confederates, for that
purpose.

III. In regard to the third paragraph of their Lordships Report, that
it was the _principle_ of the board of trade, _after_ the treaty of
Paris, "to _confine_ the western extent of settlements to such a
distance from the sea-coast, as that these settlements should lie
within the _reach_ of the trade and commerce of this kingdom," _&c._ we
shall not presume to controvert;--but it may be observed, that the
settlement of the country _over_ the Allegany mountains, and on the
Ohio, was _not_ understood, either _before_ the treaty of Paris, nor
intended to be so considered by his Majesty's proclamation of October
1763, "as _without the reach of the trade and commerce of this
kingdom_," &c.;--for, in the year 1748, Mr. John Hanbury, and a number
of other gentlemen, petitioned the King for a grant of 500,000 acres of
land _over_ the Allegany mountains, and on the river Ohio and its
branches; and the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations were
_then_ pleased to _report_ to the Lords committee of his Majesty's most
honourable privy council, "_That the settlement of the country, lying
to the westward of the great mountains_, as it was the center of the
British dominions, _would be for his Majesty's interest, and the
advantage and security of Virginia and the neighbouring colonies_."

And on the 23d of February 1748-9, the Lords Commissioners for Trade
and Plantations _again reported_ to the Lords of the committee of the
privy council, that they had "fully _set forth the great utility and
advantage of extending our settlements beyond the great mountains_
("which _Report has been approved of by your Lordships_").--And as, by
these _new_ proposals, there is _a great probability of having a much
larger tract of the said country settled than under the former, we are
of opinion, that it will be greatly for his Majesty's service_, and the
_welfare and security of Virginia, to comply with the prayer of the
petition_."

And on the 16th of March 1748-9, an _instruction_ was sent to the
Governor of Virginia to grant 500,000 acres of land _over the Allegany
mountains_ to the aforesaid Mr. Hanbury and his partners (who are now
_part_ of the company of Mr. Walpole and his associates); and that
instruction sets forth, That "_such settlements will be for our
interest_, and the _advantage and security of our said colony, as well
as the advantage of the neighbouring ones_;--inasmuch as our loving
subjects _will be thereby enabled to cultivate a friendship, and carry
on a more extensive commerce_ with the nations of Indians inhabiting
those parts; _and such examples may likewise induce the neighbouring
colonies to turn their thoughts towards designs of the same
nature_."--Hence we apprehend, it is evident, that a former board of
trade, at which Lord Halifax presided, was of opinion, that settlements
_over_ the Allegany mountains were not against the King's interest,
_nor_ at such a distance from the sea-coast, as to _be without_ "the
_reach_ of the trade and commerce of this kingdom," nor _where_ its
authority or jurisdiction could not be exercised.--But the _Report_
under consideration suggests, that two capital objects of the
proclamation of 1763 were, _to confine_ future settlements to the
"sources of the rivers which fall into the sea from the West and
North-West," (or, in other Words, to the _Eastern side of the Allegany
mountains_) and to the three new governments of Canada, East Florida,
and West Florida;--and to establish this fact, the Lords Commissioners
for Trade and Plantations recite a part of that proclamation.

But if the _whole_ of this proclamation is considered, it will be found
to contain the nine following heads; viz.[1]

      [1] Vide the Proclamation in the Appendix, No. 1.

1st, To declare to his Majesty's subjects, that he had erected four
distinct and separate governments in America; viz. Quebec, East
Florida, West Florida, and Grenada.

2d, To ascertain the respective boundaries of these four new
governments.

3d, To testify the royal sense and approbation of the conduct and
bravery, both of the officers and soldiers of the King's army, and of
the reduced officers of the navy, who had served in North America, and
to reward them, by grants of lands in Quebec, and in East and West
Florida, without fee or reward.

4th, To hinder the governors of Quebec, East Florida and West Florida,
from granting warrants of survey, or passing patents for lands,
_beyond_ the bounds of their respective governments.

5th, To forbid the governors of any other colonies or plantations in
America, from granting warrants or passing patents for lands, _beyond_
the heads or sources of any of the rivers, which fall into the Atlantic
Ocean from the west or north-west, or upon any lands whatever, "_which,
not having been_ CEDED _to or purchased by the King_, are reserved to
the said Indians, or any of them."

6th, To reserve, "_for the present_," under the King's sovereignty,
protection, and dominion, _for the use of the said Indians_, all the
lands _not_ included within the limits of the said three new
governments, or within the limits of the Hudson's Bay company; as also,
all the lands lying to the westward of the sources of the rivers, which
fall into the sea from the west and north-west, and forbidding the
King's subjects, from making any purchases of settlements whatever, or
taking possession of the lands _so reserved_, without his Majesty's
leave and licence first obtained.

7th, To require all persons, who had made settlements on lands, _not_
purchased by the King from the Indians, to remove from such
settlements.

8th, To regulate the future purchases of lands from the Indians, within
such parts as his Majesty, by that proclamation, permitted settlements
to be made.

9th, To declare, that the trade with the Indians should be free and
open to all his Majesty's subjects, and to prescribe the manner how it
shall be carried on.

And lastly, To require all military officers, and the superintendants
of Indian affairs, to seize and apprehend all persons who stood charged
with treasons, murders, &c. and who had fled from justice, and taken
refuge in the reserved lands of the Indians, to send such persons to
the colony, _where_ they stood accused.

From this proclamation, therefore, it is obvious, that the sole design
of it, independent of the establishment of the three new governments,
ascertaining their respective boundaries, rewarding the officers and
soldiers, and regulating the Indian trade, and apprehending felons, was
to _convince_ the Indians "of his Majesty's justice and determined
resolution to remove all reasonable cause of discontent," by
interdicting all settlements on land, not _ceded to or purchased by his
Majesty_; and declaring it to be, as we have already mentioned, his
royal will and pleasure, "for _the present, to reserve_, under his
sovereignty, protection, and dominion, _for the use of the Indians_,
all the lands and territories lying to the westward of the sources of
the rivers which fall into the sea from the west and north-west."--Can
any words express more decisively the royal intention?--Do they not
explicitly mention, That the territory is, _at present_, reserved under
his Majesty's protection, _for the use of the Indians_?--And as the
Indians had _no use_ for those lands, which are bounded _westerly_ by
the _south-east side_ of the river Ohio, either for residence or
hunting, they were willing to sell them; and accordingly did sell them
to the King in November 1768, (the occasion of which sale will be fully
explained in our observations on the succeeding paragraphs of the
_Report_).--Of course, the proclamation, so far as it regarded the
settlement of the lands included within that purchase, has absolutely
and undoubtedly ceased.--The late Mr. Grenville, who was, at the time
of issuing this proclamation, the minister of this kingdom, always
admitted, that the design of it was totally accomplished, _so soon as
the country was purchased of the natives_.

IV. In this paragraph, the Lords Commissioners for Trade and
Plantations mention two reasons for his Majesty's entering into
engagements with the Indians, for fixing a _more precise and
determinate boundary line_, than was settled by the proclamation of
October 1763, viz.

1st, Partly for want of _precision_ in the one intended to be marked by
the proclamation of 1763.

2d, And partly from a consideration of justice in regard to _legal
titles to lands_.

We have, we presume, fully proved, in our observations on the third
paragraph,--That the design of the proclamation, so far as it related
to lands _westward_ of the Allegany mountains, was for no other purpose
than to _reserve_ them, under his Majesty's protection, for _the
present, for the use of the Indians_; to which we shall only add, That
the line established by the proclamation, so far as it concerned the
lands in question, could _not_ possibly be fixed and described with
more _precision_, than the proclamation itself describes it; for it
declares,--That "all the lands and territories lying to the westward of
the sources of the rivers, _which fall into the sea from the west and
north-west_," should be reserved under his Majesty's protection.

Neither, in our opinion, was his Majesty induced to enter into
engagements with the Indians for fixing a more _precise_ and
determinate boundary "_partly from a consideration of justice, in
regard to legal titles to lands_,"--for there were _none_ such (as we
shall prove) comprehended within the tract _now_ under consideration.

But for a full comprehension of ALL the reasons for his Majesty's
"entering into engagements with the Indians, for fixing a more precise
and determinate boundary line," than was settled by the royal
proclamation of Oct. 1763, we shall take the liberty of stating the
following facts:--In the year 1764, the King's ministers had it _then_
in contemplation, to obtain an act of parliament for the proper
regulation of the Indian commerce; and providing a fund, (by laying a
duty on the trade) for the support of superintendants, commissaries,
interpreters, &c. at particular forts in the Indian country, _where_
the trade was to be carried on:--And as a part of this system, it was
thought proper, in order to avoid future complaints from the Indians,
on account of encroachments on their hunting grounds, to purchase a
large tract of territory from them, and establish, with their consent,
a respectable _boundary line_, beyond which his Majesty's subjects
should _not_ be permitted to settle.

In consequence of this system, orders were transmitted to Sir William
Johnson, in the year 1764, to call together the Six Nations,--lay this
proposition of the _boundary_ before them, and take their opinion upon
it.--This, we apprehend, will appear evident from the following speech,
made by Sir William to the Six Nations, at a conference which he held
with them, at Johnson Hall, May the 2d, 1765.

