414
LORD DUNMORE TO LORD HILLSBOROUGH .
[ Lond. Doc. XLIII. ]
Extract.
The troubled state of the North Eastern parts of this Province seems to deserve your Lordshipsimmediate attention. I speak of that large District between Hudsons river and the Lakes Georgeand Champlain on the West and Connecticut River on the East; and between the North line of theMassachusetts Bay and the 45 th degree of Latitude , assigned for the partition between this and theProvince of Quebec .
This is a fine country, capable of great cultivation, and of subsisting many thousands of usefulsubjects ; but before the Conquest of Canada was so exposed to the incursions of the French , andthe Savages in their Interest, that very few settlements were made in it, except in that quarternearest to Hudsons River.
It is clearly within the limits of this Province ; as granted by King Charles the Second to JamesDuke of York ; and accordingly His present Majesty in the year 1764, was pleased to declare theWestern Bank of Connecticut River to be the partition boundary between New York and NewHampshire .
I wish I could say, My Lord, that the Royal Decision had been followed with that chearfullsubmission which was due to so express and authoritative an intimation of tire King’s pleasure. I amoblidged on the contrary, to complain that there seems to be too much reason to believe, that thedisorders in that Country owe their origin and progress to the intrigues of persons in power in theProvince of New Hampshire , with aims of inhancing their private fortunes, out of the Crown Lands ;and the vain hope that His Majesty may be moved to annex this territory to the Province of NewHampshire under which their Grants were obtained.
In the prosecution of this design some of the Inhabitants have lately been excited to open acts ofViolence,-as well as an immediate application by petition to the Throne. Upon procuring a copy ofthis Petition I referred it to the Attorney General for his Report; and as his Representations appeargreatly to concern his Majesty’s Interest and to be supported by Proofs, of which the King oughtnot to be uninformed, I now transmit them to your Lordship for the Royal Consideration.
I must at the same time apprize your Lordship that a great majority of the settlers are not onlydisposed to a peaceable submission to the decision of 1764, but very averse to the change projectedin New Hampshire , as will appear by their Counter petition communicated to me, to be transmittedin their favor.
Nor can I omit mentioning that it is in this District that many of the reduced officers and soldiershave made their locations of the bounty pledged to them by the Royal Proclamation of the 7 th Oct r1763. Besides this I find that others of His Majesty’s subjects have obtained Patents for manythousands of acres, under the great seal of this Province , which will be all frustrated upon detachingthis Country from the Province of New York and greatly increase the general confusion.
Your Lordship will doubtless perceive that untill the order transmitted to Sir Henry Moore prohibiting grants to be made of lands before patented under New Hampshire , is rescinded therecan be no established tranquility in that quarter of this Province, since it is Natural to suppose,that the discontented settlers (countenanced as they are by New Hampshire ) will flatter themselveswith hopes of favour, and make rapid accessions to their Number from the profligate Banditti ofthe other Colonies, who look for safety where Government is weak and disturbed.