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Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
Memorial from the North Carolina Governor's Council and General Assembly concerning military aid from Virginia
North Carolina. Council; North Carolina. General Assembly
1712
Volume 01, Pages 837-838

[B. P. R. O. B. T. Va. 58.]

North Carolina—ss.

To the Honble Alexander Spotswood her Majestys Lieutenant & Governor General of Virginia.

The address of the President and Council, the Speaker and Members of the House of Burgesses of the Government of North Carolina.

The great concern which your Honour has always expressed for this distressed Government lays us under the greatest Obligations imaginable We cannot sufficiently make those suitable Returns of Gratitude to your Honour as are truly due to you for your generous care of us when your friendly mediation to compose the unfortunate differences that lately were among us. But when we were more sensibly afflicted by the inhuman barbaritys of the Indians to divers of the inhabitants of this Government to the almost depopulating a whole County, our whole dependence was on the Relief we expected from your Honr what pains and care your Honr took for us we are not altogether ignorant of And we take this occasion to return to your Honr our hearty thanks for the same. We are very sorry that so generous a design as your Honour had formed in our favour should meet with so much difficulty as to render those endeavours at that time for our safety unsuccessfull.

But we are too deeply affected with the Reasons as not to be sensible that it partly proceeded from the misunderstandings among ourselves or

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the little hopes or encouragement your Government could have in expectation of a people not seeing their own danger, or at least not affected by it.

We should be unjust to ourselves if we did not own that you even sought our safety before we could well ask your assistance and how diffusive afterwards was your care is fully evident from the scheme you laid to work our deliverance.

Our present Circumstances are such at this time as obliges us to be humble sutors to your Honr for an auxiliary Force of 200 men with all the dispatch your Honour can possibly send to our assistance the men of this Government so little inured to arms makes us find the great want of Resolutions in them being either too unwilling or too tender for bold service the inconveniency of which can only be repaired by those succours beg'd of your Honour who live under the happy influences of your administration as well as under the strictness of your good discipline.

The great hopes we promise ourselves from this is the unanimous proceedings of this Assembly which raised £4000 by which not only our men but the succors of our neighbors will be provided for.

It is no little satisfaction to find that people are come to a better understanding or at least to a juster sence of their danger and we could promise ourselves in this juncture of time the assistance we pray for as an encouragement to our Resolutions and as a support in that part we are so defective in for the want of them.

We shall not be wanting in representing to the Lords Proprietors the favours we have received from you in the midst of all our difficultys the readiness you have on all occasions expressed in the taking care of her Majestys subjects which proclaims the great Wisdom of her Majesty in the choice of a person of so high merit and that has rendered himself so universally dear to all his neighbours and especially those of this Government.

THO: SNODEN Speakr
EDWARD HYDE Prest
FRED: JONES
JOHN RET
THO: HARDING
EDWARD SMETHWICK
EDW: MOSELEY
Wm LINTON
JNO: STEPNEY
W. LUFMAN
THO: LUTON
GRAFFENRIED
JNO: BYRD.
N CHEVIN
THO: TAYLOR.
Wm REED
ELAXANDER SPENCE
THO: PETERSON
JOHN HARDY