71 Declaration and Remonstrance (1764)
To the Honorable John Penn, Esquire, Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania and of the Counties of New-Castle, Kent and Sussex on Delaware; and to the Representatives of the Free-Men of said Province, in Assembly met. We Matthew Smith and James Gibson, on behalf of ourselves and his Majesty’s faithful and loyal subjects, the inhabitants of the frontier counties of Lancaster, York, Cumberland, Berks, and Northampton, humbly beg leave to remonstrate and to lay before you the following grievances which we submit to your wisdom for redress.
1st. We apprehend that as free-men and English subjects, we have an indisputable title to the same privileges and immunities with his Majesty’s other subjects who reside in the interior counties of Philadelphia, Chester, and Bucks and therefore ought not to be excluded from an equal share with them in the very important privilege of legislation. Nevertheless, contrary to the Proprietors Charter and the acknowledged principles of common justice and equity, our five counties are restrained from electing more than ten Representatives while the three counties (and city) of Philadelphia, Chester, and Bucks elect Twenty-six. This we humbly conceive is oppressive, unequal and unjust.
2ndly. We understand that a Bill is now before the House of Assembly wherein it is provided that such persons as shall be charged with killing any Indians in Lancaster County shall not be tried in the county where the fact was committed, but in the counties of Philadelphia, Chester, or Bucks. This is manifestly to deprive British Subjects of their known Privileges. However, we hope that the Legislator of this province will never enact a law of so dangerous a tendency or take away from his Majesty’s good subjects a privilege so long esteemed sacred by English Men.
3rdly. During the late and present Indian Wars, the frontiers of this province have been repeatedly attacked and ravaged by skulking parties of the Indians who have with the most savage cruelty, murdered men, women, and children without distinction and have reduced near a thousand families to the most extreme distress. It grieves us to the very heart to see such of our frontier inhabitants as have escaped from savage fury with the loss of their parents, their children, their husbands, wives, or relatives left destitute by the public and exposed to the most cruel poverty and wretchedness.
And as to the Moravian Indians, there are strong grounds at least to suspect their friendship as it is known that they carried on a correspondence with our enemies on the Great Island. We killed three Indians going from Bethelem to the Great Island with blankets, ammunition, and provisions, which is an undeniable proof that the Moravian Indians were in confederacy with our open enemies. And we cannot but be filled with indignation to hear this action of ours painted in the most odious and detestable colors. As if we had inhumanly murdered our guides who preserved us from perishing in the woods, when we only killed three of our known enemies who attempted to shoot us when we surprised them. And besides all this, we understand that one of these very Indians is proved by the oath of Stenton’s Widow to be the very person that murdered her husband. How then comes it to pass that he alone of all the Moravian Indians should join with the enemy to murder that family? Or can it be supposed that any enemy Indians contrary to their known custom of making war should penetrate into the heart of a settled country to burn, plunder, and murder the inhabitants and not molest any houses on their return? Or how can we account for it that no ravages have been committed in Northampton County since the removal of the Moravian Indians, when the Great Cove has been struck since? These things put it beyond doubt with us that the Indians now at Philadelphia are His Majesty’s perfidious enemies. And therefore to protect and maintain them at the public expense while our suffering brethren on the frontiers are almost destitute of the necessaries of life and are neglected by the public is sufficient to make us mad with rage and tempt us to do what nothing but the most violent necessity can vindicate. We humbly and earnestly pray therefore that these enemies of his Majesty may be removed as soon as possible out of the province.
4thly. We humbly conceive that it is contrary to the maxims of good policy and extremely dangerous to our frontiers to suffer any Indians of what tribe soever to live within the inhabited parts of this province while we are engaged in an Indian war. As experience has taught us that they are all perfidious and their claim to freedom and independency puts it in their power to act as spies, to entertain and give intelligence to our enemies, and to furnish them with provisions and warlike stores. To this fatal intercourse between our pretended friends and open enemies we must ascribe the greatest part of the ravages and murders that have been committed in the course of this and the last Indian war. We therefore pray that this grievance be taken under consideration and remedied.
5th. We cannot help lamenting that no provision has been hitherto made that such of our frontier inhabitants as have been wounded in defense of the province, their lives, and liberties may be taken care of and cured of their wounds at the public expense. We therefore pray that this grievance may be redressed.
6thly. In the late Indian war this province with others of his Majesty’s colonies gave rewards for Indian scalps to encourage the seeking them in their own country, as the most likely means of destroying or reducing them to reason. But no such encouragement has been given in this war, which has damped the spirits of many brave men who are willing to venture their lives in parties against the enemy. We therefore pray that public rewards may be proposed for Indian scalps which may be adequate to the dangers attending enterprises of this nature.
7th. We daily lament that numbers of our nearest and dearest relatives are still in captivity amongst the savage heathen, to be trained up in all their ignorance and barbarity or be tortured to death with all the contrivances of Indian cruelty for attempting to make their escape from bondage. We see they pay no regard to the many solemn promises which they have made to restore our friends who are in bondage amongst them. We therefore earnestly pray that no trade may hereafter be permitted to be carried on with them until our brethren and relatives are brought home to us.
8thly. We complain that a certain Society of People [Quakers] in this province in the late Indian war and at several treaties held by the King’s Representatives openly loaded the Indians with presents and that ____ ____, a leader of the said Society, in defiance of all government not only abetted our Indian enemies but kept up a private intelligence with them and publicly received from them a belt of wampum as if he had been our Governor or authorized by the King to treat with his enemies. By this means the Indians have been taught to despise us as a weak and disunited people and from this fatal source have arose many of our calamities under which we groan. We humbly pray therefore this grievance may be redressed and that no private subject be hereafter permitted to treat with or carry on a Correspondence with our enemies.
9thly. We cannot but observe with sorrow that Fort Augusta which has been very expensive to this province has afforded us but little assistance during this or the last war. The men that were stationed at that place neither helped our distressed inhabitants to save their crops, nor did they attack our enemies in their towns or patrol on our frontiers. We humbly request that proper measures may be taken to make that garrison more serviceable to us in our distress, if it can be done. N.B. We are far from intending any reflection against the commanding officer stationed at Augusta as we presume his conduct was always directed by those from whom he received his orders.
Signed on behalf of ourselves and by appointment of a great number of the frontier inhabitants,
Matthew Smith. James Gibson.
February 13th, 1764.
Source: “Declaration and Remonstrance”, https://archive.org/details/declarationremon00smit/page/10/mode/2up
