obliged to quit their Plantations on the North side of that Chain of Hills which is called the endless Mountains, that take their Rise in New England, and that the Indians are expected to Continue their Ravages into the Governments of New York and New Jersey. "As I know not the State of the Six Nations, nor where an Application can be best made to them, I must take the Freedom to desire on the part of this Government that you would be pleased to send a Message to the Six Nations to inform them of this Defection of the Delawares and Shawonese both from us & them, with all its horrid Circumstances, and assure them that is it without the least Provocation from us, but that as they say themselves it is to shew the Six Nations that they are no longer Women, by which they mean no longer under their Subjection; they have the further Imprudence to say they will come & attack such of the Six Nations as have taken up the Hatchet against the French. It will, therefore, be right to warn the Six Nations in your Message not only against any attempts that may be made on their Castles, but to require them to send Messengers to all the Indians under their Dependance not to assist or join the French or their Indians, but to take up the Hatchet & assist the English, and to let them know that if they go out a fighting against the English the Six Nations will consider them as Enemies & treat them as such. "You will see by the enclosed Papers that these French Shawonese and Delawares have offered the French Hatchet to the Sasquehannah Indians but they have refused to take it, and have sent a Message to this Government that they have done so, & will fight with us if we will support them, and they shall be ordered to do so by the Six Nations. Be pleased, therefore, in your Message to inform the Six Nations of this, and desire they will send a particular Message to these Sasquehannah Indians, commanding them to assist the English against the French. "I intend to build a Fort at Shamokin this Winter, of which be pleased likewise to acquaint the Six Nations, & I doubt not they will approve this measure as absolutely necessary to protect the Indians for the common Security of them and us. "I have enclosed you the minutes of Council containing what passed between this Government & Scarrooyady, & likewise some secret Intelligence, which you will make your own use of, concealing the name of the Author. "I am, Sir, Your most obedient humble Servant, "To Gen' JOHNSON. "Philada., 15th Novembr., 1755." At a Council held at Philadelphia, Monday the 17th Nov, 1755. PRESENT: The Honourable ROBERT HUNTER MORRIS, Esquire, Lieutenant Governor, &ca. Robert Strettel, Joseph Turner, On reading and considering the Bill entituled "An Act for striking £60,000 and sinking it by a Tax," all the Council present unanimously agree to the following Amendments, which with the Bill & following Message were sent to the House by the Secretary: "Amendments to the Bill entituled An Act for striking £60,000,' &c "1st. Page 1st, Line 4. Dele the word [not] and insert [only]. "2d. Page 26, from the word [And] in the 10th line. Dele all the rest of that & 27 Page, and down the word [Act] in the 10th line of the 27th Page, both inclusive. "3d. Page 49, line 7. Dele [Isaac Norris] and insert [James Hamilton, Isaac Norris, & 8 Benjamin Chew] striking out [James Hamilton] in the 8 line. "4th. lines 9 & 10. Dele [John Hughes]. "5th. line 14. After the word [being] add [and not otherwise]. "6th. Page 50, line 4th. Dele [Isaac Norris] and insert [James Hamilton, Isaac Norris, Benjamin Chew]; strike out [James Hamilton] in the 5 Line. "7th. line 6. Dele [John Hughes]. "8th. Page 51 &c Dele all Pages 51, 52, & the first line of Page 53. "15th November, 1755. Sent to the House with the Bill. "RICHARD PETERS, Secr'y." A Message from the Governor to the Assembly. "Gentlemen: "I have again taken in Consideration your Bill for striking Sixty thousand Pounds and sinking it by a Tax, and tho' I cannot recede from my former Opinion that I am restrained by my Commission from passing any Law for taxing the Proprietary Estate, yet I agree with you that the Dispute between us whether the Proprie tary Estate ought to be taxed by Act of the Legislature here, and whether I have a power by my Commission to pass any Act for that purpose, must in the end be determined by his Majesty. "But as I conceive the Method you propose by a Clause in your Bill of leaving that matter to the Royal Determination is unprecedented, and that his Majesty cannot properly give his Assent to some parts of an Act and reject others, but will agreeable to the usual Forms in such Cases approve or disapprove of the whole, I have, therefore, returned & am ready to pass your Bill with some Amendments, the most material of which are the striking out that Clause and those parts of the Bill which subject the Proprietary Estate to Taxation, and in lieu thereof I propose that you shall prepare another Bill, whereby the Proprietary Estate shall be taxed in proportion to the other Estates in the Province and for the same purposes; not by Assessors chosen by the People, but by Commissioners to be mutually chosen by you and me and named in the Bill, with a suspending Clause that the same shall not take effect or be in force till it has received his Majesty's Royal Approbation. "This Mode of doing it will, in my opinion, as effectually answer the end you propose of laying this affair before his Majesty for his Determination, & I think more properly and methodically, and in the mean time, without waiting for that Determination, Money will be raised for supplying the present Exigencies of the Province. "I must confess that nothing but the implicit Confidence I have in his Majesty's goodness & justice that he will disapprove of it if it