Colonial records of Pennsylvania, Vol. VI, Part 63

Author:
Publication date: 1838
Publisher: [Harrisburg] : By the State
Number of Pages: 814

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. "PETER LYMAN,

" MOSES TITCOMB, " TIMO· RUGGLES,

" ELIZUR GOODRICH, "EPHR. WILLIAMS,

Cols.

"WM. COOKCRAFT, "JONATH. BAGLY,

" SETH POMROY, "JOHN PITKIN, " NATHN. WHITING, Lieut. Cols.

"EDWARD COLE, " JONA, WHITE,

"EBENR. NICHOLLS,

" ROBT. DENNISON,

Majors.

"NOAH ASHLEY, "ELEAZER FITCH, " JONA. HOARE,

"WILLIAM EYRE,

"N. B .- Major Foot desired leave to withdraw from the Council Yesterday, being taken ill.

" A true Copy from the original Minutes-exd. by me, "PETER WRAXALL, Secretary.

" Copy attest :

"P. THOS. CLARKE, Dpty. Secr'y."

Copy of the Vote of ye Assembly of Massachusetts Bay :

Province of the Massachusetts Bay.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ¿ Sept., 8th 1755.

Whereas, this Government have ordered 2,800 Men immediately to be raised in addition to the 1,500 raised sometime ago for the Reduction of the French Fort at Crown point, and whereas the

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Colonys of Connecticut and Rhode Island are also raising consider- able number for the same Service, which makes it necessary that a large Quantity of Provisions shou'd be sent to Albany for their use as soon as may be.

Therefore, voted that his Honour the L' Governor be desired to write immediately to the Government of Pennsylvania, & request them in the name of this Government to furnish an immediate supply of provisions for the service aforesaid.

Also voted, that his Honour be desired to inform the several neighbouring Governmts. of what this Government has further done for the Reinforcing of our Troops already at Crown Point and to request them to come into the like Measures immediately, and that his Honour would inform General Johnson of what this Govern- ment has done as aforesaid.

Sent up for Concurrence. J. HUBBARD Spkr.

In Council Septembre 8th, 1755.

Read and Concurred, THOS. CLARKE, Dpty. Secry.

Copy Attest :

THOS. CLARKE, Dpty. Secry.

And thereupon a Verbal Message was sent to the House by the Secretary.

A Message from Governor by the Secretary. -

" Sir:

" I am commanded by the Governor to inform the House that the Government of Massachusetts Bay have ordered Two thousand eight hundd. Men to be immediately raised in that Province in addition to the Fifteen hundred Men raised before, for the Reduc- tion of Crown point; on the eighth Instant the Council and As- sembly there desired Lieutenant Governor Phips to request of this Government an immediate Supply of provisions for those Troops which they desire may be sent to Albany; and he Yesterday re- ceived a Letter from Governor Phips, making the request accord- ingly."

" The Governor has also been informed that the Government of Conncoticut have raised 1,500 Men and Rhode Island 150 Men in addition to the Forces sent by those Governments against Crown point, who will also stand in need of a Supply of Pro- visicns. He therefore recommends these matters to your Con- sideration."

A Letter of Conrad Weiser was likewise read, inclosing a Message from Scarroyady, which the Governor also sent to the

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House by the Secretary, and two other Letters relating to ac- counts :

A Letter to Governor Morris from Conrad Weiser.

" Honoured Sir :

" I received your Commands on the 7th of this instant last past, and accordingly I set out next day for John Harris' Ferry. Coming there I found that Scarroyady and a good many more were gone up the River in order to settle about Shamokin, at least to hunt there- abouts this next Season.

"Tohashwughtonionty (commonly called the Belt) was there still with Seneca George and five or six more elderly men, and others to the number of fifty or sixty, including Women & children. , The Belt came immediately with three more to shake hands with me, and after I had called for some drink I told them that I came up in consequence of their late Express, which was delivered to me in writing and verbal, and that I had sent it to the Governor of Penn- sylvania immediately after I had received it by Express, and was ordered by the Governor to come up and desire them to repeat their request over again to me for fear of any mistake in the Interpreta- tion. To which they agreed, and the Belt made answer and said, ' Brother : We have been told several times by several of our good Friends the people of Pennsylvania, that in case if a War should break out between our Brethren the English and the French, we must come and live nigh our Brethren, and that they would support our Wives & Children while we are at War. So we did send for you to hear how that is, because we have never been told so in form as from the Government; and as some of our people have been tired here We agreed to settle at Shamokin, and let our Brethren the Governor and the people of Pennsylvania know that we did so, and to desire them to assist us with some provisions.' Then the belt went and fetched a String of Wampum, & told me that by that string of Wampum he was to inform their Brethren of what he had Just said, and according to what was agreed upon in their · council to ask some Assistance, and to desire me to go to Philadelphia myself and sollicit their Cause."

