An application was made to me yesterday by the House of Assembly, setting forth the present distress of the Province on Account of the Scarcity of Paper Money, and requesting at the same time that I would give my assent to a Bill to be brought in for emitting the half of the sum mention'd in His Majesty's late Instructions on that head, as there was not a sufficient quantity of Paper Money for common circulation, occasion'd by the great number of Bills lately cancell'd by the Commissioners appointed for that purpose, By the instruction I find it is not in my power (consistent with my Duty) to give my assent to any such Bill, as His Majesty has been pleased to order expressly that a suspending clause should be inserted in it, and have therefore been under a necessity of refusing to comply with the request made until I shall receive His Majesty's Orders for so doing, but in the mean time promis'd to lay this matter before your Lordship by the first opportunity.

The Distresses of the Province at this time are very great, and are increasing daily, and as the present circulation will by the Limitation of the Laws by which they were issued cease and determine so soon, the Commerce here as well as the ordinary Services of Government must very shortly be exposed to great Inconvenience.-As I have already had the honor of informing your Lordship in my Letter of the 29"1 of last Month that the House of Assembly had fully complied with every thing which was expected of them, I can with a better grace plead their cause. The present Assembly will be dissolved soon after the Session is finish'd, and it has been customary here to convene them in a short time after a New Election, I have the greatest reason to beleive that if I was impower'd on the opening of the New Session to comply with what is now required by them, such a Proceeding would be attended with such returns of duty and submission as would shew they entertain'd the highest sense of His Majesty's favor on this Occasion, I have the honor to be with the greatest respect My Lord Your Lordship's most obedient and humble Servant

Right Honble Earl of Shelburne.
VOL. VIII.

1

H. MOORE.

No. 6.

Sir,

Earl of Shelburne to Sir William Johnson.

[Plantations General ( 5. P. O.), CCLIY., No. 6. ]

Whitehall 5 Jan: 1768.

Agreeable to my letter of the 19th instant I now have the honor of signifying to you His Majesty's Commands that the Boundary line between the several Provinces and the various Indian Tribes be compleated without loss of time, conformable to a report of the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations. Copy of which is here with transmitted

It is his Majesty's Pleasure that before you enter upon this matter you settle in concert with the Commander in Chief of the Army what steps it may be proper to take for the General Execution of this Salutary Measure; and it will also be proper to consult with the different Governors concerning such particular Points as may affect the Several Provinces seperately in order that the Work may be carried through with Cordiality and Dispatch

After the mention made in your Lordship's Letter of the 14lk of November last that His Majesty had been pleased to approve of the Commissions issued here for settling the differencies respecting the Boundaries of the Colonies of New York and Massachusets Bay. It is no small mortification to me that I can not as yet transmit to your Lordship any satisfactory Accounts of our Proceedings in consequence of those Commissions. The Commissaries named by each Colony met at New Haven in Connecticut and after several proposals made and rejected by both Parties, return'd home again without coming to any final Resolution of a Settlement of the Line: but as their near approach to an agreement seem'd to indicate that by proper steps taken an amicable conclusion of this matter might be brought about, many letters have since pass'd between Mr Barnard and myself both public & private in which we have endeavour'd to conciliate the jarring Interests; but nothing is yet concluded on; The Assembly of the Massachusets Bay was to begin their Session on the 30,h Day of last Month, so that We may now expect their final Resolution in a few days, and if this matter does not meet with the desired success here, all the Papers relative to it shall be forwarded to your Lordship with the utmost Expedition.

I should have ended my letter here, but as I find myself embarrass'd on reading the last paragraph of your Lordship's abovemention'd letter which says, "it is to be wish'd that the "same method was pursued to settle similar differences with Quebec and New Hampshire." I must beg your Lordship's pardon if my want of apprehension has made me take the meaning of it in a different sense from what was intended. His Majesty having directed by his

