Subalturns, I am desired by all the Gentlemen who the Committee have been so good as to think of in so genteel a manner, to return them their hearty thanks;' and again, on the twenty-first of May, 'Your kind present is now all arrived, and shall be equally divided to-morrow between Sir Peter Halket's Subalterns and mine, which I apprehend will be agreeable to the Committee's intent. This I have made known to the officers of both Regiments, who unanimously desire me to return the generous Benefactors their most hearty thanks, to which be pleased to add mine, &;' and Sir Peter Halket in his of the twenty-third of May says, 'The Officers of my Regiment are most sensible of the Favours conferred on the Subalterns by your Assembly, who have made them so well-timed and so handsome a present. At their request and Desire I return their Thanks, and to the acknowledgements of the Officers beg leave to add mine, which you, I hope, will do me the favour for the whole to offer to the Assembly, and to assure them that we shall on every occasion do them the Justice due for so seasonable and well judged an act of Generosity.' There are more of the same kind, but these may suffice to shew that we had some hand in what was done,' and that we did not, as the Governor supposes, deviate from the Truth, when in our just and necessary vindication against his Groundless, cruel, and repeated Charge, that we had refused the proper, necessary, & timely assistance to an Army sent to protect the Colonies,' we alledged that we had supplied that army plentifully with all they asked of us, and more than all, and had Letters from the late General and other principal Officers acknowledging our care and thanking us cordially for our Services.' If the General ever wrote differently of us to the King's Ministers, it must have been while he was under the first Impressions given him by the Governor to our Disadvantage and before he knew us, and we think with the Governor that if he had lived he was too honest a Man not to have retracted those mistaken accounts of us and done us ample Justice. "The Governor concludes with telling us 'if our minutes be examined for fifteen Years past, in them will be found more frivolous Controversies, unparallelled abuses of Governors, and more undutifulness to the Crown, than in all the rest of his Majesty's Colonies put together.' The Minutes are printed and in many hands, who may Judge on examining them whether any abuses of Governors and undutifulness to the Crown are to be found in them. Controversies, indeed, there are too many, but as our Assemblies are yearly changing, while our Proprietaries during that Term have remained the same, and have probably given their Governors the same Instructions, we must leave others to guess from what Root it is most likely that those Controversies should continually spring. As to frivolous Controversies we never had so many of them as since our present Governor's administration, and all raised by himself, and we may venture to say that during that one Year, scarce T the Co yet expired, there have been more 'unparallelled abuses' of this people and their Representatives in Assembly, than in all the Years put together since the Settlement of the Province. "We are now to take our leave of the Governor, and indeed, since he hopes no good from us nor we from him, 'tis time we should be parted. If our Constituents disapprove our Conduct, a few days will give them an opportunity of changing us by a new election, and could the Governor be as soon and as easily changed, Pennsylvania would, we apprehend, deserve much less the character he gives it, of an unfortunate Country. "Signed by order of the House, "September 29th, 1755." "ISAAC NORRIS, Speaker. The Governor having received a Confirmation of the entire defeat of the French under General Deiskau in their attack of General Johnson on Lake St. Sacrament, sent the following Message to the Indians: "By the Honourable ROBERT HUNTER MORRIS, Esquire, Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province of Pennsylvania, & Counties of New Castle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware, "To all our Indian Brethren & Allies on the River Susquehannah or elsewhere within the said Province Greeting. "Agreeable to the Treaties of Friendship between this Government and the Indian Nations, I take this first opportunity of communicating to You the agreeable account I have received of a Battle that was fought on the 6th Instant on Lake St. Sacrament, now called Lake St. George, between General Johnson and Monsieur Dieskau the French General, in which the English have obtained the victory, and have wounded Mons Dieskau, the General, and taken him prisoner with his Aid-De-Camp and many of his Officers, and killed Eight hundred Soldiers. It was fought for a long time and with great Spirit on both sides, but the French were at last obliged to retreat and fly away. "Our Brethren, the Indians, behaved extraordinary well in the action and lost some of their men, but we have not yet heard how many nor who they are, when we do we shall write you the particulars. "I most heartily congratulate all the Indians on this success of General Johnson, and have the satisfaction to acquaint You that the number of French killed, wounded, and taken prisoners, exceeded the number of all the English who fell in the unfortunate action on the Banks of the Monongahela. Mons' Dieskau, now General Johnston's prisoner, was a person of extraordinary note in France, being a Marischal-De-Camp and Commander of all the Forces in North America. "The request delivered