USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial records of Pennsylvania, Vol. IX > Part 73
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" The rendezvous being appointed a week sooner than you pro- posed, was only to compare our various Successes, and if sufficient, to avoid Expences. The Business shall be expedited with the ut- most Activity, which, as you well observe, is the Life of the Cause ; but you do not seem sufficiently to consider under what embarrass- ments we labour for want of Money, which is the Soul of it. There is a difference between bad pay and no pay at all ; Shoes and other Necessaries are wanting, and therefore, it is expected that you will send Money without delay.
"I remain, Sir, " Your most obedient Servant,
" LEWIS GORDON.
"' JAMES TILGHMAN, Esquire."
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" EASTON, August 11th, 1771.
" Sir :
" I received your Express this moment, by Mr. Robinson, and am sorry to inform you that the raising the Posse has not succeeded so well as we had reason to expect ; for upon a Muster made yesterday at Reemy's, there appeared only about 25 Men, altho' from the Promises made us, we had reason to expect not less than an hundred, but they are drawn off again by their Friends, who look upon the at- tempt as too dangerous. The Block House, in my opinion, cannot be re- lieved in Time, which gives me the greatest Concern, as it is but too likely they will use the People cruelly if they fall into their Hands. "It now appears to me that you cannot depend upon raising a Sufficient Force in these Parts to disperse them, as the bulk of the County is averse to it, and even exclaim against it. I enclose a Deposition of Joseph Drake, which ascertains their Number, also the Number of their killed and wounded, and takes notice of their cruel and Merciless Dispositions. As yet I know not any more with respect to the Situation of the Sufferers, for the Person who deliv- ered Dick's Letter to me came not from the Fort. But this one Thing I know, that it is the first Time I heard of King's requisition of Provisions from me or any body else here. There is not the least Shadow of Truth in it, and the Report is a malicious Calumny. He is now at Reemy's, with his small Party, waiting to be rein- forced, and, for any Thing I ever heard, in very good humor. Pray what is to be done with the 25 Men at Reemy's; are they to be discharged or continued in pay. I Pray also you will not suffer false Reports to injure your best Friends.
" I am in haste,
" Your most obedient Servant, " LEWIS GORDON.
"Mr. TILGHMAN."
The Board took the Subject of the above Letters into considera- tion, but thought it most advisable to defer a Determination thereon 'till more particular Intelligence should be received respecting the Condition of the Wyoming Affairs, as well as further Accounts of the Magistrates' success in raising Men in Northampton County.
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At a Council held at Philadelphia, on Monday the 19th of Au- gust, 1771.
PRESENT :
The Honorable JAMES HAMILTON, Esquire, President.
Joseph Turner, James Tilghman,
Richard Peters, · Andrew Allen,
Benjamin Chew,
Edward Shippen, Jun".
Mr. Tilghman presented to the Board three Letters, which he re- ceived on Saturday Evening last by Express from Easton, which were read; one of which Letters follows in these Words, Vizt :
" TEN MILE RUN, 4 O'clock, P. M.
" Sir :
" I came here about half an hour ago, where we received the dis- agreeable News of the Block House being obliged to surrender for want of Provisions. We sent David Ogden and an Indian in last Night, but, as they could not get in, our People could not hear of their approach, otherwise they could have held out 'till Morning. We were just sending off Flour, by way of Lackawanack, and in- tended this Night to attack their Camp over the River ; one of our People in the Block House was killed on Tuesday, from the other side of the River. I should be glad to know how to proceed farther. We shall keep the Shehole and the Minisink Paths Guarded, to pre- vent more People, &cª., coming to them, or Retreat to the other side of the Swamp till more Men and further Orders comes up. They are 150 strong, and will get as many more in ten days. Our Peo- ple are 60 in number, and much disheartened, so that there is no persuading them farther on, and indeed we could with such a num- ber do nothing decisive.
" I remain, Gentlemen, your humble Servant, "ANDW. LEDLIE. " To Mess's. GORDON & COGLINE, Esquires.
They will permit me to go unarmed to dress the wounded.
The other two Letters are from Charles Stewart and Lewis Gor- don, Esquires, dated at Easton, the 16th of August Instant, and are in Substance the same as the foregoing, containing an Account of the Surrender of the Block House at Wyoming, and a Journal of the Proceedings of the Party who had been sent to succour our People at that Place.
