USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial records of Pennsylvania, Vol. IV > Part 3
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SEC. 4. That any number not exceeding one thousand out of the fifteen hundred copies of the work directed to be printed shall be disposed of by a subscription, to be opened at the several county treasuries of the Commonwealth, at the price of one dollar per vol- ume, the proceeds of which shall be paid into the State Treasury, and be applied to the continuation of the work.
SEC. 5. That two hundred copies of said minutes, when printed and bound, shall be placed in the hands of the Governor, to be by
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REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE
him distributed among learned societies and public libraries in other States of this Union, at his discretion; that five copies shall be presented to the American Philosophical Society, the Historical So- ciety, the Philadelphia Library, and the Philadelphia Athenæum, each; one copy to each of the several colleges and public libraries in the State ; one to each member of the present Legislature ; and that ten copies shall be deposited in the State Library, and one copy in each of the record offices of the Commonwealth.
SEC. 6. That the Governor is hereby authorized and required to appoint some competent person, whose duty it shall be to select for publication such of the original documents, letters, treaties, and other papers, prior in date to the peace of 1783, now preserved in the Secretary's office, as may be deemed of sufficient importance to be published, and to arrange them according to date in one or more volumes, not exceeding five, of the size of the Colonial Records. heretofore printed, which shall be called " Pennsylvania Annals."
SEC. 7. That so soon as the said papers are prepared for publica- tion, in such manner as to meet the approval of the Governor and Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Governor shall draw his war- rant on the State Treasurer in favor of the person so appointed as aforesaid, for the sum of one thousand dollars, as a full compensa- tion for the services directed to be performed by this act, which shall be paid out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise ap- propriated.
SEC. 8. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Com- monwealth, immediately after the Pennsylvania Annals as aforesaid are prepared for publication, to procure the printing of fifteen hun- dred copies of the entire series immediately, in the same manner and under the same restrictions as are provided in the second and third sections of this Act in reference to the publication of the Colonial Records.
SEC. 9. That when published, the Pennsylvania Annals shall be distributed in the same manner as is provided in the fourth and fifth sections of this act, in reference to the Colonial Records.
SEC. 10. That so much of any Act of Assembly as conflicts or is inconsistent with the foregoing provisions of this act, be, and the same is hereby repealed.
REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Mr. Armstrong, from the Select Committee to whom was referred that portion of the message of the Governor which invites the atten- tion of the Legislature to the original papers and records connected
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OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
with our Colonial and Revolutionary history, in the department of State, and to their exposed and perishing condition; and also a me- morial from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, upon the same subject, begs leave respectfully to report :
That, in the year 1837, the Legislature, on the joint representa- tion of the American Philosophical Society and of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, directed the publication of the minutes of the Provincial Council, which direction, in the following year, was enlarged so as to authorize their publication to the period of the revolution, and to include other public records and documents : that, accordingly, two volumes appeared in the year 1838, and another volume in the year 1840, which brought the series down to the 23d of January, 1735-6, at which date the undertaking abruptly ceased, to the deep regret of those Pennsylvanians whose knowledge of the contents of these records, as far as they had been published, and of their increasing interest as the work proceeded, were led to believe they formed the chief source of our provincial history.
Your Committee do not propose to investigate the reasons, if any sufficiently substantial really existed, which for so many years have permitted the Legislature to withhold the completion of an under- taking they had so patriotically begun; withheld, too, at the risk of the loss of these invaluable documents, at some sacrifice of State pride, and certainly with a result calculated to render comparatively valueless what they have attempted to accomplish. At a period when the policy of the province began to assume a settled character, and when of all others, save that of the revolution, most likely to interest, do these volumes end.
The past history of States is generally obscure; not so with that of Pennsylvania : for although much has undoubtedly perished, much has been preserved. The causes which led to her establishment; the character of her founder; the struggles of her first inhabitants ; the policy of her early legislation : in a word, whether sought to gratify a spirit of curious research, or to aid the graver purpose of the Statesman, the history of the infant settlement, the flourishing province, and the great Commonwealth, is all spread upon our records.
