The pretence given out for the necessity of shutting up the Custom House, was to prevent the exportation of Provisions of which it was said all that was in the place would be wanted for the armies of the Colonies. But it is more probable, my Lord, that the real Intention was to strike terror by the boldness of the action. Having effected this purpose and established the absolute Power of the Committee; the Keys of the Custom House have been return to Mr Elliott, but at the same time a declaration published that no vessell shall be suffered to clear for Boston or Halifax arms The whole military Force we have in this Province, my Lord, is the Kings Fisher sloop of War and 100 men of the Royal Irish Regiment commanded by Major Hamilton. This small Body of Troops are quartered in the City Barracks without any kind of Protection but in their Lord Dunmore when in this Governm' converted the Fort Barracks into Stables, and dismantled the Fort itself which before that time was a sufficient security against the attempts of a Mob The Troops now found the want of this security and that they were not only a force too small to make any formidable opposition to the violence of the People, but in their situation appeared insufficient to deter the rash designs which were meditated to destroy them, and which there is reason to think would have been attempted if some of the inhabitants had not supported moderation and wisdom enough to prevent the spilling of Blood The Posts between this place and Boston are stopped, as all letters have been opened on the way, and many secretted since the affair of the 19 April I hope General Gage will employ a Cutter to go between us, as a communicat" of intelligence may be very necessary Governor Carleton informs me that he has received the Box with his Commission and Instructions, which I received from your Lordships office with your orders to forward it to him I inclose a printed Copy of the Association As it is the Kings pleasure that you should without delay, return to New York, I have thought it my duty humbly to submit to His Matys consideration the several matters stated in your letter to me of the 12,h Instant, and upon which you urge the necessity of having some Instructions before your departure 1 Isaac Hamilton was appointed Lieutenant in the 18th or Royal Irish, 1st Ootober, 17S5, and Captain 4th March, 1760. The regiment came to America in 1767; on the 16th December, of that year, he was promoted to be Major. He left the army in July, 1775. Army Lists. — ED. The difficulties which have arisen in a variety of cases occurring in the Land department, are obvious points of immediate attention, and I should do injustice to the intentions of my Royal Master if I did not assure you of His Majestys gracious disposition to give every reasonable satisfaction to His faithfull subjects in New York, as well upon those points, as in every other case in which it may be proper to meet their wishes To this end the board of Trade has now under its immediate consideration not only the claims of Lands lying to the Westward of Connecticut River both under New Hampshire & Canadian Titles, but also the case of Kings District between Hudsons River and the Western Limit of Massachusetts Bay, and as it is their Lordships Intention to proceed upon this business de die in diem, 1 hope it will not be long before I shall be able to send you His Matys orders upon those heads. In the mean time, it will be your duty to take no further steps whatever regarding those cases, and to avoid, in conformity to the Instructions you have already received, making any grants or allowing of any survey or location of Lands in those parts of the country which are the seat of the present disputes The Proposition of establishing a Title to those Lands which have been purchased of the Indians under Licenses from Lord Dunmore and yourself, is happily not embarrassed with those difficulties, which prevent an immediate Determination in the other cases; and it is with great satisfaction I signify to you his Majestys Pleasure, that you do acquaint the persons interested in those purchases that when ever they shall make an humble application to His Majesty for a confirmation, of their Titles, His Majesty will give direction for passing a grant of the Lands by letters Patent under the Great Seal but as it appears, from your representation of this matter that most of the considerable Persons within the Provincet are interested in the purchase such a mark of His Majestys Grace and favor must not be expected, so long as any association shall subsist for preventing the lawfull importation or exportation of goods, or otherwise obstructing the Commerce of this Kingdom It is with concern the King sees that difficulties have arisen in the final completion of the agreement for a Boundary Line between New York and Massachusets Bay and His Majesty acquiescing in what you have suggested on that head, will direct instructions to be given to the Surveyor General of the Northern District conformable thereto The rebuilding the Governors House, Secretarys office, and the Hospital, are considered by the King as very commendable Services, and his Majesty is graciously pleased to allow you to assent to any Bills, that either have been, or shall be preferred, for making provision for defraying the expence of those services, either by Lottery or in any other mode the Assembly shall think fit to adopt The King has no doubt that the religious