The Board having duly considered the disagreeable Account of the surrender of the Block House at Wyoming to the Rioters, con- tained in the above mentioned Letters, and the Difficulties attending the dispossessing and removal of them at this Time, were of Opinion that all further Attempts for that Purpose should be suspended 'till the Meeting of the Assembly next Month, and that then a true
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State of the Riots and hostile Proceedings of Lazarus Stewart and his Party, with a Number of others who had joined him from Con- necticut, and other Colonies, should be communicated to the As- sembly, and that it be recommended to them to take effectual Mea- sures for apprehending and punishing the said Rioters, and dispos- sessing them of the Lands they unlawfully hold by Force of Arms.
Mr. Tilghman then laid before the Board a Draft of a Letter he had prepared at their Request, to the Honorable the Proprietaries, communicating to them the Measures hitherto pursued by the Council since Governor Penn's Departure, for the keeping Possess- ion of the Lands at Wyoming against the Intrusions of the People of New England, and others in Confederacy with them, and ac- quainting them with the present State of Affairs there. The said Letter was read, and being approved, was ordered to be fairly tran- scribed and dispatched by the first Opportunity, to England. The Letter follows in these Words, Viz":
" PHILADELPHIA, the 20th of August, 1771.
" May it please your Honour :
" We beg leave to lay before You a State of the Settlement at Wyoming, which for several Years past hath been a most expensive Article to you, and given great Trouble to every body concerned in Government. The gaining a Possession there by the Connecticut Susquehanna Company, and the extending their Settlements to other Parts of the New Purchase, equally within. their Claim, has been thought so greatly to affect your Interest, as well as the Peace and good Order of the Province, that Attempts have from Time to Time been made to dislodge them, which have been generally been suc- cessful, tho' very expensive, and Hopes have still been conceived that each removal would discourage these lawless Intruders from further Attempts to establish their unlawful Possessions, especially as the Government here have been informed that the Legislature of Connecticut could not be prevailed on to support their Proceedings. The last removal of them was in January, after which it was deter- mined to sell the Lands to such People as had been concerned in . making the Settlement, in order the more strongly to induce them to defend the Possession against these Intrusions, and in conse- quence of this Resolution, the Lands were offered to Sale, and & Number of People entered into Contracts for the Purchase of them ; an Account of which proceeding the late Governor carried over with him.
" As we were informed, the Government of Connecticut had lately so far interfered in the Affair as to enter into an Enquiry concern- ing the Right of the Colony to the disputed Lands, but would not intermeddle at Present with the Possession, we were in good Hopes no violent Measures would have been again pursued by the Susque- hanna Company; Yet, to our surprize, we received Information on
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the 16th of last Month, that an armed body of the Intruders had marched to Susquehanna about a Week before, and had taken Pos- session about a Mile and an half from our Block House at Wyo- ming, and being superior in Number to our People then on the Ground, (a good many of our Settlers having left the Place to take Care of their Harvests on Delaware), they had confined them to the Block-House, and seized upon their Cattle, Horses and other Effects. Upon considering the great Inconvenience of hav- ing this Settlement broke up and abandoned, the discourage- ment it might give to the Settlement of the other parts of the new Purchase on the Susquehanna, and how dangerous it might prove to the Public Peace and Tranquility of the Province, to suffer it to remain without opposition in the Hands of these Intruders, who had taken under their Protection those dangerous villains, Lazarus Stewart and his Accomplices, in the murther of Nathan Ogden, (for apprehending whom the Assembly had offered large Rewards), We came to a Resolution of once more attempting to remove them, ' by a legal Procedure upon our Riot Act, and to relieve our own People in the Block-House from their distressed Situation. And as this could not be effected without some considerable Expence, which the Settlers at this Time were not in a capacity to defray, We, upon considering Mr. Wilmot's Letter to Mr. Chew, approved by the Proprietaries, relative to the removal of the Connecticut In- truders, were of opinion we might venture to draw upon the Receiver General for the Sum of three hundred Pounds for this Service, and even to indemnify him for the Payment of it. And we were the rather induced to this Measure, as we were well informed that the principal Members of the Connecticut Company opposed this Expe- dition, (tho' a majority were for it), which leads us to expect that, . could they now be effectually opposed, they would not again embark in the affair against the opinion of their principal People.
