Charles Town 3rd January 1775.
My Lord,
The practice of getting Titles to Lands from particular Indians for presents or liquor and afterwards settling beyond the established boundary is very common in North Carolina and Virginia from which Provinces great settlements are made by virtue of such Titles. Governor Martin issued a Proclamation ordering all persons so settled to remove, and I have also sent them repeated warnings but without any effect, and I do not learn that there are any Laws of the sd Province for preventing this evil, and that passed in Georgia, provides for the punishment of such persons as shall purchase Lands from the Indians, but makes no provision, against settling beyond the established Boundary Line. Such purchases and settlements in right of them are perpetually productive of discontents in the Indian Nations and if not put a stop to must infallibly embroil us with them; for they do not distinguish such irregularities of the back Inhabitants from Acts of Government, especially as their repeated complaints do not obtain them redress. I submit to your Lordship an extract of a letter from Mr Cameron by which it appears that a number of persons from North Carolina
were in the Cherokee Nation negotiating some such purchase when said letter was written. The example which I made of some offenders by virtue of a particular Law of this Province has effectually prevented any further attempt of that nature by our back settlers but a Law to remedy an evil common to all the Provinces and which endangers the peace of them all is much wanted, which I humbly submit to your Lordship.