Here he gave the string of Wampum.

" I made answer that I had heard of such a thing being moved in the House of the Counsellors of Pennsylvania, but that I never heard of the Conclusion, nor had I ever received any order to ac- quaint our Brethren the Indians so, and that I wondered that they did not mention any thing in Philadelphia where they had been so many days, but let that be as it will (said I) the Counsellors of Pennsylvania will meet in a few days, and Your Brother the Gover- nor of Pennsylvania will certainly lay it before them, and I hope they will consider You as they have always done as their Brethren ,

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and as I have now brought you a Waggon load of Flower You will hardly want before I return from Philadelphia.

" Being informed that twelve of the Young Men a few days be- fore I came up being gone to War to Ohio in order to scalp some French Men or bring some prisoners alive, I asked them who gave the first motion to that undertaking; the belt made short answer, and said Scarroyady's Wife moved her Brethren Moses and Esras to it, and they the rest; she would have the Death of General Braddock revenged on the French. I enquired as strictly as I could whether or no any White People had any hand in it, but could not find they had. The Belt perceived that I was not pleased with the undertaking; He told me, Brother, I must let you know what passed among the Six United Nations, They have sent a large Belt of Wampum to the Indians at Adeeky on Ohio, to let them know that they must now Sharpen their Arrows and prepare with all speed to engage in the War with the Six United Nations against the French; that they the Six Nations were resolved to drive the French away from their Lands on the Ohio, which that Great General that came from over sea, with the assistance of As- saragora, cou'd not do because of their Pride and Obstinacy, and that for that Reason the Most High punished them; that they the Indians ought to consider that in former days they fought the French with sticks and such stuff as growed in the Woods, and often beat them, that now they had Iron arms and their Brethren the English would assist them with every thing necessary, and that if they could drive away the French from Ohio again the Lands would be entirely theirs again, and neither of the two Nations (English or French) could have any pretence to it; This the Belt confirmed as a truth, and said that this news moved the twelve Warriors above said to be up early and make a beginning.

" Tohashwughtonionty (the Belt) is a man of very good under- standing, has a good countenance, speaks well, and is reckoned amongst the greatest Warriors among the Six Nations. I esteem him much.

" The Belt told me as a piece of news lately come from the French Fort Duquesne, that the Chesagechroanu fell out with the French after the late Battle, supposed to be oocasioned by dividing of the Spoil, and that they the Chesagechroanus throwed the French Hatchet before the French Commander's Feet, and told him in anger that they had suffered themselves to be prevailed upon to take up the French Hatchet against their Brethren the English, but that from henceforth they would never make no use of it any more and that they were sorry for it and would resent it at proper time, & that the French Commander should not reconcile them; that they went away in anger and killed and Scalped Two French men on an Island within sight of the Fort ;

" That all the Indians were now gone from Fort Duquesne; that the commander of that Fort was killed in the late action ;

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"That the French at the said Fort were five hundred men strong and that the Chesagechroanus had carried off the prisoners they took in the late action, consisting in thirty persons, Men and women ;

" That the said Nation had Five hundred men engaged in the late Action and that the French were much afraid of them. I do not rightly know where they live, it is somewhere about the Lakes. I have nothing more to add, but am,

" Hon'd Sir, Your very obedient, " CONRAD WEISER.

" Heidleburg, in the County of Berks, Sept". 12th, 1755.

"To the Honble. ROBERT HUNTER MORRIS, Esq"., Governor of Pennsylvª. .

"P. S. Though I must wait on your Honour in person in a few days, I wrote this Letter to send by the first opportunity.

"The inclosed, signed Scarroyady, came to my hand before I could send this. It came by an Express from Shamokin, arrived the 14th with a String of Wampum which I will deliver.

" Philada., Sept". 17th, a 2 o'Clock."

A Message from Scarroyady to Governor Morris.

" SHAMOKIN, Septem". 11, 1755.

