have Written on this Subject It appears to be beyond Controversy That the Company having Settled with the Consent of these Dariens must have the same Right with the same Priviledges and Freedom of Trade which the Dariens had and that both are equally free from all the Spanish Pretensions It is a known Case that an English Man one Sharp having join'd with the Dariens against the Spaniards invaded their Territories he was accused by the Spaniards in England as guilty of Robbery and Piracy but was acquitted because he acted by Commission from one of the Darien Princes which is an undeniable Evidence that this Prince and his Countrey were judged to be independent on the Spaniards The Spaniards may also have wrought Mines of Gold and Silver within the Isthmus but no such possession can support their Complaint The nearest possession of Mines that they can pretend was in Captain Diego's Country on the Gulf of Darien more than 15 Leagues distant from the Company 's Settlement Neither did the Spaniard get these Mines by Conquest or Purchase but by a plain stipulate Permission from Captain Diego and his people which changed not the Property And upon Breach of Conditions the Spaniards were quickly cast out so that when the Company came to settle on the Isthmus it was fully cleared of the Spaniards all their pretences Carthagena Portobello and Panama are adjacent to and do in a manner environ the Isthmus of Darien But that this Vicinity gives to the Spaniards no Claim of Right is evident from many Instances Tangier Cheuta and Mamora ly in the Bosom of the Empire of Moroceo and yet belong to European Princes The English and French have Neighbouring Settlements upon the River Gambo in Africk and all along the Coast of Africk the English and other European Princes have their Settlements intermixed and contiguous where they Trade with all Freedom without any mutual Impeachment The English and French have both Plantations upon the Island of Newfoundland and the Dutch in time of Peace settled upon Long Island and the adjacent Countrey environed on all hands by the English Plantations and yet no War ensued but the Dutch continued their possession till the Exchange was made for Suranam The Spanish Fleets do necessarly pass betwixt the Cape of Florida belonging to the Spaniards and the Bahama Islands yet the English possess themselves of the said Islands and have also several times settled at Port-Royal in the bottom of the Bay of Campiechy in the Gulf of Mexico for cutting of Logwood and have thence removed and settled again at their pleasure The French have also endeavoured to settle in the Bay of Mexico and lately and more closely in the Samblas Islands on the Coast of Darien They likewise settled a Colony in Petitguavis in Hispaniola and in Guiana on the Continent notwithstanding of the Vicinity of the Spaniards The Dutch and Portuguese have their Respective Plantations on the Coast of Brasil to which the Spaniards pretend Right as well as to the Isthmus of Darien such as the Islands of Curasao and Bowane near to Carthagena on the East and Suranam and others upon the Continent and yet never quarrelled It is granted that the Spaniards in their excessive Jealousie and upon the Pretext that by Treaties none were to Trade in their Ports or Harbours such as Carthagena and Porto-bello without their Licence have seized and made prize of the Ships that they have found upon the Coast betwixt the said Places But first they did this upon pretext of the said Treaties Secondly Injury and Violence make no Right And thirdly it is most certain when the Spaniards have been overcomeand beat off in such Attempts and forced to suffer both Dutch and English to cut Logwood on that Coast yet the Spaniards did never complain of any Violation of Right as knowing perfectly they had none as may be seen in Dampier Water and other writers The Spaniards at first endeavoured to amuse the World with the Popes Gift of the West-Indies and after the King of Spain's becoming King of Portugal and in the Right of that Crown claiming the Benefit of the Popes Gift of the East-Indies he assumed the Magnifick Title of Indiarum Rex Yet he was never able to make good his Right or exclude others by these empty Names but in all Competitions the Pretentions of Spain did either resolve in Occupation of what was void or surrendered or conquest of what was possess'd by Natives and that Title was never much regarded either by Spain Portugal or any other Prince Popish or Protestant The second Head which may be pleaded for the Spaniard is the Treaties that have been betwixt the Crowns of England and Spain But 1mo Granting that the Kingdom of Scotland will never disown any Treaty betwixt their King whom GOD long preserve and prosper may be concerned where are these Treaties that exclude either the Scots or English from possessing Darien if not inhabited or where Inhabited with consent of the Inhabitants If the Spaniard propone upon these Treaties they must produce them 2do All to be found in the latter Treaties betwixt the said Crowns such as the Treatie 1667 and the Treatie 1670 which may be understood to be the only Regulating Treaties in this Matter is that in the former The King of Spain obliges himself not to molest the King of England or his Subjects in their Plantations in America these particulars enumerated not by way of Exception but because some of them had been contraverted And that in the other Treaty 1670 It is agreed in the 7th Article That the King of Great Brittain and His Heirs and Successors shall have hold and possess with full Right of Empire Property and Possession all Lands Regions Isles Colonies and Lordships situated in the West-Indies or any part of America which his said Majesty or his Subjects did then hold or possess So that no contraversie on any pretence was thereafter to be moved on that Subject And in the eight Article That the Subjects of the said King should abstain from all Commerce and Navigation in the Ports and Places having Forts Castles or Staples for Merchandise possessed by either of them To wit That the Subjects of Great Brittain should not Trade nor Sail to the Ports nor Places which the King of Spain hath in the VVest-Indies nor the Subjects of the King of Spain Trade nor Sail to the Places which the King of Great Brittain there possesses without Licence given hincinde in the Terms therein set down By which it plainly appears that all agreed to was and is That the Kings and their Subjects respectively should forbear Injuries as likewise to Trade and Navigate without Licence in the Ports Castles and Staples to either of them belonging which can no ways exclude the King of Great Brittain and his Subjects from Trading or making new Plantations in to such Places in America as either are not inhabited or where the King of Spain hath no Right