" To promote and forward this Service, Mr. Tilghman and Mr. Joseph Shippen went to Northampton, but it being in the midst of Harvest, a sufficient number of People to attempt a removal could not be immediately raised, and therefore a Party of twenty men was sent over with a Quantity of Flour (the only Article they were- in great want of) to relieve our People in the Block-House, and enable them to hold out 'till the Harvest was over, and a sufficient Posse could be raised to remove the Intruders. This Party was attacked and fired upon by the Connecticut People, who had by this- Time invested the Block-House, and with great difficulty got in with a part of their Provisions; two of the Men being wounded, our People in their own Defence returned the Fire, and it is said killed and wounded some of the other Party. This Event made it exceeding difficult to collect any thing of a Posse to attend the Sheriff, or to send any further Relief to the Block-House, which was known to be in great distress. At length, on the 13th Instant, the number of sixty-two Men was made up, and marched towards
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Wyoming. But on the 15th, about two miles on this side Wyom- ing, they received intelligence that the Block-House, unable any longer to hold out for want of Provisions, had surrendered the night before.
" Upon receiving this Intelligence, and considering that the num- ber of our people was insufficient for the purpose of dispersing the Rioters, who are superior in number and in Possession of the Block- House, we ordered them to be discharged, to avoid a further Ex- pence.
" Thus, unfortunately, has this troublesome affair ended, and it seems as if these Intruders must retain their Possession, unless the . Assembly will take the matter up, and give that Assistance of Mo- ney which is absolutely necessary for their Removal. We have no Militia, and if the Assembly will not interest themselves, you have in our opinion, no way left but to push a decision of the Right be- fore the King and Council. And as it is a point of Jurisdiction as well as of Right, it ought to have all possible dispatch, to prevent the many fatal Consequences attending a Settlement made in a manner hostile, and not subject to any Government.
" But we have good Reason, upon conferring with the Speaker and some principal Members of the Assembly, to expect the Gov- ernment will have their Assistance in this matter.
"As soon as ever the People who commanded at the Block House come down to Town, a particular Account of the Affair shall be taken upon Oath, and transmitted to you by the first Oppor- tunity.
" We are truly concerned at this Indignity which the Govern- ment must suffer, and that the Expence it has been to you has not answered our Expectations. It will cost considerably more than the £300, for which we drew on the Receiver General, but the Overplus will not come out of your Purse.
" We have the Honor to be, with due Regard, "Your most Obedient humble Servants,
" BENJAMIN CHEW,
"JAMES TILGHMAN, " ANDREW ALLEN, "EDWARD SHIPPEN, Jun".,
"JAMES HAMILTON, " JOSEPH TURNER, " RICHARD PETERS, "THOMAS CADWALADER.
"P. S. August 22d. The Persons who commanded in the Block House having come to Town, since writing the above, their Deposi- tions have been taken, and are now inclosed."
".To the Honourable THOMAS PENN and JOHN PENN, Esquires, Proprietaries of the Province of Pennsylvania, London.
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The Board ordered that a special Commission be issued, appoint- ing Mr. Matthew Clarkson a Justice of the Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace and of the county Court of Com- mon Pleas for the City and County Philadelphia, in order to ac- comodate him in his Office of Notary Public, by enabling him to take the Acknowledgements of Deeds, &cª.
At a Council held at Philadelphia, on Monday 9th Septem- ber, 1771.
PRESENT :
The Honourable JAMES HAMILTON, Esquire, President.
Joseph Turner, Thomas Cadwalader,
William Logan,
Andrew Allen,
Richard Peters,
Edward Shippen, JunT., Esquires. .
Benjamin Chew,
The Consideration of the Return of the Road on the Line divi- ding the Counties of Philadelphia and Bucks, having been post- poned from the 1st of August last to this day, several of the In- habitants of both Counties appeared, and presented to the Board Petitions from a considerable Number of People of those Counties, setting forth their Objections to the Confirmation of that Road, and praying leave to explain them. The Return and Petitions being severally read in their Order, the Petitioners against the Road, as well as those who attended at the Board in support of it, were fully heard.
Whereupon the Board, after deliberate Consideration had of the Objections made to the Road, and the Reasons urged in its favor, were unanimously of opinion that the same is by no means neces- sary for the Public Service, and it is therefore disallowed.
