Property; Nor is it likely that we will consent to spend two years longer, and incur an Expence so enormous to comply with that which the Legislature has declared need not be complied with; and in the mean time to leave the Applicants under the law of 1799 open to all the Doubts and Fears so unhappily prevalent at the present Moment, and which Franklin and his Coadjutors so heartily rejoice at & so sedulously keep up.

From the present Commission, the Information required as necessary to the Patent neither can nor will be supplied, for reasons before given. If it could, with moderate labour, or at any reasonable Expence of time and Money, We should most gladly go out of our way to furnish it; for we differ from the Board of Property and Attorney Gen', with great reluctance, And should be very glad if we could make our Duty harmonize with our Inclinations to satisfy the Board, even in a point of which We cannot see the least necessity.

The Settlers having fully complied with their part of the Contract under the laws of 1799 and 1802, cannot be affected by the form of the Commissioner's Certificate, which they cannot control, And I am happy to find that the latter part of the Attorney General's Opinion fully confirms the Validity of the Certificates as hitherto issued.

I am, Gentlemen,

Your Obed. Servant,

THOMAS COOPER.

Thomas Sambourne to John R. Coates.

July 21, 1804.

Sir: D'. Rose requested that I would give him some Intelligence with Respect to the Proprietor's Manors in this County, released to the State. I know of no Difficulty at present. But with regard to your Manors of Stoke and Sunbury, it will be necessary for you forthwith to send to the Commissioners a list of all such persons who you Acknowledge to have titles under you in those Manors, that we may make their Certificares out for such parts as they have released; the sooner this is done the better, as the Commissioners wish to close the Business this Summer.

I am, Sir,

Your Mo. Ob.,

John R. Coates, Esq'.

THOMAS SAMBOURNE.

Mr. Cooper to John R. Coates.

August 1, 1804. Sir: Herewith I send you a Copy of the Observations I have to make on the release of Mr. Penn. The paper will suffi ciently explain itself, and I transmit it thus early that you may have time to clear up the Difficulties before the Board of Property when the Certificates are delivered there. I mean of course to be understood as at liberty to make any further Remark that may occur. The Certificates will not be ready till the Beginning of Winter.

I am, Sir,

Your Obed'. Servant,

THOMAS COOPER.

The Commissioners to the Secretary.

August 1, 1804.

Dear Sir: I do not often intrude unnecessarily on your time, or plague you with Questions which you are Officially required to answer; but I am staying here from absolute necessity, if this dispute is to be finished at all, and under circumstances very anxious and unpleasant to me, as well as very opposite to my Interest and my Inclination. I was in hopes by this time, or at least before the meeting of the Legislature, to have left the Seventeen townships settled, the people satisfied, and their Connecticut title cut up by the roots, and to have planted an Opposition to the half share Interest, which would gradually, but shortly, root out the remaining part of the Susquehanna Specnlation. We can beat the Half share men on their Own ground but their good friends Andrew Ellicott and his Coadjutors are very likely to render all our Efforts nugatory, and undo the labour of three years.

You recollect that in the commencement of the business, we found that as the law stood, enabling us to certify in favour of the Connect' Claimants for such part of their lots only as the State had again obtained by reconveyance from Pennsylvania Holder, We should give him the Pennsylvania title for detached and irregular portions, leaving them in Possession of the Connecticut title for the separate parts.

This would evidently neither satisfy them, nor fulfil the views of the Legislature, whose Business it was to establish the State title and destroy the Susquehanna One. It appeared to me, that the Settlement of a Dispute of so long standing, and which had been, and threatened to be, the source of civil commotion and inveterate prejudice against the laws, was a motive for

Legislative Interference, in taking the property of a private person for public use, under the Conditions prescribed by the Constitution, at least as strong as the motives arising from a Turnpike Road or Canal. The Legislature thought so too, and You were impressed with the necessity of the case, and sanctioned the Bill. During the progress of the Bill thro' the House, I was repeatedly given to understand, tho' without any other than circumstantial Evidence, that it met with the private, but undefatigable, Opposition of the Secretary of the Land Office and the Board of Property; and in the next Session with the assistance of M1. Cox, the predecessor of the present Secretary, and a Justice of the peace, Evan Owen, a Bill to repeal that provision was introduced, carried thro' the House of Representatives, attended with circumstances out of Doors of insidious manoeuvring and rancorous falsehood against the Commission, and myself in particular, that have turned out disgraceful to those only who were concerned in their propagation. I was easy as to my own Character and the fate of the Bill. If the Legislature were artfully drawn into Measures wavering and indecisive, and induced One year to adopt a System and the next to abandon it that was not your Character. I was persuaded that if they passed a law impairing a solemn Compact, and committing the honour and fairness of the State, you would not commit your character by sanctioning such a proceeding. The Senate felt the same Sentiments; and I am persuaded that nothing but the most artful and insidious Misrepresentations could have prevailed over the good sense of the House of Representatives on this Occasion.

