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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 Missisippi, and to be divided from Virginia and Carolina by the Great Chain of Mountains, that runs along the Continent from the North-Eastern to the South-Western Parts of America,
THAT humble Application be made to his Majesty for a Charter to erect the said Territory into a seperate 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 Congregation as are willing to go along with them.
THAT every Person from the Age of Fourteen Years and upwards (Slaves excepted) professing the Christian Religion, being Protestant Subjects of the Crown of Great-Britain, and that will remove to said new New Colony with the First Setlers thereof, shall be intitled 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 either for Tillage or Meadow.
THAT every Person under the Age 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 intitled 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 Sterling 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, 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 intitled 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 Foot 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 general 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 Prophaneness, 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 Prophaning the Name of God, of Lying, Drunkenness, or any other of the groser Immoralites, either in their Words or Actions, shall be capable of holding any Office in or under the Government till at last 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 Masshouses, 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 so 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; and that it shall, in all Time coming, be esteem'd as one of the First and Most Essential Duties of the Legislature 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 the Assistance of such as desire to promote that great and good Work.
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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 in..........Persons, Inhabitants of his Majesty's Plantations 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 recieve 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, from Thousands of your good People of America, as we have now to lay before your Majesty, will afford a more solid Satisfaction (at a Time when all your American Dominions are threatned 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 Horror 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 Horror and Detestation at the Prospect of that Slavery to an Arbitrary Prince and Popish Church, which the completion of those Schemes wou'd 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 which if not seasonably prevented would deluge the whole Land in Ruin In such a situation as this, we should think ourselves inexcuseable if we were either insensible of your Majesty's Kindness, or unwilling to contribute our Mite towards repelling the common Danger--Being Bound then by the double Ties of Duty and Gratitude to your Majesty, and by that regard to the Dignity of your Crown, to our Country, our Posterity, and our Holy Religion, that ought to fill the Breasts of every Friend to Liberty and the Protestant Cause, we are now come with the deepest Humility to offer our Service in such a way as we verily believe will (if your Majesty is pleased to accept thereof) Promote the Interests of your Crown and Kingdoms, and contribute to the safety of your American Plantations in the most effectual Manner within the Compass of our Power: The Service that we humbly offer, and of which we Pray your Majesty's Acceptance, is that of laying (as far as in us Lies) a Foundation for preventing the Encroachments of the French, and for extending your Dominions in America, by removing with our Family's, and Fortunes, to the New Colony beyond the Allegheny Mountains, which the Scheme that is now laid at your Majesty's Feet proposes, if it shall be found agreeable to your Royal Pleasure, to order such Settlement, and graciously to grant such Aid to the Design, as will be necessary for carrying it into Execution,--And as the wife and seasonable Measures which your Majesty, at a vast expence, has been pleased to take, for the Security of your American Dominions, affords the most unquestionable Proofs, of your Majesty's Regard for their safety, so we doubt not your Royal Wisdom and Penetration, has discoverd the necessity and importance, of settling strong and numerous Colonies in the Neighbourhood of Ohio, and Missisippi, as well for the securing those important Parts, of your Dominions, as for doing it, in a manner the least Burthensome, and the most Advantageous, to your good Subjects of Great Britain, and America.
OUR most Humble Prayer therefore is, that your Majesty will graciously be pleased, to grant such Countenance and Assistance, to the present Scheme for settling a New Colony, as will be necessary, for the Encouragement of a People, on whose Fidelity, your Majesty may, with the utmost Confidence rely, and who at the same Time, esteem themselves bound by the most sacred and indissoluble Ties, to hand down the Blessings of civil and religious Liberty, inviolate, to their Posterity. And will our gracious Sovereign be pleased to permit us to hope, for that Favour, from his Royal Benignity, which our Zeal for his Service, and our Country's Cause, inclines us to wish.
HAVEING chearfully made a tender of our best Service. What now remains is, to offer up our Humble and Fervent Prayers to Almighty God the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, by whom King's Reign, and Princes Decree Judgment, that he would be pleased to Crown your Majesty's Arms with Success, that your Enemy's may flee away and return no more, that your Majesty's Life, may long be continued a Blessing to your People, and full of Happiness to yourself, that when Death puts a Period to your Reign on Earth, your Majesty may receive a Crown of immortal Glory, and that there never may be wanting one of your illustrious Race, to sway the British Scepter in Righteousness. These then may it please your Majesty, are our Wishes, and these shall be our Prayers.
Dated at Philadelphia,
July 24th, 1755.
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