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Governor Burnet met the assembly in October, with a very popular speech, by calling up their attention to the repeated aggressions of the French, and their intrigues to alienate the affections of the Indians, and thus destroy that mutual harmony and confidence, that New-York enjoyed with the Five Nations.

The house met this address cordially, and in their reply, they expressed to his excellency the following compliment.

"We believe that the son of that worthy prelate, so eminently instrumental, under our glorious monarch, Wiliam III. in delivering us from arbitrary power, and its concomitants, Popery, superstition, and slavery, has been educated in, and possesses those principles that so justly recommended his father to the counsel and confidence of protestant princes; and succeeds our former governor, not only in power, but inclination to do us good."

The house manifested the sincerity of these sentiments, by granting to governor Burnet, a support for five years; a duty of two per cent on the prime cost of all European goods, imported into the colony,* &c. Since the peace of Utrecht, the trade between Albany and Canada had greatly increased, particularly in goods suitable for the Indian trade, which had alarmed the chiefs of the Five Nations, lest by this means, their immediate dependence on the English at Albany, and the intrigues of the French, should weaken, if not destroy the former alliance and friendship: they had complained to the commissioners of Indian affairs, who wrote to Governor Hunter, during his administration; but no attempts had been made to correct this evil. Gov. Burnet caused this letter to be laid before the assembly, which led them to pass an act, prohibiting the trade so carried on with Canada. This act, notwithstanding the wis

* The king repealed this act soon after.

dom and good policy, as well as necessity of the measure, wounded the popularity of Governor Burnet, together with the harmony of the colony, and raised up an opposition that followed him through his whole administration. The design of this act was, to bring all the Indian trade to Albany, as well as to call off from the French interest, the Caghnawagas, who were the carriers for the French from Albany to Montreal.

The importing merchants of the city of New-York felt this act, as well as the duty of two per cent; they both touched their interest, and their clamour caused the latter to be repealed, and reproached Governor Burnet as the author of the former. This is not the only instance in which a sordid, and contracted avaricious spirit, has wounded the feelings, and marred the reputation of the best of men, as well as defeated the best interests of the community. They have been common to men in all countries, and all ages of the world.

Governor Burnet saw the necessity of counteracting, as far as possible, that extensive policy which the French had adopted and pursued, in extending their line of military post, upon the western frontier of the colonies; and commenced the erecting and establishing a trading house, at Oswego, amongst the Senecas, in 1722, not only to secure the trade of the confederates; but their friendship also, through the instrumentality of trusty, and faithful agents, who might reside amongst them.

This year the governors, and commissioners of many of the colonies, met at Albany, to renew and strengthen the ancient friendship with the northern Indians, which was accomplished to general satisfaction, and the chiefs sent a message of war against the eastern Indians, unless they made a speedy peace with the English.

We have noticed the Tuscarora war, in the history of Carolina, and the removal of that tribe to join the conVOL. II.

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federate Five Nations, in the year 1712, by which union the Five Nations now became, and continued hereafter to be termed the Six Nations. In 1723, the Six Nations were joined by the Nicariagas, consisting of about eighty warriors, besides some women and children; who came down from the country north of Michilimakinak; but they were never united to the confederacy, as the Tuscaroras had been.

In this state of things, the affairs of the colony appeared to be prosperous and happy; but the demon of discord. was not yet destroyed; the clamour of the merchants against the act of trade, continued; that assembly which had cherished the spirit of order and concord, had not been dissolved under the new administration, and ambitious demagogues had not as yet found a place to gratify their ambition, in a new election; these joined the clamour against the governor, and represented this procedure as unconstitutional, as well as impolitic. These clamours reached England, and the London merchants joined the New-York merchants in the opposition, by presenting a petition to the king against the late colonial act of trade. This petition was referred to the board of trade, who heard the complaints of the party, and transmitted the whole to Gov. Burnet, that he might explain in his own defence. Gov. Burnet laid the whole proceedings before the council, whe entered with spirit into the merits of the question, and addressed to the governor the following report, or defence:

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May it please your Excellency

In obedience to your excellency's commands, in council, the 29th of October, referring to us a petition of several merchants in London, presented to the king's most excellent majesty, against renewing an act in this province, entitled "an act for encouraging the Indian trade, and rendering it more effectual to the inhabitants of this pro

vince, and for prohibiting the selling of Indian goods to the French." As likewise the several allegations of the said merchants, before the right hon. the lords of trade and plantations; we beg leave to make the following remarks:

In order to make our observations the more distinct and clear, we shall collect the several assertions of the said merchants, both in their petition, and those verbally delivered before the lords of trade, as to the situation of this province with respect to the French, and Indian nations; and observe on them, in the first place, they being the foundation on which all their other allegations are grounded. Afterwards we shall lay before your excellency, what we think necessary to observe, on the other parts of the said petition, in the order they are, in the petition, or in the report of the lords of trade.

'In their geographical account, they say, "Besides the nations of Indians that are in the English interest, there are very many nations of Indians, who are at present in the interest of the French, who lie between New-York and the nations of Indians in the English interest. The French and their Indians would not permit the English Indians to pass over by their forts." The said act " strains them (the Five Nations) from a free commerce with the inhabitants of New-York.

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"The five Indian Nations are settled upon the banks of the river St. Lawrence, directly opposite to Quebeck, two or three hundred leagues distant from the nearest British settlements in New-York.

"They (the five nations of Indians) were two or three hundred leagues distant from Albany; and that they could not come to trade with the English, but by going down the river St. Lawrence, and from thence through a lake, which brought them within eighteen leagues of Albany."

'These things the merchants have thought it safe for them, and consistent with their duty to his sacred majesty,

to say in his majesty's presence, and to repeat them after wards before the right honourable the lords of trade, though nothing can be more directly contrary to the truth. For there are no nations of Indians between New-York and the nations of Indians in the English interest, who are now six in number, by the addition of the Tuscaroras. The Mohawks (called Annies or Agnies by the French) one of the Five Nations, live on the south side of a branch of Hudson's River, (not on the north side as they are placed in the French maps) and but forty miles directly west from Albany, and within the English settlements; some of the English farms, upon the same river, being thirty miles further west. The Oneidas (the next of the Five Nations) lie likewise west from Albany, near the head of the Mohawks river, about one hundred miles from Albany. The Onondagas lie about one hundred and thirty miles west from Albany; and the Tuscaroras live partly with the Onondagas. The Cayugas are about one hundred and sixty miles from Albany; and the Senecas (the furthest of all these nations) are not above two hundred and forty miles from Albany, as may appear from Mr. D'Isle's map of Louisania, who lays down the Five Nations under the name Iroquois; and goods are daily carried from this province, to the Senecas, as well as to those nations that lie nearer, by water, all the way, except three miles (or in the dry season five miles) where the traders carry over land between the Mohawks river, and the Wood Creek, which runs into the Oneidas Lake, without going near either St. Lawrence River, or any of the lakes upon which the French pass, which are entirely out of their way.

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The nearest French forts or settlements to Albany, are Chambly and Montreal, both of them lying about north and by east from Albany, and are near two hundred miles distant from it. Quebeck lies about three hundred and

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