is wrong, & the most sincere and ardent desire I have of doing every thing in my power for the good & security of the people committed to my Care, could induce me to pass a Law in any shape for the Taxing the Proprietaries estates, And if you are equally sincere & equally affected with the Distresses and Miseries of your bleeding Country, you can have no objection to this Method of affording them immediate Succor and Relief. "ROBERT HUNTER MORRIS. "PHILADA" November 17th, 1755." The Three following Letters being delivered to the Governor in Council by an Express Dispatched by Mr. James Read, Prothonotary of the County of Berks, the same were read : A Letter from Peter Spycker, at Tulpehoccon, to Conrad Weiser, Esq in Philad "Conrad Weiser, Esq": "TULPEHOCCON, y° 16 November, 1755. "John Anspack and Frederick Reed came to me and told me the miserable Circumstances of the People murdered this side the Mountain Yesterday, the Indians attacked the Watch, killed and wounded him at Derrick Sixth, and in that Neighbourhood great many in that night. This morning our people went out to see; came about 10 o'clock in the morning to Thomas Bower's house, finding a man Dead, killed wh a Gun Shott. Soon we heard a noise of firing Gunns; Running to that place and found four Indians sitting on Children scalping, 3 of the Children are dead and 2 are alive; the Scalps are taken off; hereafter we went to the watch House of Derrick Sixth, where the Indians first attacked, finding 6 Dead Bodies, 4 of them scalpt; about a mile this side the Watch house as we went back the Indians set fire to a Stable & Barn, where burnt the Corn, Cows, and other Creatures, where we found 7 Indians, 5 in the House eating their dinner and drinking Rum which was in the House, and 2 outside the House; we fire to them, but in vain; the Indians have burnt 4 Plantations more the above account told me; Peter Anspack, Jacob Caderman, Christopher Noacre, Leonard Walborn told me in the same manner; George Dollinger & Adam Dieffenbach sent me word in the same manner. "Now we are in great Danger for to Lose our Lives or Estates. Pray, therefore, for help, or else whole Tulpehoccon will be ruined by the Indians in a short time, and all Buildings will be burned down & the people scalped, therefore you will do all haste to get people together to assist us. The Assembly can see by this work how good and fine friends the Indians are to us, we hope their Eyes will go open & their Hearts tender to us and the Governor's the same, if they are true Subjects to our King George the second, of Great Britain, or are willing to deliver us in the hands of these miserable Creatures. "I am, Your Friend, "PETER SPYCKER. N. B. The people is fled to us from the Hills, Peter Kryger and J. Weiser are the last. A Letter from John Elder, of Paxton, to the Secretary: "Sir: "I have just now rec1 an Express informing that out of a small party on Guard last night in Tullyhaes Gap of the Mountain, 5 were killed and 2 wounded. Such shocking accounts we frequently receive, and tho' we are careful to transmit 'em to Philad & remonstrate and Petition time after time, yet to no purpose; So that we seem to be given up into the hands of a merciless Enemy. There are within this few weeks upwards of 40 of his Majesty's Subjects massacred on the Frontiers of this and Cumberland C besides a great number carried into Captivity, and yet nothing but unreasonable Debates between the two parts of our Legislature instead of uniting in some probable Scheme for the Protection of the Province and the preservation of its Inhabitants. What may be the end of these things God only knows, but I really fear that unless vigorous methods are speedily used to prevent it, we in these back Settlements will unavoidably fall a sacrifice & this part of the Province be lost, which may, 'tis true, be recovered out of the hands of the enemy, but at the expence of much blood & treasure. If I have expressed my Sentiments here with too much warmth you'l be kind enough to pardon me as it proceeds from a hearty regard to the Publick good, & you'l infinitely oblige, "Sir, Y most obedient humble Servant, "JOHN ELDER. "RICHARD PETERS, Esq" A Letter from Mr. Edward Biddle, at Reading, to his Father in "My dearest Father: the City. am "I'm in so much horror and Confusion I scarce know what I a writing. The Drum is beating to Arms, and Bells ringing & all the people under Arms. Within these two hours we have had different tho' too uncertain Ace all corroborrating each other, and this moment is an Express arrived dispatch'd from Michael Reis' at Tulpehoccon, 18 Miles above this Town, who left about 30 of their people engaged with about an equal number of Indians at the s Reis'. This night we expect an attack, truly alarming is our situation. The people exclaim against the Quakers, & some are scarce restrained from burning the Houses of those few who are in This Town. Oh my Country! my bleeding Country! I recommend myself to the divine God of Armies. Give my dutiful Love to my dearest Mother, and my best love to Brother Jemmy. "I am, Honoured Sir, Your most affectionate & obedient Son, "E. BIDDLE. "Sunday 1 o'clock. I have rather lessened than exagerated our Melancholy Account. "Copied from the Original. "JAMES BIDDLE." As it appears from the above Letters that the Indians had passed the Blue Mountains, broke into the County of Berks and were there committing Murder, Devastations, & other kind of horrid Mischiefs, the Governor desired the Council would consider what was necessary for the Government to do in this Exigency of Affairs; and the Council unanimously agreed that it was absolutely necessary, "1st. That such a sum of Money should be immediately lodged in the Hands of the Government for the use of his Majesty as shall VOL. VI.-45. |