these Provinces should be fixed at the forty-fifth Degree of North Latitude, conformable to the Limits laid down in his Majesty's Proclamation of October 1763, and it having been ascertained and determined by proper Observations where the said line would pass; it is therefore proposed that these Proceedings above stated should be confirmed by His Majesty-His Majesty taking the said Report into Consideration was pleased with the Advice of His privy Council, to approve thereof, and doth hereby confirm the said Proceedings above stated, and order that the said Line of Division be run out and continued as far as each Province respectively extends, Provided that nothing hereinbefore contained, shall extend to affect the Properties of his Majesty's new Subjects, having Possessions under proper Titles, on those parts of the Lands on the South side of this Line, the Dominion of which was not disputed on the part of the Crown of Great Britain; And Provided also, that this Determination shall not operate wholly to deprive his Majesty's New subjects of such Concessions on the South side of the said Line, on which they may have made actual Settlement and Improvement, although the Lands may have been disputed by the Crown of Great Britain; but that such Possessors shall be entitled to so much of the said Concessions, as shall be proportioned to their Improvements, at the rate of fifty Acres for every three Acres of Improvement, provided they take out Grants for the same under the Seal of the Province of New York, subject to the usual Quit rents, and Provided also that the Crant to no one person shall exceed twenty thousand Acres, and the Governors or Commanders in Chief of his Majesty's said Provinces of New York and Quebec for the Time being, and all others whom it may concern, are to take Notice of his Majesty's Pleasure hereby signifyed and govern themselves accordingly.

STEPH: COTTRELL.

SIR H. MOORE TO LORD HILLBOROUGH.

[Lond. Doc. XLI.]

Fort George Oct 24th 1768. Since my writing the foregoing Letter, I have had an opportunity of laying the order before His Majesty's Council, who are under some difficulties in regard to the construction of the first proviso therein mentioned viz. "Provided that nothing herein contained shall extend to affect the Properties of His Majestys new subjects having possessions under proper titles on those parts of the Lands, on the south side of this Line the Dominion of which was not disputed on the part of the Crown of Great Britain." No line of jurisdiction having ever been settled between this Province & Quebec 'till that which was fixed by General Carleton & myself and approved of by His Majesty, each of the Provinces have endeavored to extend their claims as far as they possibly could. The English to the River St. Lawrence, and the French to the Southward of Lake George: The consequence of which has been that the lands on both sides of Lake Champlain have been granted to the English & French by their respective Governors, as will appear by the Map which I had the honour of transmitting to England & mentioned in my letter No, 6, to the Earl of Shelburne dated 22a of February 1767, & in my letter to the Lords of Trade dated 4th April 1767. Your Lordship will see by these different claims what the difficulties are which we labour under at present, for [there is] no particular Boundary Line fairly drawn between the Provinces, the English claim supported by that which was made before them by the Dutch exten led as far as the forty fifth Degree of Latitude. This Line was supposed by the French to be more to the Southward than we found it on observation, & several of their grants in those parts are covered by those since made by Mr. Colden to the reduced officers and Soldiers under His Majestys Proclamation. This will of course open such a scene of litigation, as I am afraid will defeat the expectations of forwarding the se tlements in that part of the Country, to prevent which it is our humble request that His Majestys pleasure might be known how

far to the southward of the 45th Degree any French grants are to be allowed, for they have no settlements to claim under (which I am informed was an absolute condition of their Grant, as they have paid no Quit-Rent) & the quantity of Land in most of their Grants far exceeds that which His Majesty has been pleased to allow to those mentioned in the 2a proviso which was not to exceed 20,000 Acres to each Person where an actual settlement had been.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTION

TO OUR TRUSTY AND WELL BELOVED SIR HENRY MOORE BARONET, OUR CAPTAIN GENERAL AND GOVERNOR IN CHIEF OF OUR PROVINCE OF NEW YORK & THE TERRITORIES DEPENDING THEREON AMERICA. GIVEN &C. DATED 5 JULY 1769.

[N. Y. Council Minutes XXVI; Lond. Doc. XLII.]