The Legislature of 1851 have now an opportunity of rendering valuable the undertaking of their predecessors, and of redeeming their State from the charge of a neglect of her history.
Another argument for the continuation of the publication of these records, and for bringing the series down to the period of the adop- tion of the Constitution in 1790, may be found in the fact that the minutes of the Provincial Council have been published only to the year 1736; yet the minutes of the Assembly have been published from the organization of that body, on the 4th of October, 1682, and through all the changes of government to the present time. A circumstance which renders a completion of the minutes of the Coun- cil indispensable, in order to derive the proper benefit from the lib-
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REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE
erality of a Colonial Legislature; for the records of the Assembly cannot be clearly understood or investigated, unless placed by the side of those of the Council; so that if the suggestion of your Com- mittee is carried out, the legislative history of the State will be com- plete to the present time. In commending the liberality of a Colo- nial Legislature for the publication of the minutes of the Assembly- an enterprize for those days far greater than any undertaken since, with reference to the same object-let us commend their foresight too; for whether the originals of the minutes of the Assembly were differently preserved or more exposed than those of the Council, not a fragment of the former is to be discovered in any of the depart- ments. Although it is to be regretted our forefathers did not accom- plish what it is now suggested should be done, let us congratulate ourselves that our neglect has not as yet deprived us of the means of completing their unfinished undertaking.
There is a large number of valuable letters, journals, and papers in the department of State, which should be arranged for publica- tion, and afterwards bound, for the sake of the interest attaching to the originals. Among these are orders in Council, and the corres- pondence between the Governors of the different provinces, indicat- ing the policy of the mother country, and the relations existing between the colonies.
At a later period, we find the correspondence of the Penns, of Pitt, Braddock, Washington, Mercer, Franklin, Clinton, Shirley, Weiser, Spangenberg, John Harris, Elder, Joseph and Edward Shippen, and of other leading men of the last century, throwing much light on the French war, and illustrating the period imme- diately succeeding it. The department also contains much that re- lates to the Indians within and beyond our borders ; to our different wars and treaties with them, and policy towards them; also much concerning the early history of the Moravian settlements, of that of the different counties, and of the adventures of the pioneers of civilization. With regard to what is styled the "Wyoming contro- versy," a subject of much interest to a large portion of our popula- tion, happily only in an historical view, there are many valuable papers.
When the period of the revolution is approached, we will venture to pronounce no State richer in letters and documents connected with that struggle. It is natural to suppose there should be much in the archives of a State which was the centre of operations. Your Committee, however, regret to say that they have learned this por- tion of the collection, from long exposure, has been much diminished and impaired; and that ancient letters and papers, generally, with all the vigilance that can be exercised, are yearly disappearing from the archives. Of the signatures of the Founder, of the large num- ber once in the department, but one is said to exist.
Humiliating as it is to expose the neglect of which we have been guilty, let us hope a good result; and that State pride may be suffi-
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OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
ciently aroused to remove the evil, in a judicious selection (by some competent person) and publication of what remains.
In the course of their examinations, the Committee had occasion to inspect the records in the office of the Surveyor General, and they believe they would not faithfully discharge their duty, if they omit- ted to report the condition in which they found a large number of the volumes and other papers belonging to that important depart- ment. Many of the volumes are going to pieces for want of a re- binding, and many documents and papers are equally suffering, because not bound. It would be discreditable to the State if this evil were permitted any longer to exist; and your Committee would suggest a small appropriation should be made, to be disposed of under the direction of the Surveyor General, for binding such books and papers as in his opinion may require it.
A regard for the records of the past is a marked trait in the character of the Anglo-Saxon race. And the warm interest our citizens take in all that concerns our State and revolutionary his- tory-an interest continually increasing, and which shows our rights can never be endangered when a disposition is manifested to inves- tigate their origin and progress-would seem to indicate, irrespective of the precarious condition of these papers, the urgency of speedy action.
