|
| June 1. |
1,286. Minutes of Council of Jamaica. The Governor reported as to the parties out against the rebellious negroes, the time for which they were engaged having expired. Captain Langley's report of the operations was read. Ordered that the same number of two parties be raised and continued for two months on the old terms. Colonel Beeston's account against the island passed and ordered to be paid. Order for payment of John Gale and John Philpott for their expenses on the building of a public prison. On petition of Dirick Cornelison his sloop was returned to him, on condition that he should always be ready in person with his sloop to attend the King's service. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. XXXVI., pp. 169, 170.] |
| June 1. |
1,287. Minutes of Council of New England. Petition of Quakers against having their goods seized to pay ministers' rates read and considered. Acts for probate of wills, for regulating fisheries, and for regulating purchase of land from Indians, passed. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. LXIV., p. 125.] |
| June 2. |
1,288. Commissioners of Customs to Lords of the Treasury. We have read an account by Captain St. Loe of the defrauding of the King's revenue by Dutch ships from Statia, which carry produce from the British West Indian Islands and bring them Dutch goods and wine and brandy from French St. Christopher's. We cannot acquit the Governors of the islands from connivance, or at least great negligence herein. Messrs. Henry Carpenter and Belchamber, the Commissioners of the four and a half per cent. duty at Nevis, tell us that they had advice of a Dutch ship which was at Antigua under pretence of getting wood, and asked Sir James Russell to send the frigate to prevent her from trading there, which he refused to do. We suggest that the Governors should be ordered to execute the Acts of Trade and Navigation, and that the captains of frigates also should have particular instructions to the same effect. We hear from Nevis that Captain St. Loe has been particularly diligent in enforcing these Acts. Signed, T. Chudleigh, D. North, Jo. Werden, N. Butler, J. Buckworth. Copy. 2 pp. Endorsed. Read 15 June 87. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 67, and Col. Entry Bk., Vol. XLVII., pp. 263, 264.] |
| June 3. |
1,289. Memorandum of Lords of Trade and Plantations. The Lords were desired by the Duke of Albemarle to move the King, (1.) That he may have power to coin pence, half-pence, and farthings of tin or copper. Marginal note. To be referred to the Treasury, but his Grace not to stay. (2.) That he may have power to confer knighthood on not more than four or six persons, and to pardon such persons as, not being able to come to England to sue out their pardons, are desiring of the King's mercy. Marginal note. Power of conferring knighthood granted; as to pardoning, the King does not think it fit. 1 p. Endorsed. Read 3 June 1687 to the King. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 68.] |
| June 3. |
1,290. Journal of Council and Assembly of Nevis. Mr. Aaron Chapman and Mr. John Addy were objected to as improperly
elected. The remaining members of the Assembly were sworn. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol., XLVIII., p. 128.] |
| June 3. |
1,291. Minutes of Council of Nevis. Thomas Belchamber was sworn of the Council. John Smargin, Jasper Wall, William Pellet, Walter Symonds, John Stanley, John Hill, Thomas Bartlet, and Richard Broadbelt, members of the Assembly, were sworn. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. XLVIII., pp. 152, 153.] |
| [June 5.] |
1,292. Petition of John Kirwan to the King. The restitution of the ship "Good Intention" was decreed by the Court of Admiralty, and I had loaded her for the Plantations; but Captain St. Loe has caused her to be arrested on pretence of seamen's wages due from her, and has obtained an order of the Commissioners of Customs for her detention. I beg that I may be allowed to appeal from the condemnation in the Leeward Islands, which is found wrong by the Judge of the English Admiralty Court. 1 p. In the margin. Order of the King referring the petition to Lords of Trade and Plantations for report. Windsor, June 5, 1687. Signed, Sunderland. Endorsed. Read 15 June 1687. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 69.] |
| [June 5.] |
1,293. Petition of Captain George St. Loe, R.N., to the King. For the delivery of the ship Good Intention to him, though John Kirwan has lately contrived to regain possession of her. 1 p. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 70.] |
June 5.
