USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial records of Pennsylvania, Vol. IX > Part 44
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"Signed by Order of the House,
"JOSEPH GALLOWAY, Speaker. "February 2d, 1768.
The Bill entituled " An Act for incorporating the Society known by the name and Stile of the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insuring Houses, &cª.," was then read and agreed to, and returned to the Assembly with the Governor's Assent.
Then was read the Bill entituled " An Act for raising by way of Lottery, the Sum of £5,250, for the purchasing a public Landing, &ca.," which was referred to a future Consideration.
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Council Chamber, 1 o'Clock, P. M.
A Committee of two Members of Assembly having this forenoon waited on the Governor with a Message from the House, requesting His Honour would be pleased to appoint a time for passing the Bill for removing the People settled on the Indian Lands, and his Hon- our having appointed to receive the House for that purpose, at this Hour, sent them a Message by the Secretary, requiring their attend- ance in the Council Chamber.
The House accordingly attended, and the Speaker presented to the Governor the Bill entituled " An Act to remove the Persons now Settled, and to prevent others from Settling on any Lands in this Province not purchased of the Indians," which His Honour enacted into a Law, and appointed a member of Council to accom- pany a Member of the House to see the Seal affixed thereto, and to deposit the Law in the Rolls Office.
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Eodem die, 2 o'Clock, P. M.
An Express arrived with Letters to the Governor from Edward Shippen and John Armstrong, Esquires, with the disagreeable Ac- count of the Rescue of Frederick Stump and his Servant, out of the Gaol at Carlisle on the 29th Ultimo, by a party of Armed Men. His Honour immediately sent the said Letters to the Assembly for their perusal, the latter of which was ordered to be entered upon the Minutes of Council, and is as follows, viz":
A Letter to the Governor from John Armstrong.
" CARLISLE, 29th January, 1768.
" Honoured Sir :
" In this Perturbation of Mind, I cannot write, but in real dis- tress, only inform your Honour that we are deceived and disgraced at once ; for about ten o'Clock this Morning, to the Number of Seventy or Eighty Men, under Arms, surrounded our Gaol, when a Number of them, unknown to the Magistrates, I must say, ap- pears to have had but too ready entrance into the Dungeon, and in less than ten Minutes time they carried off Stump and his Servant, in open Triumph, and violation of the Law.
" The few magistrates that were present, Messieurs Miller, Lyon, and myself, have, I hope, obviously enough done our Duty, but whilst we were engaged at the Prison Door exerting ourselves both by Force and Argument, a Party, utterly without our knowledge, was in the Dungeon, of which we were not acquainted either by the Jaylor or any other Person, who, before we were Aware, had the Prisoners in the open Street, where we were unable to make farther opposition, and gone in less than a Second.
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" The Jaylor says that a Pistol was held at his Breast, and this is all we can at present say of that Circumstance.
" These Rioters give as Reasons of their Conduct, that the Pri- soners were to be carried to Philadelphia for Tryal; that a number of White Men have been killed by the Indians since the Peace, and / the Indians have not been brought to Justice, &cª., &ca.
"At present we know not what Step to take for the best, and beg to be favoured with your Honour's farther Instructions.
"I have wrote in the presence of the two Magistrates mentioned above, and am
" Your Honour's most obedient humble Servant, " JOHN ARMSTRONG.
"P. S. the bearer, Mr. Cunningham, is a prudent Young Man, knows the State of these things, & may be depended on in any Questions your Honour or the Chief Justice may think proper to ask."
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At a Council held at Philadelphia, on Wednesday 3d February, 1768, at 6 o'Clock, P. M.
PRESENT :
The Honourable JOHN PENN, Esquire, Lieutenant Gover- nor, &cª.
Benjamin Chew, James Tilghman, Esquires.
The Letter received this Afternoon from John Armstrong, Es- quire, was read, and the Council desired the Governor to send im- mediately for James Cunningham, who brought the said Letter, in order to take his Examination respecting the rescue of Frederick Stump and John Ironcutter, but the Secretary immediately after- wards appearing at the Board, informed them that he had just been with Mr. Cunningham, and while he was conversing with him, the Serjeant at Arms came with an Order from the Assembly requiring him to appear before the House, to be examined, and that he was accordingly gone to them ; Whereupon, it was Ordered, that he should have notice to appear at the Council to-morrow Morning.
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At a Council held at Philadelphia, on Thursday 4 February, 1768.