of Violence and Hostility as if every Settlement in America were an Encroachment upon the Right of Spain There is lately a Memorial offered in behalf of the King of Spain to one of the Secretaries of State of the Kingdom of England to the Effect following My Lord Ambassador of Spain finding himself oblig'd by express Order to represent to His Majesty of Brittain what follows Prays Mr. Vernon to represent to his said Majesty That the King his Master being informed from several parts and last of all by the Governour of Havana of the Insult and Attempt of some Scots Ships equipt with Men and Ammunition necessary who endeavours to post themselves in the Soverign Dominions of His Majesty in America and particularly in the Province of Darien His Majesty received this Information with Dissatisfaction as a Mark of little Amity and a Rupture of the Alliance which is betwixt the two Crowns which His Majesty hath always observed very Religiously and from which so much Advantage and Profit hath resulted both to His Majesty and his Subjects after which good Correspondence His Majesty did not exspect such sudden Attempts Insults from His Majestys Subjects and that in time of Peace without any Pretext or Cause in the most inward part of his Dominions All that the King desires That this be presented to His Majesty of Brittain and that His Majesty is very sensible of such Hostilities and Unjust Procedures against which His Majesty will take such Measures as are convenient London May 3d. 1699. THe Charge is great and if it can be made appear that the King of Spain is Invaded as is pretended it is but Reason there should be just Reparation It must be acknowledged That it is a fair way of dealing that the Spanish Rights and Pretensions are thus asserted by Memorial and an Opportunity afforded and that the whole World may be satisfied that His Sacred Majesty the King of Great Brittain hath granted no Patent to His Subjects in Scotland disagreeable to Treaties with Spain and that the Scots Company have not exceeded the Limits of their Patent to the prejudice of Spain There may be many Reasons offered to satisfy Spain and all other Nations of Europe except the French that if the Scots had not settled in that Isthmus or if they were now to remove from it the same would be possess'd by another People more dangerous to the Interest of Spain and in due time it may be made appear that the Scots Settlement is for the Honour of the King the Interest of England but the present design is only to satisfie the World that the Patent granted by His Majesty was agreeable to the Treaty with Spain and that the Scots Company have not exceeded the Terms of their Patent and that they have Right to what they possess in the Isthmus of Darien according to the Law of Nations and that most part of the Nations in Europe have settled Plantations in the American Islands or Continent upon no other Foundation than the Scots It is the Interest and Policy of all Governments to improve the Natural Product of a Countrey and to encourage Forreign Trade The Experience of all Nations makes appear That nothing contributes so effectually to these ends as Forreign Plantations Scotland is amongst the last of the Nations of Europe in settling Forreign Plantations tho' there be few that can propose more Advantage that way because the Nation affords many Subjects of Manufacture and abounds in Men which is the greatest Riches as well as the Strength of a Nation Yet for want of Forreign Plantations many have been useless and burdensome to their Native Countrey and have been constrained to serve Abroad in Forreign Wars or into Plantations of other Countreys And it is to be observed that wherever they have planted they have encreased and multiplied as particularly in Ireland but no part of the Benefit does accrue to their Native Countrey The Nation has very long desired Forreign Settlements of their own and did make some Attempts that way which proved ineffectual for want of due Encouragement but His Sacred Majesty as Father of his Countrey regarding the Welfare of it did endue the same with suteable Encouragements by the 32d Act Par. 1693. and by the 8th Act Par. 1695. Yet both these Laws were granted with a due regard to all former Planters And did only allow them to plant Colonies build Cities Towns and Forts in Asia Africa and America upon Places not inhabited or in or upon any other Place by Consent of the Natives or Inhabitants thereof and not possessed by any European Sovereign Potentate Prince or State By these Acts of Parliament and Patent conform His Majesty did sufficiently provide that the Possession of no European Prince should be invaded or molested And if Spain be injured the Company must acknowledge that the Injury flows from them by exceeding the Limits of their Patent It remains to be cleared in behalf of the Company that they have strictly observed the Rules prescrib'd by the said Acts and Patent The King of Spain's Title to America by the Pope's Bull is rejected by the common Consent of all the Princes and States in Europe who could not have settled there without Injury to Spain if the Pope's Bull had been a sufficient Title and neither Spain or Portugal hath relyed upon that Title the one having planted in the East-Indies and the other in the West without regard to it And this Title is sufficiently discussed by Grotius in his Mare Liberum Cap. 3. and will never be insisted on any where and least of all in Brittain America being inhabited by Natives before Spain or any European People settled there it is most certain that the Right and Property did originally belong to these Natives because the Earth was created for and freely given by the Creator to the Children of Men and the most Ancient and Uncontraverted Right of Property of the Earth is by Occupation and Possession which is an outward Act of the Body quasi positio pedis and not an inward Act of the Mind which cannot be known to others beside many Mens wills might concur in wishing and liking the same thing but their Bodies cannot concur in possessing it and an outward Act of Possession warns others to abstain The Property that originally belonged to the Natives could only be transferred from them to Spain by Conquest or Consent and Spain can pretend neither of these Titles to the Isthmus where the Scots have settled It is alledg'd for Spain That they do possess the Isthmus of Darien in as far as they are undoubted Masters of the Bay of Panama and the whole Coast of the Isthmus upon the South Sea They have likewise Carthagena and Portobello on the North Sea and they are Masters of the whole Countrey betwixt Carthagena and Portobello and so must be reckoned Possessors of all because Possession doth not require the particular Occupation of every part of a Countrey