Windsor. |
1,294. Order of the King. Referring the petition of Captain St. Loe to Lords of Trade and Plantations for report (see preceding abstract). Signed, Sunderland. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. XLVII., p. 266.] |
June 7.
Windsor
Castle. |
1,295. Henry Guy to William Blathwayt. Forwarding report of the Commissioners of Customs on Captain St. Leo's papers (see No. 1,288). ½ p. Endorsed. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 71, and Col. Entry Bk., Vol. XLVII., p. 263.] |
| June 9. |
1,296. Commissioners of Ordnance to [Earl of Sunderland?]. Forwarding an account of stores of war sent by the Office of Ordnance to Jamaica since 1676. Signed, Chris. Musgrave, H. Shere, Edw. Sherburne, Phil. Musgrave. ½ p. Endorsed. Annexed, |
|
1,296. I. The account in question. Total value of the stores, £2,820. Signed as the above. 2 pp. Endorsed. Recd. 14 June 1687. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., Nos. 72, 72I., and(enclosure only), Col. Entry Bk., Vol. XXXI., pp. 298, 299.] |
| June 9. |
1,297. Minutes of Council of Maryland. The troubles of the County of Cecil, owing to turbulent and factious spirits, were considered, and evidence having been taken, a new Commission of the Peace was issued. George Stevens appointed coroner. Order for impressment of provisions for Christina fort. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. LIV., pp, 99, 100.] |
| June 11. |
1,298. Journal of Council and Assembly of Nevis. Ebenezer Kirtland and Edward Burley were sworn of the Assembly. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. XLVIII., p. 129, and p. 153.] |
June 12.
Windsor. |
1,299. The King to Governor Lord Howard of Effingham. Approving the dismissal of Philip Ludwell from the Council of Virginia and the appointment of Isaac Allerton in his place. Countersigned, Sunderland. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. LXXXIII., p. 133.] |
| June 14. |
1,300. Journal of Assembly of Barbados. No quorum. Adjourned to 12 July. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. XIV., p. 170.] |
| June 15. |
1,301. Journal of Lords of Trade and Plantations. Letter to Colonel Stede approved and signed (see No. 1,304). |
|
Sir Edmund Andros's letter of 30 March read (see No. 1,197). The acts referred to the Lord Chancellor; the names of candidates for the Council approved. Letter from Connecticut to the Lord President read (see No. 1,197IV.). Agreed to advise that Sir Edmund Andros be empowered to accept their submission and take them under his government. |
|
Sir John Hoskvns's petition read and referred to Sir Thomas Pinfold (see No. 1,177.) |
|
Report of Commissioners of Customs upon an information of Captain St. Loe read (see No. 1,288). A letter to be written to the Governor of the Leeward Islands to prevent frauds and take care that the Acts of Trade are observed. Petitions of John Kirwan and of Captain St. Loe as to the ship Good Intention read (see Nos. 1292, 1293), together with the report of Sir Richard Raines (see No. 1,280). The Lords agreed on their report (see No. 1,303). |
|
Petition of proprietors of East New Jersey read. A copy to be sent to Governor Dongan for his reply (see No. 1,279). |
|
Memorandum of documents received and sent. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. CIX., pp. 81–89.] |
June 15.
Council
Chamber. |
1,302. Lords of Trade and Plantations to the King. Recommending that the copy of petition of the proprietors of New Jersey (see No. 1,279), be sent to Governor Dongan for his reply. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. LXIX., p. 118.] |
June 15.
Council
Chamber. |
1,303. Lords of Trade and Plantations to the King. On the petition of Captain St. Loe we have read the report of Sir Richard Raines, and as the proceedings of the Court are altogether irregular in altering the possession of the ship as adjudged in Antigua, we recommend that possession be restored to Captain St. Loe but that John Kirwan's appeal in the case be allowed of. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. XLVII., p. 268.] |
June 15.
