Some Danger of being put out of humour by riding abo an hour & 12 in the Dark. Since my Returne my good Friend Capt Long has been asking me, whether some Scheme about Lands could not be thot of to propose to S Cha Wager, a Gent at the head of the Admiralty, One of the Ministry & of Great Int, that has endamaged his Estate in the Service of the Crown, & never yet askt any thing as a Recompence. Last Sunday Mr Kennedy put into my hands by great accident a State of the Case as to the 3 Lower Countys, woh he had prepar'd for the Gov to look into the Affair abot the Quitrents: I thought this very luckie, because 'tis more particular than yours, & took the Liberty of Copying it, woh I enclose to you, And upon further consideration of the Case I'm persuaded it is stil more worth recomending, & from Longs hints I cannot but think S Cha' a very fit son to ask for it, he having so just a pretention to ask a favour Therefore if it meets with your approbation I am of Opinion as to that Btic To join him with the D of Chandois as to the Recomendat of this Affair, but I Shod be glad to know your Sentim upon it as soon as possible if Blag were to be Trusted there wod be a good opportunity, but I beg you will contrive Some other way (as soon as possible) of writing & I will write home by way of Boston woh is the Dernier Resort for a Conveyance at this time. Since I wrote thus far, I have perused the Articles between La Baltimore & Penn & am apprehensive that the main part of The Dispute between them will turne upon these 3 Lower Countys: & Perhaps L'B': Claime might be the thing that principally hindered La Southerlands Success: You knowing the Geography of the Country & the best able to Judge wt Construction must be put upon the Bounds, may be able to give me further Light into This mre: But I Observe That these 3 Countys being Settled by the Dutch in K. Cha 1st time he wa not be Supposed to Grant any part of them And they were not reduced by the English 'til 1661. I beg you will send me your Opinion at large upon the affair as soon as possible & returne me the Articles; because it may be proper to Copy them & Send 'em home And now I must assure y° I am extremly Obliged by the Confidence you have reposed in me upon so Short an Acquaintance & that you may depend on my honour & Sincerity, in all our Intercourse of Correspondence & my utmost endeavours to cultivate & improve that Friend Ship comenced between us wch I hope will turne to Our Mutual Satisfaction & Advantage I am Sir Your most Sincere & Obliged Fd & Serv DAN HORSMANDEN. My humble Service to M" Colden P. S. Janry 5th 1733/4. Mr Mathews having been detain'd by a very bad Cold it gives me an Opp of enlarging You may keep all the Coppys I enclose you for your own private uses I have sent you Copys of the Bounds of the Charters of Maryland & Pennsylvania So must beg your opinion at large upon them. I mentioned the Affair of Kingston to the Gov' and y' you had been so kind as to let me in for a Share All the Answer I could get was that things must come on in their Turne But find he is Determined to take mony in Lieu of Dirt for the future: I will take the 1st fair Opp of pushing this upon the Concernm of his honour & See What Effect that will have & further as to doing me a Service in it wr that will have any weight with him. But I am apprehensive M2 C. has got Such hold of him, that nothing can be done without his having a Share. Pray let me know the Value of Lead Oar Ton woh I forgot to fill up in y⚫ Draught of my Lre to Mr Watts. My Short hand Book was lent to a Gent" who has been out of Towne ever Since my Returne. Colden to Horsmanden. Copy of part of a letter in answer to the above, in Colden's writing. Not dated. Since I wrote what is on the other side I find that I have time to add something in Relation to the Lower Counties The paper you had from Mr Kennedy I believe he receiv'd from me some years since but then I did not know the Boundaries of Maryland & Pennsylvania as I now do by the copies you send me. It is well known that a Degree of Latitude in the Globe contains a Tract of Land of something better than sixty nine Statute miles in breadth & goes in lenth round it As Maryland is bounded by the 40th degree of Latitude you Gent" of the law can best determine whether my lord Baltimore can claim any part of that degree. But as Mr Penn's southerly bounds are to extend to the beginning of the 40th degree