SSIONAL PAPER No. 18 of Civil Jurisdiction in the interior, and reserved Countries, by extending such Proclamation to the following Purposes, viz' To make known the Establishment and Limits of the four new Colonies, and the Additions made to the Governments of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Georgia. To declare the Constitution of the new Governments, as established for the present, & intended in future, and the general Powers which the Governors will have of granting Lands within Them. To prohibit private Purchases of Lands from Indians. To declare a free Trade for all His Majesty's Subjects with all the Indians, under Licence, Security, and proper Regulations. And To impower all Military Officers and Agents for Indian Affairs, within the reserved Lands, to seize such Criminals, and Fugitives, as may take Refuge in that Country, and to send them to be tried in any of the old Colonies (if That can legally be done) or else to that Government, from which They respectively fled. It is therefore His Majesty's Pleasure, that Your Lordships do immediately prepare, and transmit to me the Draught of such a Proclamation as may extend to the several Points abovementioned. But, with respect to One of Them, namely the Encouragements to be offered to reduced Officers, and Soldiers, I am to acquaint Your Lordships, that His Majesty's Intentions are, To grant to such reduced Officers only, as have served in North America during the late War, and to such private Soldiers only, as have been, or shall be, disbanded in America, and are actually residing there, the following Quantities of Land, in any of the Colonies on the Continent, upon the usual Reservation of Quit-Rents, after the Expiration of ten Years, and upon sure Terms of immediate Settlement, & Cultivation; viz To every Person having the Rank of a Field Officer... To every Captain To every Subaltern or Staff Officer. To every non-commissioned Officer. . 5000 Acres 3000 2000 200 50. His Majesty is also graciously pleased to offer the like Quantities of Land, upon the same Terms, to such reduced Officers of his Navy, of like Rank, as served on board his Ships of War in North America, at the time of the Reduction of Louisbourg, and Quebec in the late War. I am farther to acquaint Your Lordships, that, as it is of the greatest Importance, that the General Plan, upon which His Majesty's Subjects are to carry on a free Trade with all the Indians of North America, should be established as soon as possible, His Majesty expects that Your Lordships will avail Yourselves of every Information in Your Power, and lay before Him, with all possible Dispatch, a System of Regulations for that purpose. As to the Commission proposed in Your Lordships,' Report of the 5th of August to be given to the Commander in Chief of His Majesty's Forces, for the government of the interior Country, if upon Experience, & future Information, it shall still appear to Your Lordships to be expedient, & practicable, You will be pleased to prepare, and lay it before His Majesty. I am &c DUNK HALIFAX.1 endorsed: Sept 19th 1763. 1 George Dunk, Earl of Halifax, succeeded Hon. George Grenville as Secretary of State (Northern Department) Oct. 14th, 1762. On Aug. 21st, 1763, the Earl of Egremont died suddenly from apoplexy and he Earl of Halifax temporarily took over the duties of the department, being formally transferred to he Southern Department about Sept. 9th. He was succeeded in the Northern Department by the Earl -f Sandwich. To the Lords of Trade 6-7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 Letter of Reference concerning the extent of the new Provinces-The Lords of Trade to Halifax.1 WHITEHALL October 4th 1763. MY LORD,-In obedience to His Majesty's Commands, signified to us by Your Lordship's Letter of the 19th of last Month, we have prepared, and herewith transmit to your Lordship, the Draught of a Proclamation, conformable to the Directions contained in your Lordship's Letter; And having laid the said Draught before His Majesty's Attorney General, He has reported to us, That, the same is agreeable to Law, and to the usual Form of Proclamations. We have only to observe to your Lordship, that, in order to save time, we have fixed the Limits of East Florida according to Our Letter to your Lordship of the 28th of last Month, presuming that our Opinion, mentioned therein, will be approved of by His Majesty. We beg leave further to add, That as it appears to us, upon a Revision of the Report of this Board of the 8th of June last, That, it will be expedient for His Majesty's Service, and give Confidence and Encouragement to such Persons as, are inclined to become Settlers in the new Colonies, That an immediate and public Declaration should be made of the intended permanent Constitution and that the power of calling Assemblies should be inserted in the first Commissions, We have therefore drawn the Proclamation agreeable to this Opinion, and have prepared the Commissions accordingly; and we humbly hope Our Conduct herein will meet with His Majesty's approbation, as we conceive, that any temporary Power of making Ordinances and Regulations, which must of necessity be allowed to the Governors and Councils before Assemblies can be called, as well as the mode of exercising that Power, will be better inserted in the Instructions, which we are now preparing. We are My Lords Your Lordship's most obedient and HILLSBOROUGH Rt Honble Earl of Halifax endorsed: October 4. 