Council
Chamber. |
1,304. Lords of Trade and Plantations to Lieutenant Governor Stede. The King has ordered Lieutenant Beach, commanding H.M.S. Mary Rose to restore a Dutch ship taken by Captain Temple at St. Vincent. You will appoint some persons to assist at the appraisement of the ship and cargo and to receive the same from Lieutenant Beach; after which you will dispose of
all perishable goods and account for the same to the owners. The usual payment for salvage will be made to the representatives of Captain Temple and to his crew; and the goods taken on board the ship will be restored, together with the ship, to the owners or any properly qualified person. If no one appears to claim her you will preserve her as best you can till further order, taking care that none of the King's rights of Admiralty be infringed, You will see that the sentence of condemnation against her be reversed, and that such repairs as are necessary be effected for the ship, and you will take all pains to preserve the ship for her poor owners that the King's grace be not ineffectual. Signed, Jeffreys, Sunderland, Craven, Middleton, Godolphin. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. VII., pp. 415, 416.] |
| [June 15.] |
1,305. Notes for the points to be observed in the drafting of the foregoing letter. 1½ pp. Endorsed. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 73.] |
| [June 15.] |
1,306. The titles of the King of England to the sovereignty of St. Lucia. (1.) Settlement in 1605. (2.) Possession by Governor Warner in 1626 and grant to Lord Carlisle in 1627. (3.) Purchase by Lord Willoughby in 1664, and removal of French settlers in 1665. (4.) Repudiation of the alleged surrender of the island to France, 1666. (5.) The Treaty of Breda has no bearing. French. Copy. 2½ pp. For date see the reply of the French Ambassador, October 1687. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 74.] |
| June 15. |
1,307. William Blathwayt to Sir Thomas Pinfold. Forwarding copy of Sir John Hoskyn's petition (see No. 1,177) for report as to the King's right to the islands therein mentioned. Draft. 1 p. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 75, and Col. Entry Bk., Vol. C., pp. 15, 16.] |
June 18.
Whitehall. |
1,308. Order of the King in Council. Report of Lords of Trade and Plantations. On reading the letters from Connecticut to the Lord President we recommend that Sir Edmund Andros be directed to take the Colony into his government and swear Robert Treat and John Allyn of the Council of New England. Dated 15 June 1687. Ordered accordingly. Signed, John Nicholas. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. LXI., pp. 352, 353.] |
June 18.
Whitehall. |
1,309. Order of the King in Council. Report of Lords of Trade and Plantations. On the petition of Robert Orchard, referred by order in Council of 18 May 1685, we recommend that Sir Edmund Andros be instructed to see that he obtains redress. Dated 18 May 1687. Ordered accordingly. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. LXI., pp. 354, 355.] |
June 18.
Whitehall. |
1,310. Order of the King in Council. That a copy of the petition of the Proprietors of East Jersey be sent to Governor Dongan for his reply. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. LXIX., p. 119.] |
| [June 18.] |
1,311. Extract from an article of the Treaty of Breda. Enacting that the merchant ships of the contracting nations may enter each other's ports when driven by storm, pirates, or other urgent need, provided they do not break bulk nor attempt to trade.
It was under this article that the Dutch ships from Eustatia entered the ports of the Leeward Islands. ½ p. Endorsed. Copy sent to Sir N. Johnson (see next abstract). [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 76.] |
June 18.
Hampton
Court. |
1,312. Lords of Trade and Plantations to Governor Sir Nathaniel Johnson. We have been told by Captain St. Loe of abuses committed by Dutch ships in violation of the Acts of Trade and Navigation. The King is sensible that this violation has been rendered easy by the connivance of former Governors, and you are therefore to take all possible care to prevent such abuses in future. You will permit no Dutch vessel whatever to come to a British island or to remain in harbour unless driven in by storm, pirates, or other necessity. Signed, Jeffreys C., Sunderland P., Arundell C. P. S., Powis, Dartmouth, Edw. Herbert. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. XLVII., pp. 264, 265.] |
| June 18. |
1,313. Order of the King in Council. That the ship Good Intention be restored to Captain St. Loe, but that the appeal of John Kirwan be allowed. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. LXVII., p. 269.] |
June 18.
