Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1761-1769. 171

therefore any Settlement hath been made on Lands to which
the Indians have any Pretensions it has not been by Persons
claiming Protection under this Government, and your Lord-
ship may be assured that I shall never countenance the making
any Settlement that can Possibly give the Indians the least
Cause of Offence and if any of the Inhabitants of this Prov-
ince shall injure them in any respect I will endeavour to have
the Offender Punished; but as there are on the Frontiers of

Lib. J. R.

& U. S.

this Province Persons that Support themselves by Hunting
and among them Men of no Character or Principle It will I
am afraid be impossible to prevent such from going and build-
ing Houses or Cabbins beyond the Limits prescribed by the
Royal Proclamation unless the Military to the Westward of
these Provinces are directed to destroy such Houses and other-
wise to punish such Offenders. Should I hear of any Transac-
tion within or in the Neighbourhood of this Province likely to
give the Indians any uneasiness I shall immediately advise
both General Gage and S^r William Johnson thereof, and will
use all means in my Power to prevent the ill Consequences of
such Uneasiness and to preserve Peace and Harmony between
the Neighbouring Indians and his Majesty's Subjects in this
Province.
I am &c.
Annapolis December 1766. Hor^o Sharpe.

At a Council held at the Council Chamber on Tuesday the
9^th December in the Sixteenth year of his Lordship's Do-
minion Anno Domini 1766.

Present
His Excellency Horatio Sharpe Esq^r Governor.

The honble Benjamin Tasker Esq^r Daniel Dulany Esq^r and
John Ridout Esq^r

The following Depositions of Thomas Bowles, John Gary
and Arthur Charlton were taken before this Board.
Thomas Bowles being Examined and Sworn deposeth and
saith that he understood by Report that there was a Meeting
some time in the Month of November of many People at one
of the Dutch Houses in Frederick Town to Sign a Petition to
the Assembly to pass the Journal which was offered to this
Deponent to Sign which this Deponent objected to being
Indecent, (by M^r Tho^s Price) this Deponent further saith that
Cap^t Shelby lodged two or three days in a Private manner at
his House in Frederick Town at one of the Adjourned No-
vember Courts but that he cannot Recollect the Precise time

p. 440