"May it please your Honour, according to your request at our last Council, I am remembering you to the Six Nations and all other Nations, and as You requested of me to acquaint you of what- ever affairs happened amongst Your Brethren the Six Nations, these are to inform you that I have already heard good news, viz .: This day a Belt of Wampum (black) came to Shamokin from Oneida from the Six Nations, setting forth that the French with all the Indians they can get are coming down upon them and are near at hand, and, therefore, the Six Nations have sent the said Belt (about a fathom long) to their Cousins the Delawares & all other Nations their allies, to come with speed to their assistance, for they expect nothing but death, and likewise the Six Nations have ordered their Cousins the Delawares to lay aside their petticoats and clap on nothing but a Breech Clout; this is only to let you know the news that I have already heard and met with, but notwith- standing I shall go up with all speed to your Brethren the Six Na- tions and all other our allies, according to my promise to You, and to confirm my words I send you this string of Wampum. These are to let you know that there is 20 in number of our men got this length, and there are more daily coming to us, and we shall go and

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view the French Forts and serve them as they served us. Your Friend Henry Montour is along with our men.

" SKIROONIATTA.

" The Subscriber is gathering a Company with all the Expedition he can make to go against the French, and the people whose names are under his name are going with him.

"TOHNECTORAS T., alias JOHN SICALAMY, the Captain. "CAUNNOY SAM, "TUCKAUNAUTENEO, "JOHN PETTY SICALAMY,

"JNº, DAVISON, in Comp'y with them, "JAMES LOGAN SICALAMY, "ONNOHARIOH.

" These are the heads of this Company."

18th September, 1755.

The following Message was delivered to the Governor by two Members :

"May it please the Governor :

" By the Governor's verbal Message of this morning we find he has received a Letter from Lieutenant Governor Phips, requesting of this Government an immediate Supply of Provisions for the Troops raised in the Government of the Massachusetts Bay for the Reduction of Crown Point, & likewise that he has been informed that the Governments of Connecticutt and Rhode Island have also raised an additional number of Forces for the same purpose. As we propose to take these matters under our immediate Consideration, we request the Governor would be pleased to lay the said Letter from Governor Phips and what other information he may have re- ceived relating to this Province's furnishing them with provisions before us, as has been usual on like occasions.

"Signed by order of the House.

"ISAAC NORRIS, Speaker. " September 18, 1755.''

The Governor, after it was read by the Members, made answer that the Secretary of State had ordered him not to send any other Letters or papers to the House than such as he thought proper, and that the Speaker or any Members might see such parts of the Let- ters and Papers mentioned in his Message as he should be of opinion

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would consist with his Majesty's Service; And the next day sent the following Message to the House :

A Message from the Governor to the Assembly.

" Gentlemen :

"In answer to your Message of Yesterday morning, I informed You by your Messengers that I had directions from the Secretary of State not to lay Letters before You-Messages from me being, in his Judgment, a sufficient Foundation for You to proceed upon, and I informed you by the same Messengers that if your Speaker or a few of your Members would attend me I would communicate to them for the satisfaction of the House such parts of the information I had received from the Eastward as his Majesty's Service required, and in the Evening you requested me to lay before you the Secretary of State's order to me upon head. This I think it improper for me to do, as such orders are intended for my own Government, and for which I am accountable to those from whom I received them.

"ROBERT HUNTER MORRIS.

" Philadelphia, Septem": 19th, 1755."

One of the Commissioners for making the Road to the Ohio laid before the Governor sundry accounts which he sent to the Assembly, and ordered him to attend them that they might have an opper- tunity of being informed of every thing relative thereto.

At a Council held at Philadelphia the 24th Septem"., 1755. PRESENT : 1

The Honourable ROBERT HUNTER MORRIS, Esqr., Lieu- tenant Governor, &ca.

John Penn, Richard Peters, Esqrs.

A Message drawn by the Governor to the House was read and sent by the Secretary :

A Message from the Governor to the Assembly. " Gentlemen :

"In the course of my short administration among You I have often regretted that at a time when it becomes every one of us to be consulting & acting for the publick good, you should still delight to introduce new and unnecessary Disputes, and turn the attention of the people from things of the least Importance to their future safety.