there can be no Question of his Patents including it were it not that the line of his southerly bounds is to terminate in the Circle of twelve miles round New Castle but that Circle will in no place reach the beginning of the 40th degree because New Castle lies not far from the midle of it If the 40th degree of Latitude be not taken as a term of art but in the Vulgar Acceptation of that Word then Maryland will comprehend all the 40th degree but this M Penn will dispute to the utmost I have observ'd on Delaware with a brass Quadrant that had Telescopick sights & I know of what consequence the Dispute is Upon the whole I think there is no room for any to come in between them & it will be best for you to advise your friends of this as soon as you can to prevent their appearing in a thing that they must afterwards drop I think that the agreemt between my Lord Baltimore & the Penns is favourable to my Lord Baltimore if he cannot extend to the 40th degree Compleat as the word is taken in the Vulgar Acceptation but if he can it is extremely prejudicial The 40th degr Compleat is in the wishes of Delaware The beginning of it is on the Bay of Delaware. Dear Sir, From Daniel Horsmanden. NEW YORK Janry ye 8th 1733/4. Mr Mathews being detain'd thus long in Towne, has given me a temptat" of Setting pen to paper again: I wish with all my heart, that you liv'd within reach of a Days Journey: I shod be less troublesome to you in this manner than I Shall now find my Self under the Necessity of: I just now press'd the affair of Kingston to the Gov as far as I could in Decency, & insinuated a Temptation to him to dispatch that affair, by Suggesting that they might perhaps have Something further to discover, when this was finished, and that he might probably have ready mony for the Share he demands: but all without Effect; For he Says he cannot think of it, 'til the Spring & he intends then to be up there himself, what he means by this he best knows. He tells me that for the future he intends to take mony instead of Lands: Whether any thing can be done with him in Such matters I am not able to Say; but he has often promised both Capt Long & myself each a good Lump of Land at once, I have hinted So much to M Mathews woh I desired him to informe you of: And if 6 or 8000 acres can be discovered worth asking for, we are determined to push it at once; Capt Long I am Sure, he is exceedingly Obliged to, & I think he is indebted something to me for my Services; And if he do's not think proper to Grant our Request we Shall neither ask nor expect any thing for the future; we can ask nothing but thro' your Information, & we Shod be glad to be concernd with you & such as you think proper in Such an Affair, I am Sure you'l recomend nothing, that is not worth while; The quantity & manner of proposing it we leave to your discretion; the County where it lyes need not be known. I am with Sincere Respect Sir Your most assured & faithfull DAN HORSMANDEN. I have Sent away our Lres for England via Boston by the Safest method I could think of: I got M Ellison to enclose 'em to the Survey Genl in his pacquet Mathews has a whole pacquet of those to joke with y° upon I saw a Letter From you To James I really cant Imagin what refined politicks they Intend To make use of by their giveing out they will have a new assembly I am pretty sure (Except they fal upon the method of makeing a majority by their new mannours) it must Infalibly Turn against them; tho that is a method I have Long Dreaded, and I think Should be prevented whenever The assembly meets if possible I yesterday Received a Letter from my Sister pearce in Virginia who gives me an account That one James Brudnell is appointed Governour of this province She further Says that who is appointed for Jersie She does not know this James Brudnell is uncle to Lord Cardigan who married the Youngest Daughter of The Duke of Montague he refused the government of Jamaica Some Time ago because he did not Like the climate, The Account comes by Letters to capt Pearce from his Brother by a Ship who Left London the Latter End of November which gives him also an account That war is at present the talk that 30,000 Seamen are Kept in pay this winter My Sister further Tels me that my father wil have all the assistance that Virginia can give him, and that Since our Last Letters the proceedings of Gov' Cosby is one of The Topicks of All The coffee Houses in London |