it as they thought fit to some of the Uses mentioned in Sir Thomas Robinson's Letter of the Twenty-Sixth of October. To this Committee I have applied, but do not expect they will lay out any Part of that Money to purchase Provisions to be sent to Wills' Creek, or indeed to any good Purpose. "I consulted Mr. Allen upon the Subject of your Letter, and as he had one from You upon the same head I desired he would give You his Thoughts as to the best Method of sending Provisions to Wills' Creek. He has wrote to a Friend of his in one of the Back Counties to know what Quantity, in what Time, and upon what Terms can be furnished from thence, but thinks with me that no certain Supply can be had but from this Town, and if it can be conveyed up Patowmack by Water it might come cheaper than any other Way; but as he writes to You himself upon the Subject, You will give me Leave to refer You to his Letter, and whatever Method You think best shall be carried into Execution. You will thereupon. furnish me with such Directions and Bills of Exchange as You may think necessary, and with the Help of Mr. Allen every Thing shall be done for the publick Service that is in his Power, or that of, "Sir, your most obedient humble Servant, "ROBT H. MORRIS." A Letter from Governor Morris to Governor Dinwiddie. "Sir: "I wrote You on the Fourth Instant by a Vessel bound into one of your Rivers, but as she may be sometime on her Passage I now send You a Duplicate of it. In answer to my Application to the Committee of our Assembly, the Speaker, who is one of them, sent me the enclosed Letter, by which You will observe they do not think themselves obliged to furnish any Provisions till the Troops come into this Province, and when they do I make no Doubt they will find out some Pretence for not doing it then, their Scheme being to avoid all Expence however necessary to their own Preservation. "Governor Shirley's Son, who is recruiting here for his Father's Regiment, has already raised about One Hundred and Forty Men, and I expect some Officers of Sir William Pepperell's will soon be here upon the like Service, and shall afford them my best Assistance which is all I am enabled to do towards furnishing the Number of Men wanted upon the present Occasion. "I am, Sir, Your most obedient humble Servant, "Philadelphia, 10th February, 1755." "Sir: A Letter from Governor Dinwiddie to Governor Morris. "Inclosed I send You a Letter from Sr John St Clair to which I desire to be referred, he is a very diligent good officer, and has been much engaged ever since his Arrival in viewing our Colony and preparing every Thing for the Reception of the Troops (which we daily expect) and for their March to the Camp at Wills' Creek. "I wrote You the 14th ult to which I expected Your Answer before this, but Mr. Peters wrote me You was so hurried You could not write to Mr. Petcher. I am heartily sorry for the Conduct of the House of Assembly, they appear to catch at any Thing rather than comply with His Majesty's Commands on the present Situation of our Affairs in granting a Supply for conducting this necessary Expedition, on the Success thereof their Lives, Fortunes, and Liberties depend. "My former Letter was to desire the Purchase of 600,000 weight of Flour to be delivered at the Magazine at Wills' Creek. As I have the Expedition at Heart I have a thorow Dependence on that Supply from Your Province; and as Your People have not granted You any Money I propose paying for the above in Bills of Exch rather than any Disappointment shou'd happen. I wrote Mr. Allen on the same Subject, and I hope for an agreeable Answer by Return of this Express, which S John St Clair sends on purpose to know the Situation of Your Province, and that a Road may be opened to the Allegheny Mountains from Your City; but I refer You to his Letter. "And desire to assure You that I am with great Respect, "Your Honor's most humble Servant, "ROBT. DINWIDDIE. "VIRGINIA, Williamsburg, February 14th, 1755. "Governor MORRIS." A Letter From Governor Morris to Governor Dinwiddie. "Sir: I am honour'd with Yours by Sir John St. Clair's Express, and have at last prevail'd on the Committee who have power from our House of Assembly to borrow and dispose of 5000 Pounds this Currency, to Provide a quantity of Flower for the use of the Troops, and will observe by the inclosed minute that they have agreed to deliver the Flower of 14,000 Bushels of Wheat at the Mouth of Conegochege, immediately upon your notifying the Arrival of the Troops. This will somewhat exceed the Quantity of Flower You mentioned, and I hope will answer the End proposed. "I wish it was as much in my Power as it is in my Inclinations to promote the Success of this Expedition, but you are sensible what a Sett of People I have to deal with, who think self-defence a Crime, and Instead of advancing the Public Service do what they can to obstruct it, tho' they must be the most Considerable Gainers oy the Removal of the French from their Frontiers. "I have by this Messenger sent Sir John St Clair the best Maps and Accounts I can Procure of the back Country, and shall continue my Enquirys upon that Head, and collect every Material that can be usefull upon the present Occasion. "Gov rnor Shirley has had two hundred Recruit from this Place, and I hear his Regiment is now complete, and that Sir William Pepperill is in great Forwardness. "I wrote you in Answer to yours of the 14th Ult by the same Conveyance that Mr. Allen wrote, and sent a Duplicate of it by Mr. Woolsingham, and hope you have long since received them both. I hope soon to hear of the Arrival of the Troops, and am with great Respect, "Sir, your most obedient humble Servant, "PHILADELPHIA, 26th February, 1755.” "Sir: A Letter from Sir John St. Clair to Governor Morris. "I herewith transmit to you two Letters from the Secretary of State relating to the present Circumstances of Affairs in America. "As His Majesty