IN

Whereas sundry persons, proprietors under titles derived from the Crown of France when that Crown was in possession of Canada, of lands on that part of Lake Camplain now lying within our Province of New York have humbly represented unto Us that several parts of the said lands so claimed have already been granted to other persons by Letters Patent under the Seal of Our said Province of New-York, and have therefore humbly prayed that a proceeding so prejudicial to their rights and pretensions may receive Our Royal disapprobation; & whereas it appears both just & equitable that the claims of persons under such titles as aforesaid should not be affected without the fullest examination thereof. It is therefore Our Will and Pleasure & you are hereby directed & required in no case to make any grants of lands so claimed, as aforesaid, upon Lake Champlain to the northward of Crown Point, within Our Province of New York, until the petitions & proposals for grants of any part or parts of such lands shall have been transmitted to one of Our principal Secretaries of State, in order to be laid before Us, & until Our approbation thereof shall have signified to you Our said Governor or to the Commander in Chief of Our said Province for the time being.

[N. Y. Council Minutes XXVI.]

At a Council held at Fort George in the City of New York on Wednesday the fourteenth day of August, 1771. Present His Excellency William Tryon Esq' Capt. Genl. &c.

It is Ordered by his Excellency with the advice of the Council that a Proclamation issue Notifying to all Persons holding or laying Claim under Titles derived from the Government of France, while in Possession of Canada, to any Lands upon Lake Champlain Northward of Crown Point, and to the Southward of the forty fifth Degree of Northern Latitude, to transmit unto the Secretary's Office of this Province within three months from the Date thereof, Authentic Exemplifications of the Original Grants, together with satisfactory Evidence of the situation of the Lands therein mentioned, and of the Solidity of the Titles of the laimants thereof at the time of the Surrender of Canada to the Crown of Great Britain; to the End that the Government of this Province, by being duly apprized thereof, may be enabled to give the Claims under such French Grants, the attention they shall appear to Merit.

[N. Y. Council Min. XXVI.]

In Council; Wednesday, 18 Dec' 1771.

Present His Excellency William Tryon Esq. Capt. Gen'l &c.

Mr Horsmanden

Mr Watts

Mr DeLancey Mr Smith

Mr Apthorp Mr Cruger

Mr White

Mr Axtell

His Excellency communicated to the Board a Letter of the 30th of October from Lieutenant Governor Cramahe of the Province of Quebec enclosing several papers relative to the French Claims to Lands on Lake Champlain and acquainting his Excellency that he shall by the next Post furnish him with all the Information he has collected relative to the French Grants on that Lake.

His Excellency also communicated to the Board another Letter from Lieutenant Governor Cramahe, dated Quebec Nov 11th acquainting his Excellency that in consequence of his Letter of

the 17th August,' he ordered the public Register deposited with the Secretary of the Province to be very exactly searched, and Transmitted him by Mr Marr two Abstracts containing the Grantees Names, those of the new Proprietors that have come to their knowledge, the Dates of the Grants as well as of the Ratifications,' and their extent as entered upon those Registers, as well of the Lands granted en Seigneurie as of those granted by the King en Roture-Also Copies under the Great Seal of the Province of all the Kings Edicts and Declarations relative to Grants of Lands which had Force of Law there, that his Excellency might be enabled to Judge of the Justice of such Claims-That by these it appears that the Governor and Intendant, or in Case of their Death or Absence those who executed their respective offices, had the power of granting Lands to be ratified by the King within Twelve Months, and that they likewise were the sole Judges in case of a reunion to the Demesne, where the Grantees had not complyed with the Conditions of their Grants, which however never took place till after a Solemn Hearing upon a legal Process before those Officers at the instance of the King's Attorney General-That among the Papers transmitted under the Great Seal of the Province is a Sentence of Reunion of Several Grants upon Lake Champlain dated 10th May 1741 by the then Governor Beauharnois and Intendant Hocquart, since which time there does not appear upon the Registers, altho' very complete, a single reunion of any Grant in those Parts; & therefore that all Grants precedent thereto, and not comprehended therein, are thereby confirmed and after several observations respecting two Grants to Monsieur Foucault purchased by General Murray; On the Title of Mademoiselle de Ramzay-On the Grant of Monsieur De Beaujeu Villemonde-And the two Grants to Monsieur Hocquart, purchased by Monsieur de Lotbiniere, further acquainting his Excellency that the Canadian Grantees, Trust his Excellency will be pleased to consider the Possession of their Estates with all the Immunities thereunto annexed, was secured to them by the capitulation of Montreal, and the Treaty of Paris--That the King's

1 Forwarding Proclamation mentioned in the preceding entry, dated, 14 Augt. 1771.