PRESENT :
The Honourable JOHN PENN, Esquire, Lieutenant Governor, &ca.
The Honourable James Hamilton, Esquire.
William Logan,
Richard Penn,
Esquires.
Benjamin Chew,
James Tilghman, S
Mr. James Cunningham from Carlisle being sent for by Order of the Governor, appeared at the Board, and was immediately examined, with regard to what he knew concerning the Rescue of Frederick Stump and John Ironcutter from the Gaol at Carlisle, and his De- position was taken and is as follows :
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" The Deposition of James Cunningham, of Lancaster County, concerning the Rescue of Frederick Stump & John Ironcutter, from the Gaol at Carlisle.
" James Cunningham, of Lancaster County, Farmer, being Sworn on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, deposeth and saith, that on Friday the Twenty-Ninth day of January last, about Nine or Ten o'Clock in the Forenoon, as he was sitting at Breakfast with John Armstrong, Esquire, in the Town of Carlisle, in the County of Cumberland, he was surprized to see a number of Armed Men surrounding on a sudden the public Gaol in the said Town ; the He and the said John Armstrong, apprehending that the said Company were come with an Intention to Rescue from the said Gaol a certain Frederick Stump and John Ironcutter, who were con- fined there for the Murder of a number of Indians, they both In- stantly Ran to the said Gaol in order to prevent if possible the execu- tion of so wicked and illegal a Design. That when they got up to the Gaol, the said John Armstrong made his way through a number of Armed Men, who stood before the Door of the said Gaol, which was open, and Guarded by four Men, who stood within the Door with Arms in their Hands : that the said Armstrong and John Holmes, high Sheriff of the said County, both attempted to go into the Door, of the Gaol, but were several times pushed back and pre- vented; that as the said John Armstrong stood on the Steps under the Door he addressed himself frequently to the Armed Company who were about him, and used many arguments to persuade them to desist from their Lawless undertaking, and told them, among other things, that they were about to do an Act which would sub- ject themselves and their Country to Misery. That while the said Armstrong was speaking, this Deponent saw one of the Armed men take hold of him and draw him down the said Steps, upon which the said Armstrong by violence pushed back the Person who bad hold of him, and regained his Stand on the said Steps, saying at the
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same time, that they should take his Life before they should rescue the Prisoners. This Deponent further saith, that while the said John Armstrong, and Robert Miller and William Lyon, Esquire, and the Reverend John Steel, who had joined the said Armstrong, were endeavoring to disperse the said Company, several other Arm- ed Men appeared within side the said Gaol, to the very great sur- prize of every one, with the two Prisoners above mentioned in their Possession, whom they brought forward, and after pushing the said Armstrong, Miller, Lyons, Steel, Holmes, and this Deponent, by Violence, and crowding from before the said Gaol Door, carried them off with Shouts and Rejoicing, and immediately left the Town .- This Deponent further saith that he cannot with certainty declare what numbers were in the Company which made the said Rescue, but that from the best Judgment he could form, they were Seventy or Eighty, all Armed with Guns and some Tomahocks. This Deponent further saith on his solemn Oath, that he does not know, nor has any Personal knowledge of any one of the Persons he saw in the said Armed Company concerned in the said Rescue, and that after the said Company had left the Town, the Reverend Mr. Steel came to the said John Armstrong and William Lyons and John Holmes, and informed them that the said Rescuers desired they would come to and confer with them at the Plantation of John Davis, to come to some Terms with them. That the said three last mentioned Per- sons immediately mounted their Horses and went towards the said Davis's, but informed this Deponent on their Return, that the said Company had altered their Resolution and had gone on without waiting for them, and further saith not.
"JAMES CUNNINGHAM." "Taken and Sworn before the Governor and Council at Phila- delphia, before me, Recorder of the City, February the 4th, 1768. " BENJAMIN CHEW, Recorder."
The Council took this important Matter into their most serious Consideration, and advised the Governor to send immediate Instruc- tions to John Armstrong, Esquire, and the other Magistrates of Cumberland County, with regard to the measures most expedient; to be pursued by them on this interesting occasion, for regaining the Prisoners that have been rescued, and bringing them and the Rioters to Justice.
Accordingly a Letter of Instructions, agreeable to the Sentiments of the Board, was drawn at the Table, and dispatched by Express. to Carlisle, which Letter follows in these words, vizt. :
A Letter from the Governor to John Armstrong, Esquire.
" PHILADELPHIA, 4th February, 1768.