but Occupation of one part is a sufficient Act to demonstrate the Will and Intention to possess the whole Pertinents And the Spaniards having possess'd these two Extremes the middle Space belongs to them especially seing they have also settled in other Places betwixt these two as their Conveniency did require tho' they did afterwards quite these Possessions as particularly they once possessed Nombre de Dios and did also plant within the River Darien and tho' they did quite these Possessions they did not relinquish or repudiate their Right but being better informed they choosed more convenient Seats but still reckoned themselves Proprietors of the whole Isthmus and divided the same in several Jurisdictions And the Natives upon that Isthmus were a mean inconsiderable People not to be regarded who could not be thought to retain any Right or Property in Opposition to the Power of Spain They further add That Spain hath been considered as undoubted Proprietors of the Bay of Mexico and of that Isthmus by other Nations in Christendom and most particularly by the English as is well known and will clearly appear in two remarkable Instances Several English Merchants having advanc'd their Stock for settling a Plantation at Port-Royal in the Bottom of the Bay of Campechay for cutting of Logwood they desired the Countenance and Protection of the Government for carrying on this profitable Trade The Case was considered by the Council of England and it was not found just to allow the Protection of the Government but were only left in a Permissive State to manage their Trade upon their Peril The Second Case which comes closer to the present Question was a Proposal by certain English Undertakers to settle in Darien as the Scots have done which being brought to the Council of Trade of England and by them laid before the Lords Justices in His Majesties Absence and transmitted to the King himself Upon a full Consideration of the Case that Project was thought to be an Encroachment upon Spain and let fall The King himself and Council of England being satisfied of the Right of Spain in these particular Cases of English Undertakers the same Judgment ought to follow in relation to the Scots Company To all that is alledged it 's shortly and clearly Answered That Spain hath neither Right by Treaties nor Possession to the Countrey now possess'd by the Scots And 1st Tho' it be acknowledg'd that the Spaniards have more Strength and larger Possessions on the South than upon the North Sea yet no Possession there can be extended to the North-side of the Isthmus being possess'd by a People Independent who never received the Spaniards or became subject to them The Spaniards indeed have made great Settlements upon the South Sea and in so far as they have possess'd have restricted the Natives to narrower Bounds but the Indians still continuing to possess what remains Possession on the Coast or the Mouths of Rivers on the South Sea can never be extended to the North Coast And the Spaniard can condescend upon no Ground in Law or Reason for such an Extension nor can they make appear that what the Scots possess is Part and Pertinent of their Plantation especially considering that the Isthmus of Darien is naturally divided by a Ridge of high Hills running from East to West Neither doth the possession of Carthagena and Porto-bello give Right to the interveening Countrey which is above 80 Leagues or 240 English Miles and these particular Forts as well as the whole Spanish Plantations on the South Sea being fixt without consent of the Natives who continue their Possession in the interveening Countrey without any Subjection to or acknowledgment of the Spaniard It lyes upon the Spaniards to condescend by what Rule the Limits of these Possessions can be so far extended As to what is alledged That the Spaniards have other Plantations nearer to the Scots Settlement from which they removed but still retain Possession and Jurisdiction It is Answered Admitting the matter of Fact as alledged it comes to nothing For still it is to be remembred That the Spaniard will not pretend to have planted with the consent of the Natives Nor that the Darien Indians have ever acknowledg'd Subjection but they planted by Force and Violence And therefore whatever Forts they made in the Isthmus of Darien the moment that these Plantations were left the Right and Possession of the Natives did return It is freely acknowledged That Possession lawfully obtain'd by an outward Act of the Body is retain'd by Acts of the Mind if no other possess but when Possession is taken by way of Fact and not actually detained the Right and Possession returns to the lawful Proprietor 2. This alledged Possession of Nombre de Dios and in the River of Darien is only pretended to have been at their first Settlement in America before they possess'd Carthagena and Porto-bello 3. None of these pretended Settlements are within 20 Leagues of the Scots Colony And tho Spain had yet Plantations there the Limits could as little be extended to 20 Leagues beyond the actual Possession as to a Thousand Neither can the Spaniards prove any Act of Jurisdiction over the Darien Indians whatever Title they may think fit to give to Governours or Vice-Roy's in America the Scots do neither know nor are oblig'd to notice the same If Titles were enough the King of Spain assumes a Glorious Title of Indiarum Rex but he has no more Jurisdiction over the Darien Indians than in the Plantations of any other European Prince As to what is alledg'd upon the Opinions given by the King and Council of England in relation to His Majesty's English Subjects projecting Settlements in America The Circumstances of the Projects and the Motives of any Resolution taken in them are wholly unknown to the Scots and nothing can be founded on such Matters of Fact unless the whole Circumstances were Authentically instructed or acknowledg'd but whatever was thought proper in these Cases nothing can be inferred from thence to determine this A Project is to be regulated either by Law or by Conveniency And it 's very ordinary and suteable That his Majesty and the Government may discourage the Project of an Undertaking if not Convenient tho lawful But when a Project is Undertaken Carried on and a Settlement made in pursuance of express Acts of Parliament and conform to a Patent there 's no more place to Deliberate what is fit but what is Lawful If the whole Circumstances were known many Disparities might also appear and from the bare relation of the Case of the intended Settlement in the Bay of Campechay a manifest Disparity is evident The Bay of Campechay is in the Province of Nicaragua in the Diocess of Chiapo which Province and Bishoprick are part of the Ancient Empire of Mexico which was conquered by Spain By the Conquest of Mexico the King of Spain as Conquerour had Right of Sovereignty as far as the Dominions of Mexico did extend and the
His Majesty doth further Ordain Letters Patent to be expede hereupon containing the whole Premisses under the great Seal of this Kingdom for doing whereof Per Saltum Thir presents shall be sufficient warrand both to the Director and chancellor or Keeper of the Great Seal as use is 〈◊〉 like cases Extracted furth of the Records of Parliament by TARBAT Cls. Regist THE HUMBLE ADDRESS OF THE Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in Parliament Assembled Die Veneris 13. Decembris 1695. WE the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in Parliament Assembled having taken into our Consideration the State of the Trade of this Kingdom Do find That besides many other Disadvantages and Difficulties it now lies under An Act of Parliament that hath lately Received Your Majesty's Royal Assent in Your Kingdom of Scotland for Erecting a Company Trading to Africa and the Indies is likely to bring many great Prejudices and Mischiefs to all Your Majesty's Subjects that are concerned in the Wealth or Trade of this Nation And therefore in all Duty to Your Majesty and the Care we ought