communities in New York as well the Dissenters as those of the Established Church are fully satisfied of His Majesty's gracious Intentions to afford them all reasonable support and Protection; His Majestys good disposition in that respect hath been manifested in many recent Instances of Grace and favor to both What is now requested, however by the reformed Dutch & Presbyterian churches and by the Members of Kings College involves constitutional questions of great difficulty, and it is more especially necessary that the Charter proposed in the latter case should have the fullest consideration before any step is taken upon it. To that end I have received the Kings Commands to lay the Draft of that charter, transmitted to you by Mr Colden, before the Privy Council in order that it may be put into such a train of examination as shall be judged necessary, but I do not think it likely that their Lordships will be induced to advise the King, to grant a charter which is to have the effect to increase the number of Members in the House of Representatives without the consent and concurrence of that House; in other respects the Charter does not appear to me to be liable to any material objection The only doubt or difficulty that has occurred, upon the request of the reformed Dutch & Presbyterian Churches for Charters of Incorporation, is whether such Charters would not have the effect to give an establishment inconsistent, with the Principles of the Laws of England, and it is the more necessary to attend to this difficulty, as it was first stated by the Council of New York, in the case of the application made in 1766 by the Ministers, Elders and Deacons of the Presbyterian church within the City of New York; if however upon consideration of the several cases in which this priviledge is now requested, the Law Servants of the King in the Province, and the Council whom you will consult upon them shall be of opinion that they are free from any difficulty of such a nature, it is the Kings pleasure that you do grant such charter enciosed in Got. of incorporation, conformable to what has been approved of by His Majesty in ii: May 1772. a like Case within the Province of New Jersey of which you will be particularly informed by the enclosed Papers. Franklin's of the The foregoing, sir, are all the Instructions which I have at present in command from the King to signify to you in consequence of your letter to me of the 12th Instant, but it is with very particular satisfaction that I add thereto, that I am further commanded by the King to acquaint you, that His Majesty is graciously pleased to permit and allow that the Assembly of New York, may if they think fit, by an Act, or Acts, settle upon you such sum or Sums, in addition to your salary, as they shall think proper, and you are accordingly allowed to give your consent to any Act or acts of Assembly for that purpose provided that such sum or sums be settled on you and your successors in that Government, or at least on you during the whole time of your Government there, and provided the same be done by the first Assembly, and within one year after your arrival in your Government To Governor Tryon I am &c &c DARTMOUTH Sir, Earl of Dartmouth to Governor Tryon. [N«w-York Pmperi (B. P. O.) CLXVII, No. 8». ] Whitehall 23rd May 1775. In a very short time after you embarked upon your return to your Government, the Petition to the King, the Memorial to the House of Lords, and the representation to the House of Commons of the Assembly of New York upon the subject matter of the Greivances they complain of in various instances of the exercise of the constitution1 authority of Parliament were received and Mr Burke having delivered to me the Petition to the King, I had the honor to present it to His Majesty who was well pleased to receive it with the most gracious expressions of Regard and attention to the humble requests of His faithfull subjects in New York who have on this occasion manifested a duty to His Majesty and a regard for the authority of the parent state, which had they not in the Memorial to the House of Lords and in the Representation to the House of Commons been unfortunately blended with express" containing claims which made it impossible for Parliament consistent with its justice and dignity to receive them, might have laid the foundation of that conciliation we have so long and so ardently wished for. I will however still hope (and I am encouraged in that hope by private advices received from Pensylvania) that the resolution of the House of Commons of the 27,b of Feb' will remove all obstacles to the restoration of the public tranquillity and I am commanded by the King to say that nothing can give greater satisfaction to the Royal Breast than to see us again a happy and united People Should such an event take place it will be and ought in Justice to be attributed in great measure to the moderation and good disposition which has appeared in the Assembly of New York and whilst they continue firm the body of the People must soon be convinced how equally vain and improper it is to insist upon claims inconsistent with their dependance on the authority of Parliament, and that the only constitutional method of obtaining redress for any greivances they may have to complain of is through the channel of their legal Representatives in Assembly I am &c &c To Governor Tryon Dartmouth Representation of the Lords of Trade to the Committee of the Privy Council. [New-York