USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial records of Pennsylvania, Vol. III > Part 59
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And it is further ORDERED by the Board, that a Copy of this Minute of Council be annexed to each of the three Copies of the said Report, and that the Great Seal of this Province be thereunto affixed.
E.
At a Council held at Philadelphia, July 25th, 1734.
PRESENT :
The Honourable THOMAS PENN, Esqr., Proprietary.
The Honourable PATRICK GORDON, Esqr., Lieut. Governor.
James Logan,
Ralph Assheton,
Samuel Preston,
Samuel Hasell,
Esquires.
Clement Plumsted,
Charles Read.
The Minute of the 14th of May last being read and approved, the Proprietor acquainted the Board that Messrs. Hamilton & Georges being some time since returned from Maryland, had lately made a full Report to him in writing of their Proceedings, in pursuance of the Instructions and authority they had received from this Govern- ment, which having been given by & with the Advice and Concurrence of this Board, he thought it incumbent on him to lay before them the Result of that Negotiation.
The Report aforesaid, together with a letter from the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, brought by. these Gentlemen in answer to that from the Lieutenant Governor of this Province, Mentioned in the aforesaid Minute of Council, were read, and ordered to be entred on the Records of this Board.
The Proprietor then observing that Reference is made in the Close of the said Report to some Minutes taken at the hearing be- fore the Provincial Court of Maryland, said that these not having been yet delivered to him, he had desired Mr. Hamilton to attend his Board to inform them herein, who being sent for, came into Council and gave a Narrative Verbally, of the Proceedings had in the said Court against those who were carried off Prisoners from this Government, and the Arguments he had advanced for obtaining their Discharge. As some of these last gave great Satisfaction to the
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Board, it was desired of Mr. Hamilton, that reducing the same under proper heads, he would committ them to writing, that they might be entred on the Records of Council, to be had Recourse unto on the like Occasions, which he undertook to do.
The Board acknowledging the great Care & Diligence of. Messrs. Hamilton & Georges in the Execution of their Commission, and entring into the serious Consideration of what had now been laid before them, Observed that from the whole of what had been trans- acted, it must appear abundantly evident that notwithstanding the specious and ample Professions made by the Governor of Maryland of his Readiness and Willingness to joyn in any amicable measures for preventing all Occasions of Differences between the two Provin- ces, yet his Behaviour in this last Instance, and the whole Procedure of that Government for some time past, had demonstrated a very different Disposition ; And that it now remained to be considered what further Steps may be necessary to be taken, for the Security and Quiet of the Inhabitants. Whereupon it was moved and unan- imously agreed to, that Directions should be forthwith given to the Magistrates of the several Counties within this Government, requir- ing them to exert their utmost Endeavours for preserving the Publick Peace, and at the same time that they prevent, by all possible means, any just Occasion of Complaint from our Neighbours of Maryland, they take the most effectual Care in their Power for the Protection and Defence of the People, especially those on the Borders, from any Insults on their Persons or Attempts on their Possessions, by those who pretending Right to or claiming Lands within this Province, under that Colour do presume to molest the Inhabitants; that they be vigilent and diligent in causing to be apprehended and secured, all such Disturbers of the Peace and Invaders of the Just Property of His Majesty's peaceable Subjects within this Government, to the end they may be brought to condign Punishment. And that herein the Magistrates proceed according to Law, and as far as that will warrant them. And it is Recommended to the Governor to issue his Orders accordingly.
The Proprietor representing further, that several People had ap- plyed to him for Grants of Lands on the West side of Sasquehannah, and in consequence thereof that Magistrates should be appointed amongst them, The Board are of Opinion that some discreet and prudent Persons should be commissionated for preserving the Peace, to the Northward of the Line agreed on by the last Articles of Agreement, concluded between the respective Proprietaries in 1732.
The Governor then informed the Board, that he was under no small Concern to hear that a House lately built in Walnut Street, in this City, had been sett apart for the Exercise of the Roman Catho- lick Religion, and is commonly called the Romish Chappell, where several Persons, he Understands, resort on Sundays, to hear Mass openly celebrated by a Popish Priest; that he conceives the toler- ating the Publick Exercise of that Religion to be contrary to the Laws of England, some of which, particularly the 11th & 12th of King William the third, are extended to all His Majesty's Do-
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minions; but those of that Perswasion here imagining they have a right to it, from some general Expressions in the Charter of Pri- vileges granted to the Inhabitants of this Government by our late Honourable Proprietor, he was desirous to know the Sentiments of this Board on the Subject.
