age the concerns of the company. The agent presented a petition to his majesty, praying "that the company might become colonists on said lands, and that he would "grant them such power, privileges, and authorities, as in his great wisdom he should think fit." His majesty took this petition into his most gracious consideration ; but it had not been acted upon when the revolutionary war commenced, and the contested claims of Pennsylvania remained unsettled.

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10 Pending this petition to the crown, the assembly of Connecticut, at their May session, 1770, passed a resolve to transmit a statement of the case in controversy, to a learned counsel in England, who gave their final answer in the following words." In case the governor and company of Connecticut, shall in point of prudence, think it expedient to make this claim, and support it, it will be proper, either amicably, and in concurrence with the proprietaries of Pennsylvania, or in case of the refusal of these proprietaries, without them, to apply to the king in council, praying his majesty to appoint commissioners in America to decide the question, with the usual power of appeal;" signed by four of the first counsellors at law in England. This de"cision was received by the assembly at their October session, 1773, whereupon they resolved" That this assembly, at this time will assert their claim, and in some proper way, support such claim to those lands, contained within "the limits, and boundaries of the charter of this colony, which are westward of the colony of New-York." The assembly appointed Col. Dyer, Dr. Johnson, and J. Strong, to carry this resolve into effect, by treating with Governor Penn, concerning the lands in question. These commissioners accepted their appointment, and in December following, went to Philadelphia to confer with Gov. Penn, and if possible, to settle the controversy. They opened their commission to his excellency, and communicated the

acts of assembly, relative to the lands in question, and their appointment; but the governor declined all discussion upon the subject of the controversy, and the commissioners returned, and made their report to the assembly at their session in January...

Upon this report the general assembly proceeded to incorporate the town of Westmoreland, upon the river Sus

quehannah, with the same same privileges as the other towns in the Colony of Connecticut. This act of the assembly gave a general alarm throughout the colony; many saw, or thought they saw, that the peace and interest of the colony were a about to be committed, to gratify the avarice and ambition of a company of speculators; they accordingly assembled in large numbers at Middletown, and drew up a remonstrance to the general assembly, in which they stile themselves" A meeting of the committees of twentythree towns," and in which they state largely and extensively their grievances and fears, as well as their objections to the measure at large, and the more unjustifiable proceedings of the Susquehannah Company, &c. This petition was met by a petition to the assembly, from the Susquehannah Company, in which they state the legality of their claims, the great expence they have incurred in support of those claims, their prospects of success, and the good that will result to the public. Pamphlet writers entered largely into the merits of the question, pro and con; but the revolutionary war commenced in the midst of the controversy, and both parties went on to settle the lands Tands; the Connecticut claims were finally overpowered by the violence of the Pennsylvania settlers, and her title was lost.

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This section of New-England, lying upon the northwestern frontier, between New Hampshire on the east, New

York on the west, Canada on the north, and Massachusetts on the south, was a portion of the wilderness indefinitely defined, and bounded in the original grants of the colonies of New-Hampshire, and New-York; and indefinitely claimed by both, which opened for Vermont the same labyrinth of claims, that we have witnessed in New-Hampshire; claims more sharply contested, more serious in their effects, and more alarming in their consequences; claims which threatened not only the peace of New-York, and New-Hampshire; but of Vermont, and even the nation; and which called forth all the wisdom of congress, with the commanding influence and popularity of Washington himself, to manage and controul..

The settlement of the western boundary of NewHampshire was left unfinished, and the colony was left upon that side indefinite.

The settlement of the Dutch at Manhadoes at the mouth of the Hudson River, and their settlement at Albany, together with the grant of the colony to the Duke of York, by King Charles II. have been noticed in the history of New-England; but the contested claims between these colonies, that led to the settlement of Vermont, now claim particular notice.

The Colony of New-Hampshire, after she had settled her southern boundary with Massachusetts, in 1741, claimed as far west into the wilderness, as the western line of Massachusetts; accordingly the then, governor of the colony, Benning Wentworth, made a grant of a township six miles square, upon the southwestern corner of the claims, bounded south on Massachusetts, and west on New-York, and lying twenty miles east of Hudson's River, and called it after his own christian name, Benning-town. The same) governor continued to make grants of these lands lying west of Connecticut River, until the war of 1754 commenced,

(called the old French war,) and from that time all grants ceased, until the close of the war in America, 1761.

During the operations of the war, a road had been cut from Charlestown, (No. 4,) across the wilderness tó CrownPoint, and the frequent passing on this road, had led the people to become acquainted with the value of the lands. At the close of the war, upon the reduction of Canada, all further dread of savage wars on the frontier ceased, and the governor ordered a survey of Connecticut River to betaken, sixty miles north of the Massachusetts line, and three tier of townships to be located upon each side of the river. In 1761, about sixty townships had been located, and at the general peace of 1763, about 130 townships had been located, to the west of Connecticut River, extending to the boundary of New-York, viz. 20 miles east of the Hudson River; and above the source of that river, the grants extended to the eastern shore of Lake Champlain.

These grants gave a general alarm to the Colony of NewYork, who claimed all these lands, west of Connecticut River, by virtue of the grant of King Charles II. (which has been noticed,) extending from the western border of Connecticut River, to the eastern border of Delaware Bay, which covered the charters of Massachusetts and Connecticut, west of said river, as well as the Colony of New-Jersey, and part of Pennsylvania, and was therefore treated as inconsistent and absurd; and was finally merged in the crown, upon the accession of the Duke of York, (James II.) to the throne, 1685.

This absurd grant of King Charles II. laid the foundation for a controversy, which, as has been noticed, threat-' ened the peace of the nation. The lieutenant governor of the Colony of New-York, set the New-Hampshire grants at defiance by a proclamation, claiming the lands as far east as Connecticut River; asserting the right of jurisdiction, as belonging to the Colony of New-York by virtue of the

Duke of York's Patent, and ordering the sheriff of the county of Albany, to make due returns of the names of all the settlers who had taken possession under the title of the New-Hampshire grants. The governor of New-Hampshire met this proclamation with one of his own, in which he refuted the claims of the Colony of New-York, under the grant to the Duke of York; confirmed the claims and jurisdiction of New-Hampshire, and exhorted the settlers to be firm, and persevere. Here the parties were at issue, the Colony of New-York carried her claims to the crown by way of memorial, and obtained a decision in her favour, in the following words, viz. "July 20th, 1764. His majes ty orders and declares, the western banks of the Connecticut River, from where it enters the Province of Massachusetts Bay, as far north as the 45th degree of north latitude, to be the boundary line, between the said two Provinces of New-Hampshire and New-York." This decision, although from the crown, had no effect on the settlers, and they determined to hold their claims, and were now become party in the controversy with New-York.

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The colony of New-York, next proceeded upon this decision, to lay out four counties, extending upon the eastern and western sides of the mountain, and covering the NewHampshire grants; in the counties they erected courts of judicature, and summoned the settlers to surrender their grants. This kindled a new fire; some towns complied, and repurchased their lands under New-York grants, and others wholly refused: against these, actions of ejectment commenced, and new grants were issued by the colony of New-York to other settlers, and all was confusion. Both governors were enriching themselves with heavy fees upon the grants, and the settlers were left to fight out the quarrel.* When the sheriffs attempted to serve the writs of

The governor of New-Hampshire received about one hundred dollars for each grant, but the governor of New-York took two or three thousand dollars per grant.