Union of the Colonies, and to digest them into one general plan for the inspection of this Board.
Resolved, that each Govern' chose one of their own number to be of that Committee.
Accordingly were appointed.
Thomas Hutchinson Esq : for Massachusets Bay.
Theodore Atkinson Esq"' for New Hampshire.
William Pitkin Esq. for Conecticut.
Stephen Hopkins Esq'' for Rhode Island
Benjamin Franklin Esq'' for Pennsylvania.
Benjamin Tasker Esq"' for Maryland
It was left to His Honour to appoint one of His Maj'^'* Council for the Govern' of New York,
and he named 'William Smith Esq'".
Adjourned till to morrow morning at 11 o'clock
At a Meeting in the Court house at Albany on Tuesday the 25"" June 1754. A. M.
Present ā Joseph Murray
William Johnson V Esq" of the Council of N. York.
John Chambers
Richard Wibbard
Meschech Weare ^ Esqrs Commiss''' for N. Hampshire.
Henry Sherburne
Samuel Wells.
John Chandler
Oliver Patridge
John Worthington
Esqrs Commiss" for the Massachusets Bay.
Roger Wolcott ) -n ^. rr ā¢ ,Ā« r o .ā¢ ..
Ā° y Esq" Commiss" for Connecticut.
Elisha Williams j
Martin Howard Jun' Esq"" Commiss"' for Rhode Island.
John Penn ] 17 ā o ā r. r n 1
V Esq" Commiss'^' lor Pennsylvania.
Isaac Norris )
Abraham Barnes Esq' Commiss'' for Maryland.
The draught of the General speech not being returned to the Board from His Honour the
Lieut: Gov' of New York, adjourned till five o'clock this afternoon.
LONDON DOCUMENTS : XXXI. 861
At a Meeting as aforesaid, Tuesday tlie 25"' June 1754. P. M.
Present ā All the Gentlemen of the Council of N. York and all the Commissioners.
M' Murray delivered to the Board for their approbation His Honour's alterations & additions
to the draught of the speech presented to His Honour by M' Hutchinson and M' Peters, the
22""* inst : which were read to the Board by the Secretary, and the further consideration thereof
was deferred till to morrow morning.
adjourned till 11. o'clock to morrow morning
At a meeting in the Court House at Albany on Wednesday the 26"" June 1754. A. M.
Present ā William Johnson and John Ciiambers Esq" of the Council of New York.
Samuel Welles, John Chandler, Thomas Hutchinson and Oliver Patridge
Esq" Commiss" for Massachusets Bay.
William Pitkin, Roger Wolcott & Elisha Williams Esq" Commiss" for
Connecticut.
Martin Howard Jun"" Esq'' a Commiss" for Rhode Island.
The draught of the General speech, to the Six Nations was further debated, but not being
fully concluded upon, the Board adjourned till 10 o'clock to morrow morning.
At a Meeting in the Court House at Albany on Thursday the 27"> June 1754. A. M.
Present ā The four Gentlemen of the Council of New York and all the Commissioners.
The draught of the general speech was further debated, and not being fully concluded upon,
the Board adjourned till 5 o'clock this afternoon.
At a Meeting in the Court House at Albany on Thursday the 27. June 1754. P. M.
Present ā The four Gentlemen of the Council of New York and all the Commissioners.
A motion was made that the Commissions or Powers from the several Govern" should be
made part of the Records of this Congress.
It was unanimously agreed to, and ordered to be pre6xed to these Records.
The draught of the General Speech was settled, Read and unanimously approved of, & is
as follows:
Brethren. I have invited you here by the command of the great King our Common Father,
to receive a present from him, and in his name to renew the ancient Treaty between this and
all his other Govern", and you our Brethren; and I have the pleasure to tell you, that by His
Maj""'" order there are now present, Commiss" from Massachusets Bay, New Hampshire,
Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Virginia and Carolina likewise desire to be considered as presi-nt, altlio' some great aflairs
which those Govern" are engaged in, have prevented their sending Commiss"; we are glad to
see our Brethren here in health, and heartily bid you welcome. A Belt.
862 NEW- YORK COLONIAL MANUSCRIPTS.
Brethren. We condole your, and our loss in tlie death of some of your people since the
last interview in this place, We wipe away all tears from your eyes, and take away sorrow
from your hearts, that you may speak freely. 3. strings of Wampum.