The President having on the 31st of August, received by the Packet a Letter from the Right. Honorable the Earl of Hillsbor- ough, one of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, dated the third of July last, inclosing His Majesty's Order in Council respecting twenty Acts of Assembly passed in this Province, with an Instrument in Writing, under the Privy Seal, adjudging and de - claring one of the said Acts to be void ; and a like Instrument signifying His Majesty's disallowance of a Law passed in this Pro- vince in September, 1764, laid them before the Board ; they were severally read, and are as follows, Viz“:
(No. 26.)
" WHITEHALL, July 3d, 1771.
1 "Sir :
" Inclosed I send you by the King's Command, an Order of His Majesty in Council on the 24th of May last, upon the Considera-
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tion of several Laws passed in Pennsylvania in September, 1769, and in February, May, and September, 1770. I likewise transmit to you, in Order to its being published in the proper Manner, an Instrument which has passed under the Privy Seal, signifying His Majesty's Adjudication and Declaration of one of the said Acts to be void, and also another like instrument, that passed the Privy Seal in June, 1766, for declaring .void a Law of Pennsylvania enacted in September, 1764, which. Instrument I found upon En- quiry, had been neglected to be taken out at the Time it passed. " I have the Honor to be Sir,
" Your most obedient Humble Servant,
" HILLSBOROUGH.
" Deputy Governor of Pennsylvania."
At the Court at St. James's, the 24th day of May, 1771.
[L. S.] PRESENT:
THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.
Lord President,
Earl of Briston,
Duke of Queensberry,
Earl of Pomfret,
Lord Stewart,
Viscount Falmouth,
Earl of Dembigh,
Lord Grantham.
Earl of Rochford,
WHEREAS, there was this Day read at the Board a Report from the Right Honorable the Lords of the Committee of Council for Plantation Affairs, upon considering twenty Acts passed in the Pro- vince of Pennsilvania, in September, 1769, and in February, May, and September, 1770, which Report is dated the 23d Instant, and is in the Words following, that is to say :
Your Majesty having been pleased, by your Order in Council of the 11th of February last, to refer to the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations twenty Acts passed in the Province of Penn- sylvania, in September, 1769, and in February, May, and Septem- ber, 1770, with directions to them to make their Report thereupon to this Committee, which Acts are Intitled as follows, Vizt .:
No.1. " An Act to enable the Owners of Meadow Lands on both sides of Gunner's Creek, to construct, maintain, and keep up a Dam and Sluices, and to raise a Fund to defray the Expence thereof."- Passed the 24th of February, 1770.
No. 2. "An Act for repairing the Highway between Frankford Bridge and the Bridge over Frankford Mill-Race."-Passed do
No. 3. " A Supplement to the Act intituled 'A Supplement to the Act intituled ' An Act for taking Lands in Execution for the Payment of Debts, and for confirming Partitions in several Instances heretofore made.'"-Passed do.
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No. 4. " An Act for the better confirmation of the Estates of Persons holding or claiming under l'eme-Coverts, and for establish- ing a Mode by which Husband and Wife may hereafter convey their Estates."-Passed do.
No. 5. " A Supplement to the Act intituled ' An Act to enable the owners and Possessors of a certain Tract of Marsh and Meadow Land therein described, Situate in the County of Chester, to keep the Banks, Dams, Sluices, and Flood Gates in repair, and to raise a Fund to defray the Expense thereof."-Passed do.
No. 6. " An Act for the Sale of Goods distrained for Rent, and to secure such Goods to the Persons distraining the same, for the better security of Rents; and to prevent Frauds and Abuses com- mitted by Tenants."-Passed do.
No. 7. "An Act for appointing Commissioners to meet with Commissioners who are or may be appointed by the Legislatures of the Neighbouring Colonies, to form and agree upon a General Plan for the Regulation of the Indian Trade."-Passed do.
No. 8. "An Act for incorporating the Society formed for the Re- lief of poor, aged, and infirm Masters of Ships, their Widows and Children."-Passed do.
No. 9. " A Supplement to the Act entituled ' An Act for bailing Prisoners, and about Imprisonment."-Passed do.
No. 10. " An Act for the relief of the languishing Prisoners in the Goals of the several Counties within this Province, with respect to the Imprisonment of their Persons."-Passed do.
No. 11. " An Act for punishing wicked and evil disposed Per- sons going armed in Disguise, and doing Injuries and Violence to the Persons and Properties of His Majesty's Subjects within this Province, and for the more speedy bringing the Offenders to Jus- tice."-Passed do.
