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Howard, who brought over the Royal order for a grant of Ten thousand acres, and agreeable to theprivileges given him in the Mandamus made his Election of that spot.
To me therefore it appears clear, that no person can justly avail himself of a Massachusetstitle out of the line assigned for its North Boundary in 1739, and I submit it therefore toyour Lordp whether it will not be inexpedient to excite applications to the Crown for compen-sations ; and to guard ag sl frauds, I must observe, that as some of the New r York Patents extendseveral miles beyond the partition agreed to at Hartford , an ill use may be made of the generosityof the Plan by a concert between the New York Patentees, and the Massachusetts Possessors toset up a very extravagant demand of fifty acres for every three that are improved by the latter,beyond the partition, and within the letter of the New York Patents, the Proprietors of whichhave made no improvements there, as I have already observed, and who, (the extent of their Grantsremaining out of controversy considered with the smallness of the rents they are chargeable with)ought to be content, though they should receive no allowance.
But the chief objection that will be raised against any Law grounded upon the plan proposedby the Lords of Trade will relate to the second and third articles of it, which respect the dispo-sition of the Country to the Northward of the Massachusett’s Bay,
I presume that their Lordpp 8 were not aware that the curve line they propose for the westernside of that immense Tract which is the object of their Report, will run to the Westward of LakeChamplain, before it reaches the Northern extent of this Prov ce in the latitude of 45° But this,My Lord, will be the Fact, for tho’ the course of the River from Albany is Northerly to about 3miles to the North of Fort Edward, yet it then takes a turn for several miles to the Southwardof west, and then again a Northerly direction as far as it has been explored, many miles to thewestward of the Lakes George and Champlain. And as the River Connecticut on the other side,tends so far to the Eastward of the North as at the 45 th degree of latitude to be ninety one milesfrom Lake Champlain , your Lordp will perceive, that the Report of the Board of Trade must effect agrea t number of Patents Granted under this Govern 1 , and give a preference to the New Hampshire Claims home to the waters of Lake Champlain , and to lands three times as far west as the Curve linewould leave to the Massachusett’s Bay, where the intermediate distance between such curved lineand the Connecticut River, does not exceed thirty miles; the Rivers Hudson and Connecticut being there not more than fifty miles apart, and were probably thought to keep that distance whenthe Lords of Trade first conceived the idea of countenancing an extent of the N. England claims toa line so far west as to twenty miles from Hudson’s River .
The Patents under N. York within the district distinguished by the Report are very numerouse,and contain many hundred thousand acres. And as they now belong to an infinity of persons,in and out of the Prov ce , & valuable considerations have been paid by the original proprietors, neverto be recovered back on account of the changes which time has made in their circumstances &situations, how is it possible, My Lord, to frame any Law for the distribution of justice to the presentclaimants 1 or what prospect is there that such a number of persons, of all Ranks, Civil andMilitary, can be brought to submit to any project to diminish Estates that are held under the RoyalGrants—that were bought for large sums, and some of which have been improved & maintained ata still greater expence 1 Indeed, My Lord, the task would be a very difficult one, if we had only todeal with the first Patentees, but it has become unspeakeably more arduous and delicate, as theselands are now claimed by creditors and bona fide purchasers, under all the modes of alienation, aswell as by the original proprietors and their Heirs.
And that your Lordp may more fully comprehend the reasons that induce me utterly to despair
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VoL. IV.