" Sir :
"The information given in yours of the 29th Ultimo, of the' Rescue of Frederick Stump and his Servant, gives me the greatest
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concern, and is truly Alarming. Perhaps, if the Magistracy of your County had not indiscreetly (to say no more) interposed when the Sheriff was ready to proceed with the Prisoners to Philadelphia, this event, so full of mischievous Consequences, had not happened. However, since Matters have so unluckily fallen out, the best is to be done which the Exigency of the Case requires, and the most probable methods of regaining the Custody of the Prisoners, are now to be pursued. If the People who have gone into this rash and wicked Step, were actuated by the Principles they professed, of preserving their Rights rather than those of screening the Prisoners from the hands of Justice, they will certainly be ready to deliver them up, when they can be satisfied that they will receive their Tryals in the County where the Offences were committed. You will therefore, in the first place, try the expedient of assuring these People (if it can be known who they are) that the Government never entertained the least thought of so illegal an Act as trying them out of the proper County, and that they were ordered down to Philadelphia that the Chief Justice himself might have the Examination of them in a mat- ter of such Consequence, and that they might there be out of the Reach of any attempts to rescue them, which their Friends or Abettors might be disposed to make, till the Time of their Trial. If, upon this assurance, they will retake the Prisoners or deliver them up, it will go a good way towards convincing me and all others, that they, upon a mistaken Notion, took this exceeding Rash, tho' most unwarrantable step, to prevent an Invasion of their Rights. If this measure should fail of the desired effect, and these People should persist in refusing to deliver up the Prisoners, or if they have already permitted their Escape, you are, after waiting a reas- onable time for the Results, to proceed immediately in the most active and vigorous manner, as well for apprehending the Prisoners who have been rescued as to procure Testimony on which to found legal Charges against the Rioters, (many of whom, it is more than probable, you and those other Magistrates who were present with you and were Witnesses of the whole Transaction personally knew), for this most daring Insult upon the Laws of the Country ; and with the Assistance of the other Magistrates, you are to call before you all such Witnesses as you may think can give any Information of the names of the Kioters, and to take their Examinations, and to issue Warrants for apprehending and securing them, and upon .every Occasion which you may think requires it, you are to dispatch Expresses informing me of any material Occurrence, that I may take the measures which I may think necessary ; And particularly, you are to dispatch an Express immediately with the answer which the Rioters may give to the Assurance which you are above in- structed to make them. I must press you and the other Magis- trates, in the most earnest manner, that upon this important Occa- sion, you exert the utmost Assiduity, Vigour and Activity in your Power, least a failure of Success in our Endeavours to bring the
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Prisoners to Justice, should involve the Frontier Inhabitants in the dreadful Effects of an Indian War.
" I am, Sir, " Your most Obedient
" humble Servant,
"JOHN PENN. ,
" To JOHN ARMSTRONG, Esquire, at Carlisle."
The Lottery Bill was again considered and referred to a future Consideration.
The Secretary presented to the Board a Letter which he received from Captain William Patterson, acquainting him with his appre- hending Frederick Stump and John Ironcutter, and delivering them to the Sheriff of Cumberland, and inclosing a Message he had sent to the Indians at the great Island, which were ordered to be en- tered on the Minutes of Council, and are as follow, viz :
A Letter from Captain William Patterson to the Secretary. CARLISLE, 23d January, 1768.
" DEAR SIR :
" The 21st instant I marched a Party of nineteen Men to George Gabriel's House at Penn's Creek's mouth, and made Prisoners Frederick Stump, and John Ironcutter, who were suspected to have murdered Ten of our Friend Indians near Fort Augusta, and I have this Day delivered them to Mr. Holmes at Carlisle Gaol.
"Yesterday I sent a person to the Great Island, that understands the Indian Language, with a Talk, a Copy of which is inclosed. Myself and Party were exposed to great Danger by the desperate Resistance made by Stump and his Friends, who sided with him. The steps I have taken, I flatter myself, will not be disapproved of by the Gentlemen in Government, my sole View being directed to the Service of the Frontiers, before I heard his Honour the Governor's Orders; The Message I have sent to the Indians, I hope will not be deemed assuming any Authority of my own, as you are very sensible I am no stranger to the Indians and their Customs.
" I am, with Respect, " Your most Obedient humble Servant "W. PATTERSON. "' JOSEPH SHIPPEN, Esquire."
