98

gov. dongan’s report on the province of new-york.

If the Proprietors would rightly consider it they would find it to their own interest that that placeshould bee annexed to this Government for they are at a greater charge for maintaining the presentGovern* than the whole profits of the Province (which is by quit-rents) will amount unto ; for theyare at the whole charge the Country allowing nothing towards its support soe that had they not thecharge of the Goverm*, they might put that money into their own pockets.

And indeed to make Amboy a port will be no less inconvenient for the reasons afore mentionedneighboring colonys being not come to that P’fection but that one fort may sufficiently serve us allWe in this Government look upon that bay that runs into the Sea at Sandy Hook to be HudsonsRiver therefore there being a clause in my instructions directing mee that I cause all vesselsM7 ai<t that come into Hudson’s River to enter at New York I desire to know whether bis Mat*Houk intends thereby those vessels that come within Sandy-Hook, the people of East-Jersey pre-tending a right to the river soe farr as their province extends which is eighteen miles up the riverto the northward of this place

West Jersey remaining as it does will be no less inconvenient to this Goverm* for the same reasonsas East Jersey, they both making but one neck of land @ that so near situate to us that its more fortheir convenience to have commerce here than any where else, @ under those circumstances that ifthere Avere a warr either with Christians or Indians they would not bee able to defend themselveswithout the assistance of this Goverm*.

To bee short, there is an absolute necessity those provinces and that of Connecticut be annexed

The three lower Countys of Pennsylvania have been a dependency on this place @ a great manyof the inhabitants persons that removed thither from this Goverm* and I doe not believe it was hisMati® intention to annex it to Pennsylvania , nor to have it subject to the same laws it being theKing’s own land, the doing whereof by mr Pen there has been of great detriment to this place inhindring the Tobacco to come hither as formerly, for then there came two shipps for one that comesnow ; Beaver @ Peltry taking up but small Stowage in shipps

And indeed it were in my opinion very necessary for the advantage of this place @ increase of hisMaty® revenues that it were soe ordered that the Tobacco of these countrys may bee imported hitherwithout paying there the duty of one penny p r pound and then wee should not bee at such streightsfor returns, their trade would much increase, and this place become a magazin for the Neighboringprovinces, @ care taken that the Tobacco bee duly returned to England whereas now a great part ofit goes another Avay @ soe its very necessary that the Collector of this place should be Collector ofthat River for the enumerated commoditys, And wee will have such regard to the advantage of thisport that we’el suffer noe fraud to bee committed there nor noe Tobacco to be exported but whatgoes either directly for England or this place.

Besides wee find the contrary to bee very inconvenient in this that whereas formerly the damnifiedTobacco which came from thence not fit for England wee made up in rolls and sent y® same up theRiver to the Indians who in Exchange gave in Beaver @ Peltry,for want whereof his Maty® revenuehere is much impaired inasmuch as the Indians are therefore forct either to Plant the tobacco them-selves or to goe where they can be furnished with it @ there carry their beavor @ peltry (they beingof that temper that they had rather want clothes than Tobacco) by which Meanes his Maty® revenuesustains a double loss, one in the ten pe r cent such tobacco pays custom up the river @ the other inthe custom of such Beaver @ peltry as the same would produce

Further if Pennsylvania bee continued as by charter running five degrees to the westward it willtake in the most of the five nations that lye to the westward of Albany @ the whole Beaver @ Peltrytrade of that place the consequence whereof will be the depopulation of this Goverm* for the peoplemust follow the trade. Those Indians and the people of this Goverm* have been in continued peace® amity one with another these fifty years And those Indians about forty years agoe did annex