Brethren, We come to strengthen and brighten the chain of friendship. It gives us great
satisfaction, that you have lately added two links to the chain, the Shanihadaradighroones and
the Tedderighroones, as it will always gives us pleasure to see your strength increased. This
chain hath remained firm and unbroken from the beginning. This Belt will represent to you
our disposition to preserve it strong and bright so long as the sun and moon shall endure and in
the name of the Great King our Father, and in the behalf of all His Miij''''' Colonies, we now
solemnly renew brighten and strengthen the ancient covemnt Chain, and promise to keep the
same inviolable and free from rust, and we expect the like confirmation and assurance on
your part. ā A Chain Belt
His Honour the Lieut' Gov^ explained this Chain Belt to them in the following manner:
Brethren. This represents the King our common Father ā this line represents his arms
extended, embracing all us the English and all the Six Nations ā These represents the Colonies
which are here present and those who desire to be thought present ā These represents the Six
Nations, and there is a space left to draw in the other Indians ā And there in the middle is the
line represented which draws us all in under the King our common Father."
The foregoing explanation having been given hy His Honour at the time of his delivering
the speech, doth not appear in the proceedings of the Congress, but stands in the Records of
Indian Affairs and is therefore supplyed in this manner, [by]
(signed). Peter Wraxall Seer: for Ind : Aff:
Brethren. We are informed that you now live dispersed from each other contrary to the
Ancient and prudent custom of your Forefathers; and as you are by this means exposed to
the attempts of your Enemies, we therefore in the most earnest manner recommend to, and
expect it from you, for your own safety, to collect yourselves together, and dwell in your
National Castles; We desire you, brethren of the Onondaga Nation in particular to call in
your Friends and relations to join you, especially those of your Nation who now lives at
Osweegachio. A brave people separated from each other may easily fall a sacrifice, whereas
united they may live secure and uninjured. A. Belt.
Brethren. We have some things to say to you of great importance. The Treatys,
subsisting between us and you our Brethren, as well as the great affection we bear towards you,
oblige us to mention it; The French profess to be in perfect friendship with us as well as
you; notwithstanding this, they are making continual incroachments upon us both; they have
lately done so, in the most insulting manner, both to the Northward and Westward, Your
Fathers by their valour above one hundred years ago, gained a considerable Country, which
they afterwards of their own accord put under the protection of the King of Great Brittain.
The French are endeavouring to posess themselves of this whole Country, altho' they have
made the most express Treaties with the English to the contrary.
Brethren. It appears to us that these measures of the French, must necessarily soon
interrupt and destroy all Trade and intercourse between the English and the several Indian
LONDON DOCUMENTS: XXXI. 863
Nations on the continent, and will block up and obstruct, the great roads wliich have hitherto
lain open between you and your allies, and Friends wiio live at a distance.
We want to know vvhetlier these things appear to you in the same light as they do to us, or
whether the French taking possession of the lands in your Country and building Forts between
the Lake Erie, and the River Ohio, be done with your consent or approbation ā
a large Belt.
Brethren. Open your hearts to us, deal with us as Brethren, we are ready to consult with
you, how to scatter these Clouds that hang over us, this is a matter of so great weight that
we tiiink it best to defer mentioning any other affairs till you have considered this, least they
should take away part of tliat attention which is necessary on so extraordinary an occasion.
A Belt.
adjourned till to morrow morning at 11 o'clock.
At a Meeting in the Court House at Albany Friday the 28"" June 1754. A. M.
Present ā John Chandler, Oliver Patridge & John Worthington Esq" Commiss" for
Massachusets Bay.
Richard Wibbird Meschech Weare and Henry Sherburne Esq" Commiss" for
New Hampshire.
Roger Wolcott and Elisha Williams Esq" Commiss" for Connecticut.
Martin Howard Jun' Esq' a Commiss'' for Rhode Island.
John Penn Esq"" one of the Commiss" for Pennsylvania.
The Board adjourned till 5 o'clock this afternoon.
At a Meeting in the Court house at Albany Friday afternoon the 2S"' June 1754.
Present ā The four Gentlemen of the Council of New York
All the Commiss" from Massachusets Bay,
All the Commiss" from New Hampshire.
All the Commiss" from Connecticut,
Stephen Hopkins Esq' one of the Commiss" from Rhode Island.
John Penn, and Benjamin Franklin Esq" from Pensilvania.
Benjamin Tasker Jun' Esq' one of the Commiss" from Maryland.