The expenditure required to complete the publication will, in the opinion of your Committee, be amply returned by the eventual sale; but, if not, your Committee believe it is as much the duty of a State to preserve from perishing the memorials of her history as to carry out any of the great ends of government.
New York, and other sister States, set us a noble example in their efforts to publish and preserve all that relates to their early history.
Your Committee trust that the Legislature will at once take action on this important subject; and, for the honor of our great Common- wealth, which has so much reason to be proud of her origin and his- tory, rescue from oblivion and perhaps destruction her neglected annals.
And they would, therefore, respectfully recommend the passage of the bill received from the Senate upon the subject of the Colo- nial Records, with such modifications as their report suggests.
The Committee offer the following resolution, viz :
Resolved, That the Committee be discharged from the further con- sideration of the subject.
On motion, the said resolution was read the second time, con- sidered, and adopted.
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AN ACT FOR THE PUBLICATION
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE COLONIAL RECORDS, AND OTHER ORIGINAL PA- PERS IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH.
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General As- sembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the Secretary of the Commonwealth be, and he is hereby authorized and required to continue the printing of the minutes of the Proprietary Government and Council of Safety, down to the adoption of the Constitution, in the year one thousand seven hun- dred and ninety, from the point at which the third volume of the Colonial Records terminates, in the same shape and style in which the volumes of the Colonial Records, already printed, are pub- lished-each volume to contain not less than eight hundred pages, and that the number of copies of each volume shall be fifteen hundred.
SECTION 2. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, immediately after the passage of this act, to invite proposals for the publication of the records aforesaid, giving public notice for at least one month, in two papers published in Philadel- phia, Pittsburg, and Harrisburg, which proposals shall state the price per volume, and shall include the faithful and literal tran- scribing of the records aforesaid, under the superintendence of the Secretary, the publication and binding in a manner uniform with, and not inferior to the volumes of the Colonial Records already published, finding all material, and the delivering of them to the Secretary of the Commonwealth; which proposals shall be opened at the time appointed by the Secretary, in the presence of the Gov- ernor, Auditor General, and State Treasurer, who shall then, with the Secretary, proceed to allot the contract to the lowest and best responsible bidder : Provided, That before assigning the contract as aforesaid, the successful bidder shall enter into bond to the Com- monwealth, with two or more sufficient sureties, in the sum of ten thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful fulfilment of his con- tract, which bond shall be approved by the Governor before being received.
SECTION 3. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Commonwealth so soon as the entire number of copies of any one volume shall have been delivered into his office, to certify that fact to the Governor, who shall then draw his warrant on the State Treasurer for the amount due the contractor according to the con- tract, which shall be paid out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated : Provided, That the Secretary shall not certify as aforesaid, until upon examination he be satisfied that the
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OF THE COLONIAL RECORDS.
contract has been carried out in accordance with the true intent and meaning of this act, and especially that the volume, as published, is a faithful and literal copy of the original.
SECTION 4. That any number not exceeding one thousand out of the fifteen hundred copies of the work directed to be printed, shall be disposed of by subscription, to be opened at the several county treasuries of the Commonwealth at the price of one dollar per vol- ume, the proceeds of which shall be paid into the State Treasury, and be applied to the continuation of the work.
SECTION 5. That two hundred copies of said minutes, when printed and bound, shall be placed in the hands of the Governor, to be by him distributed among learned societies and public libra- ries in other States of this Union, at his discretion. That five copies shall be presented to the American Philosophical Society, the Historical Society, the Philadelphia Library, the Franklin Institute, and Philadelphia Atheneum, each, and one copy to each of the several colleges and public libraries in the State, one to each mem- ber of the present Legislature, and ten copies shall be deposited in the State Library, and one copy in each of the record offices of the Commonwealth.
