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plan of accommodation we have chalked out, shall in the General outline of it meet with your Lordships approbation it is all we can presume to hope for and it must be submitted to your Lordships to advise His Majesty to take such steps thereupon as to your Lordships shall seem meet and expedient.

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By the Packet which left new York the beginning of October I received your dispatches NTM* 45 to 53. and have laid them before the King.

The inclosed copies of papers, which have been communicated to me by Lord Rochford,1 will inform you of the State of the negociation with the Court of Spain, respecting the capture and detention of the Hawke Sloop, Capt Frisby; and I am to desire you will acquaint M Sullivan, agent for the owners of that sloop, that I have not failed to transmit to Lord Rochford a copy of his letter to Lord Hillsborough, in order that the state of the damages. they have sustained may be sent to His Majty'* Ambassador at Madrid, together with the other papers inclosed in your letter to me N° 45.

I am very glad you took occasion in passing thro' New Jersey, to concert with Gov Franklyn, the steps proper to be pursued in order to the transmission of a regular return of the determination of the Commissioners for ascertaining the boundary line between the two provinces, and they are very much to be commended for having made provision for quieting the possessions of the bona fide purchasers and settlers on the borders of the partition line. Had the same attention been shewn in the case of the possessions of the purchasers and settlers under the grants made by New Hampshire, within the district between the Rivers Hudson & Connecticut, those unhappy disturbances, of which you have so repeatedly 'WILLIAM HENRY NASSAU de Zulestein, 4th Earl of Rochford, was born 16th September, 1717, and succeeded to his father's title in June, 1738. He was appointed Ambassador to Spain 8th June, 1763, and to the Court of Versailles in 1706. He became Secretary of State for the Northern department in 1768, Chatham Correnpondenee, III., 338 ( compare the statement, tmpra. III, x.), and held the office until 1775. His Lordship died without issue 28th September, 1781. Dtbretll — En.

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complained, would I think not have happened. But I will not in this place, enter into any further observations on that subject, or upon those parts of your correspondence which relate to the purchases by private persons of large tracts of Land from the Indians, and to grants of land in general, as those matters which are now under the examination of the Board of Trade, will, in consequence of their Reports, be for the King's consideration in His Privy Council, and will probably become the subject of a separate letter.

With regard to the case of Felix Meigs; as stated in the papers inclosed in your letter N° 49. It is the King's pleasure that you do act therein according to your own judgement pursuant to the authority contained in your Commission, which having vested in you a discretionary power of pardoning in all cases where the persons shall appear fit objects of mercy (excepting only those who may have been convicted of Treason or Murder) I am persuaded you will upon further reflection, see the impropriety of granting a reprieve, 'till the King's pleasure should be known, in any case not within those exceptions.

The settlement of the partition line between New York, and Massachusets Bay, is, as you very properly observe, a business of very great importance, and when I reflect that it is now more than five years since the King was graciously pleased to refer the determination of it to Commiss" to be appointed by each province, I am at a loss to guess at the motives for delay in a matter the speedy decision of which, they are both equally interested in.

The paper inclosed in your separate despatch of the 1st of October will be very useful when the Canada Claims, upon Lake Champlain come into discussion, but I think it proper to observe that there are no facts stated in that paper, which alter the sentiments expressed in my last Dispatch, in regard to the unreasonableness of the pretence set up by New York, that all the Lands to the South of the River S' Lawrence, belonged of Right to the Crown of Great Brittain, as part of that Colony. I am ettc.

Dartmouth.

Earl of Dartmouth to Governor Tryon.

[Now-York Tapers (S. P. O.) CLXIV. ]

N° 4.

Whitehall. 9. December 1772

Sir

By the Packet that sailed from New York in November, I received your Dispatches No 1. 2 & 3. and have laid them before the King.