    BRETHREN,

    "The last but the most important affair I have at this time to
    mention, is with regard to the _settling a boundary between you and
    the English_. I sent a message to some of your nations some time
    ago, to acquaint you, that I should confer with you at this meeting
    upon it. The King, whose generosity and forgiveness you have
    already experienced, _being very desirous to put a final end to
    disputes between his people and_ YOU CONCERNING LANDS, and to do
    you strict justice, has fallen upon the plan of a boundary between
    our provinces and the Indians (which no white man shall dare to
    invade) as the best and surest method of ending such like disputes,
    and _securing your property_ to you, beyond a possibility of
    disturbance. This will, I hope, appear to you so reasonable, so
    just on the part of the King, and so advantageous to you and your
    posterity, that I can have no doubt of your chearfully joining with
    me in settling such a division-line, as will be best for the
    advantage of both white men and Indians, _and as shall best agree
    with the extent and increase of each province_, and the governors,
    whom I shall consult upon that occasion, so soon as I am fully
    empowered; but in the mean time I am desirous to know in what
    manner you would choose to extend it, and what you will heartily
    agree to, and abide by, in general terms. At the same time I am to
    acquaint you, that whenever the whole is settled, and that it shall
    appear you have _so far consulted the increasing state of our
    people, as to make any convenient cessions of ground_ where it is
    most wanted, that then you will receive a considerable present in
    return for your friendship."

To this speech the Sachems and Warriors of the Six Nations, after
conferring some time among themselves, gave an answer to Sir William
Johnson, and agreed to the proposition of the boundary line;--which
answer, and the other transactions of this conference, Sir William
transmitted to the office of the Lords Commissioners for Trade and
Plantations.--

From a change of the administration, which formed the above system of
obtaining an act of parliament for regulating the Indian trade, and
establishing the _boundary line_, or from some other public cause,
unknown to us,--no measures were adopted, until the latter end of the
year 1767, for _completing_ the negotiation about this boundary
line.--But in the mean time, viz. between the years 1765 and 1768,--the
King's subjects removed in _great_ numbers from Virginia, Maryland, and
Pennsylvania, and settled _over_ the mountains,--upon which account,
the Six Nations became so irritated, that in the year 1766 they killed
several persons, and denounced a general war against the middle
colonies; and to appease them, and to avoid such a public calamity, a
detachment of the 42d regiment of root was _that year_ sent from the
garrison of Fort Pitt, to remove such settlers as were seated at _Red
Stone Creek_, &c.--but the endeavours and threats of that detachment
proved ineffectual, and they returned to the garrison, without being
able to execute their orders.--The complaints of the Six Nations
however continuing and _increasing_, on account of the settling of
their lands _over_ the mountains, General Gage wrote to the Governor of
Pennsylvania on the 7th of December 1767, and after mentioning these
complaints, he observed, "_You are a witness how little attention has
been paid to the several proclamations that have been published; and
that even the removing those people from the lands in question_, which
_was attempted this summer by the garrison at Fort Pitt_, has _been
only a temporary expedient_. We learn they are _returned again_ to the
same _encroachments_ on Red Stone Creek and Cheat River in _greater
numbers than ever_."[2]

      [2] Vide p. 47.

On the 5th of January 1768, the governor of Pennsylvania sent a message
to the general assembly of the province with the foregoing letter from
General Gage,--and on the 13th the assembly in the conclusion of a
message to the governor on the subject of Indian complaints, observed,
"To obviate which cause of their discontent, and effectually to
establish between them and his Majesty's subjects a durable peace, we
are of opinion, that a speedy _confirmation_ of the _boundary_, and a
just satisfaction made to them for their lands on this side of it, are
absolutely necessary. By this means all their present complaints of
encroachments will be removed, and the people on our frontiers will
have a sufficient country _to settle or hunt in, without interfering
with them_."

On the 19th of January 1768, Mr. Galloway, the speaker of the assembly
in Pennsylvania, and the committee of correspondence, wrote on the
subject of the Indians disquietude, by order of the house, to their
agents Richard Jackson and Benjamin Franklin, Esquires, in London, and
therein they said, "That the delay of the confirmation of the
_boundary_, the natives have warmly complained of, _and that although
they have received no consideration_ for the _lands agreed to be ceded
to the crown on our_ side of the boundary, _yet that its subjects are
daily settling and occupying those very lands_."

In April 1768, the legislature of Pennsylvania finding that the
expectations of an Indian war were hourly increasing, _occasioned by
the settlement of the lands over the mountains_, not sold by the
natives; and flattering themselves, that orders would soon arrive from
England for the perfection of the boundary line, they voted the sum of
one thousand pounds, to be given as a present, in blankets, strouds,
&c. to the Indians upon the Ohio, with a view of moderating their
resentment, until these orders should arrive:--and the governor of
Pennsylvania being informed, that a treaty was soon to be held at Fort
Pitt by George Croghan, Esq; deputy agent of Indian affairs, by order
of General Gage and Sir William Johnson, he sent his secretary and
another gentleman, as commissioners from the Province, to deliver the
above present to the Indians at Fort Pitt.

On the 2d of May 1768, the Six Nations made the following speech at
that conference:

    "BROTHER,

    "It is not without grief that we see our country _settled by you_,
    without our knowledge or consent; and it is a long time since we
    complained to you of this grievance, which we find has not yet been
    redressed; but _settlements_ are still _extending further into our
    country_: some of them are made directly on our war-path, leading
    to our enemies' country, and we do not like it. Brother, you have
    _laws among you_ to govern your people by; and it will be the
    strongest proof of the sincerity of your friendship, to let us see
    that you remove the people from our lands; as we look upon it,
    _they will have time enough to settle them, when you have purchased
    them, and the country becomes yours_."

The Pennsylvania commissioners, in answer to this speech, informed the
Six Nations, that the governor of that province had sent four gentlemen
with his proclamation and the act of assembly (making it _felony of
death_ without benefit of clergy, to continue on Indian lands) to such
settlers _over_ the mountains as were seated, within the limits of
Pennsylvania, requiring them to vacate their settlements, but all to no
avail:--That the governor of Virginia had likewise, to as little
purpose, issued his proclamations and orders, and that General Gage had
twice _ineffectually_ sent parties of soldiers to remove the settlers
from Red Stone Creek and Monongehela.

As soon as Mr. Jackson and Dr. Franklin received the foregoing
instructions from the general assembly of Pennsylvania, they waited
upon the American minister, and urged the expediency and necessity of
the boundary line being speedily concluded; and in consequence thereof,
additional orders were immediately transmitted to Sir William Johnson
for that purpose.

It is plain therefore, that the proclamation of October 1763 was _not_
designed, as the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations have
suggested, to signify the policy of this kingdom, _against_ settlements
_over_ the Allegany mountains, _after_ the King had actually purchased
the territory; and that the _true_ reasons for purchasing the lands
comprized within that boundary, were to avoid an Indian rupture, and
give an opportunity to the King's subjects, quietly and lawfully to
settle thereon.

V. Whether the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations are well
founded in their declarations, That the lands under consideration "_are
out of all advantageous intercourse with this kingdom_," shall be fully
considered in our observations on the sixth paragraph;--and as to "the
various propositions for erecting new colonies in the _interior parts_,
which their Lordships say, have been, in consequence of the extension
of the boundary line, submitted to the consideration of government,
particularly in _that part of the country_, wherein are situated the
lands now prayed for, and the danger of complying with such proposals
have been so obvious, as to _defeat_ every attempt for carrying them
into execution,"--we shall only observe on this paragraph, that as we
do not know what these propositions were, or upon what principle the
proposers have been _defeated_, it is impossible for us to judge,
whether they are any ways applicable to our case.--Consistent however
with our knowledge, no more than one proposition, for the settlement of
a _part_ of the lands in question, has been presented to government,
and that was from Dr. Lee, 32 other Americans, and two Londoners, in
the year 1768, praying that his Majesty would _grant_ to them, without
_any purchase-money_, 2,500,000 acres of land _in one or more surveys_,
to be located between the 38th and 42d degrees of latitude, _over the
Allegany mountains_, and on condition of their possessing these lands
12 _years_ WITHOUT _the payment of any quit-rent_, (the same _not_ to
begin until the whole 2,500,000 acres were surveyed) and that they
should be obliged to settle only 200 _families in_ 12 _years_.--Surely,
the Lords Commissioners did not mean this proposition as one that was
similar, and would _apply_ to the case now _reported_ upon;--and
especially as Dr. Lee and his associates did not propose, as we do,
either to purchase the lands, or pay the quit-rents to his Majesty,
_neat and clear of all deductions_, or be at the _whole_ expence of
establishing and maintaining the civil government of the country.

VI. In the sixth paragraph the Lords Commissioners observe, That
"_every argument on the subject_, respecting the settlement of the
lands in that part of the country now prayed for, _is collected
together with great force and precision in a representation made to his
Majesty_ by the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations, in March
1768."

That it may be clearly understood, what was the occasion of this
_representation_, we shall take the liberty of mentioning, that on the
first of October 1767, and during the time that the Earl of Shelburne
was Secretary of State for the southern department, an idea was
entertained of forming, "_at the expence of the crown_," three _new
governments_ in North America, _viz._ one at _Detroit_ [on the waters
between Lake Huron and Lake Erie]; one in the _Illinois Country_, and
one on the _lower_ part of the River Ohio; and in consequence such
idea, a _reference_ was made by his lordship to the Lords Commissioners
for Trade and Plantations, for their opinion upon these proposed _new_
governments.