St. Jago
de la Vega. |
1,314. Lieutenant Governor Molesworth to Captain Talbot, R.N. The Judges complained to me last night that you had refused to obey the order of the Court for the return of Chinn's money to him, and told me that in consequence Chinn's counsel had moved for an attachment against you. I told them that the King protected none of his officers against the law, but desired them to give you fair notice of it. The Chief Justice replied that he had spoken to you himself about it, and that you positively refused to deliver it, pretending that you had spoken to the Attorney-General to prosecute him in another way. The Attorney-General denies this. In short, you are very much in the wrong, and have no just reason for keeping Chinn's property. The law has given it against you, and the law must be obeyed by you as much as by any of the King's subjects. I advise you to submit or you will have to undergo the shame of being compelled to do it, and if any mischief befall in the execution of the King's writ you must answer for it. I give you this warning. 1 p. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 77.] |
June 18.
Port Royal. |
1,315. Captain Charles Talbot, R.N., to Lieutenant Governor Molesworth. The six pirates I brought in from Porto Bello were examined on board the Falcon by Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Beckford and the Attorney-General, and on their confession that they were all with Laurens when he took the Spanish barque, they were ordered into custody. Last Grand Court I heard one of them, Thomas Chinn, tried and found not guilty, there being no evidence to shew that he had lived in the island within the last four years. I then told the Attorney-General that he ought to have prosecuted him in the admiralty as a pirate, and that I expected he should do so. I spoke to him next day, and his answer was that he would take your orders; but within three days I found that Chinn was at liberty, and an order, signed
only by the Clerk of the Court, was brought to me to deliver up some broken plate and other plunder to the said Chinn. I replied that I would prosecute him in the admiralty for a pirate, and have told the Chief Justice as much. I beg you, therefore, to issue your warrant for his arrest, and to order the Attorney-General to do his duty. If he refuse, as he did lately, I suppose that he ought to be suspended and another put in his place who will act for the King's service. Signed, Charles Talbot. Copy. 1 p. Inscribed by Lieutenant Governor Molesworth. His answer to the Chief Justice and to the Marshal's man was otherwise than here represented, though I knew it not till afterwards. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 78.] |
| June 18. |
1,316. Lieutenant Governor Molesworth to Captain Charles Talbot. I have received your answer to my letter, wherein you inform me of some new matter against Chinn, and that you intend to prosecute him as a pirate. This should have been done before, or I should have been informed of it, which I never was. I am no favourer of such villains, certainly not of Chinn, who openly boasted how many churches he had robbed. The Attorney-General's choice of his method of prosecuting was good, for he knew that if he prosecuted Chinn as a pirate his confession before witnesses would not be taken for proof if he denied the confession in Court, and he had no other evidence. So being well able to prove that he had served under Laurens at the taking of Campeachy he preferred to prosecute him under that head, for it was generally supposed that the hostilities there committed by a French fleet were done under a commission. Though the proof as to the term of Chinn's residence here miscarried, yet the acquittal was due rather to the over-nicety of the jury than to any fault of the Attorney-General's. There never was a person fitter for his place, nor one more active against privateers, wherefore you mistake him and me also very much when you call upon me to suspend him. The Judges of the Court declare that all you said to the Attorney-General when Chinn was acquitted was, "Mr. Attorney, you knew well enough how to deal with him at civil law." He denies that you ever said any more, and I never heard of your intention to raise a new prosecution. I will, however, order the arrest of Chinn and his prosecution by the new Attorney-General, but unless you have other evidence than his confession against him it will be useless. 2 pp. Endorsed. Recd. 20 September 87. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 77.] |