"Your very tedious Message of the nineteenth of August is a sufficient proof of your temper of mind : it is indeed of such an inflammatory Nature that did not the Duties of my Station and

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Justice to the people require me to take some notice of it, I should think it beneath me as a Gentleman to make any reply to a Paper of that kind, filled with the grossest Calumny and abuse as well as the most glaring Misrepresentations of Facts, and what I shall now say in answer to it would have been said in your last sitting had you not adjourned yourselves so soon after the Delivery of it that I had not time.

" You set out with claiming it as a priviledge to have your Bills granting Supplies past as they are tendered, without amendments, & say 'it is far from being an ordinary Method to receive or debate upon amendments offered by the Governor.'

"This Claim is not warranted by the words of the Charter nor by the usage of former assemblies, and You yourselves must know that from the first Settlement of the Province to the latter end of the administrations of Mr. Hamilton, my immediate Predecessor, the Governors have occasionally amended Bills for raising Money, and their right of doing so was never till then contested.

"Notwithstanding all you have said as to my offer of Lands to the Westward, I am persuaded unprejudiced Men will see it in its true light & be convinced it was made with a good intention and under a proper authority. I mentioned my Commission of Property in Contradistinction to the Commission of Government as that under which I granted Lands upon the common and ordinary Occa- sions, which you seem to think was done under the other. But as to the offer in question I had such directions from the Proprie- taries as were sufficient to justify me in making it, and would have been obligatory on them to confirm the same to the Adventurers, and this I did then and still do think a good authority.

" As you do not profess to understand Law, I am not surprized at your quoting an abridgment in stead of the case abridged. Viner, who is no authority, may have the words you mention for aught I know, and may be of opinion that the King can purchase and hold Lands in his private Capacity, but in that he has the mis- fortune to differ from my Lord Coke and other writers of note and authority in the Law.

"Your answer to what you call my round charge, and to what you afterwards call my haughty Questions, are by no means conclu- sive. I grant that no publick Money can be raised, nor any Clause enacted for the Disposition of it, without your consent, but is not mine equally necessary ? Whence is it, then, that I should be thought more obliged to you for a voice in the disposition of publick Money than you are to me, seeing the obligation (if any) is reciprocal; the Money remaining in the people's pockets cannot be taken from thence till I think a Law necessary for that purpose; and shall I have less power over it after it is raised and in the publick Treasury than I had before? The common Security of the people requires that they should not be taxed but by the voice of the whole Legis-

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lature, and is it not equally for their security that the money, when raised, should not be disposed of by any less authority ? Your claim, therefore, of a natural exclusive Right to the Disposition of publick money because it is the people's is against reason, the nature of an English Government, and the usage of this Province, and you may as well claim the exclusive Right to all the powers of Government and set up a Democracy at once, because all power is derived from the people, & this indeed may be the true Design.

"As to what you insinute concerning the enormous Growth of the proprietary Estate, I shall oppose plain Facts to your presump- tions. By the original Concessions and agreement between the late Mr. William Penn and the first Settlers, nine-tenths of the land were to be granted to the adventurers, and the remaining tenth to be laid out to the proprietary; but instead of this the late proprie- tary, out of the Lands purchased of the Indians in his time, con- tented himself with taking up a very small part of what he might have done under that agreement, and out of the three Indian pur- chases made by his sons since his decease, in the two first, consist- ing of Four Million Acres of Land, they did not survey upwards of Twenty-Five thousand Acres, and those neither of the richest nor best situated, & in the last, which is by far the largest of all, no surveys have been made for their use, but they gave early directions that the settlers should, as they applied, take their choice of the best lands, and accordingly great numbers of people are seated on these Lands to their entire satisfaction. As to their Manors and appropriated Tracts it is well known that they are mostly settled by persons without leave or title, and that these pay their Shares of all Taxes. In short, Gentlemen, if, instead of setting the proprie- taries forth as encreasing their Estates and using their Tenants like Vassals, You had represented them as forbearing with them and using no compulsory Methods for the obtainment even of their just Debts, and that for these and many other instances of their kind usage of them the proprietaries are intitled to the character of good, nay of the best Landlords, you had done them no more than justice, and said only what is notorious to all that know their Treatment of the People in this Province.