I have already acquainted you, in my letter of yesterday's date, that the State of the District between the Rivers Hudson and Connecticut would probably become the subject of a separate letter, in consequence of a Report of the Board of Trade; and therefore I shall decline taking any other notice, in this place, of the continuance of the disturbances on the Lands in that district, than barely to express my hope, that the question whch have occasioned those

FELIX MEIGS, of the city of New-York, boatumn, waa, at the July Term of the Supreme Court, in the year 1772, convicted of passing counterfeit Bills of credit and sentenced to death, He was reprieved on the 8th September following and finally pardoned 19th April, 1773. Book of Commission*, VI, 76. — ED.

disturbances, will shortly be determined in a manner that by giving satisfaction to all parties, will be more effectual to restore quiet, than the interposition of any Military Force, which ought never to be called in to the aid of the Civil authority, but in cases of absolute and unavoidable necessity, and which would be highly improper if applied to support possessions, which after order issued in 1767 upon the petition of the proprietors of the N. Hampshire Townships, mayt be of very doubtful title.— I am ettc.

Sir,

Earl of Dartmouth to Governor Tryon.

[New-York Tapers (S. P. 0. ) CLXIV.]

DARTMOUTH.

Whitehall. 9. Dec 1772.

As I have mentioned to you in my Dispatch of this day's date N° 4. that the state of what has passed respecting the lands between the Rivers Hudson & Connecticut and also respecting grants of Lands in General, would probably be the subject of a separate letter, I must not loose this opportunity of telling you that the Reports of the Board of Trade upon those subjects have not yet been decided upon at the Council Board, and therefore the instructions which I am to give, in consequence of their Lordp?* determination, must be deferred till the next Packet—It becomes my duty however, in obedience to the King's commands, to acquaint you, that the deviations from the letter, & spirit of the Kings instructions in respect to the New Hampshire Townships to the west of Connecticut River; to grants of Land to the North of Crown point, and to Licenses to private persons to purchase lands of the Indians, are very much disapproved by the King, and that the reasons assigned by you for that deviation in the first of those cases do not appear at present either to excuse or extenuate a disobedience to the King's commands declared in the most clear and positive manner.

I am further to acquaint you that the sentiments expressed in Lord Hillsborough's letter to you of the 4lh day of December 1771. concerning the unwarrantable and collusive practice of granting Lands in general are fully adopted by the King's servants, and I was exceedingly surprised to find that such an intimation to you on that subject had not had the effect to restrain that practice, & that the same unjustifiable collusion had been adopted to a still greater extent in the Licenses you have granted to purchase Lands of the Indians.

As all the facts however, are now under examination in the privy Council, I will not anticipate their Lord resolutions thereupon; but in the mean time it is the King's pleasure and positive command that you do not, upon any pretence whatever, sign any Grant or Patent for those Lands; that you do not either upon your own judgement, or by the advice of others, presume to depart from the letter of the King's Instructions, or to Act contrary in any respect to such explanations of them as you may have received from those to whom His Maj" has intrusted the signification of his commands, which commands ought ever to be held sacred, and which it will be my duty to see obeyed, so long as I continue in the situation in which His Majesty has been graciously pleased to place me

I am ettc

DARTMOUTH.

My Lord

Sir William Johnson to the Earl of Dartmouth.

[ Plantations General (8. P. 0., No. J) CCLIX.]

