I hope some measures will be taken to divide them, by Marching them under proper Officers to their respective States and there discharged. And as a further security for their good behaviour, it may be proper to retain whatever Monies or Certificates, the Public intend paying them previous to their discharge 'till they have reached the States to which they severally belong.

I am, With every Sentiment of the greatest Respect, Your Excellency's Most Obdt. Servant

His Excellency Govr. Clinton.

John Lamb.

[No. 5039.]

For a National Copyright.

Philadelphia May 6th, 1783

Circular

Sir, I have the honor of inclosing to your Excellency a certified Copy of an Act of Congress of the 2d Instant.*

The universal importance of the Object and the true interests of the United States in general & your State in particular, being so obviously engaged in Support of this recommendation, makes it unnecessary to add, any arguments to inforce the attention of your State to so desirable a Subject.

*BY THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED May 2, 1783. On the report of a Committee to whom were referred sundry papers and memorials on the subject of literary property:

RESOLVED, That it be recommended to the Several States to secure to the authors or publishers of any new books not hitherto printed, being Citizens of the United States, and to their Executors, Administrators and Assigns, the copyright of such books for a certain time not less than fourteen years from the first publication; and to secure to the said Authors, if they shall survive the term first mentioned & to their Executors, Administrators and Assigns, the copyright of such books for another term of time not less than fourteen years: Such copy or exclusive right of printing, publishing and vending the same to be secured to the original Authors or Publishers their Executors Administrators and Assigns by such laws and under restrictions as to the several States may seem proper.

Chas. Thomson, Secy.

I have the Honor to be with much consideration, Your Excellency's Most obedient & Humble Servant

His Excellency

The Governor of the State of New York.

[No. 5041.]

Elias Boudinot.

Governor Clinton to Sir Guy Carleton as to the Withdrawal of the British Troops and the Rights of Ships to Frequent the Waters of New York State.

Tappan, May 7th 1783.

Sir, I lately did myself the Honor to inform your Excellency that by an Act of the Legislature I was authorized with the Concurrence of a Council* to enter into a Convention with the Commander in Chief of the British Troops within this State for the purposes mentioned in an Act a Copy whereof I at the same Time transmitted to Your Excellency.

If I rightly understood what passed at yesterday's Conference†

Under Chapter 28 of the Laws of 1779 was created a council consisting of the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Chancellor, the Judge of the Supreme Court, the representatives in Senate and Assembly, the Secretary of the State, the Attorney General and the judges of the seven counties or any seven of them, who were to govern the southern parts of this State whenever the enemy shall abandon or be dis possessed. March 27, 1783, an act supplementary was passed authorizing the Governor with any seven or more of the persons described in the provisional act, "to make any convention or conventions with the commander in chief of the British force for the speedy obtaining possession of the southern district of this State."STATE HISTORIAN.

May sixth 1783, was held the conference between General Washington and Sir Guy Carleton and is thus reported in Washington's published works:

General Washington opened the Conference by observing that he heretofore had transmitted to Sir Guy Carleton the resolutions of Congress of the 15th ulto, that he conceived a personal Conference would be the most speedy & satisfactory mode of discussing and settling the Business; and that therefore he had requested the Interview That the resolutions of Congress related to three distinct matters, namely, the setting at Liberty the prisoners, the receiving possession of the posts occupied by the British Troops, and the obtaing. the Delivery of all Negroes & other property of the Inhabitants of these States in the possession of the Forces or subjects of, or adherents to his Britannic Majesty.-That with respect to the Liberation of the prisoners, he had, as far as the Business rested with him, put it in Train, by meetg. & conferring with the Secretary at War, & Concertg. with him the proper measures for collecting the prisoners & forwarding them to N. York, and that it was to be optional with Sir Guy, whether the prisoners should march by land, or whether he would send Transports to convey them by Water-and that the Secty. at War was to communicate with Sir Guy Carleton on the subject & obtain his Determination.

With respect to the other two Matters which were the Objects of the Resolution, General Washington requested the Sentiments of General Carleton.

Sir Guy then observed that his Expectations of a peace had been such that he had anticipated the Event by very early commencing his preparations to withdraw the British Troops from this Country-and that every preparation which his situation

Your Excellency is disposed to withdraw, after a certain day to be agreed on between Yourself and General Washington, all the British Troops from the Country of Westchester so that the Jurisdiction of the State might take Place; but your Excellency appeared to decline a Relinquishment of Long Island or other Parts of the State, except with Stipulations.

I am unauthorized to accede to any Stipulations without the

& circumstances would permit was still continued-That an additional Number of Transports, and which were expected, were necessary to remove the Troops & Stores and as it was impossible to ascertain the Time when the Transports would arrive, their passages depending on the casualties of the Seas, he was therefore unable to fix a determinate period within which the British forces would be withdrawn from the City of New York-But that it was his desire to exceed even our own Wishes in this Respect, & That he was using every means in his power to effect with all possible despatch an Evacuation of that & every other post within the United States, ocupied by the British Troops, under his Direction-That he considered as included in the preparations for the final Departure of the B. Troops, the previously sending away those persons, who supposed that, from the part they had taken in the present War, it would be most eligible for them to leave the Country-and that upwards of 6,000 persons of this Character had embarked & sailed and that in this Embarkation a Number of Negroes were comprised-General Washington therefore expressed his Surprize, that after what appeared to him an express Stipulation to the contrary in the Treaty, Negroes the property of the Inhabitants of these States should be sent off.