has appointed me Deputy Quarter Master General to the Troops to be sent forthwith to Virginia and those to be levied in the different Provinces, I have taken the first opportunity of acquainting you with my Arrival in Virginia in order to make the necessary preparations for the reception of the two Regiments which were to embark at Cork a few Days after my Departure from England, and which we reasonably may expect will arrive in a very short Time. "I shall be glad to know the particulars with regard to what may have lately happened in the Province you command, that I may regulate myself accordingly, and have them ready to lay before General Braddock on his landing, that no Time may be lost. "As I am an intire Stranger to the Ground in America it is highly necessary I shou'd get the best information of its Situation that I can, which I have no other way of doing but requesting of you to send me any Maps or Drawings you may have of your Pro vince, which I shall return to you after they are copied, or if you have any knowledge of the Ground at the back of our Settlements it will be of use likewise for me to have it. These are Things that General Braddock will expect that I shou'd have, that he may be ex-, actly informed of the Distances of Places for regulating the Marches of the Troops (if necessity requires it) thro' the different Provinces. "Being ordered by his Majesty to correspond with you I am glad of this opportunity of expressing the Respect with which I am, "Sir, Your most obedient and most humble Servant, "JOHN ST. CLAIR. "P. S. It will be of the greatest consequence to have the proportion of men from your Province in readiness for completing the two Regiments from 500 men each to 700.” "Sir: A Letter from Governor Morris to Sir John St. Clair. "PHILADELPHIA, February 10th, 1755. "I was favoured with Yours of the Fourteenth Ult by Col. Ellison, with Two Letters from the Secretary of State, and shall have a particular Pleasure in affording You my best Assistance on all Occasions, and wish it was in my Power to give You a better Account of the State of Things in this Province, but such is the Infatution and Obstinacy of the People I have to deal with, or at least their Representatives, that tho' their Country is invaded, and every thing they enjoy depends upon removing the French from their Borders, yet I could not persuade them to act with vigour at this Juncture, or even to grant the Supplies expected by the Crown and recommended by the Secretary of State. "The flourishing Condition of this Province is such that without burthening the People We might have done every Thing required by his Majesty and much more; but our Assembly took it into their Heads that Royal and Proprietary Instructions were destructive of their Liberties, and instead of considering the Danger to which the Province was exposed they entered into a Dispute upon that Head, and could not be prevailed upon to lay it aside or to give Money upon any Terms but such as were directly contrary to his Majesty's Instructions and inconsistent with their own Dependance upon the Crown. "I have ordered the best Maps I can procure of the back Country to be copied for You, and shall send them by the first Opportunity, with such Notes as may enable You to understand them, but am much afraid they are not very exact, as our only Accounts of that Country are from Indian Traders, who are generally an ignorant, stupid People. "I could easily have had a Number of Men in readiness to aug ment the two Regiments from Ireland if my Assembly would have come into reasonable Measures, but for want of Money I have not been able to carry the King's Commands in that particular into execution. "Should His Majesty's Service or your own Inclinations call You to this Part of the Continent I shall be proud of making this Place agreeable to You, and am, "Sir, Your most obedient and most humble Servant, "Sir: A Letter from Sir John St. Clair to Governor Morris. "I did myself the Honour of writing a Letter to your Excellency of the 14th of January, in which I requested of you to send me any Maps or Drawings that you might have of Pennsylvania. It has given me a good deal of uneasiness that I have not received your Answer, which I expected before now in order to have been informed of your Province. I am here alone without any assistance, otherwise I should have sent an Ingenier to have reconoitred your Frontiers, and if I could have been spared from the urgent Service I am on here I should have visited your Country myself. "I have sent a Messenger with this to Philadelphia that your Excellency may be the better informed of our Situation, and what part is expected that you should act for the Common good. "The British Troops are daily expected, and as the Season is far advanced they have no Time to loose before they begin their operations. I have done every thing in my power to facilitate their March from their landing place to the Alligany Mountains, which will be a very great Trouble and Expence. "As I make no Doubt but that the French will unite all their strength together to make a stand before we can get on the Ohio, which will oblige us to have the Assistance of one of the Regiments now raising in the Northern Provinces, This Step must puzle the French a good deal, as they will expect an attack from all Quarters. You must be very sensible what a great Detour these Troops must make by marching thro' Philadelphia, Frederick in Maryland, crossing the Pattowmack at the Mouth of the Monocassy, and joining us at Winchester. This would retard all our Motions. "For this Reason I must press your Excellency in the most earnest manner to open a Communication by cutting or Repairing the Roads towards the Head of the Yougheagany, or any other way that is nearer to the French Forts. "By the Maps I have of your Province there appears to me to be a Road from Philadelphia which crosses the Sasquehannah a |