to have of this Kingdom We do humbly Represent to Your Majesty that the said Act does provide That all Ships Vessels Merchandize Goods and other Effects whatsoever belonging to that Company shall be free from all manner of Restraints or Prohibitions and of all Customs Taxes Cesses Supplies or other Duties Imposed or to be Imposed by Act of Parliament or otherways for the space of One and Twenty Years And further That the said Company Whole Members Officers Servants or others belonging thereto shall be free both in their Persons Estates and Goods Employed in the said Stock and Trade from all manner of Taxes Cesses Supplies Excises Quartring of Soldiers Transient or Local or Levying of Soldiers or other Impositions during the space of One and Twenty Years By reason of which great Advantages granted to the Scots East-India Company and the Duties and Difficulties that lie upon that Trade in England a great part of the Stock and Shipping of this Nation will be carried thither and by this Means Scotland be made a free Port for all East-India Commodities and consequently those several Places in Europe which were Supplyed from England will be Furnished from thence much Cheaper than can be done by the English And therefore this Nation will lose the Benefit of Supplying Foreign Parts with those Commodities which hath always been a great Article in the Ballance of our Forreign Trade Moreover the said Commodities will unavoidably be brought by the Scots into England by Stealth both by Sea and Land to the vast Prejudice of the English Trade and Navigation and to the great Detriment of Your Majesty in Your Customs And when once that Nation shall have settled themselves in Plantations in America our Commerce in Tobacco Sugar Cotton Wool Skins Masts c. will be utterly lost because the Priviledges of that Nation granted to them by this Act are such That that Kingdom must be the Magazine for all those Commodities and the English Plantations and the Traffick thereof lost to us and Exportation of our own Manufactures Yearly Decreased Besides these and many other Obstructions that this Act will unavoidably bring to the General Trade of this Nation Another Clause in the said Act whereby your Majesty Promises to Interpose your Authority to have Restitution Reparation and Satisfaction made for any Damage that may be done to any of the Ships Goods Merchandize Persons or other Effects whatsoever belonging to the said Company and that upon the Publick Charge Does seem to Engage your Majesty to Employ the Shipping and Strength at Sea of this Nation to Support this New Company to the great Detriment even of this Kingdom All which great Prejudices Inconveniencies and Mischiefs arising by the said Act We in all Duty and Faithfulness lay before Your Majesty MATTH JOHNSON Cleric ' Parliamentor His Majesty's most Gracious Answer I Have been ill served in Scotland but I hope some Remedies may be found to prevent the Inconveniencies which may arise from this Act. A MEMORIAL Given in to the Senate of the City of Hamburgh in French faithfully Translated into English To their Magnificences the Burgo-Masters and to the Gentlemen-Councellors of this City of Hamburgh WE the Subscribers Ministers of His Majesty The King of Great Britain have upon the Arrival of Commissioners from an Indian-Company in SCOTLAND Represented at two several Times to your Magnificences and Lordships from the King our Master That His Majesty understanding that the said Commissioners Endeavoured to open to themselves a Commerce and Trade in these Parts by making some Convention or Treaty with this City had Commanded us most expresly to Notify to your Magnificences and Lordships That if you enter into such Conventions with privat Men His Subjects who have neither Credential Letters nor are any other ways Authorized by His Majesty That His Majesty would Regard such Proceedings as an Affront to His Royal Authority And that He would not fail to Resent it Your Magnificences and Lordships had the Goodness to Answer us thereto by your Deputy that you would no way enter into Commerce with the afore-mentioned Commissioners nor Encourage them in any sort Notwithstanding whereof We the Subscribers do see with Displeasure That without any Regard to the Remonstrances made by us in the Name of His Majesty the Inhabitants of this City forbear not to make Conventions and Treaties with the said Commissioners who dare even Erect a Publick-Office to receive Subscriptions as appears by the annexed Print And it is not very Credible That Strangers could so openly Enterprize Matters of such Importance without being Supported by this Government Wherefore We make our Just Complaints thereof to your Magnificences and Lordships Beseeching you in the Name of the King our Master to remedy in time that which is begun and to do it so Effectually as to prevent any Consequences it may have capable to disturb the Friendship and good Correspondence which we would Cultivat between England and the City of Hamburgh We wait your Magnificences and Lordships Answer in Writing to be transmitted to His Majesty our Master And we are Done at Hamburgh the 7th of April 1697. Your Magnificences and Lordships most humble Servants CRESSET His Britannick Majesties Envoy Extraordinary at the Courts of Lunenburgh and his Plenipotentiary at the Treaty of Pinenberg The Knight RYCAUT Resident for His Majesty the King of Great-Britain in the City of Hamburgh Which Memorial was immediatly transmitted by the Senate to the Commercii or Body of Merchants of that City who happening to be then met in their own Hall did upon Perusal thereof give the following Answer WE look upon it as a very strange thing That the King of Britain should offer to hinder us who are a Free People to Trade with whom we please But are amazed to think That he would hinder us from Joyning with his own Subjects in Scotland
to whom he had lately given such large Priviledges by so Solemn an Act of Parliament Upon Notice of all which the Company 's Deputees went immediatly to the Senate and gave in a short Memorial in French which being faithfully Translated is as followeth Noble and Venerable Lords WE the Subscribers Deputees and Directors of the Indian and African Company of the Kingdom of Scotland Understanding that the Gentlemen His Majesty of Great Britain's Ministers here have presented a Memorial to your Lordships in which they seem to quarrel the Powers which have been granted to us by His Majesty and the Parliament of Scotland to make Treaties of Commerce with any Foreign Potentate Prince or State not in War with His Majesty the King our Soveraign for Enlarging the Trade and for the better Establishment of our said Company We pray your Lordships That you would be pleased to Communicat the said Memorial to us that we may take Measures accordingly Hamburgh the 9th day of April 1697. Your Lordships most humble and obedient Servants Jo. Erskine Jo. Haldan Will. Paterson The Senate thereupon recommended the Deputees above-nam'd to the Commercii in whose Hands the Memorial lay who gave them a Copy thereof Doubles of which were by the said Deputees dispatched to both the Secretaries of State for Scotland and to the Court of Directors of