The Committee appointed the 21'*' Inst : to prepare and receive plans and schemes for the
union of the Colonies, presented short hints of a scheme for that purpose of which copies
were taken by the Commiss" of the respective provinces.
Adjourned till to-morrow morning at 9 o'clock.
864 NEW-YORK COLONIAL MANUSCRIPTS.
At a Meeting at the Court house in Albany on Saturday the 29"" June 1754. A. M.
Present ā William Smith Esq' one of the Council of New York, and all the
Commissioners.
His Honour the Lieut' Gov' of New York having given notice to this Board that he was
going to speak to the Indians, the Board adjourned till 5 o'clock this afternoon and attended
his Honour while he delivered the speech.
At a Meeting in the Court House at Albany on Saturday the 29'i' June 1754. P. M.
Present ā Joseph Murray, John Chambers & Willā¢ Smith Esq" of the Council of
New York
All the Commiss" from Massachusets Bay
Theodore Atkinson and Richard Wibbird Esq" Commissioners for
New Hampshire.
All the Commiss" from Connecticut.
The Commiss" from Rhode Island.
All the Commiss" from Pennsylvania
The Commiss" from Maryland.
The Board being informed that a considerable Number of Indians from Stock bridge, being
of the Nation known by the name of the River Indians were in Town, a motion was made
that his Honour the Lieut' Gov' might be acquainted with the circumstances of said Indians
and desired to give orders for their support.
The said Motion was agreed to, and M' Welles and M' Franklin were appointed to wait on
his Honour accordingly. The hints of a scheme for the Union of the Colonies were debated
on, but come to no conclusion.
Adjourned to Monday morning at 9 o'clock.
At a Meeting at the Court house at Albany on Monday the 1" July 1754. A. M.
Present ā The Lieut' Gov' and the four Gentlemen of the Council of New York.
All the Commiss" for Massachusets Bay except John Chandler Esq'
Theodore Atkinson and Henry Sherburne Esq" Commiss" for New
Hampshire.
The Commiss" for Connecticut.
The Commiss" for Rhode Island.
All the Commiss" for Pennsylvania
The Commiss" for Maryland.
M' Franklin reported to the Board that he had with M' Welles (M' Welles was not then
present) waited on the Lieut' Gov', and delivered the Message from the Board of Saturday
last, relating to the River Indians living near Stock bridge, and that his Honour, was pleased
to answer that he had not sent for those Indians, that he had consulted his Council, and
LONDON DOCUMENTS: XXXI. 865
enquired of the Commissioners of Indian Affairs, and was informed that it had never been
usual to afford subsistance to those Indians at any Treaty in Albany, that it was a great
expence to New York to maintain the other Indians, that those properly belonged to
Massachusets Bay Govern' and it appeared to him, that they should be supported by
that Govern'.
Upon a Motion, the Records of Indian affiiirs of New York were sent for, and it appeared
that the River Indians have usually been present at the Treaties with the Six Nations, and
that a speech has always been made to the said River Indians, and it was moved to the Lieut'
Governour of New York that he would now speak to them in the name of the Commiss" from
the several Colonies, and also give orders for their support.
His Honour agreed to the proposal of speaking to them, and offered to give orders for their
support but was pleased to say that he expected the Commiss" for the several provinces would
contribute to the charge of it.
His Honour delivered to the Board copys of two Minutes of Council which are as follows :
At a Council held in the City of Albany the 27'" June 1754. P. M.
Present ā The Hon"' James de Lancey Esq' Lieut' Govern''
M"" Murray, Coll: Johnson, M"' Chambers, M'' Smith.
His Honour being informed by the Indian Interpreter that the lower Castle of the Mohawk
Indians now in this City, had some business to lay before him, and desired to be admitted to
an Audience, appointed them to attend at 4 o'clock this afternoon, in Council, and they
attending accordingly, were introduced with the Interpreter.
The Gov"" told them he was very glad to see them, that he was now met in Council & ready
to hear what they had to say.
Whereupon Canadagara their Speaker addressing himself to his honour spoke as follows:
Brother. We are here this day by God's will, and your Honour's order, to which place you
have led us as it were by the hand ; this is our old meeting place, where if we have any
grievances, we can lay them open. You are lately come to the Administration, and we are
glad to see you, to lay our complaints before you. We take it very kind, you have given us
this opportunity to unfold our minds, and we will now proceed to declare our grievances.
