USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial records of Pennsylvania, Vol. III > Part 60
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"In considering Governor Ogle's Paper, after we went to our " Chamber, we were not both Satisfied that it was proper for us to " agree to join in a Representation to his Majesty, but rather that " the Proprietors themselves, or their Lieutenant Governors, should " do so, & at last we concluded upon a Paper, (vide No. 3.) the Ori- " ginal of which we delivered to Governor Ogle, at his own House, " on the twenty fourth of May ; Governor Ogle received us without " any Form & with Civility, as if nothing had passed the day before ; " he promised us an Answer by the next morning, & so we left him. " We then took into our further Consideration the Case of the ".Prisoners, and pursued the Measures we had before proposed, of " applying to the Court by way of Petition.
" On the twenty fifth Governor Ogle sent to our Chamber, by Mr. " Ross, the Clerk of the Council, a written Paper dated that Day, " signed by himself, (Vide No. 4.)
" As from our first waiting on Governor Ogle, we had no reason " to expect any Success in the Business we were sent to transact, we " now saw plainly by his last paper, he was resolved to evade doing "every thing that might prevent any further Differences upon the "Borders, & observing the ill use he made of our saying we were " well assured our Proprietors or their Lieutenant Governor would "readily join in a Representation to His Majesty, & that he had " construed these words into our thinking ourselves not sufficiently " qualified to join with him in what he called his just and reasonable " Propositions, We, to remove that objection, drew up a Paper & " delivered the same to him, on the twenty seventh of May, and " which would have been delivered sooner, but we were obliged to " give our Attendance at Court, where the Case of the Prisoners was " then under Consideration, Vide our Paper delivered this day, " No. 5.
" After this we heard no more from Governor Ogle, tho' we staid " till the thirtieth of the Month; in the meantime, we made the " most pressing Instances to the Provincial Court, to have our Peo- " ple discharged, but that could not be granted, lest it should be
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"understood as giving up his Lordship's Right to the Lands in " Question, as appears by the Minutes of these Men's Case, taken " at the hearing, & to which we beg leave to referr, so being denied " any Relief for the Prisoners by the Provincial Court, & Governor " Ogle having taken no Notice of what we said or proposed in our "Paper of the twenty seventh, we thought a longer stay could be to " no Purpose, and therefore, agrecable to your Instructions, we re- " solved, before we should leave that place to represent to Governor " Ogle the just Reason your Government had to complain of the " unwarrantable Proceedings of Maryland, & the absolute Necessity " they were under to take proper Measures for the protection of His " Majesty's Subjects under the Government of Pennsylvania & three " lower Counties, & accordingly, on the thirtieth of the Month we " drew up a Memorial in the best Manner we could, in so short a " time; but Governor Ogle being said to be indisposed that day, "John Georges and Andrew Hamilton, Junr., (his Father being "indisposed with the Gout,) waited on Governor Ogle the next- " morning, being the thirty first day of May, & delivered to him a " Memorial in writing, in behalf of your Government, which he re- " ceived, & without reading it desired his Compliments might be " made to Mr. Gordon, & all those that he knew at Philadelphia, & " wished us a safe return, &c.
" Upon coming back to our Chamber, Richard Bennet & James " Holliday, Esqr., one of the Provincial Judges, happened to be with " Andrew Hamilton, & Mr. Holliday readily agreed to take the Oath " of John Georges & Andrew Hamilton, Junr., to the delivery of " the said Memorial to Governor Ogle, which Memorial, with the " sworn Certificate of its Delivery, is contained in No. 6.
" The foregoing is a brief Account of what passed between Go- " vernor Ogle & us at Annapolis; the written Papers herein referred " to are their own Evidences, & the other Facts, tho' they may not " be related so largely, or in the very same Words in which they " were spoken, are yet so far true in Substance as they are here sct " forth. We are, Sir, Your most obedient & most humble Servts. " A. HAMILTON, "JOHN GEORGES."
Philadelphia, 15 June, 1734. E.
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Papers referred to in the foregoing Report.
" No. 1.
" To His Excellency Samuel Ogle, Esqr., Lieutenant Governor of " the Province of Maryland.