the Company And in the mean time the Merchants to assert their own Freedom and Priviledges Sign'd for considerable Sums in the Company 's Books But with a Condition to be void if the Company did not procure some Declaration from the King that might render them secure from the Threatnings and other Insinuations contain'd in the said Memorial To the Kings most Excellent Majesty The Humble Address of the Council-General of the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies May it please Your Majesty WHereas By the 32d Act of the 4th Session and by the 8th Act of the 5th Session of Your Majesties current Parliament as well as by Your Majesties Patent under the Great Seal of this Kingdom this Company is Established with such Ample Priviledges as were thought most proper for encouraging both Natives and Forreigners to Joyn in the Carrying on Supporting and Advancement of our Trade The most Considerable of the Nobility Gentry Merchants and whole Body of the Royal Burrows have upon the Inducement and Publick Faith of Your Majesties said Acts of Parliament and Letters Patent contributed as Adventurers in raising a far more considerable Joynt-Stock than any was ever before rais'd in this Kingdom for any Publick Undertaking or Project of Trade whatsoever which makes it now of so much the more Universal a Concern to the Nation And for the better Enabling us to Accomplish the Ends of Your Majesties said Acts of Parliament and Letters Patent we have in Pursuance thereunto appointed certain Deputees of our own Number to Transact and Negotiat our necessary Affairs beyond Sea And at the same time to Treat with such Forreigners of any Nation in Amity with Your Majesty as might be inclinable to Joyn with us for the Purposes aforesaid In the Prosecution of which Commission to our said Deputees Vested with full Power and Authority according to Law we are not a little surpriz'd to find to the great Hindrance and Obstruction of our Affairs That Your Majesties Envoy to the Courts of Lunenburgh and Resident at Hamburgh have under Pretence of special Warrant from Your Majesty given in a Joint-Subscribed Memorial to the Senate of Hamburgh expresly Invading the Priviledges granted to our Company by your Majesty's said Acts of Parliament and Letsers Patent as by the herewith transmitted Copy may appear By the which Memorial we sustain great and manifest Prejudices fince both the Senate and Inhabitants of the said City of Hamburgh are thereby contrary to the Law of Nations expresly threatned with your Majesty's high Displeasure if they or either of them should countenance or joyn with us in any Treaty of Trade or Commerce whatsoever which deprives us of the Assistance which we had reason to expect from several Inhabitants of that City For Redress whereof we do in all Duty and Humility Apply to your Majesty not only for the Protection and Mantenance of our Priviledges and Freedom of Trade but also for Reparation of Damnages conform to your Majesty's said Acts of Parliament and Letters Patent And do further beg leave to Represent to your Majesty That tho by the said Act of Parliament and Letters Patent we conceive our selves legally and sufficiently Authorized to Treat even with any Sovereign Potentate or Estate in Amity with your Majesty for the Support and Advancement of our Trade yet we by our said Deputees have only treated with particular and private Merchants of the said City of Hamburgh without ever making any the least Proposal to the Senate thereof And this we humbly conceiv to be the natural Right and Priviledge of all Merchants whatsoever even tho we had wanted the Sanction of so Solemn Laws And without some speedy Redress be had therein not only this Company but also all other individual Merchants of this Kingdom must from hence forward conclude That all our Rights and Freedom of Trade are and may be further by our Neighbours violently wrested out of our Hands We therefore to prevent the further evil Consequences of the said Memorial to our Company in particular do make our most Humble and Earnest Request to your Majesty that you would be Graciously pleased to grant us such Declaration as in your Royal Wisdom you shall think fit to render the Senate and Inhabitants of the said City of Hamburgh and all others that are or may be concern'd secure from the Threatings and other Suggestions contain'd in the said Memorial as well as to render us secure under your Majesty's Protection in the full prosecution of our Trade and free enjoyment of our lawful Rights Priviledges and Immunities contain'd in your Majesty's Acts of Parliament and Letters Patent above-mentioned Signed at Edinburgh the Twenty Eight Day of June 1697 in Name Presence and by Order of the said Council-General by May it please your Majesty Your Majesties most Faithful most Dutiful most Humble and most Obedient Subject and Servant YESTER P. Memorandum That the Council-General of the Company did at the same time come to a Resolution of Representing the Premisses likewise to His Majesties most Honourable Privy Council but were afterwards prevailed upon to supersede that Resolution at the Secretaries of State 's earnest Desire they being both then here and upon their joint Engagement to procure a speedy Answer from his Majesty The King's Answer to the said Address By the Right Honourable John Earl of Tullibardin c. and Sir James Ogilvy Knight Principal Secretaries of State My Lords and Gentlemen WE are impowered by the King to signify unto you That as soon as His Majesty shall Return to England he will take into Consideration what you have Represented unto him
The Spaniard may positively pretend that the Treaties provided to the King of England and his Subjects of certain particular Places and generally what they then possess'd in the West Indies may be construed an Exception and import as it were an Acknowledgement that the rest of the West Indies did belong to the Crown of Spain But 1mo The Places provided to the King of England and his Subjects are only enumerate for the greater Caution and Security because some of them had been taken from the King of Spain and thereupon contraverted And 2do It is evident by the foresaid eight Articles the Reserve of Trade is equally and mutually provided and restricted to the King of Great Brittain and the King of Spain their respective Possessions so that nothing can be elicite from these Treaties to give the King of Spain the Right to the whole West Indies excepting the foresaid places possessed by the King of England nor to ty up the King of Brittain and his Subjects from making new lawful Acquisitions in these Parts But it is agreed to That they should secure the one the other in their respective Possessions And thus these Treaties have been always understood nor have they hindred the English to enlarge their Possessions inthe West Indies upon just Occasions which certainly belongs as much if not more to the Scots 2d MEMORIAL By the same THe Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies having by the other Memorial endeavoured to clear the Justice of their Proceedings as to their Settling a Plantation in the Isthmus of Darien in America do further in all Humility Represent 1mo That there