3,000 would come and settle the Wyomink Lands in the Spring; and they had with them a Saw & Saw Mill Tools, purposing to go directly and build a Saw Mill about a mile above where I live, but upon my threatning those in the same manner I did the former Company, they went away, &, as I was told, buried their tools some where in the Woods. These people desired me to assist them in surveying the Lands, and told me they would reward me handsomely for my trouble, but I refused to have any thing to do with them. "Brother: "Six days after these were gone, there came other Eight white men & a mulatto, and said the very same things to me that the others had said, and immediately I got together my Council, and as soon as we had finished our Consultations, I told these people that I would actually confine them and carry them to Philadelphia, & deliver them to the Governor there; Upon which they went away, saying they would go to their own Governor, and come again with great numbers in the Spring. Some of these people stole my Horse that I bought at Easton, but they gave me another Horse, and five pounds in money, in Satisfaction for my Horse. "Brother: "Tho' I threatned these people hard that I would confine them and carry them down to you, yet I did not mean actually to do it, remembring that you charged me not to strike any White Men, tho' they should come, but to send you the earliest notice of their coming that was in my power. "Brother: "Before I got up to Wyomink from Lancaster, there had come a great Body of these New England people with intent actually to settle the Land, but the Six Nations passing by at that time from Lancaster, sent to let them know that they should not be permitted to settle any of these Lands, and on their expressing great resentment against them, and threatning them if they persisted, they went away. This I was told by Thomas King, who was left behind at Wyomink by the Six Nations to tell me that they intended to lay this whole matter before the great Council at Onondagoe, & that they would send for me and my Indians to come to Albany in the Spring, where they are to have a Meeting with the New England people, & desired I would be quiet till I should receive their Message, & then come to Albany. On this Speech of Thomas King's we met together in Council, & agreed not to give him any promise to come to Albany, but to advise the Governor of Pennsylvania of this and to take his advise what to do, and if he will go with us and advise us to go, we will go in case we should be sent for in the Spring. Brother, Surely as you have a General of the King's Armies here, he might hinder these people from coming & disturbing us in our possessions. "Brother: "About Six days before I left Wyomink, I received a Belt, which was brought me by the Indian Man Compass; it came first to Nutimus and from him to me. By that Belt, Beaver desired that I and the Delawares, the Wapings & Mohickons settled at Wyomink, would remove thence, and come and live at Allegheny. I wish, Brother, that there had been writings signed between Beaver and us at Lancaster, setting forth that we had made a firm peace and friendship together, and that we were very good friends & shall always remain so; I wish, I say, such writings had been signed by all of us and those that were present at Lancaster, that we might have it always to shew to our Children and Grand Children, and that they might remember what was done then by us. The Governor reminded him that it was not the Custom for Indians to sign writings to one another, and that the same forms had been observed at Lancaster as at other Treaties." After which Teedyuscung pro ceeded: "I have one thing more to say, and then I shall have finished all I have to say at this time. "Brother: "You may remember that at the Treaty at Easton we were promised that a Schoolmaster and Ministers should be sent to instruct us in religion, & to teach us to read and write; As none have been yet provided for us, I desire to know what you intend to do in this matter. I have now done." 20th November, 1762. The Governor's Answer to Teedyuscung's Speech of Yesterday. "Brother: "I thank you for the information you have given me of what' passed between you and the people of Connecticut. "Hearing that some of these people were gone towards the Susquehannah, I sent a special Messenger after them, to warn them from settling those Lands, & to take care not to give Offence to the Indians, from whom those Lands had not been purchased. My Messenger came fortunately just after the Six Nations had ordered them to go away, and shewn great reluctance at their presuming to come and settle those Lands; and met them returning home displeased with the Six Nations for speaking to them in the rough manner they did. "Brother: "I have wrote both to General Amherst and to Sir William Johnson, and to the Governor of Connecticut; this matter is likewise laid before the Great King by Sir William Johnson, so that I am in hopes you will not see any more of these troublesome people, but that measures will be taken to keep them at home. "Brother: "I commend you for your prudent behaviour; I did and do still desire that no blood of the White People may be shed by you, but that you will continue to give me the earliest Notice you can if you hear of any of them coming again in the Spring." A String. "Brother: "I observe what you say with respect to the Message sent to Nutimus and to you by Beaver. "You know that your Uncles, the Six Nations, have kindled a Fire for you at Wyomink, & desired you would stay there and watch, and give them notice if any White people should come to take away the Lands from them, & that you would not suffer them to do it. "You may think, be assured, that this Winter measures will be taken to prevent these troublesome people from coming to disturb you. On these Considerations I desire you will remain quiet where you are, & not move away, as you seem to have no Inclinations to go away only on account of these New England disturbers. "As to any Invitations the Six Nations may make to you, to come to Albany to Council with them, & to meet the New England people, you will pay such regard to them as your Connections with your Uncles require. I dont pretend to any Authority over you, but I would advise you to comply with such invitation as you shall receive from your Uncles. I am not invited, and know nothing of this matter, but if I hear anything of it, I will let you know." A Belt. "The