COPY OF THE SUMMONS

TO THE COMMANDANT OF THE FORT BUILT BY THE ENGLISH ON THE SHORE OF LAKE ONTARIO AT THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER CHOUEGUEN TO WITHDRAW WITH THE GARRISON OF SAID FORT, SERVED BY MT BEGON MAJOR OF THE TOWN AND CASTLE OF QUEBEC ON BEHALF OF THE MARQUIS OF BEAUHARNOIS, GOVERNOR GENERAL IN CANADA.

[Paris Doc. VII.]

His Lordship the Marquis of Beauharnois appointed by His Most Christian Majesty Governour General in and over Canada and the whole Dependencies of New France, being informed of your Governour's enterprise at the Mouth of Choueguen River, where he ordered a Stone Redoubt to be built on the shore of Lake Ontario where the French only have traded, and of which they have been possessors for a very great while, and considering that Enterprise as a plain Contravention to the Treaty of Utrecht, which mentions that the subjects of the two Crowns shall not intrench upon one anothers Land, 'till the Decision of the Limits by the Judges delegated to that End, has sent me with orders to summon you to draw out at furthest within a fortnight the Garrison of this place with arms, munitions and other effects belonging to the people of Albany or other places, to cast down the block house and all peices of work you raised up contrary to all law, leaving you if you think fit to establish yourselves at Lake Thechiroguen, or the Oneida River where you formerly traded and to leave the mouth of this river free, as it has always been, to the French, failing which his Lordship the Marquis of Beauharnois will take measures against you and against your unjust usurpation as he will think fit.

Montreal the 14th of July 1727.

(Signed)

BEGON,

COPY OF THE PROCES VERBAL OF THE SERVICE OF SAID SUMMONS.

[Paris Doc. VII.]

THIS DAY the first of August 1727, we the undersigned, Knight of the Military Order of St. Louis, Major of the Town, Castle and Government of Quebec, having in execution of the orders to us given by the Marquis of Beauharnois Governor and Lieutenant General for the King in all New France, arrived before the Fort built by the English on the borders of Lake Ontario, at the mouth of the River Choueguen, sent to advise Mr. Bancker Commanding the Garrison of our arrival and had him informed, at the same time, that we came on the part of the Governor General Commanding in Chief over all New France, to summon him to withdraw at latest within fifteen days the garrison of said fort, with the arms, ammunition and other effects belonging to individuals at Orange and other places, and to demolish said fort and other work he had there constructed.

He sent to invite us on shore and came to meet us on the bank of said river Choueguen, accompanied by two officers of the garrison, he conducted us into the fort with much courtesy and after service on the said Commandant in the usual manner of the said summons which we left him in writing in French and in English, he answered us that he was on his land and in his house; that he had been sent thither by his General Government to build the said fort there with the consent of the Six Nations and even under valid contracts with them; that if we wished, he would cause the Chiefs of the Onondaga Indians then on the spot, to come who would inform us of it; whom we refused to hear being unwilling to have any discussion with them. After which he added, that he was but a subordinate officer like ourselves, and consequently equally obliged to follow the orders of his General; that we had an order in writing from the Marquis of Beauharnois; it would

be necessary for him to have one also from Mr. Burnet, his General, so as to be able to furnish his reply; whereupon we asked to have his refusal in writing, but having communicated to us that a little time would be necessary to consider of it, and if we wished he would leave us at liberty to walk wherever we pleased; and having kept us waiting about three quarters of an hour and consulted with his officers, he persisted in his original sentiments and said that he had as much right to summon the Commandant of Niagara; finally he should send the summons to his Governor General, promising to give an answer so soon as he should receive orders. Done at Choueguen the 1st August 1727.

(Signed)

BEGON.1

GOV. BURNET TO THE GOVERNOR OF CANADA.

[Lond. Doc. XXIII.]

New York, 8th August, 1727. Sir-I have received the letter which you have done me the honour to write to me, and which was delivered to me by Mr. De la Chassaigne. You have done me a singular pleasure in taking this occasion to make me acquainted with a person of so distinguished merit, and in sending along with them Gentlemen who do honour to their country. I could have wished that these marks of your good will had not been attended with a proceeding so little suitable to them.