" SIR :
" The Government of Pennsylvania observing with much concern " the late Proceedings of the Government of Maryland against some " of his Majesty's subjects inhabiting the said Province of Pensyl-
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" vania & Counties of Newcastle, Kent & Sussex on Delaware, hath " ordered us to represent to you, that the Province of Maryland and " the Province of Pennsylvania, with the Counties aforesaid, having " never hitherto had their bounds (lying contiguous to each other) " so certainly determined or fixed but that there has always been " Room for disputes between the Borderers on both sides, concern- "ing their claims and possessions, and that divers such Disputes " have happened which have occasioned Complaints, to the great " Uneasiness of the respective Proprietaries ; For remedying of which " Inconveniences it was mutually stipulated in February 1723-4, " between the present Lord Proprietary of Maryland and the late " Mrs. Penn, as Executrix of the last Will and Testament of the " late Honourable William Penn, Esqr., Proprietor of the Province " of Pennsylvania and Counties aforsad : "That for avoiding all " manner of Contention or Differences between the Inhabitants of " the said Provinces, no person or persons, should be disturbed or " molested in their possessions on either side, nor any land be sur- " veyed, taken up or granted, in either of the said Provinces, near " the Boundaries, which have been claimed or pretended to on either " side ;" which agreement was to continue for the space of eighteen " Months from the date thereof. In which time it was hoped the " Boundaries would be determined & settled. But tho' the said Boun- " daries were not settled within that time, yet the Governours of " both Provinces being convinced of the obligations they were under " to preserve the peace between his Majesty's subjects thought them- "selves obliged to act agreeably to that stipulation, only as to that " part of it relating to new Surveys. We take leave to say the same " was not so strictly observed on the part of Maryland, and after- " wards, for the putting a friendly end and accommodation to the " said disputes and differences, upon some Overtures made by the " Right Honble the Lord Baltimore, articles of Agreement between " his Lordship and the present Proprietaries of Pennsylvania & said "Counties, were made and concluded in the year 1732, and Persons " appointed for the executing of the same, agreeable to the Tenour " of the said Articles. In which agreement a most carefull provi- " sion was made for the Ease & Security of all his Majesty's Sub- " jects, whose estates or possessions should be affected by the same. " And altho' the said Articles happened not to be executed, yet it " cannot be denied but that the description of the Southern Boun- " daries of Pennsylvania may be very nearly discovered without " new actual Surveys. Notwithstanding which, two of His Majes- " ty's Subjects, to wit : John Hendricks & Joshua Minshall, inhab- " itants of Lancaster County, settled upon Lands legally surveyed "and patented to them, under the Proprietors of Pennsylvania, on "the west side of Sasquehannah, have been taken at their own " Houses, which are at least eight Miles to the Northward of Phila- " delphia, & about twenty three to the Northward of the Line agreed " upon by the aforesaid articles, to be the Northern Bounds of Mary- " land, which Line runs near the Mouth of Octarara Creek, to the "Northward of which Maryland has never exercised any jurisdiction,
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"except over three Families, that is known to Pennsylvania, till " within these 2 or 3 years, about the time when an absolute Boun- " dary was agreed upon by the Proprietors, tho' Pennsylvania has " maintained its Government as far Southward as the Mouth of the " said Creek for above these thirty years. And, as if the Governor of ".Maryland had resolved to put his Majesty's Subjects within the "Province of Pennsylvania & the said Counties under the greatest " Hardships, Two other Persons, to wit : Thomas Rothwell, junr., " & Jared Rothwell, Inhabitants of Newcastle County, seated upon " a Tract of Land Legally surveyed under the Proprietors of Penn- "sylvania & Counties aforesaid, about Forty eight years ago, and "actually settled about twenty years ago, by Persons who have " constantly done Suit & Service in the County of Newcastle, (and " to which the Inhabitants of Maryland can lay no Claim, that we "know of, unless by some late Survey, which can operate nothing "in this case,) have been taken from their own habitations, within " the said County of Newcastle, where they settled & lived in peace, " without the least Offence given to any person by the Officers of " Maryland, & forcibly carried to Annapolis, & kept in Goal under " very severe Confinement, to this day, on pretence of there being " guilty of violently encroaching into some Lands lying in Cœcil Coun- " ty, held under the Rt. Honble the Lord Proprietary of Maryland, " which they claim under the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania. Which " proceedings We conceive to be very extraordinary, especially at a " Time when, tho' the Lines agreed upon by the Articles are not " actually run, yet are by that Agreement so well ascertained, that " unless it be resolved upon to disregard every thing that has for- " merly been observed for the Preservation of the Peace between " the two Governments, there can be no Room for such Measures as " have been taken in the Case of the Persons before mentioned .- " But as it is not certainly known to the Government of Pennsylva- " nia, how far that of Maryland is acquainted with these Proceed- "ings, We take leave to say that the above Facts, as far as We can "judge or be inform'd, are truly represented, & therefore conceive " it our Duty to request your Orders for the Discharge of the Per- " sons before mentioned, who are imprisoned by the Authority of " your Government. And likewise, that altho' the Lines between " the two Governments be not actually run, Yet, as it is most neces- " sary that for the Preservation of the Peace there should be some " certain Jurisdiction, that every Person may know to what Laws & " Magistracy He is accountable, We do, on Behalf of the Govern- " ment of Pennsylva. & the Counties of Newcastle, Kent & Sussex, " on Delaware, earnestly request that you will be pleased to concurr " with that Government in Measures by which the Peace amongst " all His Majesty's Subjects, (in that part of the Country to which " the Right has been disputed,) may be secured untill such time as " the Boundaries be absolutely run, or till His Majesty's pleasure be " known therein, which 'tis conceived may very easily be done in a "Manner that shall not prejudice the Claims of either Proprietor .- " And this 'tis hoped, will be thought both just & necessary, for as
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" much as not only the Preservation of the Peace is a principal Duty " which both Governments equally owe to His Majesty, But because " such Proceedings against innocent Persons are contrary to the Laws " of Humanity, & can contribute nothing to the putting an End to "any Disputes that may subsist between the Proprietors of Penn- " sylvania and of Maryland, about the Bounds of their respective " Provinces.
