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Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
Minutes of the North Carolina Governor's Council
North Carolina. Council
April 22, 1767 - April 24, 1767
Volume 07, Pages 449-454

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[From MS. Records in Office of the Secretary of State.]
COUNCIL JOURNALS.


At a Council held at Wilmington 22d April 1767.
Present
His Excellency the Governor.
The Honble James Hasell Esquire
The Honble John Rutherford Esquire
The Honble Lewis DeRosset Esquire
The Honble John Sampson Esquire
The Honble William Dry Esquire
The Honble Robert Palmer Esquire
and
The Honble Benjamin Heron Esquire

Ordered that a new Commission and Dedimus issue for the County of Bladen, and that Mr Robert Shaw be inserted in his proper place as a Justice of the said County.

Ordered that a New Commission of peace and Dedimus issue for the County of Cumberland, according to the list returned to the Secretarys Office.

Read and passed sundry Warrants from No 542 to 688 inclusive except 564 not passed. Read and passed Sundry Patents from No 1 to No 47 inclusive


At a Council held at Wilmington 23rd April 1767.
Present
His Excellency the Governor.
The Honble John Rutherford Esquire
The Honble Lewis DeRosset Esquire
The Honble John Sampson Esquire
The Honble Robert Palmer Esquire
The Honble William Dry Esquire &
The Honble Benjamin Heron Esquire

His Excellency communicated to this Board a Letter from the Earl of Shelburne his Majestys Principal Secretary of State, dated Whitehall December 11th 1766, Vizt


No 1.

Whitehall 11 Decmr 1766

Sir.

I am to signify to you His Majestys pleasure that you will with as much dispatch as may be, transmit to me for His Majestys information, an exact estimate of the annual charge of maintaining and supporting the entire establishment of His Majestys Colony of North Carolina, distinguishing the different Funds, and the different service to which those Funds are appropriated, You will be very

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particular in specifying what Funds are fixed and regular, from those which are annually granted or which expire in a given time. It is also His Majestys pleasure that you Transmit to me at the same time a full and clear account of the manner of imposing Quit Rents, and of levying them as also the mode of granting Lands in your Colony—specifying the amount of Arrears of Quit Rents and the number of Grants hitherto made, and to whom, how many acres to each, and at what time the grants have been made.

I am with Great Truth and Regard Sir—Your most Obedt Hble Servant

SHELBURNE.

Then His Excellency required that the Secretary, Receiver General and Surveyor General now present, do in their several Departments furnish him with the Requisitions in the said letter directed.

The Secretary laid before his Excellency the inconveniency and irregularity attending his office from being constantly open and for want of proper hours being appointed for their doing business. Ordered, that the Clerks attend in the said Office from nine to Twelve in the morning and from two to five in the afternoon, on which hours the Clerks are Ordered punctually to attend daily Sunday and Holidays excepted.

His Excellency at the request of John Wentworth Esq. laid before this Board his Majestys Commission bearing date the 16th July 1766 appointing him the said John Wentworth Esq. Surveyor General of all and singular His Majestys Woods within all and every His Majestys Colonies and Plantations on the Continent of America &c. Ordered That a proclamation issue, notifying the same, and requiring the aid and assistance of all officers, Civil and Military, to promote and encourage the due execution thereof Vizt


North Carolina—Ss.

By His Excellency William Tryon Esquire &c.

A Proclamation,

Whereas His Majesty hath been pleased to appoint the Honble John Wentworth Esq. Surveyor General of all and singular His Majestys Woods upon the Continent of North America, and as the said John Wentworth Esq. hath applied to me to afford him the aid and Assistance of the Authority of this Province, to enable him to

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carry into Execution the power in the said Commission granted to him,

I do therefore by and with the consent of His Majestys Council require and command all Officers Civil and Military within this Province to be aiding and assisting, and to encourage and promote the said John Wentworth Esq his deputy or deputys in the Execution of the said Commission,

Given under my hand and the Great Seal of the Province &c


At a Council held at Wilmington 24th April 1767.
Present
His Excellency the Governor.
The Honble James Hasell Esquire
The Honble John Rutherfurd Esquire
The Honble Lewis H. DeRosset Esquire
The Honble John Sampson Esquire
The Honble Henry E. McCulloh Esquire
The Honble William Dry Esquire
The Honble Robert Palmer Esquire
The Honble Benjamin Heron Esquire

In consequence of an Order in Council passed at Newbern the 29th day of November 1766, Returns were produced of the Number of white persons settled on the 25th of March 1760 on two Tracts of Land respectively belonging to George Augustus Selwyn Esq. containing 100,000 Acres each and known by the name of the Tracts No 1 and No 3, which Returns being duly made and certified, His Excellency was pleased to Order to be inserted in these Journals as follows (and the Originals to be lodged in the Secretarys Office).


North Carolina.