SECTION 6. That the Governor is hereby authorized and required to appoint some competent person, whose duty it shall be to select for publication such of the original documents, letters, treaties, and other papers, prior in date to the peace of one thousand seven hun- dred and eighty-three, now preserved in the Secretary's office, as may be deemed of sufficient importance to be published; and to arrange them according to date and subject in one or more volumes, not exceeding five of the size of the Colonial Records heretofore printed, which shall be called " Pennsylvania Archives."
SECTION 7. That so soon as the said papers are prepared for pub- lication in such manner as to meet the approval of the Governor and Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Governor shall draw his warrant on the State Treasurer in favor of the person so appointed as aforesaid, for a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, as a full compensation for the services directed to be performed by this act, which shall be paid out of any moneys in the treasury not other- wise appropriated.
SECTION 8. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, immediately after the Pennsylvania Archives as aforesaid are prepared for publication, to procure the printing of fifteen hundred copies of the entire series immediately in the same manner, and under the same restrictions, as are provided in the second and third sections of this act, in reference to the publication of the Colonial Records.
SECTION 9. That when published, the Pennsylvania Archives shall be distributed in the same manner as is provided in the fourth and fifth sections of this act, in reference to the Colonial Re- cords.
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AN ACT, &c.
SECTION 10. That so much of any act of Assembly as conflicts, or is inconsistent with the foregoing provisions of this act, be, and the same is hereby repealed.
JOHN CESSNA, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
BENJAMIN MATTHIAS, Speaker of the Senate.
APPROVED-The fifteenth day of February, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.
WM. F. JOHNSTON.
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MINUTES
OF THE
PROVINCIAL COUNCIL OF PENNSYLVANIA.
At a Council held at Philadia. Febry 7th 1735-6
PRESENT :
The Honble PATRICK GORDON, Esqr., Lieut. Governor,
James Logan,
Ralph Assheton,
Samuel Preston,
Samuel Hasel, - - Esquires.
Thomas Laurence,
Thomas Griffitts,
Clement Plumsted,
Charles Read, -
The Minute of the preceding Council being read & approved,-
The four following Bills sent up from the House of Representa- tives were read :
An Amendment of an Act Entituled An Act the more effectu- ally to prevent the erecting of Wears, Damms, &ca within the River Schuylkill.
A Supplement to the Law for laying out of Highways and Pub- lick Roads.
A Supplement to the Law for erecting Pounds, &ca.
AN Acr to enjoyn sundry Officers in the County of Philadelphia to deposite the Records, Publick Papers, &ca. in their Custody in the offices adjoyning to the State House.
The first instead of enforcing the Law to which it is said to be an Amendment, is rather a Repeal, by giving Leave to erect Wears between the - day of April & day of May in each year : and a Petition signed by a great Number of Inhabitants living on the upper parts of Schuylkill, alleadging divers Reasons against passing the said Bill, being presented & read, The Board on due Consideration thereof, had agreed on the following Mes- sage :
VOL. IV .- 2.
-
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MINUTES OF THE
" From the Governor in Council to the House of Representatives on the subject matter of the Bill Entituled,
"' An Amendment of an Act Entituled An Act the more effec- tually to prevent the erecting of Wears, Damms, &ca. within the River Schuylkill.'
" The Governor hath received a Petition, signed by great Num- bers of the Inhabitants living on the upper Parts of Schuylkill, alledging divers matters of Fact, which if true give him some sur- prize, for that all Men ought to be heard.
" The Governor thinks fit likewise to observe,
" That both the Soil and Water of all Rivers within the Prov- ince belong undoubtedly to the Proprietaries unless where they have been by them granted away.
" That the first Proprietor the Founder of this Colony from his Paternal Care, which extended it self equally to all the People, ever declared against the Erecting of Racks and Wears, as appears by an Act passed by himself in 1683, and by another likewise passed by him in 1700.
"That our Founder herein copied from the Example of our Mother Country, where, by the Wisdom of the Legislature, many wholesome & effectual Provisions have been divers times made for the free & open Navigation of the Rivers, & preserving the Breed of Fish.