" I can by no means allow you to argue justly in saying that the proprietaries ought to submit their Estate to be taxed by Assessors chosen by the people, because they are sworn or solemnly affirmed to do equal Justice. When you are taxed by these Assessors it is by persons who may be considered as your equals, and who are in- terested to do you Justice, as You in your turns may become their Assessors. But the proprietary Estate and Interest being con- sidered as separate from yours, because the Proprietaries are a separate Branch of the Legislature, they can never in that view be taxed by any Persons, unless those whose interest it is to save their own Estates by throwing an unequal Burden upon the Pro-

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prietaries, and you must know that this is the very Consideration by which the Law in certain Cases excepts against both the Judg- ment and evidence of interested persons, lest they should be in- fluenced therein even against the solemnity and obligations of an Oath.

"You say that all Estates in Britain and her Colonies now bear or must bear a Tax to free the proprietary Estate from Encroach- ments and Incumbrance Inviduous and ungrateful Insination.

" Is there nothing but this at stake ?

· "Is it for a tract of unsettled Country, belonging to the proprie- taries of this Province, that the Eyes of all Europe are turned upon this Continent, and such mighty preparations making both by Sea and Land? Or, gentlemen, can you think that if the Enemy are suffered to keep up Fortifications in any private Estate whatso- ever within the Limits of this Province, You could preserve your Estates, or the English Nation preserve its Dominions ? What end then can such Insinuations serve, but to cool the Ardor of his Ma- jesty's good Subjects in recovering the country unjustly taken from them, as if they were contending for a thing of no consequence, which is but too much the opinion of many amongst us, raised and confirmed, no doubt, by Your strange Conduct.

" You charge me with contriving all possible methods of expence to exhaust your Funds and distress your affairs, and give an in- stance of an exorbitant Demand of Five thousand pounds for cut- ting the Road for the use of the Army, an undertaking You say I engaged You in on a Computation of its costing only Eight hun- dred pounds. How could you stumble on a matter which, on a very slight Examination, must appear to be without the least Foun- dation? Your own Minutes will shew that you resolved to bear the charge of cutting two Roads, one to Wills' Creek and the other to the Mohongahelo; and in one of your Messages to me wherein You enumerate your meritorious acts, You set this road to the Ohio particularly forth in such a manner as to have it believed that it would prove an heavy expence, which, nevertheless, you would not decline to bear as the King's Service required it; and now you in- sinuate that had you known it would have cost more than Eight hundred pounds you would not have undertaken it, and this for no other Reason than to lay to my charge a pretended Estimate of which I am totally ignorant, having never seen nor heard of one. The sum of Eight hundred pounds might have been mentioned as what it would cost in some Men's private opinion, but not upon an esti- mate of the Commissioners, nor as such sent to me. To be plain, Gentlemen, it was the resentment and Menaces of the Officers in the Army entrusted with that part of the King's service, because the Works was not begun in time (and it could not have been begun sooner by me as you would not sooner comply with my re- quest), it was, I say, your Dread of having proper Representations

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made of your conduct at home, and of an armed Force being used to oblige the Inhabitants to do this necessary work, and nothing else, that induced you to engage to bear the Expence, and had the two Roads been cut they would have cost a very great sum indeed, but by a Representation I caused to be made to the General he consented to drop the Road to Wills' Crcek, and instead of extend- ing the other to the Ohio, to order it to be opened no farther than to the Crow-Foot of Ohiogainy, which last saved the clearing of many miles. He likewise consented that the Road should not be made so wide by one-third as the Quarter Master General had given directions for. These were great savings to the Province, which added to the Regulations that were made in the price of Provisions and Liquor, and in the Hire of the Waggons, would at any other time have induced you to speak in Commendation of my care and frugal use of the public money, and not to charge me with a Demand that I never made, nor indeed could it have been then made by any one, because the accounts were not come in, and now that they are delivered to You it does not appear that they will amount to the sum of Three thousand pounds, which is not ex- travagant when you consider the distance and expedition required in the Work. The Commissioners without being reproached with Extravagance have a Right to the amplest acknowledgements for their exposing their persons to such imminent danger and carrying on the work with so much spirit and so becoming a Zeal; and tho' my Recommendations may not have much weight with you, yet as they were engaged in this hazardous work by my Intreaties, Justice requires they should be handsomely rewarded for their indefatiga- ble attendance and generous advance of their own private Fortunes.

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Colonial records of Pennsylvania, Vol. VI, Part 63

Author: Publication date: 1838 Publisher: [Harrisburg] : By the State Number of Pages: 814

Author:
Publication date: 1838
Publisher: [Harrisburg] : By the State
Number of Pages: 814