Your Power, not only in the Loan of the Cannon but in giving Information to all the Commanders of His Majestie's Ships of War of the Enemie's Designs, that if they can any ways, consistent with their Orders, extend their Cruises to the Capes of Virginia, nothing else can prevent a total obstruction of Trade on this Continent-an Event which wou'd be of the worse Consequence at this time, as added to all our other Calamities we shou'd thereby be disabled from furnishing the Indians with Amunition & Goods, & so force them to go over to the French Interest. I conclude with saying Your Assistance will lay an Infinite Obligation on all the Inhabitants of this Province, & in particular on the Gentlemen of the Council, & on "Sir, Your most obed' h'ble Servant, "ANTHONY PALMER. "To His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief for the time being at Cape Breton." At a Council held at Philadelphia, 8th March, 1747. PRESENT: The Honourable ANTHONY PALMER, Esq., President. The Minutes of the preceding Council were read and approv'd. The Council resum'd the Consideration of the Condition of the Province, & one of the Members saying that Mr. Samuel McCall had received a Letter from Mr. Rutherford at New York from which there was reason to believe Mr. Armstrong, his Majestie's Engineer, was arrived there, the Board was of opinion that they ought to renew their application to the Governor of New York for a Loan of Cannon, & to add the greater weight thereto, they thought that sollicitations shou'd be made by two of their Members, & Mr. Lawrence & Mr. Taylor were requested to undertake the Journey, & on their consenting to go, the following Letter was wrote to Mr. Clinton & approv'd. "Sir: "PHILADA., 8th March, 1747. "As the President & Council of this Province acquainted Your Excellency some time ago with the Accounts we had receiv'd of an Attempt upon this Colony being intended to be made by the French & Spaniards this Summer, and that the Inhabitants had resolv'd to erect one or two Batteries upon this River, and had wrote to England for Cannon, but were afraid they wou'd come too late to answer the purposes intended, & therefore desir'd Your Excellency wou'd "Your Excellency's most obedient Servant, "His Excellency, GEORGE CLINTON, Esqr." A Letter was likewise wrote to Mr. Shirley in these words: "Sir: "PHILADA., 8th March, 1747. "Being indispos'd when the last Post went away he did not carry the acknowledgements due to You for your obliging Letter of the 1st of February in answer to the Council's application for the Loan of Cannon. The Gentlemen of the Council who did me the honour to join with me in that Letter are perfectly satisfied with the reasons You give why you cannot comply with their Request, and desire me to return You their heartiest thanks for the just & commisserating Sense you express at our calamitous Situation. "As we know not but we may be disappointed in every application we have made for Cannon, & we have try'd but every Place where there was the least prospect of succeeding, & as our dependence is now principally on the arrival of the Cannon order'd to be sent us from England, which is a very precarious dependence in War time, the safety of this Colony runs a great risque, unless some of the Commanders of His Majestie's Ships of War or of Your Province Sloops can be directed to cruize early in the Spring between Sandy Hook & the Capes of Virginia, and to look into the Bay of Delaware. The Council, therefore, make it their earnest Request that you wou'd use all your Interest to bring this about. The appearance of any Vessel or Vessels of force on our Coasts, & that early in the Season, may entirely defeat the Enemies Schemes, or at least oblige them to postpone the execution of them; and if they are oblig'd to do this the Colony may be preserved for then our Cannon may arrive, & we may have time enough to make sufficient Preperations for our Defence. "It is certain that His Majestie's Fleets in the West Indias depend on being supplied from New York and this Place, and we are told that there will be a large Fleet in the West Indies; surely then no greater Service can be done to His Majesty, exclusive of saving the Lives & Fortunes of so many of his Subjects, than to prevent an obstruction of the Supply of His Majestie's Navy. This consideration will, we hope, make the People of your Government who have been so remarkably zealous for their Regard to the Trade of the Continent, pleas'd & desirous to see their Vessels of Force order'd on a Service of such great Importance even to them, & will, I know, animate You to use your utmost endeavers with the Captains to extend their Cruizes as far as will answer these good purposes. I am with perfect Esteem, "Sir, Your most obedient humb. Servant, "ANTHONY PALMER. "His Excellency, WILL SHIRLEY, Esqr." And another Letter was wrote to Admiral Knowles at Jamaica, and one of the same Tenor to the Commodore of His Majesty's Ships of War in the Leeward Islands: "Sir "The Administration of this Government being in the absence of the Governor devolv'd on