Having plainly explained the cause of the _representation_, which is so
very strongly and earnestly insisted upon by the Lords Commissioners
for Trade and Plantations, as containing "_every argument on the
subject_ of the lands which is at present before your lordships;" we
shall now give our reasons for apprehending, _that it_ is so far from
applying against our case, that it actually declares a permission would
be given to settle the very lands in question.

Three principal reasons are assigned in the _representation_, "as
conducive to the great object of colonizing upon the continent of North
America, _viz._"

1st. "Promoting the advantageous fishery carried on upon the _northern
coast_."

2dly. "Encouraging the growth and culture of naval stores, and of _raw
materials_, to be transported hither, in exchange for perfect
manufactures and other merchandize."

3dly. "Securing a supply of lumber, provisions, and other necessaries,
for the support of our establishments in the American islands."

On the first of these reasons, we apprehend, it is not necessary for us
to make many observations; as the provinces of New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, and the colonies _southward_ of
them, have _not_, and from the nature of their situation and commerce
will _not_, promote the _fishery_, more, it is conceived, than the
proposed Ohio colony.--These provinces are, however, beneficial to this
kingdom, in the culture and exportation of different articles;--as it
is humbly presumed the Ohio colony _will_ likewise be, if the
production of _staple commodities_ is allowed to be within that
description.

On the 2d and 3d general reasons of the _Representation_ we shall
observe, that no part of his Majesty's dominions in North America, will
require less _encouragement_ "for the growth and culture of naval
stores and raw materials; and for the supplying the islands with
lumber, provisions," &c. than the solicited colony on the Ohio;--and
for the following reasons:

First, The lands in question are excellent, the climate temperate, the
native grapes, silk-worms, and mulberry trees, are every where; hemp
grows spontaneously in the valleys and low lands; iron-ore is plenty in
the hills; and no soil is better adapted for the culture of tobacco,
flax, and cotton, than that of the Ohio.

Second, The country is well watered by several navigable rivers,
communicating with each other; and by which, and a short land-carriage
of _only 40 miles_, the produce of the lands of the Ohio can, even
_now_, be sent _cheaper_ to the sea-port town of Alexandria, on the
river Potomack (where General Braddoc's transports landed his troops)
than any kind of merchandise is at this time sent _from Northampton to
London_.

Third, The river Ohio is, at _all_ seasons of the year, navigable for
large boats, like the West Country barges, rowed only by four or five
men; and from the month of January to the month of April, large ships
may be built on the Ohio, and sent laden with _hemp_, _iron_, _flax_,
_silk_, &c. to this kingdom.

Fourth, Flour, corn, beef, ship-plank, and other necessaries, can be
sent down the stream of Ohio to West Florida, and from thence to the
islands, much cheaper, and in better order, than from New York or
Philadelphia. Fifth, Hemp, tobacco, iron, and such bulky articles, can
also be sent _down_ the _stream_ of the Ohio to the sea, at least 50
per centum cheaper than these articles were ever carried by a land
carriage, of only 60 miles, in Pennsylvania;--where _waggonage_ is
cheaper than in any other part of North America.

Sixth, The expence of transporting British manufactories from the sea
to the Ohio colony, will _not_ be so much, as is now paid and must ever
be paid, to a great part of the counties of _Pennsylvania_, _Virginia_,
and _Maryland_.

From this state of facts, we apprehend, it is clear, that the lands in
question are altogether capable, and will advantageously admit, from
their fertility, situation, and the small expence attending the
exporting the produce of them to this kingdom,--"of _conducing_ to the
great object of colonizing upon the continent of North America:"--But
that we may more particularly elucidate this important point, we shall
take the freedom of observing,--That it is _not_ disputed, but even
acknowledged, by the very _Report_ now under consideration,--that the
climate and soil of the Ohio are as favourable, as we have described
them;--and as to the native silk worms,--it is a truth, that _above_
10,000 weight of cocoons was, in August 1771, sold at the public
filature in Philadelphia;--and that the silk produced from the _native_
worm is of a good quality, and has been much approved of in this
city.--As to _hemp_, we are ready to make it appear, that it grows, as
we have represented, spontaneously, and of a good texture on the
Ohio,--When, therefore, the _increasing_ dependance of this kingdom
upon _Russia_, for this very article, is considered, and that none has
been exported from the _sea coast American colonies_, as their soil
will not easily produce it,--this dependance must surely be admitted as
a subject of great national consequence, and worthy of the serious
attention of government. Nature has pointed out to us, _where_ any
quantity of hemp can be soon and easily raised, and by that means, not
only a large amount of specie may be retained _yearly_ in this kingdom,
but our own subjects can be employed most advantageously, and paid in
the _manufactures_ of this kingdom. The state of the Russian trade is
briefly thus:

    From the year 1722 to 1731,--250 ships were, on a
    medium, sent each year to St. Petersburgh, Narva, Riga,
    and Archangel, for _hemp_,                     250 Ships.

    And from the year 1762 to 1771,--500 ships were
    also sent for that purpose,                         500
                                                        ----------
    _Increase_ in ten years,                       250 Ships.

Here then, it is obvious that in the last _ten_ years there was, on a
medium, an increase of 250 ships in the Russian trade. Can it be
consistent with the wisdom and policy of the greatest naval and
commercial nation in the world, to depend wholly on _foreigners_ for
the supply of an article, in which is included the very existence of
her navy and commerce? Surely not; and especially when God has blessed
us with a country yielding _naturally_ the very commodity, which draws
our money from us, and renders us _dependent_ on Russia for it[3].--

      [3] "It is in settlements on the Mississippi and Ohio that we
      must look for _hemp_ and _flax_, which may in those fertile
      tracts be cultivated in such abundance, as to enable us to
      _undersell_ all the world, as well as supply our own consumption.
      It is on those _high_, _dry_, and _healthy_ lands, that vineyards
      would be cultivated to the best advantage, as many of those hills
      contain quarries of stone, and not in the _low, unhealthy sea
      coasts_ of our present colonies. Of such infinite consequence to
      Britain is the _production of staples_ in her colonies, that were
      all the people of the _Northern_ settlements, and all of the
      _tobacco_ ones (except those actually employed in raising
      tobacco) now spread over those parts of our territories to the
      Southward and _Westward_, and consequently employed in the same
      manner as the few are who do reside therein, Britain, in such a
      case, would _export_ to the amount of above _nine millions more_
      in manufactures, &c. than she does at present, without reckoning
      the infinite _increase in public revenue, freight, and seamen_,
      which would accrue. To enlarge upon all the advantages of such a
      change, would be _impertinence_ itself."

      _Political Essays concerning the British Empire._

As we have only hitherto _generally_ stated the _small_ expence of
carriage between the waters of Potomack and those of the Ohio, we shall
now endeavour to shew how very ill founded the Lords for Trade and
Plantations are, in the fifth paragraph of their _report_, viz. That
the lands in question "_are out of all advantageous intercourse with
this kingdom_." In order however, that a proper opinion may be formed
on this important article, we shall take the liberty of stating the
particular expence of carriage, _even during_ the last _French war_
(when there was no _back_ carriage from the Ohio to Alexandria) as it
will be found, it was even _then_ only about a _halfpenny per_ pound,
as will appear from the following account, the truth of which we shall
fully ascertain, _viz._

    From Alexandria to Fort   _l._   _s._   _d._
    Cumberland, by water.        0           1           7 _per cwt._

    From Fort Cumberland to Redstone Creek, at 14
    dollars _per_ waggon load; each waggon carrying
    15 cwt.                      0           4           2
                                 -------------------------
                                 0           5           9

Note, The distance was _then_ 70 miles, but by a _new_ waggon road,
_lately_ made, it is _now_ but forty miles--a saving of course, of
above one half the 5_s._ 9_d._ is _at present_ experienced.

If it is considered that this rate of carriage was _in time of war_,
and _when_ there were no inhabitants on the Ohio, we cannot doubt but
every intelligent mind will be satisfied, that it is now much _less_
than is daily paid in London for the carriage of _coarse woollens_,
_cutlery_, _iron ware_, &c. from several counties in England.