was never any Enterprize of a more National Concern than the foresaid Plantation is to the Kingdom of Scotland the Erecting and Establishing of the said Company was the Unanimous Desire and Satisfaction of the Nation all Persons almost and Families of any Consideration did readily subscribe for and advance considerable Sums for carrying on the Designs of the Company much above what could have been expected The Success the Company hath had in overcoming Difficulties and fixing upon a Place that appears so advantageous to Trade and Commerce hath likewise raised the Expectation and Desire of its Continuance and Prosperity to a far higher Degree than ever was known in any Business of this Nature And Lastly it is most certain That nothing could be more Grievous and Afflicting to the whole Nation without Exception than that this Undertaking so far and so happily advanced should meet with the least Discouragement especially from such whose Countenance and Assistance is so earnestly craved 2do It appears from the whole Circumstances of this Affair That the English Nation can have no Prejudice but rather Advantage by the foresaid Undertaking For First If it shall be profitable the Profit evidently redounds to their Fellow Subjects and good Neighbours Secondly The English have free Access to come in and partake of the Profit when they please Thirdly The Product of the Place is probably like to consist neither of Tobacco nor Suggars the great Commodities of the English Plantations but of such Goods and Commodities as the English do not afford Fourthly It is true That by the Act of Parliament and Patent of the Company all Ships imployed by the Company are to return to the Kingdom of Scotland with their Effects But it is as true That the said Act and Patent did bear the Liberty and Priviledge of a Free Port and Mercat for all Strangers that shall be pleased to Trade with them who are not under the foresaid Obligation but may come and go with their Return whether they please which cannot but be of Advantage to the whole English Plantations as to a Free Course of Trade Fifthly It is likeways granted That by the foresaid Act of Parliament the Ships Goods and Effects whatsoever belonging to the said Company are declared free of all Customs and other Duties for the space of 21 Years but then four of the said Years are already run and this small Encouragement was needful to begin so great a Work whereof probably the Profit can little more than equal the Expenses for all that space And besides the Duties of Tobacco and Sugar not of the Growth of the said Plantation are excepted and not discharged And also it is evident That if the Plantation prosper the foresaid short Discharge of Customs and other Duties will be richly compensed by the great Increase of Trade and consequently of His Majesties Customs that may for thereafter be thence expected And Sixthly The Company and Plantation cannot reasonably threaten any Diminution of His Majesties Customs in England but on the contrary this Plantation promising a new Trade far different from the Trade of all the English Plantations and offering to all the Liberty of a Free Port must rather increase the Trade of England both to the King and Subjects Advantage As for the Objection That the Company by the Immunity they have from Customs and Duties may Import and then as freely Export and so undersell any other Nation during that Immunity It s Answered That the Company in England have almost the same Priviledge since if they please to Export after their Return from the Plantations they are allowed to do it freely with a full Draw-back excepting only 3 or 4 per Cent. 3tio It is with Submission Represented That in all Appearance if the Company of Scotland had not seized the foresaid Post in Darien the French had certainly taken it And now that it is discovered to be so advantageous for Trade it is not to be doubted but that the French who shew such Earnestness to have the Scots excluded will certainly if any such thing should happen possess themselves of it not only to the Hurt of the English Plantations but to the far greater Prejudice if not the Ruin of the Spaniards Interest in the Indies And therefore All things truly and justly considered it is hoped that not only the English will become more and more favourable to so good a Design but that even the Spanish will the more easily acquiesce to Reason and Justice that they see a more Powerful Competitor ready to catch hold of an Advantage that cannot be so safe for them in the Hands of any other Nation as in the Possession of the foresaid Company 3d. MEMORIAL By the same THe Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies being endued with very ample Priviledges hath settled a Colony at Darien a Countrey very fit and proper for that purpose not only for the Richness of the Soil and Mines but likeways by its Situation for Trade The Spaniards have the most considerable Interest and Plantations in America and are not willing that any other Nation or People should have share of the Advantages and Benefits they draw from thence which is not Singular in the present Case because they have ever withstood all Planters either upon the Continent or American Islands by Acts
Right and Possession of the Conquered People may reasonably be reckoned to become the Possession of the Conquerour And therefore a Settlement in Nicaragua or Bay of Campechay might be reckoned a down Right Encroachment upon Spain which cannot be drawn in Consequence to a Settlement upon Darien because the Spaniards can condescend upon no Title or Right beyond their actual Possession for the Dariens were never subdued nor did they ever depend upon Mexico or Peru or any Prince or People subdued by the Spanirds And further whatever be urged from these Cases yet it can be made appear That the Undertaking to settle in Campechay was effectual and the Cart is marked Port-Royal English-Colony and 't is known that the English cutt Logwood at Cape-Catach in Jucatan till the Charge of Carriage render'd it unprofitable and thereafter Settled at Port-Royal for the same Effect where there is plenty of Logwood appropriated to the English It is also acknowledg'd That the Darien-Indians are no powerful People or able by themselves to resist the Impressions of Spain but the point of Right and Property is the same in Rich and Poor Strong and Weak and they might lawfully transfer their Right and assume the Scots or any other Nation to support or maintain the Right and Possession of that Isthmus in as far as it was free from the Spanish Dominions Yet the Dariens were not wholly neglected by the Spaniards as inconsiderable for there have been frequent and almost constant Wars between them and Spain in which the several Captains and Carriques have joyned together and there is a famous Case of Barth Sharp who being accused in England as guilty of Piracy and Robbery committed upon the Indians he defended himself as acting by Commission from Independent Native Indians then at War with Spain and was acquitted The Right of the Scots Colony as flowing from the Native Indians is already sufficiently cleared according to the most Ancient and Authentick Laws of Property acknowledg'd