1763 Ꭱ 4th Board of Trade Inclosing the Proclamation relative to America, and Observing that it will be better to insert, in the Instructions preparing for the Governors of the New Provinces, any temporary Power of making Ordinances & Regula tions which may be allowed to the Governors & Councils, than in the first Commissions. 20th An Inclosure. 1 A. & W. I., Vol. 268, p. 227. B. N° 5. SIONAL PAPER No. 18 PROCEEDINGS IN THE PRIVY COUNCIL. 1 AT THE COURT AT S JAMES'S the 5th day of October 1763. Present oclamation Whereas there was this day read at the Board a Draught of a itive to the settling Proclamation prepared by the Lords Commissioners for Trade and New Govern nts in Americaproved. roclamation- ation was signed by is Majty and dated he 7th Inst. eals Draughts to be pre red for East and Vest Florida, Quec and the Grena las Drafts of Comicons for the Gov of Quebec, East Florida, West Florida & and Grenadas. Plantations relative to the erecting within the Countries and Islands ceded and confirmed to His Majesty by the late Definitive Treaty, four distinct and separate Governments by the Names of Quebec, East Florida, West Florida Grenada, and declaratory of the Constitution of the said New Colonys, of the encouragements to be given to reduced Officers and Soldiers and the Regulations to be observed in respect to the Indian Commerce and Country-His Majesty taking the said Draught of a Proclamation into His Royal Consideration, was pleased with the advice of His Privy Council to approve thereof, and to Order, as it is hereby Ordered that the Right Honourable the Earl of Halifax, One of His Majestys Principal Secretarys of State do cause the said Draught of a Proclamation (which is hereunto annexed) to be prepared for His Majesty's Royal Signature.— Whereas there was this day read at the Board a Representation from the Lords Commissionners for Trade and Plantations, setting forth that His Majesty having been graciously pleased to approve a Plan for the erecting and establishing four Civil Governments in the Islands and Territories in America, ceded to His Majesty by the late Definitive Treaty, and it appearing to be necessary and expedient that a Publick Seal should be prepared for Sealing all publick Instruments in each of those Governments agreeable to the Method practiced and established in all other His Majesty's Colonies in America; The said Lords Commissioners therefore propose that Directions may be given to prepare with all possible Dispatch a Draught of a Seal for each of the said Governments conformable to the following Descriptions Viz' For the Province of Quebec On the One side His Majestys Effigies, pointing to a Chart of that Part of America through which the River of St Lawrence flows, including the Gulph and with this Legend or Motto underneath, Extensæ gaudent agnoscere Meta; and this Inscription around the Circumference, Sigillum Provinciæ nostræ Quebecensis in America; and on the Reverse His Majesty's Arms, Crown, Garter, Supporters and Motto with this Inscription round the circumference, Geo. III. Dei Gratia Magnæ Britanniæ, Franciæ et Hiberniæ Rex, Fidei Defensor Brunsvici et Luneburgi Dux, Sacri Romani Imperii, Archi Thesausarius et Elector. Upon reading this day at the Board a Representation* from the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations dated the 4th of this Instant together with Draughts of Commissions prepared by them for the Honourable James Murray, Esq' to be Governor of This Representation is quoted in the Report of the Lords of the Committee upon the Drafts of Commissions for the Governors of Quebec, &c., 6th October, 1763. 1 Privy Council Register; Geo. III., p. 100, 6-7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 Quebec, James Grant Esq' to be Governor of East Florida, George Johnstone Esq' to be Governor of West Florida, and Robert Melvill Esq' to be Governor of Granada, Dominico, St Vincent and TobagoIt is Ordered by His Majesty in Council that the said Representation and Draughts of Commissions Be, and they are hereby referred to the Right Honourable the Lords of the Committee of Council for Plantation Affairs to consider the same and Report their Opinion thereupon to His Majesty at this Board. REPORT ON COMMISSIONS FOR GOVERNORS.1 No 9. A. AT THE COUNCIL CHAMBER WHITEHALL the 6th day of October 1763 By the Right Honourable the Lords of the Committee of Council for Plantation Affairs &ca Comicons Report of the Lords of the Committee upon the Drafs of Commis Earl of Halifax Your Majesty having been pleased by Your Order in Council of the 5th of this Instant to referr unto this Committee a Representation sions for the Goy from the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations, setting forth, of Quebec, East Flo-"that in Obedience to Your Majesty's Commands signified to them in. rida, West