Proclamation that the 45,h degree of Latitude should be the Southern Boundary of Canada, The Governor of that Province has always confined himself to the line prescribed, nor ever claimed any Jurisdiction (that I could hear of) to the Southward of it, & this Province having in the time it was possess'd by the Dutch claim'd to the 45'h Degree as well by some old English Grants, it's jurisdiction is now supposed to extend to the abovemention'd Bounds of Canada, without being disputed by Province; In consequence of this as soon after my Arrival here as the Public Business would admit of my absence from this City I determined to settle & fix the line between the two Provinces and accordingly wrote to the Commander in Chief of Canada to let him know what my intentions were desiring at the same time that he would either meet me about the upper end of Lake Champlain at the time mention'd in my letter or that he would depute some person on the part of his Province who might be present at the observations we were to make and see that Justice was done by fixing the Boundary in its proper place; Coll: Irwin, then President of the Council answer'd my letter, and determined to be there himself with the Deputy Surveyor General of Canada; A few days before I left this City Brigadier Carleton arrived from England with a Commission appointing him Lieut. Governor of Canada, and we set out together for Lake Champlain on the supposition that we were doing a very essential service to both Provinces, when it was pretty nearly determined by many observations made where the line would pass, Mr Carleton went to Montreal on some accounts received from thence which made his Presence necessary there, leaving Coll. Irwin and the Deputy Surveyor General of Canada with me to compleat the work which was finish'd in two or three days after, and the Lines were mark'd out on both sides of the River Sorell: In the Map of Lake Champlain which I had the honor to send your Lordship, this Line is drawn as fix'd by us, and many Persons Inhabitants of Canada as well as of New York were present at the time: some Gentlemen from Canada desired I would give them a confirmation of some Grants made by the French Governors on the sides of the Lake, but as those lands were never acknowledg'd by us to be in the Province of Canada and were now apparently to the Southward of the Bounds prescribed by His Majesty's Proclamation their request was refused more especially on their telling me that they desired to have their Lands without paying any Quit Rent to the Crown which was directly contrary to His Majesty's Instructions on that Head. I beg leave to make the following Extract from my letter to the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations dated Dec 19lh 1766 which was wrote soon after my return to New York "Brigadier Carleton having told me that he intended writing "to your Lordships immediately upon his arrival at Quebec, to request on the part of that "Province that the Boundary Line which had been settled by us might be fixed by His Majesty's authority where we had mark'd it I have the same request to make on the part of "this Province, as it may be a means of preventing any Litigation hereafter and quieting the "minds of many who are going up early in the Spring to settle in those parts." Their Lordships have never done me the honor to make any answer to this letter, and the Assembly of this Province only waited for the Sanction of His Majesty's approbation of what we had done to empower them to open and continue the Line of Division as far as the Province extends, in which they have no doubt of being join'd by the Province of Canada.

66

This, my Lord, is our present situation in regard to that Province, and if His Majesty should be pleased to approve of what we have done, I am persuaded it will have all the good Effects mention'd in the joynt Request made by Mr Carleton and myself in our letters to the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations. As to the Province of New Hampshire, since His

Majesty's Proclamation declaring the Western Banks of the Connecticut River to be the Boundary of this Province the Governor of New Hampshire has never exercised the least Jurisdiction on this side of the River, and the few Inhabitants of that Quarter have always since that time look'd upon themselves as Inhabitants of this Province; and apply'd to the Legislature here for every assistance they wanted. There being no contest at present between the two Governments in regard to Territorial Jurisdiction, the settlements were increasing very fast till His Majesty's orders came over forbidding any more Grants to be made of Lands there 'till His Pleasure should be farther known; For although I conceiv'd that this Injunction related only to the Lands falsely asserted by Robinson in his Petition to be taken away from the original Proprietors and granted to others, yet I have taken the order in it's greatest Latitude, and gave Public Notice that no Lands whatsoever would be granted on the Connecticut River 'till I had received His Majesty's farther Order: I have already had the honor of informing your Lordship that the Officers who had claim'd Lands under His Majesty's Proclamation, & many other Persons no way interested in the New Hampshire Charters were now suffering by this Restriction as many of them had embark'd all their little fortunes in beginning of Settlements which they did not dare to go on with till they could be assured of having the Lands granted to them. I say nothing more of the Petition of Robinson at present, or of that which was presented by the Society for Propagating the Gospel having already trespass'd on your Lordship by a very long letter I was under a necessity of writing in June last mark'd N° 16. as well to justify my own character as to set forth every thing which had been done by the Government here in regard to those Lands, and 1 hope I made it sufficiently appear that the Society for Propagating the Gospel must have been shamefully impos'd on either by Robinson or some other of his Associates, or they would never have presented such a Petition as they did, and must now beg leave to recommend to your Lordship's Protection the Persons concern'd in the Lands on the Connecticut River who are constantly applying to me, in expectation of hearing that some Orders had been sent over to take of the Restriction which was laid on granting those Lands, by which they would be relieved from that distress in which their present uncertain situation has involved them. I beg your Lordships Pardon for this long Dissertation, which was only intended to represent the true state of this Province in regard to our Neighbours, Quebec and New Hampshire and to make it appear that due obedience has been shew'd to His Majesty's Proclamations which were issued for determining & ascertaining their Boundaries. I have the honor to be with the greatest Respect,