It was Observed hereupon, that if any part of the said Charter was inconsistent with the Laws of England, it could be of no force, as being contrary to the express terms of the Royal Charter to the Proprietary. But the Council having sate long, the Consideration hereof was adjourned till the next meeting, and the said Laws and Charters were then ordered to be laid before the Board.
E.
Omitted to be entered in the Minute of May 14th, 1734.
A Petition of divers Inhabitants of the City and County of Philadel- phia, Owners of Lands or Meadow Grounds in Wicacoe, was read, setting forth that by virtue of an order of this Board, several years since, a Road was lead out from the South end of Second Street, in Philadelphia, to the Point of Land on Delaware, opposite to Glouster in New Jersey, but the same being judged not so convenient, an Or- der was afterward issued for reviewing it, of which no Return was made ; that the said Road is now more frequented than formerly, but is in divers places enclosed by Persons through whose Lands the same was laid. And, therefore, praying that some indifferent Per- sons may be appointed to review and lay out the said Road.
The Prayer of which Petition being granted :
IT IS ORDERED, that Ralph Assheton, James Steel, George Fitzwater, Pilip Johns, Charles Cox and Joseph Wharton, or any four of them, review the said Road already laid out, and alter the same where it shall be found necessary, in such manner as may be most commodious for the Publick Service, and with as little Damage as possible to those Persons through whose Lands the said Road shall run, And, with a Draught of the same, to make Report thereof to this Board. E.
Follows the Report of Messrs. Hamilton & Georges, mentioned in the preceeding Minute of July 25th :
" To the Honourable Thomas Penn, Esq., one of the Proprietaries " of the Province of Pennsylvania, and Counties of Newcastle, Kent, " and Sussex, on Delaware.
" Sir :
" You having been Pleased to honour us with proper Powers from " your Government of Pennsylvania, to treat, and if possible, to con- "clude with Col. Ogle, Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Mary- " land, on some certain Terms, by which the Peace amongst His " Majesty's Subjects inhabiting near the Borders of these two Gov- " ernments, where the right to the Lands have been disputed, might
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" be secured till such time as either the Boundaries should be abso- " lutely run, or His Majesty's Pleasure known therein, and His " Commands received, we conceive it our Duty to lay before you a " Narrative of what passed between the Governor of Maryland and " ourselves thereupon, with Copies of the several Papers we delivered " to his Excellency, and the Originals we received from him.
" We arrived at Annapolis on the twentieth of May, about sun " sett; soon after coming to our Lodgings Mr. Georges and An- " drew Hamilton, Junr., went to speak with our People, to wit : the " Rothwells, John Hendricks, and Joshua Minshall, in Prison, but " were not suffered to see them till the next Morning, when going " again, they were after some time admitted to the Speech of the " Prisoners, who gave them an Account of their Uneasiness, in a " most unwholesome Prison, as likewise, the best Account they could. " of the several Charges alledged against them ; soon after this, to " wit : about ten of the Clock of the same Day, we waited upon " Governor Ogle, at his House in Annapolis, and delivered him a " Letter from the Lieutenant Governor of your Province of Pennsyl- " vania, and at the same time acquainted him that we were sent from "your Government to concert proper Measures with him for the " Preservation of the Peace and good Neighbourhood between the " two Governments, and to desire the Discharge of Four of our "Inhabitants, who were imprisoned at Annapolis, by order of the " Government of Maryland, to which he was pleased to answer, that " he was mighty ready to enter into any Measures with the Govern- " ment of Pennsylvania which might best answer that purpose, and "at the same time took occasion to say our Inhabitants were impris- " oned for much greater offences than probably we were aware of ; to "which we answered, that we had no other way to come at the " Knowledge of the Cause of their Imprisonment but by their seve- " ral Commitments, and by these, as we conceived, there seemed " scarce a colour for such proceedings as had been taken against " them ; we added further, that supposing the offences were really " committed, and as great as his Excellency was pleased to alledge, " yet the Place where they were committed, as well as that where " the Men were taken, was clearly beyond all the former Claims of " Maryland, and therefore, it was our Opinion the Men were very " hardly dealt by.