the Council, at which Board I have the honour to be President, we in Council assembled think it our Duty to represent to You the unhappy state of the Colony, & the reasons we have to apprehend an Invasion of our Province & the Plundering of our City & a Total loss of our Trade. "We need not tell You, who are so well acquainted with the Condition of the Colonies, that the Majority of the Assembly consisting of Quakers, their Principles wou'd never suffer them to put this Province into a posture of Defence, nor to fit out Vessels for the protection of their Trade; encourag'd by this, the Coast was last Year infested with swarms of French & Spanish Privateers, numbers of our Vessels were taken within our own Capes, & the Enemy seeing no resistance seiz'd our Pilots & fell a plundering the Plantations Situate on the Bay side. This Success more than answering their expectation, we are told by Prisoners who have been carried into the Enemie's Ports that great preparations are making & mighty Schemes concerted for our Ruin; whether they be concerted by the Government in order to make a lodgement in so fruitful a Province, the Granary of America, or be a Confederacy of private Adventurers to burn the City or lay it under Contribu tion, we cannot say. To prevent this the Inhabitants have enter'd into an Association, and are preparing Batteries in the most commodious Places of our River, which we hope will save the City, but whatever becomes of Us our Trade runs a manifest risque of being totally obstructed. "This is an Event of so much Importance to His Majesty, as His Majestie's Fleets in the West Indies are to be supplied with a great part of their Provisions from hence, & His Majestie's Subjects there cannot get many of the necessaries of Life but from the Continent, that we think it our indispensible Duty to apprize the Commanders of His Majestie's Fleets in the West Indies of our apprehensions, & of the whereon they are founded, not doubting but when they come to know the dangerous State of the Navigation of North America, & what terrible Mischeifs may ensue thereon, they will do all in their Power to prevent them, & order some of the Men of War under their Command to Cruize on that part of the Continent which is threatned & lies most expos'd to the Depredations of the Enemy. "You will easily imagine whatever may be the designs of the French & Spaniards, whether they Act on a Government Scheme or only on private Views, that they will be put in Execution early in the Season, & that their Privateers will take their Stations at the most convenient Places of the Coast, if unguarded, as soon as Navigation begins to be safe; So that no greater Service can be done His Majesty, nor no surer Method be taken to disappoint the Schemes of the Enemy, than to order it so that one or more Men of War may be beforehand with them on the Coast. The severity of the Season it is thought has drove many of the Vessels expected to arrive here to the West Indies, & these will probably fall in with the Enemie's Privateers to the great detriment of Trade in general; but it may at this time prove particularly fatal to His Majestie's Interest with the Indians, who are in great want of Amunition & Cloaths, none of the Fall Vessels wherein these Goods were shipp'd being arriv'd, & if they are taken it will not be possible for the several Governors to answer their Engagements to the Indian Nations, nor execute the Plans concerted for the operations of the ensuing Year. "I I am, Sir, Your most obedient humble Servant, "Philada., 8th March, 1747." "ANTHONY PALMER. At a Council held at Philada. the 29th March, 1748. The Minutes of the preceding Council were read & approv'd. The following Letter from Mr. Ogle was read: «Sir: "ANNAPOLIS, 8th March, 1747. "I have this Day laid Your Letter of the 25th January, with other inclosed Papers, before the Council, & find them unanimously inclin'd to do every thing in their Power to induce the Lower House of Assembly to make some acceptable Present to the Indians in Concert with Your Province, & they express'd a particular Concern that we had not an opportunity of laying the said Papers before them the last Session, which ended the 23d of December, as they apprehend the Lower House might then have been more easily perswaded into a thing of this Nature than if we were to call an Assembly on purpose, which is always unpopular, as it brings a considerable Expense upon the People. This being considered, it was the unanimous Opinion of the Council that the best way to answer the expectation of Your Government wou'd be to leave the Affair till the next Meeting of our Assembly, which is to be the Tenth of May, when I really flatter myself We shall do something on our Part to keep up that good Correspondence with the Indians which is so necessary to all His Majesty's Subjects in this part of the World; in the mean time I remain, Sir, "Your most obedient humble Servant. "To the Honoble ANTHONY PALMER, Esqr." "SAM OGLE A list of Officers to whom Commissions have been granted since the Last Entry in the Council Books : |