Entries, LXIX., p. 88. ] To the Right Honhle the Lord [s] of the Committee of His Majesty's most Honbl6 Privy Council for Plantation Affairs. My Lords, Pursuant to two Orders of your Lordships of the 26 of August 1773 We have taken into Our Consideration the Petition of sundry Officers of His Majestys Army who served in North America during the late War humbly praying that certain Lands lying in the Province of New York heretofore claimed by John Van Rensselaer Esq: may be granted to them agreable to the proportions specified in His Majesty's proclamation of the 7 of Oct 1763 whereupon we beg leave to report to your Lordships. That the Petitioners having failed in a Suit which under His Majesty's protection and support they had instituted in the Courts of New York in order to set aside Mr Rensselaers claim under his original Grant aud the Governor of New York having in consequence thereof thought fit upon a surrender of part of that claim to establish Mr Rensselaers Title to the rest by new grant there remains reserved out of the said claim a very considerable Tract of Land lying between the North and South Manors of Rensselaer bounded on the West by a Patent called Kinderhook and on the East by a line of Jurisdiction between the Province of New York and Massachusets Bay. It is necessary however that we should observe to your Lordship that there are two claims to these lands which upon this occasion will require to be considered the annexed Copy of a Petition presented to us by Mr James Savage in behalf of himself and others will shew your Lordships that this Country has been for a long Series of years in the actual possession of a number of his Majesty's Subjects who principally under encouragement from the Government of Massachusets Bay while it was supposed to belong to that province have seated themselves upon those Lands. The other claim to which we beg leave to refer your Lordships is founded upon a Grant to sundry Inhabitants at New York in the year 1705 commonly called the Westhook Patent the Circumstances of which Grant will more fully appear to your Lordships from the annexed copy of a petition presented by1 Governor Tryon by the proprietors of that Patent and by him delivered to us But we beg leave to observe to your Lordships that upon the fullest consideration of this Claim and of every thing which has been offered to us in support of it we cannot think it ought to have any weight in this Consideration there being no evidence whatever the lands supposed to be conveyed thereby were ever taken up at any time or indeed that they ever could have been so taken up as the description of the limits in the Grant itself has no reference whatever to any places or point of determination at present known or to be found with the district in question. With regard to the case of the other Claimants who are stated to be in actual possession of the Lands comprehended within that district we submit to your Lordships that it appears to us to deserve a much more favourable consideration not only from the Claimants having had possession for many years and from their having cultivated and improved the Land with great Industry and labour and at a great expence but also from their having at all times according to the representation made to us by Governor Tryon demanded3 themselves with distinguished loyalty and attachment and from their having by their dutiful and peaceable conduct merited the encouragement and protection of the Government of New York under these circumstances therefore however desirous we are of shewing every proper attention to the case of the Officers whose Petitions have been referred to us by your Lordships yet we could not consistently with any principles of Justice and Equity recommend such a Location of their Grants upon this Tract as should prejudice the interests of the other claimants at the same time we have the Satisfaction to acquaint your Lordships that this difficulty has been happily removed by the following proposition suggested by the petitioners and assented to by Mr Savage on behalf of his constitutents which proposition is as follows Viz' 66 "That the Officers be allowed to locate their Lands claimed under the Proclamation upon "that Tract within the Province of New York which lies between the North and South "Manors of Renselaer bounded on the West by the Kinderhook patent and on the East by "the Jurisdiction line between the Provinces of New York and Massachusets Bay as far as "such locations can be made without prejudice to the present occupancies (now under actual "improvement) allowing to each occupant at the Rate of fifty Acres of Woodland for every "two hundred Acres of Land under actual Improvement and so in proportion for a greater or "lesser number of Acres such parcels of Woodlands to be as contiguous as possible to each occupancy to which the same shall be respectively allotted and if any quantity of Woodland "shall have been already inclosed by any of the occupants such Woodland if less than the "proportion abovementioned shall be reckoned as part of the Woodland so directed to be "allotted to each occupancy as aforesaid and if it exceeds the number of fifty Acres in that "case no Woodland shall be allotted and that in so far as the vacant Lands shall fall short of "the quantity claimed by the Petitioners they be allowed to locate double the quantity of such "residue in some other part of the province of New York or elsewhere in North America not "already Granted." |