The following is the cost of carriage from Birmingham, &c. _viz._

    From Birmingham to London, is       4_s. per_ cwt.
    From Walsall in Staffordshire       5_s._
    From Sheffield                      8_s._
    From Warrington                     7_s._

If the lands which are at present under consideration are, as the Lords
Commissioners for Trade and Plantations _say, "out of all advantageous
intercourse with this kingdom_," we are at a loss to conceive by
what standard that Board calculates the rate of "advantageous
intercourse."--If the King's subjects, settled over the Allegany
mountains, and on the Ohio, within the _new_-erected county of Bedford,
in the province of Pennsylvania, are altogether cloathed with British
manufacture, as is the case, is that country "out of all advantageous
intercourse with this kingdom?"--If merchants in London are _now_
actually shipping British manufactures for the use _of the very
settlers_ on the lands in question, does that exportation come within
the Lords Commissioners description of what is "out of all advantageous
intercourse with this kingdom?" In short, the Lords Commissioners
admit, upon their own principles, that it is a political and
advantageous intercourse with this kingdom, _when_ the settlements and
settlers are confined to the _Eastern_ side of the Allegany mountains.
Shall then the expence of carriage, even of the very coarsest and
heaviest cloths, or other articles, from the _mountains_ to the Ohio,
only about 70 miles, and which will not, at most, _encrease_ the price
of carriage _above a halfpenny a yard_, convert the trade and connexion
with the settlers on the Ohio, into a predicament "that shall be,
as the Lords Commissioners have said, _out_ of all advantageous
intercourse with this kingdom?"--On the whole, "if the poor Indians in
the remote parts of North America are _now_ able to pay for the linens,
woollens, and iron ware, they are furnished with by English traders,
though Indians have nothing but what they get by hunting, and the goods
are loaded with all the impositions fraud and knavery can contrive, to
_inhance_ their value; will not industrious English farmers," employed
in the culture of hemp, flax, silk, &c. "be able to pay for what shall
be brought to them in the fair way of commerce;" and especially when it
is remembered, that there is _no_ other _allowable_ market for the sale
of these articles than in this kingdom?--And if "the growths of _the_
country find their way out of it, will not the manufactures of this
kingdom, _where_ the hemp, &c. must be sent to, find their way into
it?"

Whether Nova Scotia, and East and West Florida have yielded advantages
and returns equal to the enormous sums expended in founding and
supporting them, or even advantages, such as the Lords Commissioners
for Trade and Plantations, in their _representation_ of 1768, seemed to
expect, it is not our business to investigate:--it is, we presume,
sufficient for us to mention, that those "many principal persons in
Pennsylvania," as is observed in the _representation_, "whose names and
association lie before your Majesty in Council, for the purpose of
making settlements in Nova Scotia," have, several years since, been
convinced of the impracticability of exciting settlers to move from the
_middle colonies_, and settle in that province; and even of those who
were prevailed on to go to Nova Scotia, the greater part of them
returned with great complaints against the severity and length of the
Winters.

As to East and West Florida, it is, we are persuaded, morally
impossible to _force_ the people of the _middle_ provinces, between 37
and 40 degrees North latitude (where there is plenty of vacant land in
their own temperate climate) to remove to the scorching, unwholesome
heats of these provinces[4]. The inhabitants of Montpelier might as
soon and as easily be persuaded to remove to the Northern parts of
Russia, or to Senegal.--In short, it is contending with Nature, and the
experience of all ages, to attempt to compel a people, _born_ and
_living in a temperate climate_, and in the neighbourhood of a rich,
healthful, and uncultivated country, to travel several hundred miles to
a _sea port_ in order to make a _voyage to sea_; and settle either in
extreme hot or cold latitudes. If the county of York was vacant and
uncultivated, and the more _Southern_ inhabitants of this island were
in want of land, would they suffer themselves to be driven to the
_North of Scotland_?--Would they not, in spite of all opposition,
_first_ possess themselves of that fertile country?--Thus much we have
thought necessary to remark, in respect to the general principles laid
down in the _representation_ of 1768; and we hope we have shewn, that
the arguments _therein_ made use of, do _not_ in any degree militate
against the subject in question; but that they were intended, and do
solely apply to "new colonies proposed to be established," as the
_representation_ says, "_at an expence to this kingdom_," at the
distance of "above 1500 miles from the sea, which from their inability
to find returns, _wherewith_ to pay for the manufactures of Great
Britain, will be probably led to manufacture for themselves, _as they
would_," continues the _representation_, "be separated from the _old_
colonies by immense tracts of unpeopled desart."--

      [4] "We think of nothing but extending our settlements still
      further on these _pestiferous sea coasts_, even to the sunken
      lagunes of _East Florida_, and the barren sands of _Mobile_ and
      _Pensacola_. The only use of _new settlements in North America_,
      is for the people in the _Northern_ and other colonies, who want
      lands _to make staple commodities_ for _Britain_, to _remove to
      them: but none will ever go to Florida, or thrive in it, more
      than_ they have done in _Carolina_ and _Georgia_. The climate of
      _Florida_ is _more_ intemperate, the lands _more_ barren, and the
      situation _much worse_ in every respect."

      _State of Great Britain and America, by Dr._ Mitchel.

It now only remains for us to enquire, whether it was the intention of
the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations in 1768, that the
territory, which would be included within the _boundary line_, then
negociating with the Indians (and which was the _one_ that was _that
year_ perfected) should continue a useless wilderness, or be settled
and occupied by his Majesty's subjects.--The very _representation_
itself, which the present Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations
say, contains "_every argument on the subject_," furnishes us an ample
and satisfactory solution to this important question.--The Lord
Commissioners in 1768, after pronouncing their opinion _against_ the
_proposed three new governments_, as above stated, declare, "They ought
to be carefully guarded against, by encouraging the settlement of that
extensive tract of sea coast hitherto unoccupied; which, say their
Lordships, _together with the liberty, that the inhabitants_ OF THE
_middle colonies_ WILL HAVE (in consequence of the proposed _boundary
line_ with the Indians) _of gradually extending themselves backwards_,
will _more effectually_ and _beneficially answer_ the object of
_encouraging population_ and _consumption_, than the erection of new
governments; such gradual extension might, through the medium of a
continual population, upon even the same extent of territory,
_preserve_ a communication of mutual commercial benefits between its
extremest parts and Great Britain, _impossible to exist in colonies
separated by immense tracts of unpeopled desart_."--Can any opinion be
more clear and conclusive, in _favour_ of the proposition which we have
humbly submitted to his Majesty?--for their Lordships positively say,
that the inhabitants of the middle colonies _will have liberty of
gradually extending themselves backwards_;--but is it not very
extraordinary, that after near _two years_ deliberation, the present
Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations should make a _report_ to
the Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council, and therein expressly
refer to that opinion of 1768, in which, they say, "_every argument on
the subject is collected together with great force and precision_," and
yet that, almost in the same breath, their Lordships "should contravene
that very opinion, and advise his Majesty _to check the progress of
their settlements_?"--And that "settlements in _that distant part_ of
the country ought to be _discouraged_ as much as possible, and another
proclamation should be issued declaratory of his Majesty's resolution,
_not_ to allow, _for the present_, any new settlement beyond the
line;"--to wit, beyond the Allegany mountains?--How strange and
contradictory is this conduct?--But we forbear any strictures upon
it;--and shall conclude our remarks on this head, by stating the
opinion, at different times, of the Lords Commissioners for Trade and
Plantations, on this subject.

In 1748, their Lordships expressed the strongest desire to promote
settlements _over_ the mountains and on the Ohio.--

In 1768--The then Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations
declared, (in consequence of the boundary line at that time
negociating)--That the inhabitants of the _middle colonies_ would _have
liberty of gradually extending themselves backwards_.

In 1770--The Earl of Hillsborough actually _recommended_ the purchase
of a tract of land _over_ the mountains, sufficient for a new colony,
and then went down to the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, to know,
whether their Lordships would treat with Mr. Walpole and his
associates, for such purchase.

In 1772--The Earl of Hillsborough, and the other Lords Commissioners
for Trade and Plantations, made a _report_ on the petition of Mr.
Walpole and his associates, and referred to the _representation_ of the
Board of Trade in 1768, "as containing _every argument_ on the
_subject, collected together with force and precision_;"--which
_representation_ declared, as we have shewn, "_That the inhabitants of
the middle colonies_ WILL _have liberty to extend backwards_," on the
identical lands in question; and yet, notwithstanding such _reference_,
so strongly made from the present Board of Trade to the opinion of that
Board,--the Earl of Hillsborough, and the other Lords Commissioners for
Trade and Plantations, have _now_, in direct terms, _reported against_
the absolute engagement and opinion of the Board in 1768.

It may be asked, What was intended by the expressions in the
_representation_ of 1768, of _gradually extending themselves
backwards_? It is answered, They were only in contradistinction to the
proposal of erecting at that time _three new governments at Detroit_,
&c. and thereby exciting, as the _representation_ says, the stream of
population to _various_ distant places.--In short, it was, we think,
beyond all doubt, the "_precise_" opinion of the Lords Commissioners in
1768, That the territory, within the boundary line, then negociating,
and since completed, would be sufficient at that time--to answer the
object of population and consumption; and that, until that territory
was fully occupied,--it was not necessary to erect the proposed _three
new governments_ "_at an expence to this kingdom_," in places, as their
Lordships observed, "separated by immense tracts of unpeopled
desart."--