by Tohashwughdonyiondy, called by the English the Belt, is now before the wise men of this Province, and he may be assured I will send him my answer as soon as I know what they will enable me to do. "I acknowledge the receipt of Scarroyady's Letter and thank him for his Intelligence, and desire he will continue to give me the earliest accounts of every thing he judges of Importance enough for this Government to be acquainted with." At a Council held at Philadelphia, Saturday the 4th October, 1755. PRESENT: Robert Strettel, Joseph Turner, Esquires. The Sheriff's having made the returns of the several Elections, the following persons were commissionated Sheriffs and Coroners for the ensuing Year: Philadelphia County. } Bucks County. } Chester County. James Coultas, Sheriff, Ezekiel Dunning, Coron'r. William Boone, Sheriff, Lancaster Co'y. York County. Cumberland C'ty. N. Ampton C } Berks Cr } Newcastle C Kent County. Jacob Kollock, Jun" Sheriff, } Sussex Cr At a Council held at Philadelphia on Thursday the 16th October, 1755. PRESENT: The Honourable ROBERT HUNTER MORRIS, Esquire, Lieutenant Governor, &ca. Robert Strettel, Richard Peters, William Logan, } Esquires. A Message by eight members to the Governor last night that the house was met according to Charter and had chosen their Speaker, and desired to know when & where they might present him. A Message by the Secretary that the Governor with his Council was in the Council Chamber and ready to receive the House & their Speaker. Isaac Norris, Esq., addressed the Governor, acquainting him that a full number of Representatives was met and had chosen him for their Speaker, which office he would execute with the Governor's Concurrence. The Governor approved their choice, and then Mr. Norris requested the usual Privileges. After the Speaker and the House were withdrawn, the Governor informed the Council that several persons near the Boundaries of Maryland had been disturbed by Maryland Surveyors, and that on their several petitions he had wrote a Letter to Governor Sharpe, which was read in these words: "Sir: A Letter to Governor Sharpe from Governor Morris. "I have received a petition from several of the Inhabitants of Air Town situate on the Waters of the Conolloways, a Branch of the River Potomack within the County of Cumberland, setting forth that they and their neighbours have been lately disturbed by some Officers and Surveyors from your Government, tho' they have for many Years paid Taxes within this Province, and have settled their Lands under the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania. They say, likewise, that some of their possessions have been lately surveyed by the Surveyors of Frederick County, in virtue of Warrants from Lord Baltimore's Land Office, and that they are threatened with an armed force as you will see by their Petition, which is Copied and herewith sent. "It is a little surprizing that at such a time of Publick Danger & Calamity these unneighbourly practices should be carrried on, tho' I am very well persuaded they are unknown to you, and that you will discountenance them the moment you are told of them. "It may happen that your people may have settled in some places northward of the Temporary Line and ours to the South ward of it, but if that Line be continued for a few Miles it will soon be known which of them are rightly settled. I therefore propose it to you to have this forthwith done, the month of November is one of the best in the Year for this service, and if begun then it may be finished before the severe Weather comes on. "If this be agreeable to you I will issue a Commission to Mr. George Stevenson and Mr. John Armstrong, surveyors of the two Counties that border on the Temporary Line, and to join with any two you shall please to appoint for this purpose. "I have sent orders to the Officers & Surveyors of the County of Cumberland not to disturb any persons settled under Lord Baltimore, nor to Survey the Lands on which any of your people are settled, and I must beg the favour of you to send the like orders to the Officers of Frederick County." "I am, Sir, Your very humble Servant, "ROBERT HUNTER MORRIS. “PHILADELPHIA, 7th October, 1755." The Governor then laid before the Board a Letter from Sir Thomas Robinson of the 19th of June, which he received last night inclosed in a Letter from Governor Dinwiddie. Likewise he ordered several Letters to be read & entered relating to Indian affairs, observing with concern that they had begun depredations in the neighbouring Colonies, and expressing his Fears that it would not be long before we might expect the like Treatment. A Letter to Governor Morris from Conrad Weiser. "Honoured Sir: "By this I inform your Honour that my Sons are returned from Shamokin, where they have been by your Honour's order to acquaint our Friendly Indians of the Success of Gen" Johnson against the French on Lake George. Sammy was poorly when your Honour's orders arrived, therefore did not care to venture alone, 50 took one of his Brothers with him. The Indians were exceedingly pleased with the news, and returned thanks to your Honour for giving them such early Notice. "On the first of this Instant Tohashwuchtonirent (the belt) with Zigarea, James Logan, and Jonathan, arrived at my House & made the following Speech: "Brother Onas (the Belt Speaker): We let you know that upon certain News we received a few days ago from Oneido, one of the Six United Nations, We have agreed among ourselves to settle at Shamokin, and to summons and exort all our Indian Brethren to come and settle there and live and die with us. |