The Lower House. 637

Which being read this House Concurrs therewith.
Resolved a Bill be brought in to prevent the Tumultious
meeting of Negroes.
James Bowles Esq from the Upper House delivers M^r
Speaker the following Message Viz :

By the Upper House of Assembly

Octob^r the 9^th 1723.
Gent.

On reading your Message relateing to the report of the
Conferrees that were Appointed to Examine into the Affair
About the Indians Lands we are of Oppinion that the Ex-
ception you make to that part of the report which prohibits
the Selling or Leasing of Those Lands will render any Law

L. H. J.

now to Be made for secureing the Indians rights to their Lands
Insignificant and make their Circumstances worse than they
now are, For wee all know the naturall failing of those people
to be such as that when they are in Drink designing persons
may purchase any thing they have at what rates they please,
some Instances whereof we have allready had, which we
take to be the Chief Occasion of proposeing a Law to be made
relateing to them, and should the Indians be permitted to Sell
and lease all their Lands (which in Little time we have reason
to fear they would) the Consequence would be that the
Country must be at the expence of purchaseing more for
them, or that they must remove further back among Other
nations of Indians and Carry with them their Resentments
against us for haveing deprived them of their Lands here
which would prompt them to Revenge themselves and Induce
Other Nations of Indians to Joyn with them, and might prove
prejudiciall to us and our neighbouring Colonies. As to the
hardships done those persons who have grants for Lands
within the Indians Bounds of an Elder date than the Act of
Assembly which Confirms the Indians Lands to them we
hope the Justice of the Legislature at that time was such that
they would not Deprive any man of his Right or property
without Just Cause and therefore we ought to believe that
Either the proprietors of those Lands had a Compensation
some way or Other made them for their Rights till the same
should revert to them or their Heirs Again by the desertion of
the Indians, or rather that the Indians were Actually resideing
upon those Lands by the Consent of the Government when
they were taken up, and for that reason thought by the Legis-
lature to have a more Equitable Right than those who were
but Intruders on them Besides if the proprietors of those
Lands at the time of makeing the Law, had been able to make

p. 41