To conclude our observations on the 6th paragraph, we would just
remark,--That we presume we have demonstrated, that the inhabitants of
the Middle Colonies _cannot_ be compelled to _exchange_ the soil and
climate of these colonies, either for the severe colds of Nova Scotia
and Canada, or the unwholesome heats of East and West Florida. Let us
next enquire, what would be the effect of _confining_ these inhabitants
(if it was practicable) within narrow bounds, and thereby preventing
them from exercising their natural inclination of cultivating
lands?--and whether such restriction would not force them into
_manufactures_, to rival the Mother Country?--To these questions, the
Lords Commissioners have, with much candour, replied in their
representation of 1768,--We "admit," said their Lordships, "as an
undeniable principle of _true policy_, that, with a view to _prevent
manufactures_, it is necessary and proper _to open_ an extent of
territory for colonization, _proportioned_ to an _increase_ of people,
as a large number of inhabitants cooped up in narrow limits, without a
sufficiency of land _for produce_, would be compelled to _convert_
their attention and industry to _manufactures_."--But their Lordships
at the same time observed,--"That the _encouragement_ given to the
settlement of the Colonies upon the sea coast, and the effect which
such encouragement has had, has already _effectually_ provided for this
object."--In what parts of North America this _encouragement_ has thus
_provided_ for _population_, their Lordships have not mentioned. If
the establishment of the governments of Quebeck, Nova Scotia, and the
Island of St. John's, or East and West Florida, was intended by their
Lordships as that effectual provision,--we shall presume to deny the
proposition, by asserting, as an undoubted truth,--that although there
is at least a _million_ of subjects in the Middle Colonies, none have
emigrated from thence, and settled in these _new_ provinces;--and
for that reason, and from the very nature of colonization itself, we
affirm that none _will ever_ be induced _to exchange_ the healthy,
temperate climate of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, for the
extreme colds or heats of Canada and Nova Scotia, or East and West
Florida:--In short, it is not in the power of Government to give any
encouragement, that can compensate for a desertion of friends and
neighbours,--dissolution of family connexions, and abandoning a soil
and climate infinitely superior to those of Canada, Nova Scotia, or
the Floridas.--Will not therefore the inhabitants of the middle
provinces, whose population is great beyond example[5], and who have
already made some advances in manufactures, "by confining them to
their present narrow limits," be necessarily compelled to convert
their whole attention to that object? How then shall this, in the
nature of things, be prevented, except, as the Lords Commissioners
have justly remarked, "by opening an extent of territory proportioned
_to their increase_?"--But _where_ shall a territory be found proper
for "the _colonization_ of the inhabitants of the Middle Colonies?"
We answer,--in the very country, which the Lords Commissioners have
aid that the inhabitants of these colonies would have liberty to
settle in;--a country which his Majesty has purchased from the Six
Nations;--one, _where_ several thousands of his subjects are already
settled;--and one, _where_ the Lords Commissioners have acknowledged,
"a gradual extension might through the medium of a continued
population, upon even the same extent of territory, _preserve a
communication_ of mutual commercial benefits _between_ its _extremest
parts_ and Great Britain."[6]

      [5] "Besides _staple_ commodities, there is another more material
      point to be considered in the colonies, which is their great and
      daily _increase_; and for which, unless we make provision in
      time, they can never subsist by a _dependance on Britain_. There
      are at present (in the year 1770) nigh _three_ millions of people
      in them, who may, in twenty or thirty years, _increase_ to _six_
      millions, as many as there are in England."

      _Wynne's History of the British Empire in America, vol. ii. page
      398._

      [6] Thus the use the nation has for new settlements and
      acquisitions in North America is for the great increase of the
      people who are already there, and to enable them to subsist _by a
      dependance upon her_; which they can never do, _unless they
      extend their settlements_.

      _Wynne's History, vol. ii. p. 399._

      "Unprejudiced men well know, that all the penal and prohibitory
      laws that ever were thought of, will not be sufficient to
      _prevent manufactures_ in a country whose inhabitants surpass the
      number that can subsist by the by the husbandry of it; and this
      will be the case _soon_, if our people remain confined within the
      mountains," _&c._

      _The Interest of Great Britain considered with regard to the
      Colonies, page 17. Published in 1767._

VII. This paragraph is introduced, by referring to the extract of a
letter from the Commander in chief of his Majesty's forces in North
America, laid by the Earl of Hillsborough before the Lords
Commissioners for Trade and Plantations;--but as their Lordships have
_not_ mentioned either the general's name, or the time _when_ the
letter was written, or what occasioned his delivering his opinion upon
the subject of _colonization in general_, in the "_remote countries_"--we
can only conjecture, that General Gage was the writer of the letter,
and that it was wrote about the year 1768,--_when_, the plan of the
_three new governments_ was under the consideration of the then Lords
Commissioners for Trade and Plantations, and _before_ the lands on the
Ohio were bought from, and the boundary line established with the Six
Nations.--Indeed, we think it clear, That the General had _no_ other
lands, at that time, under his consideration, than what he calls
"_remote countries_," such as the _Detroit_, _Illinois_, and the
_lower_ parts of the Ohio;--for he speaks of "_foreign countries_,"
from which it "would be _too far_ to transport some kind of naval
stores," and for the same reason could _not_, he says, supply the sugar
islands "_with_ lumber and provisions." He mentions also, planting
colonies at _so vast a distance_, that the _very long transportation_
[of silk, wine, &c.] must probably make them too dear for any market,"
and _where_ "the inhabitants could _not_ have _any commodities_ to
barter for manufactures, except _skins and furs_." And what, in our
opinion, fully evinces that the general was giving his sentiments upon
settlements at _Detroit_, &c. and _not_ on the territory in question,
is, that he says "it will be a question likewise, whether colonization
of this kind, _could be effected without an Indian war, and fighting
for every inch of the ground_." Why the Lords Commissioners for Trade
and Plantations should encumber their _report_ with the opinion of
General Gage, on what he calls the settlement of a "_foreign country_"
that could not be effected without "_fighting for every inch of
ground_," and how their Lordships could apply that case, to the
settlement of a territory, purchased by his Majesty near four years
ago, and _now_ inhabited by several thousand British subjects, whom the
Indians themselves, living on the Northern side of the Ohio [as shall
be fully shewn in the course of these observations] have earnestly
requested may be immediately governed, we confess we are wholly at a
loss to comprehend.

VIII. The eighth paragraph highly extols, not only the _accuracy and
precision_ of the foregoing representation of the Lords of Trade in
1768, [which, as has been before observed, expressed, that the
inhabitants of the middle colonies _would have liberty to settle over_
the mountains, and on the Ohio], but also the above mentioned letter
from the commander in chief in America; and at the same time introduces
the sentiments of Mr. Wright, Governor of Georgia, "on the subject of
large grants in the interior parts of America."

When this letter was written, what was the occasion of the Governor's
writing it,--whether he was _then_, from his own knowledge, acquainted
with the situation of the country _over_ the mountains,--with the
disposition of the inhabitants of the middle colonies,--with the
capability of the Ohio country, from its soil, climate, or
communication with the river Powtomack, &c. to supply this kingdom with
_silk_, _flax_, _hemp_, &c.--and whether the principal part of Mr.
Wright's estate is on the _sea-coast_ in _Georgia_,--are facts which we
wish had been stated, that it might be known whether Governor Wright's
"knowledge and experience in the affairs of colonies ought, as the
Lords of Trade mention, to give great weight to his opinion" on the
present occasion.

The doctrine insisted on by Governor Wright appears to us reducible to
the following propositions:

1st, That if a _vast_ territory be granted to any set of Gentlemen, who
really mean to people it,--and actually do so, _it must_ draw and carry
out a great number of people from _Great Britain_.

2d. That they will soon become a kind of separate and independant
people; who will set up for themselves,--will _soon_ have manufactures
of their own,--will _neither_ take supplies from the mother country,
nor the provinces at _the back_ of which they are settled:--That being
at such a distance from the seat of _government_, from _courts_,
_magistrates_, &c. and _out_ of the control of law and government, they
will become a receptacle for offenders, &c.

3d. That the sea-coast should be _thick_ settled with inhabitants, and
be well cultivated and improved, &c.

4th. That his ideas are _not_ chimerical; that he knows _something_ of
the situation and state of things in America; and, from some _little_
occurrences that have happened, he can very easily _figure_ to himself
_what may_, and, in short, _what will_ certainly happen, if not
prevented in time.

On these propositions we shall take the liberty of making a few
observations.

To the _first_ we answer,--We shall, we are persuaded, satisfactorily
prove, that in the middle colonies, _viz._ New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, and Virginia, there is hardly any _vacant land_, except such
as is monopolized by great landholders, for the purpose of selling _at
high prices_;--that the poor people of these colonies, with large
families of children, _cannot_ pay these prices;--and that several
thousand families, for that reason, have _already_ settled upon the
Ohio;--that we do not wish for, and shall not encourage one single
family of his Majesty's _European subjects_ to _settle_ there [and this
we have no objection to be prevented from doing], but shall _wholly_
rely on the voluntary super-flux of the inhabitants of the middle
provinces for settling and cultivating the lands in question.

On the _second_,--It is not, we presume, necessary for us to say more,
than that all the conjectures and suppositions "of being a kind of
separate and independant people," &c. entirely lose their force, on the
proposition of a government being established on the grant applied for,
as the Lords of Trade have themselves acknowledged.

On the _third_,--We would only briefly remark, that we have fully
answered this objection in the latter part of our answer to the sixth
paragraph.

And as the _fourth_ proposition is merely the Governor's declaration of
his _knowledge_ of _something_ of the situation and state of things in
America, and what, from some _little_ occurrences, that have already
really happened, he can very easily _figure_ to himself what may and
_will_ certainly happen, if not prevented in time:--We say, that as the
Governor has not mentioned what these _little_ occurrences are,--we
cannot pretend to judge, whether what he _figures_ to himself, is any
ways relative to the object under consideration, or, indeed, what else
it is relative to.