In pursuance to an order in Council passed at Newbern on the 29th day of November 1766 thereby authorizing and empowering Colo Nathaniel Alexander of Mecklenburgh County and John Frohock of Rowan County to take an Account of the number of white persons settled and resident on a tract of land belonging to George Augustus Selwyn and known by his tract No 1 and to make return thereof &c

“We Nathaniel Alexander and John Frohock do make Oath that we are well acquainted with the said Tract of Land of 100,000 Acres and known by the name of Mr. Selwyns Tract No 1 and the Inhabitants thereon for this many years past, and to the best of our knowledge and from the best information we have received, or could get, there was resident on the said Tract without Fraud, on or about the

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25th day of March 1760 eighteen white persons. In testimony we have hereunto set our hands and seals this 3d day of March.

JOHN FROHOCK [Seal]
NATH ALEXANDER [Seal]
Sworn before me the Subscriber a Justice of the Peace for the County of Mecklenburgh the 3d day of March 1767.
THOS POLK

North Carolina
Mecklenburgh County

We the Subscribers Nathaniel Alexander and John Frohock in pursuance to an order in Council passed by His Excellency the Governor at Newbern the 29th day of November last do hereby certify upon our Oaths, that to the best of our knowledge, and for the best information we could get, there was actually settled and resident without Fraud on a Tract of Land belonging to George Augustus Selwyn lying in Mecklenburgh County containing 100,000 Acres and known by the name of the Tract Number three, Two hundred and forty white persons on or about the 25th day of March 1760, and We further certify that we now are, and have for many years past, been well acquainted with the said Lands and the Settlers thereon. In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals this 27th day of January in the year of our Lord 1767.

NATHANIEL ALEXANDER [Seal]
JOHN FROHOCK [Seal]
Sworn before me this 27th Jan 1767
THOS POLK

The Seventy Seventh Article of his Excellency's Instructions relative to taking possession of the Lands forfeited by Henry E McCulloh Esq and his associates was then read, and also the Opinion of the Attorney General relative to the propriety of the Crown's accepting a surrender of such forfeited Lands from the Grantees which opinion is in the following words,

Sir,

“In obedience to your Excellencys Order in Council, hereto annexed—I have considered the several matters therein mentioned, and have the honor of presenting my opinion thereon. That the surrender may in this Case be properly accepted here.

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“The doubt of surrenders being admissable in America seems to me to exist in those Cases where they are made without any previous direction from the Crown, but in the present Instance by His Majestys express instruction to your Excellency, the Royal Intention is plainly declared that these Lands shall be actually resumed.

“To resume necessarily implies a right of accepting a Surrender, because the Surrender is nothing more than the concurrence of the Grantees to carry the Instruction into Execution, and is the most immediate way of doing it

“The lapse of these Lands is a matter depending on the Number of Settlers, which can in no way be made more evident, than by the admission of the Grantees themselves. The Surrender therefore fortifies the right of the Crown, and is in my opinion, the quickest and most certain way of resuming the land in question”

I have the honor to subscribe myself &c. &c.
MARMADUKE JONES

Wilmington April 15th 1767
To His Excellency William Tryon Esq.

In pursuance of which Henry Eustace McCulloh in behalf of himself and his brother James, and his Sister Penelope McCulloh deceased and as Attorney for Henry McCulloh and George Augustus Selwyn Esquires applied to be admitted to execute deeds of Surrender of the Several large Grants held by them within His Majestys division of this province by patents dated 3d March 1745, With exception of such parts only as they may have deeded or reserved in right of the settlement effected. To which His Excellency by and with the advice and consent of the Council was pleased to give his Assent, and the deeds of surrender were accordingly produced by Mr Attorney General, as prepared and revised by him, and after having been duly read and examined were severally executed in due form of Law, in the presence of his Excellency in Council, by the said Henry E. McCulloh in his own right and as Attorney for the said Henry McCulloh and George Augustus Selwyn as aforesaid.

His Excellency was then pleased to direct that the said deeds of surrender when acknowledged, should be lodged and recorded in the Secretary's Office of this province, and also that Authentic Transcripts thereof should be prepared in order to be transmitted home.

The said Henry Eustace McCulloh afterwards executed a Bond with two Securities in the Sum of ten thousand pounds proclamation

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money conditioned to be subject to the payment of Quit Rents for the Lands so afore surrendered, from the 25th of March 1760, to the date of the surrender, or to perform and fulfil such other order as His Majesty in Council should think proper to make in relation thereto, which Bond was directed to be recorded in the Secretary's Office, and afterwards Lodged with the Receiver General.

The Attorney General was also directed to prepare a deed of Surrender from John Campbell Esqr one of the Associates in Interest with the said Henry McCulloh.

Then the said Henry Eustace McCulloh, represented to His Excellency, that he had received leave of absence for twelve months as collector of port Roanoke from the Honble the Commissioners of His Majestys Customs, by letters dated 18th March 1766, And prayed His Excellencys leave of absence for that Term as a Member of Council—which leave his Excellency was pleased to grant accordingly.