Here follows the Talk sent by Captain William Patterson to the Indians at the Great Island :
" Brothers of the Six Nations, Delawares, and other Inhabit ints of the West Branch of Susquehanna, hear what I have to say to you :
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"With a heart swelled with Grief, I have to inform you that Frederick Stump and John Ironcutter have unadvisedly murdered Ten of our Friend Indians near Fort Augusta ; The Inhabitants of Pennsylvania do disapprove of the said Stump and Ironcutter's Conduct, and as proof thereof, I have taken them Prisoners, and will deliver them into the Custody of Officers that will keep them Ironed in Prison for Trial, and I make no doubt as many of them as are guilty will be condemned and die for the Offence. " Brothers :
" I being truly sensible of the Injury done you, I only add these few Words with my Heart's wish, that you may not rashly let go the fast hold of our Chain of Friendship, for the ill conduct of one of our bad men. Believe me, Brothers, we English-Men con- tinue the Same Love for you that hath usually subsisted between our Grandfathers, and I desire you to call at Fort Augusta to Trade with our People there for the necessaries you stand in need of. I pledge you my word that no White man there shall molest any of you, whilst you behave as Friends. I shall not Rest by night or Day untill I receive your Answer.
"Your Friend and Brother,
"W. PATTERSON.
"Juniata, January 22d, 1768."
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Friday 5th February, 1768, A. M.
MEMORANDUM.
A Committee of two Members of Assembly waited on the Gov- ernor and delivered him the following written Message, and at the same time acquainted him that the House requested His Honour would again let them have the Perusal of Colonel Armstrong's last Letter, which was accordingly sent to them.
A Message to the Governor from the Assembly.
"May it please your Honour :
"The first Intelligence received by this House of the Persons settling on the Indian Lands within the Bounds of this Province, was communicated in your Message of January the 5th, and his Excellency General Gage's Letter. The Removal of these obstinate People, who have violated the Faith of Treaties and dis- regarded His Majesty's Proclamation, appeared to us so absolutely necessary to the Safety of the Colony, that we Complied with all possible dispatch with the Measures recommended by the General for that Purpose, and we are pleased this part of our Conduct has met with your approbation ; but at the same time, it gives us much Concern to find that, in another Respect, we do not seem to have been so fortunate.
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" From good Information we were convinced that the barbarous Massacre committed on the Indians at Conestogo and Lancaster, was one of the Causes of the Indian discontent. To remove which, by satisfying the Natives of the Justice of the Government, and to support that Authority which can alone ensure Safety to the People, by deterring the Wicked from the Perpetration of the like heinous Offences, we intreated your Honour 'that diligent and speedy In- quisition should be made after the Atrocious Offenders.' In An- swer to which, you are pleased to tell us that in your Station you conceive nothing more can be done without doing an Act of Violence to the Constitution, which commits the immediate Administration of Justice to the Magistracy.' We well knew that the immediate Administration of Justice by the Constitution is vested in the Ma- gistracy, and we assure your Honour that you are not mistaken in thinking ' that we are the last Persons who would advise you to extend your Power in any Case beyond the Bounds prescribed by Law.' But, while we wish to have your Authority properly con- fined, we should be wanting in our duty to the People, if we were not equally desirous to see it exerted to its legal Extent, whenever their Security demands it, which we are persuaded has not been done on this important Occasion. Murders have been long since committed and the Offenders are not yet apprehended, nor, as we have ever un- derstood, has a single Warrant been issued for the Purpose. Murders perpetrated at Noonday, in a populous Borough, before a Number of Spectators ; and yet, as 'tis said, the Names of the Criminals remain undiscovered. There is a manifest failure of Justice some- where. From whence can it arise ? Not from the Laws. They are adequate to the Offence. It must then be either from a Debility or inexcusable neglect in the Executive part of Government to put those Laws in execution. And we hope your Honour will excuse us when we say that it is the peculiar Province of a Ruler, and without ' Violence to the Constitution,' he may and ought to super- intend the Administration of the Laws, so far at least as to see that the Magistracy faithfully discharge their Duty, and to remove those who are neglectful thereof.