But as the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations have thought
proper to insert in their _Report_ the above-mentioned letters from
General Gage and Governor Wright, it may not be improper for us to give
the opinion of his Majesty's house of burgesses of the dominion of
Virginia, on the _very point_ in question, as conveyed to his Majesty
in their address of the 4th of August 1767, and delivered the latter
end of that year, to the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations,
by Mr. Montague, agent for the colony.--The house of burgesses
say,--"We humbly hope, that we shall obtain your royal indulgence,
_when we give it as our opinions_, that it will be _for your Majesty's
service, and the interest of your American dominions in general, to
continue the encouragements_" (which were a _total exemption from any
consideration-money whatsoever, and a remission of quit-rent for ten
years, and of all kinds of taxes for fifteen years_) "for _settling
those frontier lands_." By this means the house observed, "_New_
settlements will be made _by people of property, obedient subjects to
government_; but if the present restriction should continue, we have
the strongest reason to believe, _that country will become the resort
of fugitives and vagabonds, defiers of law and order, and who in time
may form a body dangerous to the peace and civil government of this
colony_."

We come now to the consideration of the 9th, 10th, and 11th paragraphs.

In the 9th, the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations observe,
"That admitting the settlers over the mountains, and on the Ohio, to be
as numerous as _report_ states them to be," [and which we shall from
undoubted testimony, prove to be not less than five thousand families,
of at least six persons to a family, independent of some thousand
families, which are also settled _over_ the mountains, within the
limits of the province of Pennsylvania] yet their Lordships say, "It
operates strongly in point of argument _against_ what is proposed." And
their Lordships add, "if the foregoing reasoning has any weight, it
ought certainly to induce the Lords of the Committee of the Privy
Council, to _advise_ his Majesty to take every method _to_ CHECK the
progress of these settlements; and _not_ to make such grants of the
land, as will have an immediate tendency to encourage them."

Having, we presume, clearly shewn, that the country _southward_ of the
Great Kenhawa, quite to the Cherokee river, belonged to the Six
Nations, and _not_ to the Cherokees;--that _now_ it belongs to the
king, in virtue of his Majesty's purchase from the Six Nations;--that
neither these tribes, _nor_ the Cherokees, do hunt between the Great
Kenhawa and the land opposite the Sioto River;--that, by the present
boundary line, the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations would
sacrifice to the _Cherokees_ an extent of Country of at least 800 miles
in length--which his Majesty has bought and paid for; that the real
limits of Virginia do _not_ extend westward, beyond the Allegany
mountains;--that since the purchase of the country from the Six
Nations, his Majesty has not annexed it, or any part of it, to the
colony of Virginia;--that there are no settlements made under _legal
titles_, on any part of the lands we have agreed for, with the Lords
Commissioners of the Treasury;--that in the year 1748, the strongest
marks of royal encouragement were given to settle the country _over_
the mountains; that the _suspension_ of this encouragement, by the
proclamation of October 1763, was merely _temporary_, untill the lands
were purchased from the natives;--that the avidity to settle these
lands was so great, that large settlements were made thereon, _before
they were purchased_;--that although the settlers were daily exposed
to the cruelties of the savages, neither a military force, nor
repeated proclamations could induce them to vacate these lands;--that
the soil of the country _over_ the mountains is excellent, and capable
of easily producing _hemp_, _flax_, _silk_, _tobacco_, _iron_, _wine_,
&c.;--that these articles can be cheaply conveyed to a seaport for
exportation;--that the charge of carriage is so very small, it cannot
possibly operate to the prevention of the use of British manufactures;
that the king's purchasing the lands from the Indians, and fixing a
_boundary line_ with them, was for the very purpose of his subjects
settling them; and that the Commissioners for Trade and Plantations in
1768,--declared, That the _inhabitants of the middle colonies_ would
have liberty for that purpose.--

And to this train of facts,--let us add,--that the congress, held with
the Six Nations at Fort Stanwix in 1768,--_when_ his Majesty purchased
the territory on the Ohio, Messrs. Penn also bought from these nations
a very extensive tract of country _over_ the Allegany mountains and on
that river (_joining_ the very lands in question).--That in the spring
1769, Messrs. Penn opened their _land-office_ in Pennsylvania, for the
_settling the country_ which they had so bought at Fort Stanwix: and
all such settlers as had seated themselves _over the mountains_, within
the limits of Pennsylvania, _before_ the lands were purchased from the
natives, have _since_ obtained titles for their plantations:--That in
1771, a petition was presented to the assembly of the province of
Pennsylvania, praying that a _new_ county may be made _over_ these
mountains:--That the legislature of that province, in consideration of
the great number of families settled _there_, within the limits of that
province, did that year enact a law, for the _erection_ of the lands
_over the mountains into a_ new county, by the name of _Bedford
County_: That in consequence of such law, William Thompson, Esq. was
chosen to represent it in the General Assembly: That a sheriff,
coroner, justices of the peace, constables, and other civil officers
are appointed and do reside _over_ the mountains: That all the king's
subjects, who are not less than five thousand families, who have made
locations and settlements on the lands, _southward_ of, and adjoining
to the _southern_ line of Pennsylvania, live _there_, without any
degree of order, law, or government: That being in this lawless
situation, continual quarrels prevail among them: That they have
already infringed the _boundary line_, killed several Indians, and
encroached on the lands, on the opposite side of the Ohio; and that
disorders of the most dangerous nature, with respect to the Indians,
the _boundary-line_ and the _old colonies_, will soon take place among
these settlers, if law and subordination are not immediately
established among them.--Can these facts be possibly perverted so as to
operate, either in point of argument or policy, _against_ the
proposition of governing the king's subjects on the lands in question?

It ought to be considered also, that we have agreed to pay as much for
a small _part_ of the cession made at Fort Stanwix, as the _whole_
cession cost the crown, and at the same time be at the entire expence
of establishing and supporting the proposed new colony[7].

      [7] The parliamentary grants for the civil establishment of the
      provinces of Nova Scotia, Georgia, and East and West Florida,
      amount to _one million twelve thousand eight hundred and
      thirty-one pounds two shillings and eight-pence half-penny_, as
      the following account shews;--and notwithstanding this vast
      expence, the king has _not_ received any quit-rents from these
      provinces. How different is the present proposition, for the
      establishment of the Ohio colony?--In this case, the crown is to
      be paid for the lands, (and which is the first instance of _any_
      being sold in North America). Government is to be _exempted_ from
      the _expence_ of supporting the colony, and the king will receive
      his quit-rents, _neat and clear_ of all deductions, (which
      deductions in the _old_ colonies are at least 20 per centum) as
      will more particularly appear by a _state_ of the king's
      quit-rents annexed hereto.

      The parliamentary grants above-mentioned are as follow:

          To Nova Scotia           L. 707,320  19   7-1/4
          To Georgia                  214,610   3   1-1/4
          To East Florida              45,400   0   0
          To West Florida              45,400   0   0

The truth is, the inhabitants settled on this tract of country are in
so ungoverned and lawless a situation, that the very Indians themselves
complain of it; so that, if they are _not_ soon governed, an Indian war
will be the inevitable consequence. This, we presume, is evident both
from the correspondence of general Gage with the Earl of
Hillsborough;--and a speech of the chiefs of the _Delawares_,
_Munsies_, and _Mohickons_, living on the Ohio, to the governors of
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia; lately transmitted by the general
to his lordship.

In this speech these nations observe, that since the sale of the lands
to the king on the Ohio,--"_Great numbers more of your people_ have
come _over_ the great mountains and settled throughout this country,
and we are sorry to tell you, that several quarrels have happened
between your people and ours, _in which people have been killed on both
sides_, and that we now see the nations round us and your people _ready
to embroil in a quarrel_, which gives our nations great concern, as we,
on _our_ parts, want to live in friendship with you. As you have always
told us, _you have laws_ to govern your people by,--but we do not see
that you have; therefore, brethren, _unless you can fall upon some
method of governing your people, who live between the great mountains
and the Ohio river, and who are very numerous_, it will be out of the
Indians' power _to govern_ their young men; for we assure you, the
black clouds begin to gather fast in this country, and _if something is
not soon done_, these clouds will deprive us of seeing the sun. We
desire you to _give the greatest attention_ to what we now tell you;
_as it comes from our hearts_, and a desire we have to live in peace
and friendship with our brethren the English, and therefore it grieves
us to see some of the nations about us and your people _ready to strike
each other_. We find your people are very fond of our rich land;--we
see them quarrelling with each other every day about land, and burning
one another's houses, so that we do not know how soon _they may come
over the river Ohio_, and drive us from our villages; _nor do we see
you, brothers, take any care to stop them_."

This speech, from tribes of such great influence and weight upon the
Ohio, conveys much useful information--It establishes the fact of the
settlers _over_ the mountains being _very numerous_--It shews the
entire approbation of the Indians, in respect to a colony being
established on the Ohio--It pathetically complains of the King's
subjects _not_ being governed, and it confirms the assertion mentioned
by the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations in the eighth
paragraph of their report, "That if the settlers are suffered to
continue in the lawless state of anarchy and confusion, they will
commit such abuses as cannot fail of involving us in quarrels and
disputes with the Indians, _and thereby endanger the security of his
majesty's colonies_."

The Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations however pay no regard
to all these circumstances, but content themselves with observing, "We
see nothing to hinder the government of Virginia from extending the
laws and constitution of that colony to _such persons as may have
already settled there under legal titles_." To this we _repeat_, that
there are _no such_ persons, as have settled _under legal titles_, and
even admitting there were, as their Lordships say in the 10th
paragraph, "it _appears to them_, there are _some possessions_ derived
from grants made by the Governor and Council of Virginia;" and allowing
that the laws and constitution of Virginia _did_, as they
unquestionably _do not_,--_extend_ to this territory, have the Lords
Commissioners proposed any expedient for governing those many thousand
families, who have _not_ settled _under legal titles_, but only
agreeably to the ancient _usage of location_?--Certainly not.--But, on
the contrary, their Lordships have recommended, that his Majesty should
be advised to take every method _to check_ the progress of their
settlements;--and thereby leave them in their present lawless
situation, at the risk of involving the Middle Colonies in a war with
the natives, pregnant with a loss of commerce, and depopulation of
their frontier counties.

Having made these observations, it may next be proper to consider _how_
the laws and constitution of Virginia can possibly be _extended_, so as
effectually to operate on the territory in question? Is not
Williamsburgh, the capital of Virginia, at leaft 400 miles from the
settlements on the Ohio?--Do _not_ the laws of Virginia require, that
all persons guilty of capital crimes _shall_ be tried _only_ in
Williamsburgh?--Is not the General Assembly held there?--Is not the
Court of King's-Bench, or the superior Court of the dominion, kept
there?--Has Virginia provided any fund for the support of the officers
of these _distant_ settlements, or for the transporting offenders, and
paying the expence of witnesses travelling 800 miles (_viz._ going and
returning), and during their stay at Williamsburgh?--And will not these
settlers be exactly (for the reasons assigned) in the situation,
described by Governor Wright in the very letter which the Commissioners
for Trade and Plantations have so warmly recommended, viz. "such
persons as are settled at the _back_ of the provinces, being at a
_distance_ from the _seat_ of _Government_, Courts, Magistrates, &c.
they will be _out_ of the _reach_ and controul of law and government,
and their settlement will become a receptacle, and kind of asylum for
offenders?"

On the 11th paragraph we apprehend it is not necessary to say
much.--The reservatory clause proposed in our Memorial is what is usual
in royal grants; and in the present case, the Lords of the Committee of
the Privy Council, we hope, will be of opinion, it is quite sufficient,
more especially as we are able to prove to their Lordships, that there
are no "possessions," within the boundaries of the lands under
consideration, which are held "_under legal titles_."

To conclude: As it has been demonstrated, that neither royal nor
provincial proclamations,--nor the dread and horrors of a savage
war,--were sufficient (even _before_ the country was purchased from
the Indians) to prevent the settlement of the lands _over_ the
mountains--can it be conceived, that, _now_ the country is purchased,
and the people have seen the proprietors of Pennsylvania, who are the
hereditary supporters of _British policy_ in their own province, give
every degree of encouragement to _settle_ the lands _Westward_ of the
mountains,--the legislature of the province, at the same time,
effectually corroborate the measure, and several thousand families, in
consequence thereof, settle in the _new county_ of Bedford,--that the
inhabitants of the Middle Colonies will _be restrained_ from
cultivating the luxuriant country of the Ohio, joining to the
_Southern_ line of Pennsylvania? But, even admitting that it might
formerly have been a question of some propriety, whether the country
should be permitted to be settled,--that cannot surely become a subject
of enquiry now, when it is an obvious and certain truth, that _at least
thirty thousand British subjects are already settled there_.--Is it fit
to leave such a body of people _lawless and ungoverned_?--will sound
policy recommend this manner of colonizing and encreasing the wealth,
strength, and commerce of the empire? or will it not point out, that it
is the indispensible duty of government to render _bad_ subjects
_useful_ subjects; and for that purpose _immediately_ to establish law
and subordination among them, and thereby _early_ confirm _their_
native attachment to the laws, traffic, and customs of this kingdom?

On the whole, we presume that we have, both by facts and sound
argument, shewn, that the opinion of the Lords Commissioners for Trade
and Plantations on the object in question, is _not_ well founded, and
that, if their Lordships opinion should be adopted, it would be
attended with the most mischievous and dangerous consequences to the
commerce, peace, and safety of his Majesty's colonies in America:

We therefore hope, the expediency and utility of erecting the lands
agreed for into a separate colony, without delay, will be considered as
a measure of the soundest policy, highly conducive to the peace and
security of the old colonies, to the preservation of the _boundary
line_, and to the commercial interests of the Mother Country.




APPENDIX, No. I.


By the KING.

A PROCLAMATION.

GEORGE R.

Whereas we have taken into our royal consideration the extensive and
valuable acquisitions in America, secured to our crown by the late
definitive treaty of peace concluded at Paris the 10th day of February
last; and being desirous that all our loving subjects, as well of our
kingdoms as of our colonies in America, may avail themselves, with all
convenient speed, of the great benefits and advantages which must
accrue therefrom to their commerce, manufactures, and navigation; we
have thought fit, with the advice of our privy council, to issue this
our royal proclamation, hereby to publish and declare to all our loving
subjects, that we have, with the advice of our said privy council,
granted our letters patent under our great seal of Great Britain, to
erect within the countries and islands, ceded and confirmed to us by
the said treaty, four distinct and separate governments, stiled and
called by the names of Quebec, East Florida, West Florida, and Grenada,
and limited and bounded as follows, viz.

First, The government of Quebec, bounded on the Labrador coast by the
river St. John, and from thence by a line drawn from the head of that
river, through the lake St. John, to the South end of the lake
Nipissim; from whence the said line, crossing the river St. Lawrence
and the lake Champlain in 45 degrees of North latitude, passes along
the High Lands, which divide the rivers that empty themselves into the
said river St. Lawrence, from those which fall into the sea; and also
along the North coast of the Baye des Chaleurs, and the coast of the
Gulph of St. Lawrence to Cape Rosieres, and from thence crossing the
mouth of the river St. Lawrence by the West end of the island of
Anticosti, terminates at the aforesaid river St. John.

Secondly, The government of East Florida, bounded to the Westward by
the Gulph of Mexico and the Apalachicola river; to the Northward, by a
line drawn from that part of the said river where the Catahouchee and
Flint rivers meet, to the source of St. Mary's river, and by the course
of the said river to the Atlantic Ocean; and to the East and South by
the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulph of Florida, including all islands
within six leagues of the sea coast.

Thirdly, The government of West Florida, bounded to the Southward by
the Gulph of Mexico, including all islands within six leagues of the
coast from the river Apalachicola to lake Pontchartrain; to the
Westward by the said lake, the lake Maurepas, and the river
Mississippi; to the Northward, by a line drawn due East from that part
of the Mississippi which lies in thirty-one degrees North latitude, to
the river Apalachicola, or Catahouchee; and to the Eastward by the said
river.

Fourthly, The government of Grenada, comprehending the island of that
name, together with the Grenadines, and the islands of Dominico, St.
Vincent, and Tobago.

And to the end that the open and free fishery of our subjects may be
extended to, and carried on upon the coast of Labrador and the adjacent
islands, we have thought fit, with the advice of our said privy
council, to put all that coast, from the river St. John's to Hudson's
Streights, together with the islands of Anticosti and Madelaine, and
all other smaller islands lying upon the said coast, under the care and
inspection of our governor of Newfoundland.

We have also, with the advice of our privy council, thought fit to
annex the islands of St. John and Cape Breton, or Isle Royale, with the
lesser islands adjacent thereto, to our government of Nova Scotia.

We have also, with the advice of our privy council aforesaid, annexed
to our province of Georgia, all the lands lying between the rivers
Attamaha and St. Mary's.

And whereas it will greatly contribute to the speedy settling our said
new governments, that our loving subjects should be informed of our
paternal care for the security of the liberty and properties of those
who are, and shall become inhabitants thereof; we have thought fit to
publish and declare, by this our proclamation, that we have, in the
letters patent under our great seal of Great Britain, by which the said
governments are constituted, given express power and direction to our
governors of our said colonies respectively, that so soon as the state
and circumstances of the said colonies will admit thereof, they shall,
with the advice and consent of the members of our council, summon and
call general assemblies within the said governments respectively, in
such manner and form as is used and directed in those colonies and
provinces in America, which are under our immediate government; and we
have also given power to the said governors, with the consent of our
said councils, and the representatives of the people, so to be summoned
as aforesaid, to make, constitute, and ordain laws, statutes, and
ordinances for the public peace, welfare, and good government of our
said colonies, and of the people and inhabitants thereof, as near as
may be, agreeable to the laws of England, and under such regulations
and restrictions as are used in other colonies; and in the mean time,
and until such assemblies can be called as aforesaid, all persons
inhabiting in, or resorting to, our said colonies, may confide in our
royal protection for the enjoyment of the benefit of the laws of our
realm of England: for which purpose we have given power under our great
seal to the governors of our said colonies respectively, to erect and
constitute, with the advice of our said councils respectively, courts
of judicature and public justice within our said colonies, for the
hearing and determining all causes, as well criminal as civil,
according to law and equity, and, as near as may be, agreeable to the
laws of England, with liberty to all persons who may think themselves
aggrieved by the sentence of such courts, in all civil cases, to
appeal, under the usual limitations and restrictions, to us, in our
privy council.