" We are, " Sir, " Your Excellency's " Most obedient & most humble Serv'ts. " A. HAMILTON, " JOHN GEORGES."
Annapolis, 22d May, 1734. E.
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" No. 2.
" Gentlemen :
" As the Governor of Pennsylvania, by his Letter of the 14th " Instant, delivered by yourselves, acquainted me that you were ap- "pointed to treat with me on the Subject of establishing Peace on " the mutual Borders of the two Provinces, & secureing the Peace of " His Majesty's Subjects, till such Time as His Majesty can be ap- " plied to and His Pleasure known therein, I must assure you that " nothing could be more agreeable to my Sincere Wishes & constant " Resolution, than that Design of your coming hither. And to sat- " isfy you that I act as I profess, I shall purposely omit taking No- " tice of the many Suggestions contained in your Paper of this day, " delivered to me, lest the Necessity I should be under in Answer " thereto, of shewing the very palpable Mis-representations therein, " might prevent, or at least delay the good Effect of our amicable " Dispositions. And therefore, I shall only desire you will immedi- " ately join with me in an Application to His Most Gracious Ma- " jesty, with our humble & dutifull Request, that he will be pleased " to take into His just and wise Consideration, the Mischiefs arising " from the Uncertainties of the Boundaries of our respective Gov- " ernments, & determine & fix the same as He in His Wisdom & " Justice shall be graciously pleased to order and direct.
" And further, I am very willing, not only by our joint Endeav- " ours to remove & discourage any new Settlements on the Borders, " which have been made since my Administration of this Govern- " ment, but also by proclamations in each Government, to forbid & " deter any Person within our respective Governments from making "any other new Settlements on the Borders until His Majesty's " Pleasure shall be known therein, pursuant to such Application. " And I hope this appears so reasonable & proper, that you will, on VOL. III .- 24
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" the Part of the Government of Pennsylvania, readily concur herein " with,
" Gentlemen, " Your most humble Serv't.
"SAM. OGLE.
" Annapolis, "23d of May, 1734."
This was enclosed & addressed :
" To " Andrew Hamilton & John Georges, Esqrs." E.
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No. 3.
" To His Excellency Samuel Ogle, Esqr., Lieutenant Governor "of the Province of Maryland :
" Sir :
"It is with great Satisfaction We find in your Paper delivered to " us yesterday, such a Readiness to join with the Governor of Penn- " sylvania in Measures that may preserve the Peace amongst His " Majesty's Subjects living upon the Borders of the two Govern- " ments, and We, on the part of Pennsylvania, do assure your Ex- " cellency, that as it was for this good Purpose we were sent here, so " we are now ready to agree upon any Bounds that shall be judg'd " reasonable, for limiting the present Jurisdiction of the two Govern- " ments, without prejudice to the Right of the Proprietors thereof ; " And that Proclamations shall be issued to forbid all Persons within "the respective Governments from making any new Settlements " near the Borders, on the severest Penalties. And We are ready " further, to agree to remove any new Settlements that have been " made upon such Bounds as shall be agreed upon, lest the same may " disturb the Quiet of either Government, untill the Boundaries be " actually settled between the Proprietors themselves, or untill His " Majesty's Pleasure be known therein. And as we are well assured " a Representation to His Majesty will be most agreeable to our " Government, we do not in the least doubt but that our Proprietors, " or their Lieutenant Governor, will readily joyn with the Rt. Hon- " ble the Lord Proprietor of Maryland, or yourself, in such a one as " may best conduce to put an end to the Misunderstandings that " have arisen between the two Governments, by Reason of the pre- "sent Uncertainty of the respective Boundaries.