times have been so unsettled, that there has been no opportunity of sending Ministers & Schoolmasters among you. Now there is a likelihood of a general peace being soon established, if you determine still to continue at Wyomink, about which you have expressed some doubts to me, I shall consider of this matter, & send you an answer at a proper time." A String. At a Council held at Philadelphia, on Tuesday the 18th January, 1763. PRESENT: The Honourable JAMES HAMILTON, Esquire, Lieutenant Governor, &c Joseph Turner, Richard Peters, & Benjamin Chew, Esquires. The Proprietaries having directed the Governor to move the Assembly to pass a Bill for altering and amending the Act of Assembly passed in April, 1759, for granting One hundred thousand 7 day of pounds to His Majesty, &c so as to make it conformable to the Terms expressed in the Report of the Committee of Council, made the in the said year, His Honour laid before the Council the Draught of a Message to the Assembly, agreeable to the proprietary direction, which was read, approved, and sent to the House by the Secretary. A Message from the Governor to the Assembly. "Gentlemen: "An Act of Assembly of this province, passed in the Year 1759, intituled, An Act for granting to His Majesty the sum of one hundred thousand pounds,' &ca., having, pursuant to the Royal Charter, been laid before His Majesty in Council, and the Merit thereof having been fully debated, as well on the part of the Honourable Proprietaries as of the Assembly and people of this province, before a Committee of His Majesty's Most honourable Privy Council for plantation affairs, their Lordships, after a full hearing, were pleased to report, as their Opinion, to His Majesty, that the said Act was fundamentally wrong and unjust, and ought to be repealed, unless certain Alterations & amendments, specified in the Body of the said Report, could be made therein. "Whereupon, the Agents for the Assembly, sensible of the Inconveniencies which must necessarily arise to the people, from a Repeal of the said Act, and desirous to prevent the same, did propose, agree to, and subscribe, in the Books of the privy Council, an Engagement in the following Words, vizt. : "We, the undersigned, Benjamin Franklin and Robert Charles, Agents for the province of Pennsylvania, do hereby consent, that in case an Act passed in the said province, in April, 1759, entituled 'An Act for granting to His Majesty the sum of one hundred thousand pounds, and for striking the same in Bills of Credit, in the manner herein after directed, & for providing a Fund for sinking the said Bills of Credit by a Tax on all Estates, real and personal, and Taxables within this province,' shall not be repealed by his Majesty in Council, We, the said Agents, do undertake, that the Assembly of Pennsylvania will prepare and pass, and offer to the Governor of the said province of Pennsylvania, an act to amend the aforementioned Act, according to the Amendments proposed in the Report made by the Lords' of the Committee of Council this day, upon the One hundred thousand pounds Act, and other pennsylvania Acts; and we will indemnify the proprietaries from any Damage they may sustain by such act not being so prepared and passed by the Assembly, and offered to the Governor. "In full Confidence that the above engagement would be duly performed on the part of the Assembly, and in respect to other good purposes of the said Act, their Lordships were thereupon induced to represent to His Majesty, that he might rely upon this under taking for the Assembly by their Agents, and permit the said Act to stand unrepealed, because the Objections upon which they should have founded their advice for the Repeal, would certainly be removed, in a way more agreeable & convenient to the Province. "His Majesty having taken the said Report into His Royal Consideration, was pleased with the Advice of His Privy Council, to approve of all that was therein proposed to be done, and by His order in Council, of the Second of September, 1760, to declare, that the abovementioned Act of Assembly should accordingly stand unrepealed. "Very soon after the aforesaid report and Order of Council came to my Hands, viz, on the twenty-eight of January, 1761, I laid them before the then Assembly, acquainting them at the same time, by a Message in Writing, that whenever they should think proper to prepare and offer to me a Bill to alter and amend the aforemen tioned Act, so as to make it conformable to the Sentiments of the Lords of the Committee aforesaid, approved by His Majesty, & to the express Stipulations of their Agents, as set forth in the said report, I should think it my Duty to concur with them, by enacting it into a Law. To this, sometime after, they were pleased to return me an answer, though, by no means a Satisfactory one, inasmuch they did not declare whether they would or would not comply with the Engagements entered into by their Agents, in their Behalf, although I had more than once particularly urged them for an explicit Answer to that point. "In this Situation things have hitherto continued, and the Performance of the Stipulations entered into by your Agents, on your. Behalf, yet remains to be complied with, although there is the greatest reason to believe that those very Stipulations were the means of exempting the Province from the many Inconveniencies it would have been subjected to, by a repeal of the aforementioned Act of Assembly. "I am now to acquaint you, Gentlemen, that I have it command from the Proprietaries, to move you to pass a Bill for altering & amending the aforesaid Act of 1759, for granting One hundred thousand Pounds to His Majesty, &ca., so as to make it conformable to the Terms expressed in the Report of the Committee aforesaid, and to the Engagements entered into by your Agents; and I do accordingly, recommend this measure as fit to be taken into your present Consideration, not only because it appears to me to be extreamly just, but because a refusal, or further delay on your part, may be productive of those mischiefs & Inconveniencies which a former Assembly seemed so much to apprehend from a Repeal of the said Law, and which it was manifestly the Intention of your Agents to avert, by entering into the aforesaid Engagements. And I cannot but think it a lucky Circumstance that one of the Gentlemen who acted as your Agent in England during the whole of this transaction, is now upon the Spot, and capable of explaining to you the |