338

CONTROVERSY RESPECTING THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS.

the South as far as Delaware River they also Claimed North Easterly as far as Connecticut River near which I doubt not it may be made appear many Dutch people were settled and I Believethat River was in the dutch Time Called by the name of the Nortli River, as Delaware River wasby the name of the South River, on which ’tis Certain many Dutch were Settled, and this Appeal'sthe more Probable for that at Albany they Settled another Colony by the name of the Colony ofRensselaer Wyck; the Boundaries of which tho’ uncertain at this day; must without Doubt as’twas a Colony have also Extended from one River to the other, and also for that the Grant fromKing Charles the Second to his Brother the Duke of York; Seems to be intended as a Grant to himof what he recovered from the Dutch ; for in the Year 1660, or There abouts, King Charles tiieSecond sent Sir Robert Carr with forces to Disposses the Dutch of their Settlements here which hesucceeded in; and about three years after, this Grant to the Duke of York was made; whichseems to me to carry a strong Presumption that those Lands so granted were what w ere Thereknown to have been the Claim of the Dutch , which they must have been much Better acquaintedwith at that day, than I can possibly be supposed to be at this time and Indeed it is very Improba-ble That the duke of York should at that day when the Lands were of so Little value, take a Grant of these lands in the manner he did, which he must have been very Sensible must Interfere withthe Former Grant made to the Grantees of the Council of Devon; upon any other Supposition thanthat it was w r ell known at that time that these lands being in the possession of and Claimed by theDutch were Expressly within the provinces of the said Former Grants, and therefore could notpass by the patent to the Council of Devon & c , nor by the future Grant to their Grantees, fromthese observations I think it follows that these lands Granted to the Duke were never "ranted

O

to the Council of Devon or their Grantees being within the Express words of the Provisoes in thoseGrants; but that they became afterwards well vested in the Crown by the Conquest made of themfrom the Dutch ; by Sir Robert Carr in the year 1660. and by their final Surrender of them to KingCharles the Second by the Treaty of Breda after the dutch Conquest in 1673. and then the Grant tothe Duke of York in the year 1674. above mentioned must have vested the ffee of these lands inthe Duke of York. The Consequence of which, must be that as the Crown after this GovernmentCame into its hands, never Granted any part of it away (for the reason I have shown above) thatthe Government of Massachusetts Bay by their Grant in 1693, Can have no Legal Right to theLands Entred upon by them Northward of the bounds of Connecticut Government, and westwardof Connecticut river; and Therefore their Entring into & taking possession of them, withoutRight, Cannot be a reason why the Government of New Hampshire should do the like. Uponthe whole, I think it appears Clearly that the Examples sett by the Governments of Connecticut and Massachusetts Bay, are not, nor ought, to be Considered as any Reasons why the Governmentof New Hampshire should Extend their Bounds as far westward as the first hath, and the Latterpretends Rightfully to have done.

Having thus Considered the difficulty arising in the Case; from the Claims made by the Saidtwo Charter Governments I come now to consider what ought, I Conceive, to be Taken as theEastern Bounds of this Government Northward of Connecticut Goverment with Regard to which Iobserve, that it appears by the first and Second Grants to the Duke of York ; the First before, andthe Second after, the dutch Conquest; in the year 1674, that all the Lands westward of Connec-ticut River were vested in the Duke of York. It appears by the records of this Province, that theDuke of York, In pursuance of his right, actually Sent over Governours to take and keep possessionof what Belonged to him in America , who Accordingly Entred upon and took possession of thisGovernment for him ; and tho’ they did not actually settle upon the Northern Parts of the Gov-ernment, yet as they Settled the Southern part of it under his Right; I conceive it was and ought