Brother. We shall now open our minds, and we beg you will take time to consider what
we shall say, and not give us too hasty an answer, or in two or three words, and then turn
your back upon us. As you are a new Gov' we beg you will treat us tenderly, and not as the
former Gov' did, who turned his back upon us, before we knew he intended to depart, so that
we had no opportunity to finish our business with him. The reason, we wish you would
treat us in this tender manner, is, because this is the place where we are to expect a redress
of our grievances, and we hope all things will be so settled that we may part good friends.
Brother. We told you a little while ago, that we had an uneasiness on our minds, and we
shall now tell you what it is ; it is concerning our land. We understand that there are writings
for all our lands, so that we shall have none left but the very spot we live upon and hardly
that; we have examined amongst the elderly people, who are now present, if they have sold
any of it, who deny that they ever have, and we earnestly desire, that you will take this into
consideration, which will give us great satisfaction, and convince us that you have a friendship
Vol. VI. 109
866 NEW- YORK COLONIAL MANUSCRIPTS.
for us; we dont complain of those who have honestly bought the land they possess, or those to
whom we have given any, but of some who have taken more than we have given them ; We
find we are very poor, we [thought we] had yet land round about us, but it is said there are
writings for it all. It is one condition of the ancient Covenant chain, that if there be any
uneasiness on either side, or any request to be made, that they shall be considered with a
brotherly regard, and we hope you will fulfill that condition on your side, as we shall be
always ready to on ours ; we have embraced this opportunity of unbosoming ourselves to you,
with regard to our Castle, and we are well assured tiiat the other Castle of tlie Mohawks, iiave
complaints of the same nature to make, when they come down. We have now declared our
grievances, and the Conajoharys will declare theirs, but that we shall leave to them. By this
Belt we desire you to consider what we have said, and by the same we inform you that the
Five Nations, have some things to say to you before you speak to them. Gave a Belt.
The Gov"- said :
You have now unbosomed yourselves to me, & desire I would seriously consider of what
you have said, and not give you a hasty answer.
I will consider of it seriously, and you shall always find me ready to redress any of your
Grievances as far as it may by in my power. But your complaints are general, I must
therefore desire you to tell me, where those lands lye and the Names of the persons of whom
you complain.
To which the Speaker answered :
Brother. We are told, a large Tract of land has been taken up called Kayadarosseras,
beginning at the half Moon, and so up along Hudson's River to the third fall, and thence to the
Cacknowaga or Canada-creek, which is about four or five miles above the Mohawks, which
upon enquiry among our old Men we cannot find was ever sold, and as to the particular
persons, many of them live in this Town, but there are so great a Number we cannot
name them.
The Gov said :
I will send for some of the Patentees or the persons claiming that land, and hear what they
have to say, and consider the matter and give you an answer before you leave this place. It is
agreable to Justice to hear both parties, before a judgement is given ; and to manifest my
friendship for you, I will do you all the Justice in my power. ā
A true copy exam'' by G. Banyar D. C. of the Council
At a Council held in the City of Albany the 2S"> June 1754.
Present ā The Hon*""' James De Lancey Esq' Lieut' GoV ettc.
M' Murray, Coll : Johnson, M' Chambers M^ Smith.
His Honour being informed that the Conajohary or the upper Castle of the Mohawk Indians,
and several Sachims of each of the other five Nations, attended without, and desired to speak
to him, they were introduced with the Interpreter.
Hendrick their Speaker spoke as follows :
LONDON DOCUMENTS : XXXI. y67
Brother. We had a message from you some time ago, to meet you at tliis place where the
fire burns ; we of Couajahary met the Messenger you sent witli a letter at Coll : Johnson's, and
as soon as we received it, we came down running, and the Six Nations are now here conipleat.
Tiie GoV said :
Brethren of the Six Nations you are welcome. I take this opportunity now you are all
togetiier to condole the loss in the death of your friends and relations, since you last met here,
and with this string of Wampum, I wipe away your tears, and take sorrow from your hearts,
that you may open your minds and speak freely. A String of Wampum.
Hendrick replyed :
Brother. We thank you for condoling our loss, and wiping away our tears, that we may
speak freely, and as we do not doubt, but you have lost some of your great Men and friends,
we give you this string of condolence in return that it may remove your sorrow, and that we
may both speak freely. Gave a string.
Then Hendrick addressing himself to the Six Nations said : Tliat last year he attended
Coll : Johnson to Onondaga, to do service to the King and their people ; that Coll : Johnson
told them a New Gov'' was expected soon, and they would then have an opportunity of seeing
him at Albany, and laying their grievances before him.