"But you are pleased to tell us that 'you did not lose a moments Time in Writing to the Magistrates of Lancaster, York, and Cum- berland, commanding them to use their utmost Endeavours to dis- cover and apprehend the Offenders ; and by your Proclamation high Rewards were offered to those who should make such Discoveries.' Thus much we believe was done, and no more. But, were not those Letters altogether disregarded, and your Proclamation treated with the utmost contempt ? For, did even those Magistrates who resi- ded in the Borough at that Time, issue a Subpoena, or send for a Person among the numerous Spectators, to give information of the Of- fenders ? Was the Sheriff, then dwelling in the Borough, and whose particular Duty shou'd have led him to have given Opposition to the horrid Act, or the Work-house Keeper, under whose care the unhappy
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Victims were placed by the Magistrates, ever examined, or called on to discover them ? Or has an Inquest been held on the Bodies, or the least Judicial Enquiry made by the Coroner into the Cause, or after the Authors of this unfortunate Catastrophe ? And, al- though there was a Number of His Majesty's Troops Quartered in the Borough at this very Time, ready to lend their Assistance, did the Officers of Justice call on them to give their Aid in protecting the miserable Sufferers ? Under these Circumstances, can it ap- pear possible to a rational Mind, if the Magistrates had exerted their Authority when the Offence was Committed, or at any Time since, that the Perpetrators of so flagrant a Crime, in so public a Manner, cou'd remain undiscovered, and Elude the Efforts of Jus- tice ?
"Your Honour adds, ' that every Measure was taken by you on that Melancholy occasion which the Law would Warrant.' You wrote Letters, indeed, and issued a Proclamation; but, we appre- hend, on an Occasion so Interesting to the Public Safety and Repu- tation of the Government, more might, and ought to have been done. The Assembly, then Sitting, requested that you would ' or- der the Sheriff, Coroner, and Magistrates of the Borough to come down and give you the best Information that could be obtain'd of the Persons concerned in these violences.' Were those Officers ever called on to give you the 'Information,' or to Account for their indolent Conduct ? If they were, did they ever assign good and sufficient Reasons in their Justification ? And if they did not, should not they have been immediately removed from those places of publick Trust which they have so greatly abused, and more worthy Men placed in their Stations ? Thus far, at least, the ' Law' would have 'warranted' your Conduct, nor would you have been justly chargeable with not having performed your Duty, or ' doing an Act of Violence to the Constitution.'
" We lament with your Honour, ' that the Measures you pursued to discover the Offenders were not attended with Success ;' but we cannot think that it was owing so much to a want of 'Virtue or Resolution' in the People, as to a Neglect of Duty in the Officers of Government. Many motives might induce the former to be in- active, and very probably the unparalleled Inactivity of the Magis- trates was not the least ; But nothing ought or can vindicate the latter, who were under the most solemn Obligations for the Per- formance of their Trust.
"Your Honour is pleased further to observe, that 'the Orders you then gave, and the Rewards offered, were not limited to any Time, but still carry with them the same Obligations and Inducements they ever had.' The Contempt with which your Proclamations were treated, without the least Notice taken of that Treatment, and the unpardonable Disobedience in the Magistracy to those Orders ever since, convince us of the Truth of your Assertion, and yet could we be so happy as to persuade you to exert your Power and In-
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fluence with the Magistracy, who hold their Commissions during your Pleasure, by commanding them to send for and examine the Witnesses who were present at the bloody Scene, and at the same Time inform them that nothing less than a faithful discharge of their Duty should skreen them from your Resentment, and secure to them a continuance in their Offices ; and moreover, to renew your Proclamation, offering a generous Reward of not less than Five Hundred Pounds to the Informers, which this House will most chearfully enable you to pay, and assure them of your Protection, we have not the least Doubt but that those Murderers will be dis- covered and apprehended.
" We trust your Honour will not think us too importunate in this momentous Affair, in which we conceive the future safety of the People and the Honour of the Government are most intimately concerned, for you will be pleased to consider of how much Con- sequence to both it is that the Authors of Crimes of so black a dye should be strictly punished. It is in all Probability owing to the Encouragement arising from the Impunity with which these Crimi- nals have been permitted to escape, that the subsequent Murders in this Province have been committed. Had exemplary Punish- ment been inflicted on the Offenders in the first Instance, it is more than probable that the Transgressors in the second would have been deterred from the Perpetration of the like Offences. But, should Men who bid Defiance to the executive Powers of Govern- ment, and so audaciously trampled on its Authority, be allowed to remain in the Province longer, unpunished, We are very appre- hensive that the Persons of the Inhabitants will not be safe from their violent Attempts, the Transition being easy from the Murder of Indians under the Protection of the Government, to the Murder of the Subject ; nor will the Colony be secured from the Calami- ties attending a War with the Natives, occasioned by these repeated Insults offered to the Persons of their People.
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