" We are, " Sir, "Your Excellency's " Most obedient & most humble Servts. " A. HAMILTON, " JOHN GEORGES.
" Annapolis,
"24th May, 1734." 1 E.
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" No. 4.
" To Andrew Hamilton and John Georges, Esqrs. :
" I had great Pleasure in believing, as well by the Letter from the " Governor of Pennsylvania as by your Paper of the 22d Instant, " that you were invested with sufficient Powers to agree to any rea- " sonable Proposals for the accommodating the present Disputes, & " preventing any of the like kind for the future, And upon this " Hope, I offered the particular Methods mentioned in mine of the " 23d Instant, as very reasonable, & the most proper for those desir- " able Ends. But since to my very great concern, I perceive by " your Paper of yesterday's date, delivered to me this day, that you " think yourselves not sufficiently authorized to joyn with me in my "just and reasonable Propositions, I can only hope, that on your " Return to Pennsylvania you will receive more ample Powers for " your Agreement with,
" Gentlemen, " Your most humble Servant, " SAM. OGLE.
" Annapolis, " 25th May, 1734. - E.
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" No. 5.
" To His Excellency Samuel Ogle, Esqr., Lieutenant Governor of " the Province of Maryland :
" Sir :
" We had no reason to doubt but the Satisfaction we expressed in " our Paper of the 24th Inst. at the Offers you were pleased to make " of joining with us in such Measures as might preserve the Peace " amongst the Inhabitants living upon the Borders of the two Govern- " ments, must have convinced your Excellency that We conceived " ourselves fully authorized to do whatever might tend to the accom- " plishing that necessary Work. For tho' we were, as we still are " of Opinion, that Measures might be taken for preventing any fur- " ther Disturbances upon the Borders, without any Representation " to His Majesty, and that it would be most proper for the Proprietors " of the Provinces of Maryland & Pennsylvania, or their Lieutenant " Governors, to join in such a Representation as they should agree " upon ; Yet rather than so good a Work as the restoring Peace to " the Inhabitants of the two Governments should be delayed, We " are ready on the part of Pennsylvania, (at the same time that We "agree upon some reasonable Boundaries for limiting the Jurisdic- " tion of the two Governments,) to joyn with your Excellency in a " just Representation to His Majesty, of the Uncertainty of the pre- " sent Boundaries between the two Governments, occasioned by " not executing the Articles of Agreement, solemnly Entered into & " concluded between the Right Honble the Lord Proprietor of Mary- " land & the Honble the Proprietor of Pennsylvania & Counties of
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" Newcastle, Kent & Sussex on Delaware, in May, 1732; And to " pray His Majesty, that He will be graciously pleased to interpose " & Enjoin the Execution of the said Agreement, according to the " true Intent and Meaning thereof, in such Manner as His Majesty " shall please to direct. In which Representation We hope your " Excellency will readily agree with, " Sir, " Your Excellency's " Most obedient humble Servants, "A. HAMILTON, " JOHN GEORGES.
" Annapolis, "27th May, 1734." E.
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" No. 6.
" To His Excellency Samuel Ogle, Esqr., Lieutenant Governor of " the Province of Maryland.
" Sir :
" It would be an unnecessary trouble again to repeat the several " Applications that have been made by us on the Part of the Go- " vernmt. of Pennsylvania to your Excellency, for your Concurrence " in Measures to preserve the Peace amongst His Majesty's Subjects " living upon the Borders of Maryland & Pennsylvania, &c., & which " We conceived could best be done by agreeing upon some Bounds " for limiting the present Jurisdiction of both Governments, untill " His Majesty's Pleasure should be known therein, without prejudice " to the Right of the Proprietors thereof.
" This will appear abundantly plain, by the Several written Rep- " resentations which we have delivered to your Excellency since our " coming to this place, on the 20th Inst., and it will likewise appear " by the Several papers we have received from your Excellency, on " the Part of Maryland, in what manner you have answered our " Request.
