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First -- The Government of Quebec bounded on the Labrador
Coast by the River St. John, and from thence by a Line drawn from the Head of
that River through the Lake St. John, to the South end of the Lake Nipissing;
from whence the said Line, crossing the River St. Lawrence, and the Lake
Champlain, in 45 Degrees of North Latitude, passes along the High Lands which
divide the Rivers that empty themselves into the said River St. Lawrence from
those which fall into the Sea; and also along the North Coast of the Baye des
Châleurs, and the Coast of the Gulph of St. Lawrence to Cape
Rosières, and from thence crossing the Mouth of the River St. Lawrence
by the West End of the Island of Anticosti, terminates at the aforesaid River
of St. John.
Secondly -- The Government of East Florida, bounded to
the Westward by the Gulph of Mexico and the Apalachicola River; to the
Northward by a Line drawn from that part of the said River where the
Chatahouchee and Flint Rivers meet, to the source of St. Mary's River, and by
the course of the said River to the Atlantic Ocean; and to the Eastward and
Southward by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulph of Florida, including all Islands
within Six Leagues of the Sea Coast.
Thirdly -- The Government of West Florida, bounded to the
Southward by the Gulph of Mexico, including all Islands within Six Leagues of
the Coast; from the River Apalachicola to Lake Pontchartrain; to the Westward
by the said Lake, the Lake Maurepas, and the River Mississippi; to the
Northward by a Line drawn due East from that part of the River Mississippi
which lies in 31 Degrees North Latitude, to the River Apalachicola or
Chatahouchee; and to the Eastward by the said River.
Fourthly -- The Government of Grenada, comprehending the
Island of that name, together with the Grenadines, and the Islands of Dominico,
St. Vincent's and Tobago. And to the end that the open and free Fishery of our
Subjects may be extended to and carried on upon the Coast of Labrador, and the
adjacent Islands. We have thought fit, with the advice of our said Privy
Council to put all that Coast, from the River St. John's to Hudson's Streights,
together with the Islands of Anticosti and Madelaine, and all other smaller
Islands lying upon the said Coast, under the care and Inspection of our
Governor of Newfoundland.
We have also, with the advice of our Privy Council,
thought fit to annex the Islands of St. John's [presently Prince Edward Island]
and Cape Breton, or Isle Royale, with the lesser Islands adjacent thereto, to
our Government of Nova Scotia. We have also, with the advice of our Privy
Council aforesaid, annexed to our Province of Georgia all the Lands Iying
between the Rivers Alatamaha and St. Mary's.
And whereas it will greatly contribute to the speedy
settling of our said new Governments, that our loving Subjects should be
informed of our Paternal care, for the security of the Liberties and Properties
of those who are and shall become Inhabitants thereof, We have thought fit to
publish and declare, by this Our Proclamation, that We have, in the Letters
Patent under our Great Seal of Great Britain, by which the said Governments are
constituted, given express Power and Direction to our Governors of our Said
Colonies respectively, that so soon as the state and circumstances of the said
Colonies will admit thereof, they shall, with the Advice and Consent of the
Members of our Council, summon and call General Assemblies within the said
Governments respectively, in such Manner and Form as is used and directed in
those Colonies and Provinces in America which are under our immediate
Government: And We have also given Power to the said Governors, with the
consent of our Said Councils, and the Representatives of the People so to be
summoned as aforesaid, to make, constitute, and ordain Laws, Statutes, and
Ordinances for the Public Peace, Welfare, and good Government of our said
Colonies, and of the People and Inhabitants thereof, as near as may be
agreeable to the Laws of England, and under such Regulations and Restrictions
as are used in other Colonies; and in the mean Time, and until such Assemblies
can be called as aforesaid, all Persons Inhabiting in or resorting to our Said
Colonies may confide in our Royal Protection for the Enjoyment of the Benefit
of the Laws of our Realm of England; for which Purpose We have given Power
under our Great Seal to the Governors of our said Colonies respectively to
erect and constitute, with the Advice of our said Councils respectively, Courts
of Judicature and public Justice within our Said Colonies for hearing and
determining all Causes, as well Criminal as Civil, according to Law and Equity,
and as near as may be agreeable to the Laws of England, with Liberty to all
Persons who may think themselves aggrieved by the Sentences of such Courts, in
all Civil Cases, to appeal, under the usual Limitations and Restrictions, to Us
in our Privy Council.
We have also thought fit, with the advice of our Privy
Council as aforesaid, to give unto the Governors and Councils of our said Three
new Colonies upon the Continent, full Power and Authority to settle and agree
with the Inhabitants of our said new Colonies or with any other Persons who
shall resort thereto, for such Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments, as are now
or hereafter shall be in our Power to dispose of; and them to grant to any such
Person or Persons upon such Terms, and under such moderate Quit-Rents, Services
and Acknowledgments, as have been appointed and settled in our other Colonies,
and under such other Conditions as shall appear to us to be necessary and
expedient for the Advantage of the Grantees, and the Improvement and settlement
of our said Colonies.
And Whereas, We are desirous, upon all occasions, to
testify our Royal Sense and Approbation of the Conduct and bravery of the
Officers and Soldiers of our Armies, and to reward the same, We do hereby
command and impower our Governors of our said Three new Colonies, and all other
our Governors of our several Provinces on the Continent of North America, to
grant without Fee or Reward, to such reduced Officers as have served in North
America during the late War, and to such Private Soldiers as have been or shall
be disbanded in America, and are actually residing there, and shall personally
apply for the same, the following Quantities of Lands, subject, at the
Expiration of Ten Years, to the same Quit-Rents as other Lands are subject to
in the Province within which they are granted, as also subject to the same
Conditions of Cultivation and Improvement; viz.