by all Nations And for a further Evidence and Demonstration of what has been asserted and already sufficient-proven the Settlement of the English French Danes Portugueses and Dutch will all be found to be Bottomed on the same Ground The Spanish are the most Ancient Planters and if Spain pretend to any Universal Title either by Occupation of a part or by the Popes Gift or any other Right he thereby excludes the Claim of all Posterior Planters either in the Continent or American Islands which could not be thought to be separate and indifferent Dominions And if Spain recede from any Universal Title to the whole it will not be possible to extend his Claim beyond his proper Possession or the Possessions of these that are Subduced and Conquered by Spain And if this be called in Question it is expected That some other Title will be condescended upon that may clear the Limits and Extent of the Spanish Colonies so as to make a Difference betwixt the Scots Settlement in Darien and the Settlement of other Princes in the American Islands or Continent The Empires of Mexico and Peru are known and may be yielded to Spain but the remainder of that vast Countrey was anciently possess'd by little Princes or rather Captains or Heads of Families or Cariques who have no Dependance upon each other nor upon any Prince or Potentate but by Leagues and Agreement for mutual Defence Thus it is known That the Land of the Amazons was possess'd by the Natives And it is remarkable That upon the Banks of Amazon there are Fifty different Nations So it is in Brasil in Chili Paragua Florida Carolina Virginia and generally over all the Continent as well as in the Islands of America and likewise in Asia and Africa And therefore European Princes have planted promiscuously as they found Conveniency without Injury or Encroachment upon former Planters The English possess the Continent from New-England to Carolina without the Interposition of Colonies belonging to any European Prince yet the Dutch in time of Peace set down upon Long-Island and the Countrey now called New-York betwixt New-England and Pensilvania and continued to possess till the end of the War 1667 At which time New-York was exchanged for Suranam The Spanish Plate-Fleet do necessarly pass betwixt Cape-Florida and the Bahaman-Islands yet the English possess these Islands which the Spaniards did mightily resent and used the English very barbarously upon it yet Spain not being able to justify any unlawful Title the English did maintain their Possession Whatever be alledg'd That the Government did not interpose for establishing a Logwood-Trade yet it 's certain that the English did appropriate the Logwood at Cape-Catch in Jucatan till it was exhausted and they afterwards settled at Port-Royal in the Bay of Campechay for carrying on the same Trade which was never question'd by the Spaniards The French have several times endeavoured to settle in the River de Spiritu Sancto in the Bay of Mexico and also the Samballo-Islands upon the Coast of Darien and have actually settled a Colony in Petit-Guavis in Hispaniola the rest of that Island being possest by the Spaniards The French have also a Settlement in Guiana in the Terra-Firma and several Forts upon the Coast of Caribana and above twelve or thirteen American Islands The Dutch have also the City of Coro in the North of Terra-Firma and Suranam and certain Forts upon the Coast of Guiana and Curasao and several American Islands The Portuguese have the Coast of Brasil divided into many Captainships The Interest of Spain was ever opposit to all these Settlements in America and wherever they were strong enough they attempted to expel the Planters without regard to Peace or War whereof the Scots did formerly feel the Effects in their Plantation at Carolina holden of the Crown of England from whence they were expelled These things were done by way of Fact but it is the first time that ever Spain did openly pretend a Right beyond actual Possession which was never sustained by any European Prince And it is desired and expected that there may be a further Condescendance of the Right and Title of Spain to exclude other Planters by the Consent of the Natives where Spain hath no actual Possession or Exercise of any Jurisdiction It is further alledged for Spain That all the Business in America was settled by the Pacification 1670 betwixt the Kings of Brittain and Spain which did confirm all the Plantations possess'd by English Colonies and left the Remainder of America to Spain and whatever happened before that General Treaty could be no Rule thereafter because there was almost perpetual War with Spain in America which were never settled or composed till the Treaty 1670 which did presuppose and establish the Right of Spain to all that was not possessed by the King of Brittain's Subjects As to the Instance of Sharp it is not denyed that he was acquitted and amongst others did propone that Defence That he Acted by Commission from an
That is only for to beg the Question for the Natives having the Ancient undoubted Right it must be instructed that they became Subjects before they could be Rebels And tho' it be alledged that what was done in Sharp's Case was reckoned a Jest and that he was not acquitted upon that ground as acting by Commission from the Dariens yet the matter of Fact is certain and known and was indeed remarked by all England that Sharp join'd with the Dariens did commit acts of Hostility and carried away great booty from the Spaniards and was pursued for Restitution in England and did propone a Defence That he acted by Commission from an Independent People and was acquitted by a competent Judicature in England These matters of Fact being all acknowledged it must be thought that a Decision in the way of Justice was no Jest but according to the Law of the Nation To Conclude and Sum up the whole Matter The Scots did not move one foot untill they obtain'd two Acts of Parliament and a Patent in their favours These Acts tho' very ample were framed with a just regard to former Planters who by the express Tenor of the said Laws were not to be invaded or molested in their Possession even the just Right and Property of the Infidel Natives was considered and the Undertakers not allowed to dispossess them by Force and Violence but to Plant with their consent Upon the faith of these Laws a greater Stock was advanced in Scotland than ever was raised by any other Nation upon the first project of a Forreign Plantation the Directors of the Company did very narrowly and exactly consider all the Treaties with Spain and pitched upon a place that the whole World considers to be of a great value for founding and raising a profitable Trade to the Honour of the King who as the Father of the Countrey did endue them with ample and just Priviledges to the encrease of the Strength and Riches of the Isle of Brittain which is all under the Government of one Monarch of one Religion and Interest and can have no different Friends or Enemies without endangering the whole In one word The Scots Company have acted deliberatly for advantage to themselves the Nation and the Isle of Brittain they have only used their own Right and have wronged no Nation or