" Governor Ogle began to enumerate the many Abuses the In- " habitants of Maryland had suffered from those of Pennsylvania, " and that since his Accession to the Government of Maryland, he " had taken all possible Care to be entirely on the Defensive side, " and was resolv'd to continue so; but at the same time said he " could not suffer Lord Baltimore's Right to be so violently encroach- " ed upon, and his Character so publickly affronted within his Lord- " ship's own Government ; for, added he, we claim no bounds but " what are given to his Lordship by the express Words of his Char- " ter ; however he expressed his Willingness to enter into any rea- " sonable Measures for preserving Peace, and to shew his readiness, "proposed our meeting him in Council next day, about ten of the
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" Clock, at his own House, to which we readily agreed, and then he " was pleased to invite us to dine with him that day, which we did " accordingly.
" When we parted from him in the Afternoon, we applied ourselves " to the Consideration of your Instructions, and as well in Obedience " to your Commands, as to prevent any Mis-interpretation or Mis- "representation of what we should say the next day, we judged it "necessary to reduce into Writing the heads of what we were to pro- "pose, in doing of which we were to be led by the hints given us by "his Excellency the" day before, to depart in some things from the " precise Form prescribed in your Instructions.
"On the twenty second day we waited on his Excellency, at his "own House, according to Appointment, where were present the " Lieutenant Governor himself, Collonel Tillghman Ward, Benja- " min Tasker and Edmund Jennings, Esq., with divers other Men- " bers of Council. Governor Ogle was then pleased to inform the " Council, that he had received a Letter from the Lieutenant Gover- " nor of Pennsylvania, &c., by which he understood that we were " appointed by that Government to enter into Measures with that of " Maryland, for preventing any Misunderstanding among the People "living upon the Borders of the two Provinces, until we could re- " ceive His Majesty's Pleasure concerning the same, and then pro- " ceeded to say how agreeable every thing was to him that had the " Appearance of Peace, and how carefull he had been on his part to " keep his People from committing or doing any thing that might "give Offence to the Government of Pennsylvania ; that he was " glad to find our Government seemed at last to agree to what he " had long agoe proposed in his Letters to the Governor of Pennsyl- " vania, (vizt,) to lay these unhappy Mis-understandings before His " Majesty, and in the mean time to forbear making any Incroach- " ments upon one another, which he thought was the most likely way " to preserve peace among the People. Much more was said, but all " to the same purpose, yet he fixed upon nothing certain by which " the Extent of the Jurisdiction of the respective Governments could " be known. We then represented briefly, that whatever his Excel- " lency's Care or Knowledge might be, we were well assured the " People living under the Government of Pennsylvania had of late " been very ill used by those of Maryland, and that some of us had " lived long enough in Pennsylvania to be Witnesses of a very " different Behaviour on our part to the People of Maryland, when "under confinement for the most violent Outrages committed upon "our Inhabitants ; that one of us was personally concerned in pro- " curing some of the Inhabitants of Cecil County to be discharged " without so much as paying the common fees of their Commit- " ments, which at that time was accounted, even by the Parties " themselves, a generous Treatment on the part of Pennsylvania. " Therefore, as to what had passed before His Excellency's time, " we insisted he was not truly informed, and as to the Differences " mentioned by him since his coming to the Government, we con- " ceived in every Instance the People of Maryland were the Aggres-
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" sors, and in the wrong, unless it were in the single instance of " Mousey, which (however it might turn out by the Evidences on "the part of the Prosecutors,) we thought was a silly, senseless " scuffle, much below the Notice of a Government, or Lord Proprie- "tor, especially considering the Provocation on the other side .- " But as Altercations of this kind did not seem to be the way to pre- " vent such Differences for the future, we requested his Excelleney " to propose some Method, some Way or Means, by which the Busi- "ness we came about might be effected. Whereupon he said, that " he had long agoe wrote to the Governor of Pennsylva. his Thoughts " upon this Subject, and that he was still of the same Opinion ; that " they ought to joyn without Delay in representing to the King the "unsettled State of the two Provinces, and the Necessity of His " Majesty's Interposition.