- To every Person having the Rank of a Field Officer --
5,000 Acres.
- To every Captain -- 3,000 Acres.
- To every Subaltern or Staff Officer -- 2,000
Acres.
- To every Non-Commission Officer -- 200 Acres.
- To every Private Man -- 50 Acres.
We do likewise authorize and require the Governors and
Commanders in Chief of all our said Colonies upon the Continent of North
America to grant the like Quantities of Land, and upon the same conditions, to
such reduced Officers of our Navy of like Rank as served on board our Ships of
War in North America at the times of the Reduction of Louisbourg and Quebec in
the late War, and who shall personally apply to our respective Governors for
such Grants.
And whereas it is just and reasonable, and essential to
our Interest, and the Security of our Colonies, that the several Nations or
Tribes of Indians with whom We are connected, and who live under our
Protection, should not be molested or disturbed in the Possession of such Parts
of Our Dominions and Territories as, not having been ceded to or purchased by
Us, are reserved to them, or any of them, as their Hunting Grounds -- We do
therefore, with the Advice of our Privy Council, declare it to be our Royal
Will and Pleasure, that no Governor or Commander in Chief in any of our
Colonies of Quebec, East Florida, or West Florida, do presume, upon any
Pretence whatever, to grant Warrants of Survey, or pass any Patents for Lands
beyond the Bounds of their respective Governments, as described in their
Commissions: as also that no Governor or Commander in Chief in any of our other
Colonies or Plantations in America do presume for the present, and until our
further Pleasure be known, to grant Warrants of Survey, or pass Patents for any
Lands beyond the Heads or Sources of any of the Rivers which fall into the
Atlantic Ocean from the West and North West, or upon any Lands whatever, which,
not having been ceded to or purchased by Us as aforesaid, are reserved to the
said Indians, or any of them.
And We do further declare it to be Our Royal Will and
Pleasure, for the present as aforesaid, to reserve under our Sovereignty,
Protection, and Dominion, for the use of the said Indians, all the Lands and
Territories not included within the Limits of Our said Three new Governments,
or within the Limits of the Territory granted to the Hudson's Bay Company, as
also all the Lands and Territories lying to the Westward of the Sources of the
Rivers which fall into the Sea from the West and North West as aforesaid.
And We do hereby strictly forbid, on Pain of our
Displeasure, all our loving Subjects from making any Purchases or Settlements
whatever, or taking Possession of any of the Lands above reserved, without our
especial leave and Licence for that Purpose first obtained.
And We do further strictly enjoin and require all Persons
whatever who have either wilfully or inadvertently seated themselves upon any
Lands within the Countries above described or upon any other Lands which, not
having been ceded to or purchased by Us, are still reserved to the said Indians
as aforesaid, forthwith to remove themselves from such Settlements.
And whereas great Frauds and Abuses have been committed
in purchasing Lands of the Indians, to the great Prejudice of our Interests,
and to the great Dissatisfaction of the said Indians: In order, therefore, to
prevent such Irregularities for the future, and to the end that the Indians may
be convinced of our Justice and determined Resolution to remove all reasonable
Cause of Discontent, We do, with the Advice of our Privy Council strictly
enjoin and require, that no private Person do presume to make any purchase from
the said Indians of any Lands reserved to the said Indians, within those parts
of our Colonies where We have thought proper to allow Settlement: but that, if
at any Time any of the Said Indians should be inclined to dispose of the said
Lands, the same shall be Purchased only for Us, in our Name, at some public
Meeting or Assembly of the said Indians, to be held for that Purpose by the
Governor or Commander in Chief of our Colony respectively within which they
shall lie: and in case they shall lie within the limits of any Proprietary
Government, they shall be purchased only for the Use and in the name of such
Proprietaries, conformable to such Directions and Instructions as We or they
shall think proper to give for that Purpose: And we do, by the Advice of our
Privy Council, declare and enjoin, that the Trade with the said Indians shall
be free and open to all our Subjects whatever, provided that every Person who
may incline to Trade with the said Indians do take out a Licence for carrying
on such Trade from the Governor or Commander in Chief of any of our Colonies
respectively where such Person shall reside, and also give Security to observe
such Regulations as We shall at any Time think fit, by ourselves or by our
Commissaries to be appointed for this Purpose, to direct and appoint for the
Benefit of the said Trade:
And we do hereby authorize, enjoin, and require the
Governors and Commanders in Chief of all our Colonies respectively, as well
those under Our immediate Government as those under the Government and
Direction of Proprietaries, to grant such Licences without Fee or Reward,
taking especial Care to insert therein a Condition, that such Licence shall be
void, and the Security forfeited in case the Person to whom the same is granted
shall refuse or neglect to observe such Regulations as We shall think proper to
prescribe as aforesaid.
And we do further expressly conjoin and require all
Officers whatever, as well Military as those Employed in the Management and
Direction of Indian Affairs, within the Territories reserved as aforesaid for
the use of the said Indians, to seize and apprehend all Persons whatever, who
standing charged with Treason, Misprisions of Treason, Murders, or other
Felonies or Misdemeanors, shall fly from Justice and take Refuge in the said
Territory, and to send them under a proper guard to the Colony where the Crime
was committed, of which they stand accused, in order to take their Trial for
the same.
Given at our Court at St. James's the 7th Day of October
1763, in the Third Year of our Reign.
God Save the King
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