During this Discussion at Lancaster in 1881, 1883, it was impossible for the Sources of Opposition to be entirely concealed from Lord Butler and Rosewell Welles, the representatives of Luzerne, by whom I know it was believed, because it was expressed to me that the Views of the Gentlemen of the Land Office were to make the Certificates include the released parts of the lots, with a private view to the farther repeal of the Supplement, while the Settlers were required to give up their Deeds for the whole; thereby deceiving and defrauding the people by promising more than was ultimately meant to be performed; and my Colleagues have constantly repelled this Insinuation, by declaring that conduct so unfair could not be imputed to any part of the Government or its Agents, and that altho' the Land Office had required at first the released part of the land to be specified in the Certificate, it was not acceded to by us, because it was unnecessary to the title, and we had no Doubt the Patents would issue without it.

Our Objections to this were made in writing to M'. Cochran

in March 23, 1803, nor from that time to this have I or my Colleagues deviated for a Moment from the Opinion then given, nor have I untill this Moment, nor do I at this Moment understand whether patents will issue without that Insertion or not.. In the mean time the minds of the People here are agitated, they do not come in to deposit their Connecticut Deeds as usual; numerous Contracts are made on the strength of our Certificates, which are not complied with since this Doubt hangs over them. The Half Share men, sneer at the Compromisers and say "we told you at first what all this would come to, that you never would get a title;" the State is liable to pay the Pennsylvania Claimant while the Board of Property cuts off the resources of the State, by stopping the payments into the treasury, and the salutary change of rich and peacable Germans in lieu of restless Connecticut holders, bound indeed strongly by their Interest, but slightly by their Inclination, is unfortunately stopt. Under the Circumstances of Suspicion, which the Conduct of the Board of Property has so imprudently given Birth to, it will be in vain to think of settling the Dispute. Not a Soul will now purchase under a patent that contains the released land, for fear the future title should be confined to it, nor will a single Connecticut.

Yours, &c.,

THOMAS COOPER.

Case for the Attorney General's Opinion.

It appears by the Information of Daniel Brodhead and William Parsons, Two of His Majesties Justices of the Peace for the County of Northampton, that many Persons, the natural born Subjects of His Majesty, now residing in This and some of the Neighbouring Provinces, have openly declared their Intention in a Body to possess themselves of and settle upon a large Tract of Land in this Province, lying on the Sasquehanna River, and commonly called Wyomick, without any Lycense or Grant from our Honourable Proprietaries, or Authority from the Government, which Intention they have also declared they will carry into Execution this Spring. This Tract of Land has not yet been purchased of the Six Nation Indians, but has hitherto been reserved and is now used by them for their hunting Ground.

The Government of Pennsylvania, by their Treaties with those Indians, stand engaged not to permit any Persons to settle upon Lands within the Bounds of the Province that have

not been purchased from them. Hence it is apprehended those Indians may interpret such a Settlement a Violation of our Treaties, and may be induced to commit Hostilities that would be attended with consequences most dangerous at this Juncture.

Q. If any Persons give out in Speeches that they are going to possess themselves of this Tract of Land, and persuade Others to go with them, and are making Preparation to go accordingly; Or if they shall presume to go and settle there; Is it lawful for the Justice of the Peace to cause such Persons to be arrested and imprisoned?

To Enter upon and seize the Lands of the proprietaries, or others, without their permission, are Acts against the Laws, and manifest Breaches of the publick peace. Such Offences, by a Multitude, are of dangerous Example and highly penal, as they tend to Sedition and are likely to terminate in Capital Crimes. If any person, by Words, or Actions, discover an Intention to disturb the publick peace, they may be Arrested and Imprisoned, until they give sufficient Security to keep the peace and be of good Behaviour.

Therefore, if it shall be made appear to any Justice of the peace, by Oath or Affirmation, that any persons have engaged themselves in the unlawful Design mentioned in the State of this Case, or have done any Acts tending to promote it, I am of Opinion it will be the Duty of such Justice to issue his Warrants to apprehend those persons, and upon their being Arrested, to commit them to Goal, unless they give securities to appear at the next Quarter Sessions to answer for their Offences and in the meantime to keep the peace and be of good Behaviour, such as the Justice, in his discretion, shall think reasonable.

18th March, 1754.

TENCH FRANCIS.

33-VOL. XVIII.