" We finding this Method of Treaty was not like to produce any " certain Conclusion, delivered to his Excellency a written Represen- " tation, Vide, No. 1., which being read in Council, His Excellency " was pleased to say he would take time till next day to give an An- " swer in Writing : we then parted.
" In the afternoon of this day, we endeavoured to speak privately " with Hendricks, Minshall, and the two Rothwells, who were in " Prison, the Goal was so noisome we could not goe near it, but " taking with us some of the Gentlemen of Maryland, we prevailed " with the Sherif to suffer us to speak to them at his own house. " We enquired particularly into the Manner & Cause of their Com- " mittment : they all gave us the greatest Assurances that they had " never spoke any thing in Contempt of Lord Baltimore or his Gov- " ernment that they could remember ; that they never had any Con- " versation with any about Lord Baltimore or his Governmentt but " upon their own Plantations, & Hendricks & Minshall insisted no " Person could swear any such thing against them, unless Cressap " should be so wicked, who had threatned to ruin them. We de- " pending on the Assurances given us of these Men's Innocence, & " especially that they had not been in Maryland, & so could not be " called to an Account for what they might say of Lord Baltimore's " pretentions to the Lands where they lived, were of Opinion it " would be difficult to show any good Matter to the Provincial Court, " (which was then sitting,) to induce the Judges to continue them " in Prison. And thereupon, we applied ourselves to consider how " they should be got into Court, especially Hendricks & Minshall, " who were committed by the Governor & Council. An Habcas "Corpus we imagined would be construed by that Government to " give the Court a Jurisdiction of their Cause, and tho' we had but " little hopes to obtain a Rule of Court for their being brought up, "yet as it was the only way we could then think of, we resolved to " try that Expedient ; first however, we consulted with a Gentleman " of the Law, belonging to Maryland, one Mr. Calder, who with " great Modesty told us his Opinion of the Difficulties he appre- " hended we might meet with in the Defence of the Prisoners, which " led us into the thoughts of Employing some other Eminent Gen-
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" tleman of the Law belonging to that Province, who by his Credit " with the People, and his Acquaintance with the Practice of the " Court, might be able to do the Prisoners some service, but to our " great Disappointment we found them all engaged on the side of " Lord Baltimore; at least, there was none could be prevailed on to " appear against him.
" On the twenty third day, about ten a Clock, we had Notice "given us of the Council being met, & thereupon we immediately "went to the Governor's house, where he was pleased to deliver us " an Answer to Ours of the twenty second ; Vide No. 2.
"This paper being read by the Clerk of the Council, Governor " Ogle proceeded to say, that we saw he had omitted taking Notice " of an abundance of facts stated in our Representation that he could " make appear very gross Mis-representations, both of himself and " the People of Maryland, but that he had avoided anything of that " kind, lest it might give some interruption to our effecting what Mr. " Gordon had acquainted him we were come about, but at the same " time he went on to enumerate all the Differences that had happened " upon the Borders of the two Governments since his coming to Ma- " ryland; he began with the affair of Patterson and Lowe at Cones- " togoe, and so went on to the Difference on the Borders of Kent " County, about the business of Newton, and then returned to the " great Abuses he said had been committed in open and manifest " Contempt of Lord Baltimore's Government, upon Mr. Cressap ; " all those he sett in such Lights, and aggravated them in such man- "ner, as if he had been speaking to Men who had never heard of " them before.