| June 20. |
1,317. Governor Dongan to Governor de Denonville of Canada. I send the enclosed which has reached me from England with orders that it shall be proclaimed. [This evidently refers to the Treaty of Neutrality.] I have done so, and I hope that you will do the like. Pray, too, do not seek any correspondence with our Indians on this side of the Great Lake. If they do amiss to any of your government, inform me, and I will see that justice is done. If any of your people disturb us I will likewise have recourse to you. As to the far nations, I suppose that trade with them is free and common to us all until the boundaries be adjusted, though truly the situation of these parts bespeaks a greater right
of the English than of the French King thereto, since they lie to southward of us just at the back of other parts of our King's dominions, and a very long way from you. I hear from some of our Indians that you desired them to meet you at Cadaraqui. I could hardly believe it till I had a letter from Father Lamberville confirming it. I am also informed of your priests' endeavours to carry our Indians away to Canada, as you have already carried away a great many. Pardon me for saying that this is not the way to maintain a good correspondence between us. I hear, too, that you have been told that I have ordered the Indians to rob the French wherever they meet them. That is false. What I did was to forbid any from Canada to come to Albany without your pass, which was your own desire. I therefore ordered the Indians and the people of Albany to seize all English or French that they found on this side of the Great Lake without your pass or mine and bring them to Albany. I am now sorry that I did so, since it is not agreeable to you and has, as I hear, kept a number of beavers from being sent hither. I shall therefore recall those orders. I am daily expecting priests from England, which I mean to distribute among the Five Nations. I desire your orders to Father Lamberville that as long as he stays among those people he shall attend to his own functions only, and that those Indians whom he has converted and taken to Canada may be content to live alone, and not attempt to debauch others. If I catch any of them doing so I shall handle them severely. Setting aside my master's orders, I should be glad to serve you, and wish that the wilderness were not so broad between us, and that we could see each other more frequently. No one has a greater respect for all people of quality of your nation, especially for such as have served in the army, than I. I send you some oranges, hearing that they are a rarity with you. Signed, Tho. Dongan. Copy. 3 pp. Endorsed. Printed in New York Documents, Vol. III., p. 465. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 79.] |
June 20.
Jamaica. |
1,318. Deposition of William Jules, mariner. Concerning the arrival of a ship from the South seas with plunder taken by piracy. Sworn before Governor Molesworth. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 79A.] |
| June 20. |
1,319. Minute of Council of New England. Judges' salaries considered. Business of the dry dock at Charlestown to be considered. |
| June 23. |
Act concerning highways read and rejected. Resolved that the goods of the Quakers distrained on for ministers' rates be restored. |
| June 24. |
Business of the dry dock at Charlestown. Order for payment to John Greene of his expenses of his voyage to and from England. |
| June 29. |
1,712 acres of land in Narragansett County granted to Richard Wharton, at ten shillings per annum quit rent. Fifty acres granted to John Swarton in Casco Bay. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. LXIV., pp. 126, 127.] |
June 24.
