ticutt for or bounds & mutuall assistance wch they nor Massachusetts will not admitt. 10. Our boundaries are South, the Sea, West Delaware; North to ye Lakes or ffrench; East Connecticut river, but most usurped & yett possêd by s'd Connecticut some Islands Eastward & a tract beyond Kennebeck River called Pemaquid, &c. New Yorke is in 40d 35m; Albany abt 43d; the Collony is in severall long narrow stripes of wch a greate parte of the settlemt made by adventurers before any Regulacôn by wch Incroachmts without pattents wch townes have lately taken but by reason of continuall warrs noe Survey made & [qu. of the] wildernesse, noe certaine computacôn can be made of the planted and implanted, these last 2 yeares about 20,000 acres taken up and pattented for particuler persons besides Delaware, most of the land taken up except upon Long Island is improued & unlesse the bounds of the Duke's pattent be asserted noe great quantityes att hand undisposed. 11. Our principall places of Trade are New Yorke and South'ton except Albany for the Indyans, our buildings most wood, some lately stone & brick, good country houses & strong of their severall kindes. 12. Wee haue about 24 townes, villiages or parishes in Six Precincts, Divisions, Rydeings, or Courts of Sessions. 13. Wee haue severall Rivers, Harbours & Roades, Hudson's River the chiefest & is abt. 4 fathom water att coming in butt six, tenn or more within & very good soundings & anchorage either in Hudson's River or in the Sound, the usuall roade before the town and moulde. 14. Our produce is land provisions of all sorts as of wheate exported yearly about 60000 bushells, pease, beefe, pork, & some Refuse fish, Tobacco, beavers, peltry or furrs from the Indians, Deale & oake timber, plankes, pipestaues, lumber, horses, & pitch & tarr lately begunn to be made, Comôdityes imported are all sorts of English manufacture for Christians & blancketts, Duffells &c. for Indians about 50000lb yearly, Pemaquid afords merchantable ffish & masts. 15. Wee haue noe Experience or skill of Salt Peter to be had in Quantityes. 16. Our Merchts are not many but with inhabitants & planters about 2000, able to beare armes, old inhabitants of the place or of England, Except in & neere New Yorke of Dutch Extraction & some few of all nations, but few Servts, much wanted & but very few slaves. 17. Noe persons whateuer are to come from any place but according to act off Parlt weh the magistrates and officers of the severall townes or places are to take care of, accordingly the plantacón is these late yeares increased, butt noe Genrall acct hath been taken soe is not knowne how much nor what persons. Some few Slaues are sometimes brought from Barbadoes, most for Provisions and sould att abt 30lb or 35lb Country pay. 18. Ministers have been soe scarce & Religions many that noe acct cann be giuen of Children's births or christenings. 19. Scarcity of Ministers and Law admitting marriages by Justices, noe acct cann be giuen of the number marryed. 20. Noe acct cann be giuen of burialls, formes of burialls not being generally obserued & few ministers till very lately. 21. A merch worth 1000lb or 500lb is accompted a good substantiall merchant and a planter worthe halfe that in moveables accompted [rich?] with all the Estates may be valued att about £150,000. 23. There may lately haue traded to ye Collony in a yeare from tenn to fifteen shipps or vessells of about togeather 100 tunns each,English new England and our owne built of wch 5 small shipps & a Ketch now belonging to New Yorke foure of them built there. 23. Obstruccôns to Improuem' of planters, trade, Navigacón and mutuall assistance are ye distinction of Collonies for our owne produce, as if different nations and people, though next neighbours upon the same tract of land, & His Maties subjects, we obserueing acts of trade & navigacôn &c. 24. Aduantages, Incouragemt & Improuemt of Planters trade & Navigacôn would be more if next neighbours of or own Nation the King's subjects on the same tract of land might without distinction, supply each other with our owne produce, punctually obserueing all acts of parliam1 for Exportacôn & would dispose all persons the better for mutuall assistance. 25. Rates or dutyes upon Goods exported are 2a for each hhd of Tobacco & 1s 3d on a beaver skin & other peltry proportionably, Provisions and all else paye nothing, Goods imported payes 2 per cent except Liquors particulerly rated something more, & Indian trade goeing up the river payes 3 per cent, there are some few quitt-rents, as also Excise or license monys for retaileing stronge drinke & a way house or publique Scale: all applyed to ye Garrison and publique charge, to which it hath not hitherto sufficed by a greate deale. 26. There are Religions of all sorts, one church of England, Several Presbiterians & Independents, Quakers & Anabaptists of Severall sects, some Jews but presbiterians & Independs most numerous & Substantiall. 27. The Duke maintaines a chapline wch is all the certaine allowance or Church of England, but peoples free gifts to ye Ministry, and all places oblidged to build Churches & provide for a minister, in web most very wanting, but presbiterians & Independts desierous to have and maintaine them if to be had, There are abt 20 Churches or Meeting places of web aboue halfe vacant their allowance like to be from 40lb to 70lb a yeare and a house and garden. Noe Beggars but all poore cared ffor. If good Ministers could be had to goe theither might doe well & gaine much upon those people. Endorsed "Answers of inquiries of New-York NOTE.-Chalmers gives in his Annals what purport to be copies of these Reports, but they will be found to be rather abstracts when compared with the official MSS. which are now published in full, it is believed for the first time. |