That the New Gov"' arrived soon after and scarcely had they heard of his arrival but they
had an account of his death, and that now he was glad to see his Honour, to whom he would
declare his grievances ā and tiieii proceeded.
Brother. We thought you would wonder why we of Connajohary staid so long, we shall
now give you the reason. Last Summer we of Connajohary were down at New York to make
our complaints, and we then thought the Coven' Chain was broken, because we were neglected ;
and when you neglect business, the French take advantage of it, for they are never quiet.
It seemed to us that the Gov' had turned his back upon the Five Nations, as if they were no
more, whereas the French are doing all in their power to draw us over to them.
We told the Gov"' last summer, we blamed him for the neglect of the Five Nations, and at
the same time we told him, the French were drawing the Five Nations away to Osweegachie
owing to that neglect, which might have been prevented, if proper use had been made of that
warning, but now we are affraid it is too late. We remember how it was in former times
when we were a strong and powerful people. Coll : Schuyler used frequently to come among
us, and by this means we were kept together.
Brother. We the Mohawks are in very difficult circumstances, and are blamed for things
behind our backs which we dont deserve. Last Summer when we went up with Coll : Johnson
to Onondaga, and he made his speech to the Five Nations, the Five Nations said, they liked
his speech very well, but that the Mohawks had made it. We are looked u[)on by the other
Nations, as Coll : Johnson's Counceilors, and supposed to hear all news from him, which is not
the case; for Coll: Johnson does not receive from, or impart much news to us ; this is our
reason for staying behind, for if we had come first, the other Nations would have said, that
we made the Gov" speech, and therefore tho' we were resolved to come, we intended the
other nations should go before us, that they might hear the Gov" speech, which we couid
hear afterwards.
There are some of our People who iiave large open Ears ami talk a little broken English
and Dutch, so that they sometimes hear what is said by the Christian settlers near them, and
868 NEW- YORK COLONIAL MANUSCRIPTS.
by this means we came to understanri, that we are looked upon to be a proud Nation, and
therefore staid behind. Tis true, and known we are so, and tiiat we the Mohawks are the
head of all the other Nations; here they are, and they must own it; but it was not out of
pride we Connajoharys staid behind, but for tlie reasons we have already given.
His Honour answered :
Brethren of Connajohary. ā You have now told me the reason why you stayed behind,
because you would not be blamed, by the other Nations as you have been before. I am
satisfyed with what you say, that your staying behind did not proceed from pride.
You tell me you have large open Ears, and that some of you understand a little of the
language of the settlers about you, but I must caution you not to hearken to common reports,
neither of us or your Brethren of the other Nations; I desire that we may all speak freely,
and open our hearts to each other, and so remove any jealousies from amongst us.
I hope that at another interview, you will all be more punctual, and keep as near as you
can to the time appointed. You are sensible it must be very inconvenient to me and the
Commiss" from the other Govern" to be detained so long in this place, at so great a distance
from our homes.
a true copy, Exam'' by G. Banyar. [D. C. of y' C]
A motion was made that a Committee should be appointed to draw up a representation of
the present state of the Colonies. Which was agreed to, and that the Gentlemen who were
appointed to prepare and receive Plans or Schemes for the union of the Colonies the S-i"" : ult:
should be a Committee for this purpose.
The plan for a Union of the Colonies was debated but the Board came to no resolves upon it.
Adjourned to nine o'clock to morrow morning.
At a meeting in the Court House at Albany on Tuesday the 2"'' July 1754. A. M.
Present ā All the Commiss" from Massachusets Bay, New Hampshire, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
After the debates held on the plan of an Union, it was moved ; if the Board should proceed
to form the plan of a Union of the Colonies, to be establised by an Act of Parliament.
Whereupon it was move[d] to put the previous question, which passed in the negative.
The Question was then put, whether the Board should proceed to form a plan of a Union of
the Colonies to be established by [an] Act of Parliam' which passed in the affirmative.
adjourned to 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
At a meeting as aforesaid on Tuesday the 2"'' July 1754. P. M.
Present ā The Lieut' Gov'' and the four Gentl" of the Council of New York and
All the Commiss" from the several Govern*' above mentioned.
The answer of the Six Nations to the general speech made to them on Saturday last by His
Honour the Lieut' Gov' of New York, in His Maj''''' name, and in the presence and behalf of