Florida and the Granades 66 66 a Letter from the late Earl of Egremont dated the 14th July, last, they have prepared Draughts of Commissions for the Honourable "James Murray Esq' to be Governor of Quebec, James Grant Esq' to "be Governor of East Florida, George Johnston Esq' to be Governor "of West Florida, and Robert Melvil Esq' to be Governor of Grenada, "Dominico and Tobago-That in the Description of the Governments "of Quebec, East Florida, and West Florida they have conformed "to the Limits and Bounds which your Majesty has been pleased to "direct and approve, and as they conceived it to be Your Majesty's "Royal Intention, that the Form and Constitution of Government in "these new Colonies, should be as near as may be similar to what has "been established in those Colonies, which are under Your Majesty's "immediate Government, they have therefore prepared these Commis "sions accordingly, by which the Governors are impower'd and "directed so soon as the Circumstances of the Colonies will admit "thereof, to summon and call General Assemblys of the Freeholders "in their respective Governments in such Manner as is practised in "Your Majesty's other Colonies; That they have omitted in these "Commissions any Power that it may be necessary to grant to the "Governors and Councils of Your Majestys said new Colonies to "make Temporary Regulations until Assemblys can be called, because they were of Opinion that an immediate and publick Declaration of "the intended permanent Constitution, and an Insertion in the first "Commissions of the Power of calling Assemblys so soon as the Cir"cumstances will admit, is expedient for Your Majesty's Service, and "will give Confidence and Encouragement to such of Your Majesty's Subjects, as shall incline to settle in your said new Colonies, and "because such Power of making temporary Regulations may be given 1 Privy Council Register, Geo. III., p. 112. 2 Wills, Earl of Hillsborough, succeeded the Earl of Shelburne as President of the Board of Trade, Sept. 9th, 1763. SSIONAL PAPER No. 18 Committee Report upon the Draught of a Comicon for Montagu Wilmot Esq' to be Gov CONSTITUTIONAL DOCUMENTS "in the General Instructions which they shall prepare and lay before The Lords of the Committee in Obedience to Your Majestys said Order of Reference this day took the said Representation and Draughts of Commissions into their Consideration, and are of opinion, that in order to make the said Commissions agreeable to the Instructions to be given to the said Governors the following Addition should be made to each of the said Commissions at the End of that Article whereby the said Governors are empowered to make Grants of Land— Vizt "Provided the same be made conformable to the Instructions here"with delivered to you, or to such other Instructions as may hereafter "be sent to You under Our Signet and Sign Manual, or by Our Order "in Our Privy Council.-"And the Lords of the Committee having accordingly caused the said Addition to be made in each of the said Draughts do agree humbly to lay the same so amended before Your Majesty for Your Royal Approbation 1 Your Majesty having been pleased by Your Order in Council of the 5th of this Instant to referr unto this Committee a Representation from the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations setting forth, "that in Obedience to Your Majesty's Commands signified to them by a Letter from the Earl of Halifax, dated the 27th of last Month they have prepared, and humbly lay before Your Majesty, the Draught of a Commission appointing Montagu Wilmot Esq' Governor of Nova Scotia, in which Draught they have so described the Northern and Eastern Limits of this Province, as to make it conformable to what has been already approved in respect to the Southern boundary of the Province of Quebec, and to comprehend the Islands of Cape Breton and S Johns, that they have also made the River St Croix the Boundary to the Westward, for, although it be true that the ancient Limits of this Province, as it was possessed by France under the Treaties of Breda and Ryswick and ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Utrecht under the Name of Acadia, did extend as far West as the River Pentagoet or Penobscot, yet as it appears to have been determined in the Year 1732, upon a full examination of the Claims of the Province of the Massachusets Bay, as well by the Attorney and Sollicitor General, as by this Board, and finally by His Majesty in Council, that the said Province had a right of Jurisdiction and property under the Limitation of the Charter, to the Country between the Rivers Sagadehock and St Croix,, and as in consequence of this Examination, the Instructions given to Colonel Dunbar, and to the Governor of Nova Scotia to make Settlements within that Tract were revoked, and it was Ordered that the Province should not be disturbed in the possession they claim to have of this Country it does not appear to them that this question is for the present open to a New Discussion: But as they conceive there are many material circumstances in favour of Your Majesty's Right to the Country as far West 1 Now Prince Edward Island. |