We have also thought fit, with the advice of our privy council as
aforesaid, to give unto the governors and councils of our said three
new colonies upon the continent, full power and authority to settle and
agree with the inhabitants of our said new colonies, or to any other
person who shall resort thereto, for such lands, tenements, and
hereditaments, as are now, or hereafter shall be, in our power to
dispose of, and them to grant to any such person or persons, upon such
terms, and under such moderate quit-rents, services, and
acknowledgments, as have been appointed and settled in other colonies,
and under such other conditions as shall appear to us to be necessary
and expedient for the advantage of the grantees, and the improvement
and settlement of our said colonies.

And whereas we are desirous, upon all occasions, to testify our royal
sense and approbation of the conduct and bravery of the officers and
soldiers of our armies, and to reward the same, we do hereby command
and impower our governors of our said three new colonies, and other our
governors of our several provinces on the continent of North America,
to grant, without fee or reward, to such reduced officers as have
served in North America during the late war, and are actually residing
there, and shall personally apply for the same, the following
quantities of land, subject, at the expiration of ten years, to the
same quit-rents as other lands are subject to in the province within
which they are granted, as also subject to the same conditions of
cultivation and improvement, viz.

To every person having the rank of a field officer, 5000 acres.

To every captain, 3000 acres.

To every subaltern or staff officer, 2000 acres.

To every non-commission officer, 200 acres.

To every private man, 50 acres.

We do likewise authorise and require the governors and commanders in
chief of all our said colonies upon the continent of North America to
grant the like quantities of land, and upon the same conditions, to
such reduced officers of our navy of like rank, as served on board our
ships of war in North America at the times of the reduction of
Louisbourg and Quebec in the late war, and who shall personally apply
to our respective governors for such grants.

And whereas it is _just_ and _reasonable_, and _essential to our
interest_, and the security of our colonies, that the several nations
or tribes of Indians, with whom we are connected, and who live under
our protection, should not be molested or disturbed in the possession
of such parts of our dominions _as, not having been ceded to, or
purchased by us, are reserved to them, or any of them, as their hunting
grounds_; we do therefore, with the advice of our privy council,
declare it to be our royal will and pleasure, that no governor, or
commander in chief, in any of our colonies of Quebec, East Florida, or
West Florida, do presume, upon any pretence whatever, to grant warrants
of survey, or pass any patents for lands beyond the bounds of their
respective governments, as described in their commissions; _as also_
that no governor or commander in chief of our other colonies or
plantations in America, do presume for the present, and until our
further pleasure be known, to grant warrant of survey, or pass patents
for any lands _beyond the heads or sources of any of the rivers which
fall into the Atlantic ocean from the west or north-west_; or upon any
lands whatever, _which not having been ceded to, or purchased by us, as
aforesaid, are reserved to the said Indians, or any of them_.

And we do further declare it to be our royal will and pleasure, _for
the present_, as aforesaid, to reserve under our sovereignty,
protection, and dominion, _for the use of the said Indians, all the
land and territories not_ included within the limits of our said three
new governments, or within the limits of the territory granted to the
Hudson's Bay company; _as also, all the land and territories lying to
the westward of the sources of the rivers which fall into the sea from
the west and north-west as aforesaid_; and we do hereby strictly
forbid, on pain of our displeasure, all our loving subjects from making
any purchases or settlements whatever, or taking possession of any of
the lands above reserved, without our especial leave and licence for
that purpose first obtained.

And we do further strictly enjoin and require all persons whatever, who
have either wilfully or inadvertently seated themselves upon any lands
within the countries above described, or upon any other lands, _which
not having being ceded to, or purchased by us_, are still reserved to
the Indians as aforesaid, forthwith to remove themselves from such
settlements.

And whereas great frauds and abuses have been committed in the
purchasing land of the Indians, to the great prejudice of our
interests, and to the great dissatisfaction of the said Indians; in
order therefore to prevent such irregularities for the future, and to
the end that the Indians may be convinced of our justice and determined
resolution to remove all reasonable cause of discontent, we do, with
the advice of our privy council, strictly enjoin and require, that no
private person do presume to make any purchase from the said Indians of
any lands reserved to the said Indians within those parts of our
colonies where we have thought proper to allow settlement; but that if
at any time any of the said Indians should be inclined to dispose of
the said lands, the same shall be purchased only for us, in our name,
at some public meeting or assembly of the said Indians, to be held for
that purpose by the governor or commander in chief of our colony
respectively within which they shall lie: and in case they shall lie
within the limits of any proprietaries, conformable to such directions
and instructions as we or they shall think proper to give for that
purpose: and we do, by the advice of our privy council, declare and
enjoin, that the trade with the said Indians shall be free and open to
all our subjects whatever, provided that every person who may incline
to trade with the said Indians, do take out a licence for carrying on
such trade, from the governor or commander in chief of any of our
colonies respectively, where such person shall reside, and also the
security to observe such regulations as we shall at any time think fit,
by ourselves or commissaries, to be appointed for this purpose, to
direct and appoint for the benefit of the said trade: and we do hereby
authorise, enjoin, and require the governors and commanders in chief of
all our colonies respectively, as well those under our immediate
government, as those under the government and direction of
proprietaries, to grant such licences without fee or reward, taking
especial care to insert therein a condition that such licence shall be
void, and the security forfeited, in case the person to whom the same
is granted, shall refuse or neglect to observe such regulations as we
shall think proper to prescribe as aforesaid.

And we do further expressly enjoin and require all officers whatever,
as well military as those employed in the management and direction of
Indian affairs within the territories reserved, as aforesaid, for the
use of the said Indians, to seize and apprehend all persons whatever,
who standing charged with treasons, misprisions of treasons, murders,
or other felonies or misdemeanours, shall fly from justice and take
refuge in the said territory, and to send them under a proper guard to
the colony where the crime was committed of which they shall stand
accused, in order to take their trial for the same.

Given at our court at St. James's, the 7th of October 1763, in the
third year of our reign.

GOD save the KING.




APPENDIX, No. II.

STATE of the KING's QUIT-RENTS in NORTH AMERICA.


               Consideration   The time the   Quit-rents  Expence to the
               money paid      lands are      received.   country for the
               to King         exempted from              support of the
               for the         quit-rent.                 civil government
               lands.                                     of the colonies.

Isl. of          None            20 years.         None            ----
St. John

Nova Scotia                                   {And yet no }   _L_   _s._ _d._
                 None --         10 years.    {quit-rents } 707,320  19  7-1/4
                                              {have been  }
                                              {received,  }
                                              {tho' the   }
                                              {colony was }
                                              {established}
                                              {22 _years  }
                                              {ago_.      }

Canada           None              ----            ----

Massachussets }  None --    {Wholly exempt   }
Connecticut   }             {from quit-rents }     None             None
Rhode Island  }             {and all payments}
                            {to the crown.   }

N. Hampshire     None              ----            None             None

New York         None       {This colony was }     ----             None
                            {restored to the }
                     --     {crown in the    }
                            {year 1693-4,    }
                            {and yet from    }
                            {that time       }
                            {very little     }
                            {quit-rents have }
                            {been received.  }

New Jersey  }    None       {Wholly exemp    }     None             None
Pensylvania }               {from quit-rents }
Maryland    }               {and all         }
                            {payments to the }
                            {crown.          }

Virginia         None       {This colony was }     ----             ----
                            {re-assumed by   }
                            {the crown in    }
                            {the year 1626;  }
                            {and yet for a   }
                            {great number of }
                            {years, the      }
                            {quit-rents were }
                            {not paid at     }
                            {all;--never     }
                            {with any        }
                            {regularity till }
                            {within a very   }
                            {few years; and  }
                            {now from what   }
                            {is  paid there  }
                            {is a deduction  }
                            {of at least     }
                            {20 per cent.    }

N. & S.   }      None              ----             ----             ---
Carolina. }

Georgia          None       {This colony was }      None    214,610  3  1-1/2
                            {settled in the  }
                            {year 1735,      }
                            {and yet no      }
                            {quit-rents have }
                            {been received.  }

E. & W. Florida  None            10 years.          None    90,900  0  0

But it is      {_L_10,460 } {The quit-rents  }             {All the     }
proposed to    {7_s._     } {to commence in  }             {expenses    }
pay for the    {3_d._     } {twenty years    }             {of the civil}
colony on the  {which is  } {from the time   }             {government  }
Ohio.          {_all_ the } {of the survey   }             {of the      }
               {money the } {of each lot     }             {colony, to  }
               {_whole_   } {or plantation,  }             {be borne    }
               {country   } {and to be       }             {and paid    }
               {(of which } {paid into the   }             {by the      }
               {this is   } {hands of such   }             {propriators.}
               {only a    } {person as       }
               {small     } {his Majesty     }
               {part) cost} {shall appoint   }
               {government} {to receive      }
               {for the   } {the same, _net  }
               {cession   } {and clear_ of   }
               {from the  } {all deductions  }
               {Six       } {whatsoever,     }
               {Nations.  } {for collections }
                            {or otherwise.   }






End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Report of the Lords Commissioners for
Trade and Plantations on the Petition of the Honourable Thomas Walpole, Benjamin Franklin, John Sargent, and Samuel Wharton, Esquires, and their Associates, by Great Britain Board of Trade

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