" That the whole of this matter having been largely considered by former Assemblies in this Province, upon occasion of the Peti- tions preferred by such, who, with a view only to their own present Interest, were desirous of obtaining a Liberty so prejudicial to the good of the Whole, an Act to prevent the Erecting of Wears and Damms was passed in 1730, which not being found altogether suf- ficient, it was by an Act passed in 1734 further strengthened and rendered more effectual,
"That the following year, as is set forth in the Petition afore- said, the matter was again fully heard by the House, & the Peti- tions of those who prayed Leave to Erect such Wears and Damms were rejected.
"That therefore, since the Proprietor from the first would not . suffer them, & the Legislature have so often declared against them, it seems inconsistent with the Dignity of Government that attempts of this kind should be so often renewed and countenanced.
" For these Reasons the Governor desires that the House will not press on him the further considering a Bill of this Nature.
ROBT. CHARLES, Secry."
To the second Bill several small amendments were made, and it was recommended to the House to consider, whether in this Bill it would not be very proper to make some further Provision for
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PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.
obliging the Overseers of the Highways to a more carefull Execu- tion of their Duty, many Complaints being made of their Negli- gence.
On the Subject matter of the third Bill, and reading the several Laws referred to therein, the following Message was agreed on by the Board : '
" From the Governor in Council to the House of Representatives on the Subject matter of the Bill Entituled,
"' A Supplement to the Law for erecting Pounds, &ca.'
" The Governor conceives, that in all Proprietary Governments the Rangers have been unquestionably Officers of the Proprietaries, as in Colonies under the King they are generally the King's Ran- gers ; That Waifts & Strays, for which no Owners can be found, have ever been allowed to belong to the Lord of the Fee; yet on the other hand, due care ought to be taken that no wrong to the Subject by the misbehavior of any such officers, who ought to be under proper Security & Qualifications for the lawfull Discharge of their Offices : The Governor therefore proposes that a Bill should be drawn for regulating the whole affair of Rangers & Strays, & whatever may relate to them.
ROBT. CHARLES, Secry."
To the fourth sundry small amendments were proposed.
All which, together with the Bills, are directed to be sent down to the House.
At a Council held at Philadia. Febry 11th, 1735-6.
PRESENT :
Samuel Preston,
Ralph Assheton,
Clement Plumsted, Samuel Hasell,
Thomas Laurence,
Thomas Griffitts,
}
Esquires.
The Minute of the preceeding Council being read & approved,
The two following Bills sent up from the House of Representa- tives were read, to witt :
AN ACT to confirm the Decrees & Sentences given before the Governor & Council of this Province, in certain Causes adjudged before the said Governor & Council as a Court of Chancery.
AN ACT for establishing Courts of Equity in this Province.
The Board then directed several Parts of the Royal Charter for this Province, of the Charter of Privileges granted by the late Pro- prietary to the Freemen, and of the Proceedings of the present House of Representatives on the Subject matter of these Bills, to be read, which being done accordingly, the Consideration of the whole is deferred till the next meeting of the Council, that all the Members may be present to advise on so important an affair.
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MINUTES OF THE
At a Council held at Philadia. Feb'ry 13th, 1735-6.
PRESENT :
The Honble PATRICK GORDON, Esqr., Lieut. Governor.
James Logan, Samuel Preston,
Ralph Assheton,
Thomas Griffitts,
Clement Plumsted,
Charles Read,
Esquires.
Thomas Laurence,
The Minute of the preceeding Council being read & approved,
The four Bills returned to the House with the Observations thereon made and amendments proposed by the Board, being again sent up with the answers of the House to the said Observations, & their Reasons for not agreeing to several of the Amendments, the same were read and are as follows :
"From the Representatives of the Freemen of the Province of Pennsylva. in General Assembly met to the Governor, in relation to his observations on the Bill Entituled, An Amendment of an Act Entituled An Act the more effectually to prevent the erecting Wears, Damms, &ca. within the River Schuylkill.
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