twenty-six millions of acres. The Southern boundaries of this tract encroached upon the grant to Lord Baltimore.

4. To further his plans, Penn found it necessary to procure a grant of that part of the present State of Delaware which was excluded from the original grant, namely, the town of New Castle and all the territory for twelve miles around it. This grant, as well as a release of his rights in Pennsylvania, was obtained from the Duke of York, to whom had been previously granted, by his brother King Charles II, all the territory from the mouth of the Connecticut to the shores of the Delaware River.

5. Penn produced this grant and a letter from Charles II, directing the Proprietary of Maryland to assent to an adjustment of his Northern boundary by measuring two degrees from his Southern boundary, at the rate of sixty miles to the degree. The Proprietary, resting firmly upon the terms of his charter, namely, the 40th degree, declined to submit to be robbed of territory which Penn had no right to take, and the Duke of York, no right to give.

6. To shake Baltimore's confidence in his charter, he attacked it by objecting that the Delaware settlements had been planted by the Dutch, before that charter was granted. The Proprietary at

Questions.-4. What did Penn find necessary? From whom was it obtained? 5. What did Penn produce? Did the proprietary submit? 6. How did Penn attack the charter?

that time was under the displeasure of the crown, and upon the king's referring the matter to the board of trade, it was decided that Lord Baltimore's grant included only "lands uncultivated ” and inhabited by savages, and that the territory along the Delaware had been settled by Christians antecedently to his grant, and was not therefore included in it.

7. At the time of this decision, 1685, Lord Bal¬ timore was not in a condition to resist it. Through the avarice of the crown, he was threatened with a total loss of his whole grant. Where power was on one side, and only right on the other, resistance would have hastened and ensured his loss of the province.

8. But James II, the patron of Penn and the author of the grant, who was now king, was about to experience in his own person, how little rights are respected when they come in conflict with power. He was expelled from the throne, and the final settlement of the boundary question was postponed until 1732, when an agreement was entered into by the Proprietary, to adopt the border fixed by the decree of 1685.

9. The matter being subject to further dispute, it was not until 1766, that Messrs. Charles Mason

Questions.-6. What was the decision of the board of trade? 7. What was the condition of Lord Baltimore at this time? 8. What advantages had Penn? Why was the settlement postponed? When was the agreement entered into? 9. Who marked the line agreed upon?

and Jeremiah Dixon, astronomers of celebrity, in England, chosen by the respective Proprietaries for the purpose, completed the division line between the two provinces. This line is known as "Mason and Dixon's," and was marked by setting at the end of every mile a stone with the letter P and the arms of the Penns, on the north, and the letter M, with the escutcheon of Lord Baltimore, on the south side.

10. Thus, after a struggle of more than a century, by the shrewdness of Penn, in availing himself of a mere quibble, a large and fertile territory was lost to Maryland.

11. The last of the boundary disputes has never been settled. The charter of Maryland defined the western boundary by the meridian passing through the first fountain of the Potomac. The question arose whether the north or south branch of the Potomac was the main head. A glance at the map will show that the decision involved a large tract of land. Several attempts had been made to adjust the line prior to the revolution, and in 1766, Virginia recognized the rights of the territory contained within the charter, but it yet holds the disputed district.

Questions.-9. How? 10. How was a large and fertile territory lost to Maryland? 11. What was the dispute with Virginia?

CHAPTER XVI.

1751-1755-FREDERICK, LAST LORD BALTIMORE-English and French War-Claims of each-Bold design of the Governor of Canada-Maryland stands aloof-Oppo sition to Arbitrary Demands. Dinwiddie's Perplexities-Maryland takes a part--Fort Cumberland--Acts of Assembly.

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1. 1751, Frederick, last of the Lords Baltimore, became Proprietary of Maryland.

2. A contest was now approaching in which Maryland was deeply interested. It was the last war between the English and French, for dominion · in the New World.

3. Immense regions in America were claimed by both nations, and each was eager to forestall the other by getting possession of them. The most desirable of these regions lay west of the Alleghany mountains.

4. The French claimed all this country by right of discovery, because in 1673, Father Marquette, and Joilet, of Quebec, French subjects, had passed down the Mississippi in a canoe, as far as Arkansas.

5. The English claimed all land west of the Alleghany mountains to the Mississippi. This claim was based upon a purchase that had been

Questions.-1. Who was the last Lord Baltimore? 2. What contest was now approaching? 3. What were the grounds of this contest? 4. What was the French claim? 5. What was the English?

made by commissioners from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, and the Six Nations. The Indians had a tradition that this land had been conquered by their forefathers.

6. Such were the foundations of claims which plunged two nations into a series of wars ending in a loss to England of a great part of her American possessions, and, to France of the whole.

7. In furtherance of the French claim, the governor of Canada conceived the bold design of constructing a chain of forts along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, where the English had already established trading posts.

8. Virginia was chiefly interested in the controversy. Maryland became involved simply in selfdefence. The legislature of Maryland stood aloof, in spite of the commands of the crown, the remonstrances of the governor, and the entreaties of Virginia. They declared, however, their determination to resist foreign invasion, and contribute to the assistance of the neighboring colonies when they conceived their necessity required it.

9. Even in Virginia, which was so deeply interested in the controversy, the growing spirit of Republicanism led to an opposition to the arbitrary demands of the governor for means to carry

Questions.-7. What design did the governor of Canada conceive? 8. Who was chiefly interested in this controversy? How was Maryland drawn in? Why did she stand aloof at first? What did sho declare? 9. What trouble was there in Virginia?