Johnson Hall Dec 26. 1772

Since I had the honor of writing to your Lordship which was on the 4th of Nov' last I hare receiv sundry accounts from the Southward of the Schemes in agitation in that quarter amongst the Indians, which tho carried on with the utmost secrecy have not escaped the observation of my Agents & of the Six Nations, what these will terminate in must depend on the success of my negociations & endeavors to counteract them, but their present obvious tendency is to form such an alliance as may enable them to act offensively against us, and so far intimidate the Six Nations and their fast friends, as to prevent their taking any part in our quarrell, being under more real apprehension from our Indian allies, than from any force they expect we can send against them & several of the Nations to the South Westward are so sensible of this that they have proposed an attack on the Six Nations first, as a necessary measure previous to their farther designs, well knowing that Indians when they heartily engage in a cause are the most dangerous enemies to Indians, from the knowledge they have of each other, the Nature and situation of the back Country and the mode of Indian warfare—The common report that they propagate, is, that they mean to enter into a general alliance amongst themselves but the secret designs of several nations amongst them have been sufficiently detected & in some circumstances proved to have a much worse tendency, than a mere pacific alliance altho there is no general alliance amongst them that does not bode troubles to us. But in order to render their measures the more secure as all their endeavours to shake the fidelity of the Six Nations have proved abortive, a few of the Shawaneese and Delawares have lately resolved on sending a deputation either to the Colonies or to England to represent that the six Nations have long acted unfriendly towards them that they want protection against them, and the Governm' may give such orders or make such establishments for their releif, as may render them independent of the Six Nations should they succeed in this scheme, they are sensible that the Northern confederacy can not fail of showing their resentment as an ill requital for the faithfull attachment of the greatest part of their People, to whose conduct we are really much indebted, & on whose future fidelity a valuable part of our frontiers, and the most valuable part of our Trade does solely depend, as they therefore make no doubt that should they meet with success, the resentment of the Six Nations will be kindled against the English, so they expect to avail themselves thereof by drawing them into that alliance which they have hitherto rejected, for allso1 they are not at bottom fond of the Six Nations, they nevertheless eagerly wish to draw them into their schemes, from the influence of their name and the power which their situation affords them to distress us. The Plan for forming a secret alliance is pretty general amongst them, but this scheme for drawing in the Government as an Instrument, which I have very lately detected, has been only as yet agitated by a few who of themselves are very inconsiderable and may possibly be laid aside, However I judged it a necessary part of my duty, to lay the same before your Lordship for His Majestys information. Some of these People have of late effected to be disatisfied with the six Nations under various pretences, which may serve to impose on those who are ignorant of their real designs, and that they have

Sic. altho.- ED.

long endeavoured th[r]o' means of the six Nations Emigrants in Ohio to draw them into their Confederacy for they have no real objection to the 6 Nations but the general attachment of the latter to the English, one recent instance of which they can neither forget or forgive, when in the late Indian war a large party which I sent out attacked a Party of Delawares who were destined against our frontiers, & then very near one of our best settlements, of whom they made forty prisoners with their cheif Cuptn Bull who had himself killed twenty eight English the year before as he confessed to me and this effectually humbled the Delawares at that time, as they expected that we should put these Prisoners to death, if they continued the war—Your Ldp may be assured that nothing shall be wanted on my part to prevent the evil effects of any of their secret schemes, or associations but even if this should be found impracticable, I flatter myself that with the countenance and support of His Majesty, I can convince them that we have a sufficient number in His Matys Interest who would gladly display their fidelity on such

an occasion

Since writing the foregoing (in which I was interrupted by the arrival of several Onondaga Cheifs) I have had the honor to receive your Lordships despatch of the 27th of September (2) by which I am happy to find that my sentiments concerning the acts of cruelty committed by Ramsay correspond with those of your Lordship I have lately heard that thro' the want of a material evidence who by some means was permitted to escape from one of the out Posts nothing was done in his affair, but I understand he is still in confinement, tho' I have little expectation of its final issue in any manner satisfactory to the Indians, who when ever ill disposed, are well pleased with our delaying or denying justice as it serves for a pretext to commit hostilities, a pretext we should never afford them

I take the liberty to mention to your Lordship, that the gentleman who is at present Secretary for the Indian affairs (an office always held under the Royal Commission) is aged and of late very infirm. As the department may suffer much by the appointment of Gentlemen who are ignorant of the form & Duties of that office, I should therefore humbly hope that when a vacancy happens, your Lordship will indulge me with the liberty of mentioning a candidate for that office

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The legislative body of this Colony at their last session having passed an Act for establishing a Militia, Commissions have been since issued by Govern' for forming the militia in most of the

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