By my letter of the 23d of November last, I gave your Lordship an account of the extraordinary Proceedings of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Judicature in this Province,

on a Pamphlet which was published in England last Spring, in my vindication, and delivered. to His Majesty's Ministers and several Members of Parliament, for their information; and to clear my character from the malicious aspersions, which I was informed had been industriously propagated there. This Pamphlet was reprinted in this Place without my privily, or of any of my friends, as I am now well assured. As I make no doubt of your Lordships receiving that Letter, I shall not give you the trouble of a repetition of it's contents.

The Assembly of this Province met in November last. On the 23d of December Mr Levingston, one of the Judges of the Supreme Court and a Member of Assembly, introduced the consideration of that Pamphlet into the House, and moved that a Committee be appointed to enquire into it, which was done, and Mr Levingston carried a message from the Assembly to the Council desiring them to appoint a Comittee to join the Committee of Assembly, to take that Pamphlet under Consideration. Three of the Council were named for that purpose; Men who are known to be very warm in the matters which are the subject of that Pamphlet.— On the 30,h the Report of the joint Committees was made in the Assembly; consisting, as might be expected; of most violent sensures on the Pamphlet; and proposeing. "that a "Committee of Assembly should be appointed to examine and report the unjust charges, with "an ample & satisfactory refutation, to discover the Author and Publisher; and declare what they conceive to be the most prudent & effectual measures for applying a suitable "Punishment, and deterring others from so iniquitous and dangerous an Offence."—It is believed however they will not attempt any other refutation than by such like bold assertions. I have heretofore inform'd your Lordship that the matters of fact related in my Vindication, can all be proved from Authentic Papers in the Plantation Office; I have not been able to discover that any one fact has been pointed out as false, which was not to numbers of people, notoriously true.-To a general charge of falshood and misrepresentation I can give no other Answer. When the Assembly proceed to be more particular, I doubt not I shall be able to give the most satisfactory Answers.-But your Lordship will please to observe that the joint Committee have suggested Measures for Punishment and deterring others. This I presume will sufficiently confirm the reasons I had for writing to your Lordship as I did in my letter of the 23d of November.-The Parties against me are both Prosecutors and Judges—they have all the power in their hands, and I may depend on it, they will omit nothing to injure and ruin me.

The Assembly have proceeded to examine several Persons, among whom were my eldest son and son in law. People without doors speak of such steps as inquisitorial and destructive of all private security.—It is known they intend to proceed in the Supreme Court in the same matter. That Court is now seting, the Term commenced last Tuesday. The Report of the joint Committee, of which I enclose a Coppy, was published the preceding day. Your Lordship will please to observe that this has an evident tendency to influence Juries, and to favour a cruel prosecution. The faction have so long succeeded by such bold assertions, and by intimidating, while nothing has been done to support the Officers of the Crown, that all men are affraid to appear in opposition to their power.—It were better my Lord to give up the Colonies at once, than thus to expose the Friends of Great Britain to ruin, and the most cruel treatment.

It is certain the Sentiments of disinterested people, have alter'd greatly with regard to my conduct, since the publishing of the Pamphlet here. The notorious truth of the Facts is every Day mentioned by many People. If there was no other proof, of the dangerous state of the