You perceive, Sir, that I would complain of the sudden and peremptory summons that you have sent to my Officer posted at Oswego; and which was brought to me by an express, before the arrival of Mr De la Chassaigne.

I should think, Sir, that you might have waited for my reasons in answer to what you were pleased to write to me, before you took so Extraordinary a step, and that in giving so short a time, that my Officer could not possibly receive my orders before it expired. agree with you, sir, that the close union that prevails between 1. In Lond. Doc. XXIII. are papers purporting to be Translations of the two preceding Doc's but they are essentially imperfect and incorrect.

I

our Sovereigns ought naturally to produce the like between you and me, and it shall never be through my fault if it does not subsist in all its extent. It was, Sir, with the same Intention that I made my complaint in the modestest manner I could to Mr. De Longueuil, then Commander in Chief in Canada, of a Fort that had been built at Niagara and tho' I received no answer from him by the bearer of my letter and at last received one that was not at all satisfactory, I contented myself with writing to our Court about it, whence I am informed that our Ambassadors at the Court of France, has orders to represent this undertaking as contrary to the treaty of Utrecht.

This, Sir, was all that I did upon that occasion. I did not send any summons to Niagara, I did not make any warlike preparations to interrupt the work, and I did not stir up the Five Nations to make use of force to demolish it, which I might have done easily enough, since at the very time I received Mr de Longueuil's letter, they were all come to complain to me of this undertaking, as the justest cause of uneasiness that could have been given them. I won't tire you with repeating all that I writ to Mr. de Longueuil upon that subject which he has no doubt shown to you.

I come now, Sir, to the subject of your Letter, there are two things which you complain of, first of the trade at Oswego, secondly of the Redoubt as you call it, and of the Garrison that is in it; as for the Trade I cannot understand how you could be surprised at it, since we have carried on a trade there regularly for more than five years running without opposition, and I have reason to wonder how you can call that an Infraction of the Treaty of Utrecht, since it is expressly stipulated in that very 15th Article which you cite, That on both sides the subjects of each Crown shall enjoy full liberty of going and coming on account of

Trade.

Going and coming must imply (as appears clearly by what goes before) among all the American subjects or allies or friends of Great Britain and of France. It is upon this, Sir, that we pretend to have an equal right with you of trading thro' all the Lakes and all the Continent, and that incontestably, by virtue of the Terms of the Treaty

It follows therein that also the Natives of those Countries shall with the same liberty resort as they please to the British and French Colonies, for promoting a Trade on one side or the other, without any Molestation or hindrance either on the part of the British subjects or the French.

I cited to you before the Right which we have to carry on a Trade every where among the Indians. In these last words is contained the Right which all the Indians have to come and trade with us, and I leave it to you to reflect sincerely upon the conduct of the People of Canada, and to consider whether they have not done all they could and do not continue still to hinder the Indians from coming to trade with us. But as for our Right to carry a Trade every where among the Indians, one cannot find expressions more contrary to the terms of the Treaty than those in your letter, where you name several places occupied by the French, who alone, say you, have had the Right and been in possession of trading there.

You will oblige extremely if you will shew me how to reconcile that with a full liberty on both sides of going and coming on account of trade which the subjects of both crowns shall enjoy. But if you say that formerly it was as you pretend, that will signify nothing, since at present the Treaty alone ought to regulate the matters.

I hope, Sir, I have said enough upon the first subject of Complaint which relates to the Trade, for to shew you the right we have to it, and to make you sensible that the future Regulation of Limits, can never make any alteration in the general liberty which there is of Trade.

I come now to the second subject of Complaint which relates to the Redoubt and Garrison at Oswego. It is true, Sir, that I have ordered a Stone house to be built there, with some contrivances to hinder its being Surprized, and that I have posted some Souldiers in it, but that which gave me the first thought of it, was the fortified and much larger house which the French have built at Niagara, upon the lands of the Five Nations, as it appears even by the Confession of M. de Longueuil, in his letter to me of the 16th of August 1726, for he pretends that the Five Nations had