Jamaica. |
1,320. Lieutenant Governor Molesworth to William Blathwayt. I have further intelligence as to the vessel that came from the South Seas. Her commander and another landed here, having been chased and forced to leeward by another ship. The master of the sloop that brought them would not speak, for fear of bringing himself into trouble, until I refused him his pass and promised to take no advantage of his confession. He then made the deposition herein enclosed. As the master belonged to Nevis I sent thither a notorious pirate named Welch who played all his pranks thereabouts, so that he might be tried where witnesses against him could be forced. I have had reason enough to complain of Captain Talbot before this time, but I am now forced to report as follows. On his way to Porto Bello he met a sloop belonging to Laurens, with some of his people on board, and among them one Chinn, the most notorious rogue of them all, who having once belonged to Jamaica had made himself more liable to law than any of the rest. This Chinn, when he fell into Captain Talbot's hands, had some money and broken plate with him, which Talbot took into his possession, but on Chinn's acquittal here his counsel moved for the restitution of his property. The Court ordered it accordingly, but Captain Talbot, when it was shewn to him, said he had nothing to do with it. Chinn's counsel then applied to the Judges for a capias, who before they would grant it came to me and told me of the application, and that they were bound in duty to assent to it. I replied that the King protected no man against the law, but that I would have it enforced with all respect to Captain Talbot's place, and therefore ordered that the writ should not be delivered to the Marshal until Talbot had been apprised of it, and of the necessity of complying with it, by a letter from myself. But it happened that on the very day when I wrote to him he wrote to me accusing Chinn of piracy in other matters, and desired that he might be tried for it in the Court of Admiralty. I had time to delay the delivery of my letter, and wrote to the Judge Admiral to appoint a day for the trial, and to the Attorney-General to prosecute. Talbot, however, had no evidence except Chinn's own confession before witnesses, which Chinn denied in Court and was consequently acquitted. Nevertheless Captain Talbot still refuses to restore the money or to comply with the order. The Counsel for the prisoner has asked me for leave to serve the capias, but I said that he must first deliver my letter to Captain Talbot, and forbear till I had received his answer; but I have received no answer yet, and I am told that he intends to remain on board ship until the Duke of Albemarle's arrival. Signed, Hder. Molesworth. Recd. 20 September 1687. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. XXXII., pp. 37–41.] |
June 27.
Windsor. |
1,321. The King to Governor Sir Edmund Andros. Ordering him to annex Connecticut to New England and swear Robert Treat and John Allyn of the Council. Countersigned, Sunderland. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. LXI., pp. 353, 354.] |
June 29.
Virginia. |
1,322. Governor Lord Howard of Effingham to the Earl of Sunderland. I send duplicates of the complaints against Captain Crofts. If the King will curb his irregularities it will certainly
be for his service, for the benefit of the merchants and for the strengthening of the royal authority here. I have acquainted the King with my intended journey to New York during the heat and sickness of this place in the dog-days, acting under an order granted to me in Council. If it should be the least displeasing to the King pray inform me, and it shall never be thought of again; but after experience of the last two summers I have found this season of the year prejudicial to my health, and I hope by this short absence to recover it. Signed, Effingham. Holograph. 2 pp. Endorsed. Recd. 14 August 87. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 80, and Col. Entry Bk., Vol. LXXXIII., pp. 193, 194.] |
June 29.
Virginia. |
1,323. Governor Lord Howard of Effingham to the King. "It is with great concern, little less than trembling," that I report my intended journey to New York, taking advantage of the permission which you granted me. My physicians have ordered me change of air, and sickness is almost inevitable here in the dog-days. I shall go to the head of the bay by water and thence through Pennsylvania, so I shall not be above four days' journey from my Government at most, if any accident should happen. Signed, Effingham. Holograph. 2 pp. [Col. Papers, Vol. LX., No. 81, and Col. Entry Bk., Vol. LXXXIII., pp. 145, 146.] |
| [June ?] |