No 12. " An Act for the relief of John Relfe and Abraham Howell, Prisoners in the Goal of Philadelphia, with respect to the Imprisonment of their Persons."-Passed the 30th September, 1769.
No. 13. " An Act for the Support of the Government of this Pro- vince, and Payment of the Public Debts."-Passed do.
No. 14. "An Act to continue An Act entituled ' An Act to en- able the Commissioners hereinafter named, to settle the Accounts of the Managers, and to sue for and recover from several Persons such Sums of Money as are now due and unpaid on Account of the Lottery set up and drawn for erecting a House of Worship at the Town of Carlisle, in the County of Cumberland, for the use of the first Presbyterian Congregation under the Pastoral Care of John Steel."-Passed do.
No. 15. " An Act for the relief of John. Galbreath, a languish- ing Prisoner in the Goal of Chester, with respect to the Imprison- ment of His Person."-Passed do.
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No. 16. " An Act for the further continuance of the Act enti- tuled 'An Act for appointing Wardens for the Port of Philadel- phia, and for the better regulating Pilots plying in the River and Bay of Delaware, and the Price of Pilotage to and from the said Port."-Passed 16th. May, 1770.
No. 17. " An Act to continue an Act entituled ' An Act for the opening and better amending and keeping in repair the Public Roads and Highways within this Province."-Passed 29th Septem- ber, 1770.
No. 18. " An Act for regulating Waggoners, Carters, Draymen, and Porters, within the City of Philadelphia, and for other Purposes therein mentioned."-Passed do.
No. 19. " An Act for the Regulation of Apprentices within this Province."-Passed Do.
No. 20. " An Act for the support of the Government of this Pro- vince, and Payment of the Public Debts."-Passed Do.
" The said Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations, pur- suant to your Majesty's aforementioned Order in Council, have made the following Report to this Committee."
" That these Acts having in general been enacted for Purposes of Domestick Economy and Convenience, we have no Observations to submit to your Lordship's Consideration thereupon, neither has any objections in Point of Law been reported to us by Richard Jackson, Esquire, one of His Majesty's Counsel, to whom we have referred these Acts, except in the four following cases.
" The first and second of these respect two acts passed in the said Province of Pensilvania in the year 1769, intitled :
1st. " An Act for the Relief of John Relfe and Abraham How- ell, Prisoners in the Goal of Philadelphia, with respect to the Im- prisonment of their Persons."
2d. " An Act for the Relief of John Galbreath, a languishing- Prisoners in the Goal of Chester, with respect to the Imprisonment of his Person."
" Upon these two acts Mr. Jackson observes that, besides the General Objection to which they are liable as private Acts of In- solvency, he conceives them to be faulty, inasmuch as they contain no clause excepting Debts due to the Crown, nor any Clause in fa- vor of Land-lords, as to Goods subject to Distress, nor a Clause in favor of distant or absent Creditors; every one of which Clauses he thinks should make part of an Insolvent Act; on the other Hand, he observes that it is probable the object of one of these Acts, being confined in a Country Goal, is not Indebted in any Mercantile Debt.
" That Relfe, the Bankrupt, one of the objects of the other, ap- pears to be intitled, in Justice to his personal Liberty, having com- plied with the Laws of Bankruptcy in this Kingdom ; and that these Clauses having frequently, as he observes, been frequently inserted in former Insolvent Laws of this Province, it may be pre-
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sumed they would have had their place here, had there not been some Proof given that there was no occasion for them, which is the more probable, as there has been no objection made to the acts, though they passed above eighteen Months ago; nor does there ap- pear to have been any opposition to them in America.
" The next Case wherein Mr. Jackson has stated any objection to the acts under Consideration, refers likewise to an Insolvent Act passed in the said Province, in the year 1769, entituled ' An Act for the relief of the languishing Prisoners in the Goals of the sev- eral Counties within this Province, with respect to the Imprison- ment of their Persons." Upon this Act Mr. Jackson observes, that it is defective in the particulars mentioned in the observations above stated, but that these defects are in a Degree obviated by the Trustees being required to act under the Direction of the Court ; Nevertheless, he observes that that he should humbly submit his opinion for the Repeal of this act, thinking as he does, these Pro- visions necessary in such Laws, unless it should be deemed sufficient for this year to rely on the controul given to the Court, intimating however, in such manner as shall seem fitting, what should be the contents of future Laws of this kind."
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