To which Sir Guy Carleton replied, that he wished to be considered as giving no construction of the Treaty-That by Property in the Treaty might only be intended Property at the Time, the Negroes were sent off That there was a difference in the Mode of Expression in the Treaty; Archives, Papers, &c., &c., were to be restored-Negroes & other property were only not to be destroyed or carried away. But he principally insisted that he conceived it could not have been the Intention of the B. Government by the Treaty of Peace, to reduce themselves to the necessity of violating their faith to the Negroes who came into the British Lines under the proclamation of his Predecessors in Command-That he forebore to express his sentiments on the propriety of those proclamations, but that delivering up the Negroes to their former Masters would be delivering them up some possibly to Execution, and others to severe punishments, which in his Opinion would be a dishonorable violation of the public Faith, pledged to the Negroes in the proclamations-That if the sending off the Negroes should hereafter be declared an Infraction of the Treaty, Compensation must be made by the Crown of G. Britain to the Owners that he had taken measures to provide for this, by directing a Register to be kept of all the Negroes who were sent off, specifying the Name, Age & Occupation of the person, and the Name, & Place of Residence of his former Master. Genl. Washington again observed that he conceived this Conduct on the part of Genl. Carleton, a Departure from both the Letter and the Spirit of the Articles of Peace;and particularly mentioned a difficulty that would arise in compensating the proprietors of Negroes, admitting this infraction of the Treaty can be satisfied by such compensation as Sir Guy had alluded to, as it was impossible to ascertain the Value of the Slaves from any Fact or Circumstance which may appear in the Register, the Value of a Slave consisting chiefly in his Industry and Sobriety-&

Concurrence of the Council I must, therefore, entreat your Excellency to favor me with the Terms on which you are willing to Yield the Jurisdiction of any of the Territory of the State which may still be considered by you as under your Controul and which is not necessary for the Accommodation of the British Army, in Order that I may convene a Council and lay your Propositions before them for their Consideration.

Genl. Washington mentioned a further Difficulty which would attend Identifying the Slave, supposing him to have changed his own and to have given in a wrong Name of his Master. In answer to which Sir Guy Carleton said, that as the negroe was free & secured against his Master, he could have no inducement to conceal his own true Name or that of his Master-Sir Guy Carleton then observed that by the Treaty he was not held to deliver up any property but was only restricted from carrying it away-and therefore admitting the interpretation of the Treaty as given by Genl. Washington to be just, he was notwithstanding pursuing a Measure which would operate most for the security of the proprietors. For if the Negroes were left to themselves without Care or Controul from him, numbers of them would very probably go off, and not return to the parts of the Country from whence they came, or clandestinely get on Board the Transports in such a manner as would not be in his Power to prevent-in either of which cases an inevitable Loss would ensue to the proprietors-But as the Business was now conducted they had a least a Chance for Compensation-Sir Guy concluded the Conversation on this subject by saying that he Imagined that the mode of Compensating as well as the Amount and other points with respect to which there was no provision made in the Treaty, must be adjusted by Commissioners to be hereafter appointed by the two Nations

The subject of withdrawing the British Troops from the Territories of the United States was again resumed, and Sir Guy Carleton declared his willingness, at a short day to be agreed on between him & Genl. Washington, to evacuate all his Posts in West Chester County, and to issue his Orders that the British Troops should not on any pretence, pass the river, which separates that County from the Island of N. York-but with respect to a relinquishment of any part of Long Island, he was apprehensive it would be attended with Difficulties & Inconveniences particularly he was fearful it would tend to favor Desertions from the British Army, and therefore he would give no determinate answer, but he was disposed immediately to abandon Penobscot if General Washington should choose it, tho' he said that would necessarily retard the Evacuation of N. York, as there were not a competent Number of Transports to convey the Troops & Stores from both places at the same Time.

The Conference lasted some Hours but as much passed, which both Generals expressed their wishes might be considered as desultory Conversation, it is not recapitulated in the above Narative which contains only the substance of the Conference as far as it related to the points intended to be discussed & settled at the Interview.

We having been present at the Conference do certify the above to be true.

George Clinton,

Egbert Benson,

Jno, M. Scott,

Jona. Trumbull, Jur.

Writings of Washington, Putnam.

I flatter myself I need not recapitulate the Reasons which evince the Necessity of bringing this Business to a speedy & determinate Conclusion.

There is another Matter which greatly affects the Interest of this State, which I esteem it my duty to represent to your Excellency; some Merchant Vessels bound for this State have actually arrived on the Coast and being prevented passing your Posts have gone into the Port of a neighboring State; and as others may be daily expected, I am to request that all such Merchant Vessels may be permitted to pass the City of New York up the Hudson and that all Vessels outward bound may also be permitted to pass to Sea.

I have the Honor to be with the greatest Respect your Excellency's Most Obed. & Most Hble. Servt.

H

His Excellency, Sir Guy Carleton

Geo. Clinton

[No. 5045.]

President Boudinot Furnishes Governor Clinton the Congressional
Address on the Public Finances.

Circular.

Philadelphia, May 9th 1783.

Sir, I have the Honor of transmitting to Your Excellency (together with the System recommended for the Support of Pub lic credit) the address of Congress to the Several States in the Union, on the important Subject of Public Finance-a Subject in which the well being of the Confederacy is most intimately concurred.

This System has received the most Solemn, deliberate & serious consideration of Congress to which I am instructed, to call the most Speedy Attention of your State.