been content; but very lately their wisdom, if not their "fraud," has prevailed over the "ignorance " of Newhampshire; which has fuftained another amputation of its territory, eighty miles in width and two hundred miles in length; viz. all the land between the above mentioned twenty-mile line and Connecticut river. The particulars of this tranfaction are interefting. Benning Wentworth, Efq. Governor of Newhampshire, by order of his prefent Majefty, divided, in 1762, the vast tract of land just mentioned into about 360 townships, fix miles fquare each. These townships he granted to proprietors belonging to the four provinces of New England, one township to fixty proprietors; and took his fees for the fame, according to royal appointment. Every township was, in twelve years time, to have fixty families refiding in it. In 1769 there were fettled on this piece of land 30,000 fouls, at a very great ex pence; pence; and many townships contained 100 families. The New-Yorkers found means to deceive the King, and obtained a decree that the Eaft boundary of New York, after paffing Connecticut and Maffachufets-Bay, fhould be Connecticut river *. This decree annexed to the jurifdiction of New-York the faid 360 townships; but was quietly fubmitted to by the proprietors, fince it was his Majesty's will to put them under the jurif diction of New-York, tho' they found themselves 150 miles farther from their new capital New-York, than they were from Portsmouth, their old one. Had the New-Yorkers refted fatisfied with the jurifdiction, which alone the King *Perhaps their fuccefs was facilitated by the confideration, that the quit-rent payable to the Crown in New-York is 2s. 6d. per 100 acres, but only 9d. in Newhampshire. The fame may be faid, with ftill more reason, in regard to the lands acquired by New-York from Maffachufets-Bay and Connecticut, where the quit-rent is―――nothing. had had given them, they might have enjoyed their acquifition in peace; and New-England would have thought they had poffeffed fome juftice, though deftitute of religious zeal. But the Governor and General Affembly of New York, finding their interest in Old-England ftronger than the intereft of the New-Englanders, determined at once, that, as the King had given them jurifdiction over those 360 townships, he had alfo given them the lands in fee fimple. Sir Henry More, the Governor, therefore, in 1767, began the laudable work of regranting those townships to fuch people as lived in New-York, and were willing to pay him 600l. York currency for his valuable name to each patent. It is remarkable that Sir Harry made every lawyer in the whole province a patentee; but totally forgot the four public lots, viz, that for the Society for the Propagation of the Gofpel, those for the church, the first clergyman, and school school in each township, which had been referved in Governor Wentworth's grants. Death stopped his career; but Colden, the Lieutenant-Governor, filled up the measure of his iniquity, by granting all the reft on the fame conditions. Sir Henry More had taken care to grant to his dear felf one township, settled with above 80 families, before he died. Colden did the fame for himself. The virtuous William Smith, Efq; of New-York, had a township alfo; and Sir Henry More left him his executor to drive off the NewEngland fettlers. This, however, he attempted in vain. The polite New-Yorkers, having the jurisdiction, betook themfelves to law, to get poffeffion of the lands in question, which they called their own; and fent the poffe of Albany to eject the poffeffors; but this mighty power was anfwered by Ethan Allen, and the old proprietors under Governor Wentworth, who was a King's Governor as well as Sir Henry More :---the Mynheers of Albany were glad to have liberty to return home alive. See here the origin of Ethan Allen!-of the Verdmonts, and the Robbers of the Green Mountains; a compliment paid by the New-Yorkers to the fettlers under Governor Wentworth ;who, on that amiable gentleman's death, had no friend of note left in England, and were therefore under the neceflity of defending themselves, or becoming tenants to a set of people who neither feared God nor honoured the King, but when they got fomething by it.-The New-Yorkers had the grace, after this, to outlaw Ethan Allen, which rendered him of confequence in New England; and it would not surprize me to hear that New-York, Albany, and all that the Dutchmen poffefs in houses eaft of Hudson's River, were confumed by fire, and the inhabitants fent to Heaven, in the style of Dr. Mather, by the way of Amfterdam. I must |