" This being said with such an Air of Truth, before the Gentle- "men of Council, made us think it necessary on our part to shew " that we are no Strangers to these Facts, and that we were not to " be imposed upon by such a Representation, and so proceeded briefly "to Answer them in the same manner they have formerly been re- " presented by our Governor in his Letters to Governor Ogle, about " the time when those Differences happened. And in doing this, we " were led to take Notice that all these Differences began on the part " of Maryland, and most of them at a time when least of all it could " be expected, even when Maryland was making the strongest Pro- " fessions of their readiness to execute the Articles of Agreement for "running the Lines and settling the Boundaries between the two " Provinces; And how such Professions as his Excellency was then "pleased to mention, and such Practices used on the part of Mary- " land, could be reconciled, Governor Ogle we presumed could best " answer. Upon this he declared it was true that the Commissioners " on the part of Maryland were always willing to execute the Arti- " cles of Agreement, and that no Men could take more pains or " shew a greater Inclination to perfect that Work than they did, and "so proceeded to mention the many Attendances they had given "at a great distance from their own homes, and in the most severe " Seasons of the year, both for Heat & Cold, but that our insisting " upon such unreasonable things on the Part of Pennsylvania had
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"rendered all their Endeavours ineffectual. This being spoke to us, " who were so well acquainted with the conduct of the Commissioners " of Maryland, & before some Gentlemen of the Council, who might " not know the true state of that Case, & least that all of them might " believe that either the Person speaking or the place where we were, " or both, might awe us in to a Silence which might carry the Ap- " pearance of our allowing what was said to be true, we put him in " mind that this was no new thing in Governor Ogle, to shew us the " mean Opinion he had of our Understandings, by attempting to "impose upon us in the grossest manner. But without entering "into the reasonableness or unreasonableness of the conduct of the "Commissioners of either side, we said there was some instances to " be given of the conduct of some Gentlemen in Maryland, which " we had never yet heard reconciled, to this extraordinary desire on " the part of Maryland to execute the Articles in any sense, And " that was the spreading abroad and fixing up publick printed Ad- " vertisements within the Counties of Newcastle, &c., signifying that " the People who held any Lands within Lord Baltimore's Province " of Maryland, by virtue of any Grants, not deriving them from " Lord Baltimore, would receive no favour unless they speedily ap- " plied to the Government of Maryland. And lest these should not " be understood to intend the People of the three Counties on Dela- " ware, it seems due Care was taken to put them into hands that " should explain them ; but to put that matter beyond doubt, Gover- " nor Ogle's Letter to Parson Jones speaks plain, & desires the Par- "son to inform the People of his Lordship's certainty of having "every Inch of the three Lower Counties, & his Resolution to let " such of the People as should behave well to his Lordship, enjoy " their Lands for a trifle, which Gover'r Ogle was pleased to say he " thought was the greatest Happiness that could be to the People.
" To this there was no Answer made, but Governor Ogle said the " multiplying Words signified nothing; he had made a fair Propo- " sition in his Paper of that day, & if we had any intention to do " what we professed, he was ready to join with us, & repeating often " the Words : if we had any Intention or Design to agree upon some " Measures to preserve the Peace, & likewise offering to repeat some " part of what he had said the day before, we thought our words & " Meaning both much Mis-represented; & this led us to complain of " being unkindly used, in questioning our Sincerity after what we " had said, both by word & writing, & how necessary we thought it " was to have some Persons present who might be Witnesses of what " passed between us, so as to prevent our being misrepresented. " This drew on a long Conversation concerning the People & Offi- " cers of the two Governments, which ended in some warmth, occa- " sioned by the Freedom used in comparing the Officers of Pennsyl- " vania with those of Maryland, either in respect to their Authority "or Understanding. But least upon our Application to the Court, " we should be referred to the Governor to know his Pleasure, we " judged it most proper to get him to declare himself in the Case of " those Men, which we did accordingly, by insisting positively upon
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" the Men's being discharged. Whereupon, he declared they were " under Prosecution in the Provincial Court, which was then Sitting, " & that he should not interpose but let the Law take its course, or " words to that Effect. To, which we answered, that as they were " under Prosecution at the Suit of the Proprietor, & some of them " committed by the Governor & Council, he was the proper Person " to put a stop to any further Proceedings, but he persisting in his " having left them to the Law, & therefore would not intermeddle, " we took the Liberty to say we wished he had not intermeddled at " all ; for, as the Offences with which they were charged were of " that Nature for which any inferiour Magistrate might well have " bound them over, there could be no need of his Excellency's inter- " position, unless it were to influence the Judges to be of his Opi- " nion when the Cause should come to be heard in Court, & so we " parted that day, after which time Governor Ogle troubled himself " no more about the formality of a Council.
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