"Our Endeavours with your Excellency for discharging four of " the Inhabitants of Pennsylvania & Counties of Newcastle, Kent " & Sussex on Delaware, taken by Order of your Government from " their own Dwellings, within the Government of Pennsylvania, were " entirely disregarded, & we referred to the Courts of Law, where " you was pleased to say those Persons were under Prosecution, tho' "it is manifest that two of them, (vizt :) Thomas Rothwell, Junr., " & Jared Rothwell, have been settled upon Five hundred Acres of " Land granted under the Honble William Penn, Esqr., late Pro- " prietor of the Province of Pennsylva., & the Counties aforesaid, by " his Commissioners of Property, about forty eight years ago, & pos- " sessed under the said Government above twenty years, by the said " Rothwells & their Father, who have constantly done Suit & " Service to the County of Newcastle, & without Interruption from "any Person, except by one James Heath, lately deceased, who laid
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" Claim to some Part of the said Lands by a very late Survey " made in Right of Maryland : And others of the said Persons, " (vizt :) John Hendricks & Joshua Minshall, are settled upon Lands " in Lancaster County, in the said Province of Pennsylvania, held "under the Proprietors thereof, at least eight Miles to the North- " ward of Philadelphia, & twenty three to the Northward of the " Bounds agreed upon by the Lord Baltimore & the Proprietors of " Pennsylvania, in the year 1732. And that We might leave no " Means unattempted for the Relief of these injured Men, (who have " been most unwarrantably confined in a loathsome Goal above " three Months, from their own Houses, & in a strange Place, with- " out any means to subsist on,) We applied to your Provincial Court, " & in order to induce that Court to discharge the Prisoners, We " shew'd, as we conceive, in the Clearest Manner, that the Lands " upon which these Men live & were taken, are not within the Pro- " vince of Maryland. We made it manifest that in the year 1632, " (the time when Lord Baltimore obtained his Patent from the " Crown,) & long before the Dutch & Sweeds were possessed of all " that Tract of Land on the West side of Delaware Bay & River, " now called the Counties of Newcastle, Kent & Sussex on Delawae "_ And that the same Lands in 1664, were taken from the Dutch " by the English, & afterwards retaken from the English by the " Dutch, & in the year 1674, finally surrendered to the English; And " that Lord Baltimore never had possession of the said Tract of " Land to this day, but hath Subsisting against him, upon his two " several Petitions, two solemn Decisions, vizt : one made in Council " in the year 1685 by his Majesty, King James the 2d, & the other " by Her late Majesty, Queen Anne, in Council, in the year 1709, " by both which He stands excluded from any Pretence of Right to " the said three lower Counties.
"It was further stated to the said Provincial Court, that Lord " Baltimore had, in the year 1683, taken upon him to determine the " Northern Bounds of his own Province, without the Consent of the " Proprietary of Pensylvania, by running a Line from the Mouth of " Octorara Creek, (which falls into the River Sasquehannah,) East- " ward to the River Delaware, And that in the year 1742, by Ar- " ticles of Agreement solemnly concluded between the Lord Propri- " etary of Maryland & the Proprietaries of Pennsylva., the Bounds " of the two Governments were so certainly describ'd that the South- " ern Bounds of Pennsylvania, & consequently the Northern Bounds " of Maryland, cou'd be very nearly discovered, tho' the Lines were " not actually run; And that Joshua Minshall & John Hendricks " were arrested by the Officers of Maryland, at their own dwellings, "which is about twenty three Miles to the Northward of both the " Octorara Line, commonly called Lord Baltimore's Line, & the " Place where it is well known the East & West Line agreed upon " by the said articles, to be run at the distance of fifteen Miles South " of the City of Philadelphia, will fall.
" This was represented with the greatest plainess, & that if neither " the Bounds which Lord Baltimore had set to Himself so long ago
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"as the year 1673, nor the Bounds so lately concluded upon by " both Proprietors, cou'd limit Lord Baltimore's Jurisdiction, then " it was plain there is no part of Pennsylvania, how remote or dis- " tant soever the same may be from Maryland, but what is lyable to " be claimed by Lord Baltimore, & the Persons who have honestly " purchased Lands & improved the same, may, upon pretence of " some disregard shewn to Lord Baltimore's Character or Govern- " ment, be forcibly taken from their Dwellings & imprisoned with " the greatest severity. But so it was, lest his Lordship's Claim to " the Lands upon which the aforesd. Hendricks, &c. lived, should be " thought to be given up. by the discharge of the said Prisoners, they " were denied to be relieved by the said Court, & now its required " they should plead to the Several Informations exhibited against " them, & submit to have it tried by a Jury of Maryland, whether "the Lands upon which they live lye within the Province of Penn- " sylvania.
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