CONTENTS OF APPENDIX. I. Protest of Proprietors of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, against the Grant to Lord Selkirk,.. II. Lord Selkirk's Advertisement, and Prospectus of III. Admeasurement of the Distance and Stations be- tween York Factory and Lord Selkirk's Colony; V. Questions, and Mr. Gibbs' Opinion, January, 1304, VI. Questions, and Opinion of Sir Arthur Pigott, XII. William Wallace's Affidavit, XIII. Speech of the Grandes Oreilles, a great Chief of the Chipeways, made in the Indian Hall, at the Forks of Red River, 19th June, 1814, XXI. Robert M'Robb's Affidavit, XXII. Robert Cowie's Affidavit, XXIII. Memorial and Petition of M'Tavish, Fraser and Co. and Inglis, Ellice and Co. of London, to the Right Honourable the Earl Bathurst, on their own behalf, and on behalf of other persons XXIV. Letter to Henry Goulburn, Esq. from M'Tavish XXVI. Letter to Henry Goulburn, Esq. from MTavish, Fraser and Co. and Inglis, Ellice and Co. 1st 67 February, 1816, 83 APPENDIX. No. I. Protest of Proprietors of the Hudson's Bay Company, against the Grant to Lord Selkirk. To the Honorable the Governor and Company of Adven turers of England, trading in Hudson's Bay. The Memorial of the undernamed Stockholders and SHEWETH, Your THAT Whereas it appears from the Record of the Proceedings of the said Company at their last Meeting, that it is in contemplation to grant to the Right Hon. the Earl of Selkirk, a certain part of the Territory of the said Company, to him and his heirs for ever in fee simple: Memorialists have taken the same into their most serious consideration, and availing themselves of the limited period allowed by the adjournment of the said Meeting, submit to your Honorable Body, the grounds and reasons upon which they dissent to any such Grant or alienation of the Company's property. 1st, Because, waiving all the arguments which occur to them, proving the impolicy of the said Grant, there does not appear to be any adequate consideration stipulated for, between the said Company and the said Earl. The land proposed to be granted, comprehends a territory of about seventy thousand superficial miles, containing about forty B five millions of acres, of that part of the territory which is most valuable, fit for cultivation, and constitutes no inconsiderable portion of the Company's Capital Stock. 2dly, Because, if it be for the benefit of the said Company, (and there is no evidence of sufficient weight to make it clear to the understandings of your Memorialists), to sell so large and valuable a portion of their Territory, the proper mode of doing so for the interest of the Stockholders, is obviously, that which is usually adopted in the faithful execution of all trusts of a similar nature, namely, to expose it to Public Sale, or at least give such notoriety to the transaction, as to admit of competition between individuals who may be inclined to purchase. The necessity of such a mode in the present case, is placed beyond all dispute by the fact, that a more valuable consideration than that proposed by the said Earl, may now be obtained for the property in question. 3dly, Because it does not appear that the said Earl is bound by the condition of the Grant, in a sufficient penalty, to establish such a Settlement as will produce to the Company any substantial benefits, or to exercise such acts of ownership as may be necessary to the ostensible ob. jects of the Company in making the Grant. In all Grants recently made, of lands by the Crown in British America, provision is made for bona fide Settlements, not a mere nominal provision to give a colourable pretext for the alienation of public property, but such as to secure the actual residence of one person in proportion to twelve hundred acres. And it has been proved by experience, and is clear to the understanding of your Memorialists, that the foregoing regulation adopted by His Majesty's Government, is highly expedient and wise, and was suggested by the evils which had formerly arisen from the possession of a tract of land by one person, who could seldom, even in the vicinity of a populous country, procure a sufficient number of Settlers to satisfy the creditors of the original Grant. If, with all the facilities afforded by a regular and extensive intercourse with Great Britain, it was found impracticable to induce a very considerable number of persons to migrate, how much more insurmountable must be the difficulty of peopling a region two thousand miles from any sea-port, and out of the reach of all those aids and comforts which are derived from Civil Society. 4thly, Because, upon a fair and impartial estimation of the future value and importance of the lands proposed to be granted, and the limited and unproductive consideration to be given by the said Earl, your Memorialists cannot perceive for the said Grant, any other motive than to secure to the posterity of the said Earl, at the expence of the Stockholders of the said Company, an immensely valuable landed estate. 5thly, Because, in the event of a settlement of the said Territory, under the controul of any other power than that of the Company, private traffic would be carried on between the Settlers and the Indians, and clandestinely with Traders from the United States and the Canadas, which no ordinance of the Company would prevent. Besides, it has been found that colonization is at all times unfavourable to the Fur Trade; and it is not very apparent to your Memorialists, that the said Company has full power to exercise a final jurisdiction, since various Acts have been passed in contravention of the powers perhaps intended to be imparted in the Charter, more especially the Act of the 43d of George III. which gives the entire jurisdiction in criminal cases throughout the whole Indian Territory, to His Majesty's Courts of King's Bench, in Upper and Lower Canada. 6thly, Because, under the foregoing circumstances, such a Settlement as that proposed, would, in process of time, erect itself into a distinct interest, adverse to that of the Company, become an asylum for deserters from their service, and eventually render their authority in practice, a mere utility. 7thly, Because, from the situation of the lands proposed to be granted, and their contiguity to the United States, the intercourse will be greater, and the communication more easy between the Frontier Ports of the United States and the Settlement contemplated, than between the said Settlement and Fort Nelson; hence the laws and regulations of the Company will be evaded, and every expectation of revenue defeated it its very principle. 8thly, Because your Memorialists do not perceive, that in making such a Grant according to the terms expressed in the agreement to be entered into, sufficient regard is had to the difficulties in the way of carrying it into effect, or the sacrifices which the Company may be called upon to make. These reasons, and many others, which require more full illustration than the shortness of time between the last and present Meeting would permit, appear to your Memorialists sufficiently cogent to prevent the |