purchase, and North and South on the Colony line, exclusive of the land taken off by the Indians' line as above, or divide the same into two Towns by the Easternmost Branch of said Susquehannah River, and to extend as above described, or in some other way grant relief to your Memorialists, as in your wisdom you shall think best; and your Memorialists as in duty bound shall ever pray.

Dated at New-Haven, October 15, 1774.

ZEBULON BUTLER,
JOSEPH SLUMAN.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY, MAY, 1775.—In the Lower House.

Question put, whether any should be granted, or the above, and resolved in the affirmative.

Question put, whether Jurisdiction should be extended, and resolved in the affirmative.

Question put, whether a County Court, with proper power and jurisdiction, and a Court of Probate be erected, as prayed for, and resolved in the affirmative; and also that a Military Establishment be there made; and Captain Butler is desired to bring in a Bill for said purpose.

RICHARD LAW, Clerk.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY, MAY, 1775.—In the Upper House.

Question put, whether the Bounds of the Town of Westmoreland shall be extended agreeable to the boundaries mentioned in the Memorial for the limits of a County, &c.; Resolved in the affirmative.

Question put, whether a County Court with proper powers, &c., should be erected, &c., and resolved in the negative. And a question put, whether a Court of Probate, with proper powers should be erected &c, and resolved in the affirmative; and resolved, also, that a military establishment be there made, and that a Bill, &c.

GEORGE WYLLYS, Secretary.

Concurred in the Lower House.

RICHARD LAW, Clerk.

In the Lower House, question put, whether the consideration of this Memorial be referred to the General Assembly in May next; resolved in the affirmative.

RICHARD LAW, Clerk.

Concurred in the Upper House.

GEORGE WYLLYS, Secretary.

MEMORIAL OF EBENEZER HAZARD, OF NEW-YORK.

To the Honourable the General Assembly of the Colony of CONNECTICUT, now convened at HARTFORD.

The Memorial of Ebenezer Hazard of the City and Province of New-York Bookseller and Stationer, as well in behalf of himself, as of those who now are, or hereafter may become his associates: Humbly showeth,

That Samuel Hazard late of the City of Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania Merchant, (father of your Memorialist,) actuated by motives truly benevolent, humane, and patriotick, projected a scheme for the settlement of a new Colony to the Westward of the said Province of Pennsylvania;—which Scheme was as follows, viz:

SCHEME for the Settlement of a new Colony to the Westward of PENNSYLVANIA; for the Enlargement of his Majesty's Dominions in AMERICA; for the further Promotion of the Christian Religion among the INDIAN Natives and for the more effectual securing them in his Majesty's Alliance.

That humble application be made either to his Majesty or the General Assembly of Connecticut or to both, as the case may require, for a grant of so much land as shall be necessary for the settlement of an ample Colony, to begin at the distance of one hundred miles Westward of the Western boundaries of Pennsylvania and thence to extend one hundred miles to the Westward of the River Mississippi; and to be divided from Virginia and Carolina by the great chain of mountains that runs along the Continent from the Northeastern to the Southwestern parts of America. That humble application be made to his Majesty for a Charter to erect said Territory into a separate Government, with the same privileges which the Colony of Connecticut enjoys, and for such supplies of arms and ammunition as may be necessary for the safety and defence of the settlers, and that his Majesty would also be pleased to take the said new Colony under his immediate protection.

That application be made to the Assemblies of the several British Colonies in North America to grant such supplies of money and provisions as may enable the settlers to secure the friendship of the Indian Natives, and support themselves and families till they are established in said Colony in peace and safety, and can support themselves by their own industry.

That at least twelve Reverend Ministers of the Gospel be engaged to remove to the said new Colony, with such numbers of their respective congregations as are willing to go along with them.

That every person from the age of fourteen and upward, (slaves excepted,) professing the Christian Religion, being Protestant subjects of the Crown of Great Britain and that will move to said new Colony with the first settlers thereof, shall be entitled to a sufficient quantity of land for a good plantation, without any consideration money, and at the annual rent of a pepper corn; said plantation to contain at least three hundred acres, two hundred acres of which to be such land as is fit for tillage or meadow.

That every person under the ago of fourteen years (slaves excepted) who removes to said Province with the first settlers thereof as well as such children as shall be lawfully born to said first settlers in said Province, or in the way to it, shall be entitled to three hundred acres of land when they come to the age of twenty-one years, without any purchase money, at the annual quit-rent of two shillings for every hundred acres; the quit-rent arising from such lands to be applied to the support of Government, the propagation of the Christian Religion among the Indian Natives, and the relief of the poor, the encouragement of learning, and in general to such other publick uses as shall be judged by the Legislature of the Province to be most conducive to the general good.