1,324. Answer of the French Commissioners to the memorial of the Hudson's Bay Company (see No. 1,258). (1.) The county was called Labrador by the Spaniards, who discovered it long before the English. Cabot only passed it by chance on the search for the North West passage. French have been there at different times, but it was never thought that such voyages contributed a title. (2.) Hudson may have sailed into the bay as many others did, but it is agreed that he took no possession, nor is there a trace of a settlement made by the English. Maps are of little importance. Those who make them try to push them by inserting novelties, without asking for any reasons. Several London maps say that the county all belonged to France before the English knew of them. (3 and 4.) M. Champlain's protocol shows that he took possession of all this county and made settlements, which the English never did. The French had built a fort on Bourbon river before the English built theirs at Nelson in 1682. The cross alluded to must have been planted by the French, and shews their priority of possession. Names prove nothing. (5.) The English certainly entered Rupert river, but knew it so little that they were guided by two French deserters from the French company. This treachery, of which the French company still complain, does not constitute a title. (6.) We know nothing of this taking possession of 1669. The French right was maintained by the Treaty of Breda in 1667, which (7) is good against the King's Charter of 1670. (8.) Count Frontenac was ordered to abstain from molesting the English, as a Treaty of Commerce was negotiating between the two Crowns. (9 and 10.) The French built a fort close to Nelson on the Bourbon river, and then the English came. The French were obliged to expel them
to maintain their right. The French company still demands satisfaction for the plunder of its forts in 1683 by the treachery of the deserter who guided the English to Rupert river. (11.) The treaty of 1686 is more favourable to the French than the English. But our business is to examine the titles of the rival Companies. |
|
Title of the French Compagnie de la Baye du Nord du Canada. (1.) A commission of King Francis I. dated 1540 to Sieur Robertval to take possession of all the lands discovered by Verpazzano in 1525, and Jacques Cartier in 1534 and 1535. The bay since called Hudson's Bay is included herein. (2.) Letters patent of Henry IV. of 1598 appointing Marquis de la Roche Cottenmal lieutenant of the territory, including the bay. (3.) The deeds of a company of merchants under the name of the Sieur de Caen who actually traded thither till 1627. (4.) Letters patent of Louis XIII. of 29 April 1627 to a new Company, granting them the territory from the Arctic Circle to Florida, and from Newfoundland to the lake called the "fresh sea." (5.) A deed of 20 April 1656 at Quebec, certifying that Jean Bourbon coasted along the territory and claimed possession. (6.) Certificates of M. de la Vallišre and Father Dablons that in 1661 the Indians about Hudson's Bay put themselves under French sovereignty. (7.) A commission of the Governor of New France to Sieur Couture of 10 May 1663, authorizing him to go to Hudson's Bay, and his certificate that he erected a cross and the arms of the King of France. (8.) A deposition in confirmation of those acts of possession. (9.) The King's letters patent of 1663, reuniting those territories to the Crown on the surrender of the Company. (10.) Letters patent of 1664, establishing a new Company. (11.) A deposition of Sieur de St. Lusson of 1671 as to the submission of the Indians of Hudson's Bay to French sovereignty. French. The answers to the English memorial arranged in parallel columns with it. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. XXN., pp. 18–28.]
|
| [June?] |
1,325. Memorial of damages suffered by the Hudson's Bay Company, with the answer of the French Company thereto. For the English memorial(see No. 1,258). Reply of the French. The French Company of Canada can prove that the English had no settlement nor factory in Port Nelson till 1682. In that year the French fitted out two ships at Quebec, which went to the Bourbon river in Hudson's Bay, where they had established a trade with the natives, who helped them to build a fort and factory. Three days after arrived a ship from Boston which was kindly received, and four days later appeared a large ship from London. The Boston men were frightened because they had no commission. The captain of the London ship announced his intention of forming a settlement, to which the French answered by shewing their right to the territory. The controversy was still going on when the English ship parted her cable and was wrecked. The crew saved themselves, and were helped by the French, who gave them a boat and victuals to go whither they would. A party of French was left in the fort to hold the post and keep up the trade, and the rest returned to Quebec with the
Boston ship, which was released, though by law it might have been confiscated. So much for the English claim for damages. The complaint of the disturbance of the English by the French in 1684 has already been dealt with. The two French ships never touched the English fort or buildings, although they had every right to do so, and returned to the river Gargousse, whence, after the winter was over, they returned to Quebec. As to the seizure of a British ship, it cannot have been by Frenchmen, who, on the contrary, were demanding the restoration of munitions of war captured by a British ship. As to the complaints of French aggression in 1686, the Company confesses that, being unable to obtain satisfaction from Lord Preston, the English Ambassador to France, three English forts were taken, together with the merchandise therein, by way of reprisal for English aggression in 1683. We are willing that the damages suffered on both sides shall be adjusted by the Commissioners. The French King has given orders to check irregularities; and it will be well if the English King will do likewise. French. The two memorials in parallel columns. [Col. Entry Bk., Vol. XXV., 29–34.] |