That every person who is entitled to any land in the Province shall be at liberty to take it up when they please, but when taken up shall be obliged to clear and fence at least fifteen acres, on every farm of three hundred acres, within five years after the appropriation of said land, and also to build a dwelling house of at least fifteen feet square, with a good chimney, on the premises within the said term, on pain of forfeiting said land. That the said plantations shall be laid out in townships, in such manner as will be most for the safety and convenience of the settlers.

That in order to prevent all jealousies and disputes about the choice of said plantations, they shall be divided by lot.

That as soon as possible, after a sufficient number of persons are engaged, a proper Charter obtained, and the necessary preparations are made for the support and protection of the settlers, a place of rendezvous shall be appointed, where they shall all meet, and from whence they shall proceed in a body to the new Colony; but that no place of rendezvous shall be appointed till at least two thousand persons, able to bear arms, are actually engaged to remove, exclusive of women and children.

That it be established as one of the fundamental laws of the Province, that Protestants of every denomination who profess the Christian Religion; believe the Divine authority of the Sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testament; the doctrine of the Trinity of persons in the Unity of the Godhead, and whose lives and conversations are free from immorality and profancness, shall be equally capable of serving in all posts of honour, trust, or profit, in the Government, notwithstanding the diversity of their religious principles in other respects. But that none of any denomination whatsoever who have been guilty of profaning the name of God of lying, drunkenness, or any other of the grosser immoralities, either in their words or actions, shall bo capable of holding any office in or under the Government, till at least one year after their conviction of such offence. The christianizing the Indian Natives, and bringing them to be good subjects, not only to the Crown of Great Britain but to the King of all Kings, being one of the essential designs of the proposed new Colony, it is a matter of the utmost importance that these poor ignorant Heathen should not be prejudiced against the Christian Religion, by the bad lives of those in authority.

That Protestants of every denomination who profess the Christian Religion, shall have the free and unlimited exercise of their religion, and shall be allowed to defend it, both from the pulpit and the press, so long as they remain peaceable members of civil society, and do not propagate principles inconsistent with the safety of the state.

That no member of the Church of Rome shall be able to hold any lands, or real estate, in the Province, nor be allowed to be owners of, or have any arms or ammunition in their possession, on any pretence whatsoever; nor shall any Mass Houses or Popish Chapels be allowed in the Province.

That no person shall be obliged to pay any thing towards the support of a Minister of whose congregation he is not a member, or to a church to which he does not belong.

That the Indians shall, on all occasions, be treated with the utmost kindness, and every justifiable method taken to gain their friendship; and that whoever injures, cheats, or makes them drunk, shall be punished with peculiar severity.

That as soon as the Province is able to support Missionaries, and proper persons can be found to engage in the affair, a fund shall be settled for the purpose, and Missionaries sent among the neighbouring Indian Nations: that it shall, in all time coming, be esteemed as one of the first and most essential duties of the Legislatures of the Province, by every proper method in their power, to endeavour to spread the light of the glorious Gospel among the Indians in America even to its most Western bounds.

That as the conversion of the Indians is a thing much to be desired, from the weightiest considerations, both of a religious and political nature, and since the Colony, during its infancy, will be unable to provide the necessary funds for that purpose, some proper person or persons shall be sent to Europe duly authorized from the Government, to ask assistance of such as desire to promote that great and good work.

To his Majesty George the Second, by the grace of God of Great Britain France and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, and so forth.

The humble Address of ***** persons Inhabitants of his Majesty's Plantations in NORTH AMERICA.

May it please your Majesty:

We, the subscribers, being of the number of your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, inhabiting the British Plantations in North America beg leave, with the utmost humility, to approach your Majesty's presence, by this token of our duty and regard, which we are encouraged to lay at the feet of our Sovereign, not only from the ideas we entertain of its being at all times agreeable to your Majesty to receive assurances of the loyalty and affection of your good subjects, but also from an apprehension that such proofs of sincere, regard to the substantial interests of your Crown and Kingdoms, and thousands of your good people of America as we have now to lay before your Majesty, will afford a more sold satisfaction (at a time when all your American Dominions are threatened either with present or future ruin) than the most pompous professions of duty and loyalty, unaccompanied with corresponding actions. Emboldened by this confidence, we beg leave to assure your Majesty, that we behold with horrour and indignation the schemes which have long been secretly laid (and which our perfidious neighbours at length are openly executing) for the ruin and destruction of all your Majesty's Dominions in America We are affected with equal horrour and detestation at the prospect of that slavery to an arbitrary Prince and Popish church, which the completion of those schemes would necessarily bring upon us and our posterity; with a proportionable gratitude we behold your Majesty's paternal care in sending fleets and armies for our protection when we are unable to protect ourselves, and when it is out of our power, without such aid, to prevent that misery that seems to be breaking in upon us like a flood, and