People nor exceeded the Limits of their Patent in any circumstance And if any will stand up for the Interest of Spain and call in question the matters of Fact and principles of Law above asserted which are generally known and need not to be confirmed by particular Citations they may assuredly expect that what has been affirmed shall be made further clear and evident beyond contradiction and whatever Obstacles or Difficulties have or may fall in Ardua quae Pulchra the undertaking was deliberate just for the interest of the Nation and with more regard to the Right of former Planters and Natives than any former Project of that Nature Memorandum That about this time it was given out that the Spanish Embassador had presented a Second Memorial concerning the Scots Settlement at Darien and that the French Embassador had likewise given in a Memorial to the Court of England concerning the French Ship which was cast away near Caledonia Harbour But whether so or not the Company could never procure a Copy of either The Council of Caledonia's Address To the King 's most Excellent Majesty Most Gracions Sovereign WE your Loyal and Obedient Subjects the Council of your Colony of Caledonia being settled pursuant to Powers and Immunities proceeding from your Royal Favour and Goodness where upon our arrival the Natives on all hands in complyance with former Agreements received and entertained us with all possible demonstration of joy and satisfaction there being no Possession nor so much as pretended possession for any Prince or State in Europe upon this whole Coast extending it self considerably more than one hundred Leagues together We found the Indians on all sides in open War with the Spaniards their nearest Neighbours Against whom they besought our Assistance which we could by no means comply with by reason of the present Peace and good Understanding between your Majesty and the King of Spain Yet notwithstanding this our just and peaceable deportment and inclination and our certifying the same by Letters to the two neighbouring Governours of Panama and Carthagena We have to our no small surprize received certain Information that several great and warlike Designs and Preparations are on foot and carrying on by the Spaniards against this Colony and that contrary to all Justice and Humanity as well as the Treaties of Peace between your Majesty and the Catholick King they now unjustly detain and refuse to deliver up the Persons and Goods that were saved of a Ship belonging to this Colony called the Dolphin which by misfortune of springing a Leak was not long since oblg'd to run ashore and suffer Shipwreck near the City of Carthagena All which have been no small inducement for us to have improved the frequent opportunities we have had of taking Measures greatly disadvantagious to the Crown of Spain Yet in order to avoid as much as possible any thing that might look like a publick Breach untill the same were laid before your Majesty and your Royal pleasure known therein We have hitherto proceded no further than the granting of Letters of Reprisals for the People and Effects unjustly detained from us Great Sir The Indies as well as Europe do at this time implore your Protection And as the effectual opening the Door of Commerce to the trading World and of more easy access to and correspondence with the ends of the Earth hath been hitherto hidden and reserved by the Divine Hand for one of the singular Glories of your Majesty's Reign So it 's with no small satisfaction to be any way concern'd in so hopeful an Accession to the Dominions and Greatness of your Majesty and Wealth of your People That we presume to lay ourselves our Case and this valuable Opportunity at your Royal Feet most humbly beseeching that as it had its beginning so it may continue to have its Being and Support from the happy Influences of your peculiar Bounty and Grace So with our earnest Prayers to Almighty God for the long and happy preservation of your Royal Person and continuance of your Glorious Reign and most humble tender of our Lives and Fortunes to your Majesty's Service and Disposition We beg leave to Subscribe our selves This Address was delivered to the Secretaries of State about the middle of September together with a Memorial concerning the French Ship commanded by Cap. Duvivier Thomas which was Shipwrack'd near Caledonia Harbour on the 24th of December 1698. Most Gracious Soveraign Your Majesty's most Loyal most Dutiful and most Obedient Subjects and Servants Daniel Mackay Robert Pennicuik William Paterson Colin Campbell Samuel Vetch Charles Forbes Thomas Drummond By the Honourable Sir William Beeston Kt. His Majesty's
and Government the welfare of this Realm both as to its Religious and Civil Interest and to the full quieting the Minds of all your Majesty's good People This Address was presented to His Majesty at Hampton-Court the 16th day of November 1700. By the Right Honourable the Lord Yester Sir John Pringle of Stitchell and Sir Peter Wedderburn of Gosford Baronets Commissioners appointed for that end And upon presenting thereof the Lord Yester in Name of the rest Address'd the King thus Sir We are come here to present an Address to your Majesty Sign'd by a great Number of your Majesty's Loyal Subjects in Scotland who have no other design in it but your Majesty's true Honour and the welfare of their Native Countrey which we desire your Majesty would be pleased to hear read His Majesty after having heard the Address read was Graciously pleased to give the following Answer Gentlemen I Can not take further notice of this Address seing the Parliament is now met and I have made a Declaration of my Mind for the good of my People wherewith I hope all my faithfull Subjects will be satisfied Here I must beg pardon for having omitted the late Address of the House of Lords in England concerning the Endeavours of the Scots for having settled a Colony at Darien and His Majesty's Answer thereunto both which ought according to order of time to have been placed at Page 105 but rather than rob the Reader of having the benefit thereof it was thought fit to insert them here and they are as followeth The Humble Address of the Lords c. presented to His Majesty the 12th day of February 1700. VVE the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament Assembled being according to our duty solicitous for the preservation Encrease of the Trade of this Kingdom on which the Support of your Majesties Greatness and Honour so much depends as well as the Security and Defence of your People have been very apprehensive that the steps lately made towards a Settlement of your Subjects of the Kingdom of Scotland at Darien may tend to the great prejudice of this Nation and possibly to the disturbance of that Peace and good Correspondence with the Crown of Spain which we conceive is very Advantagious to us all We have therefore taken the same into our serious consideration as a matter of the greatest Importance and proper to be laid before your Majesty as the common Father of both Countries And as we are truly sensible of great Losses our Neighbour Kingdom hath sustained both by Men and Treasure in their Expeditions to that place which we very heartily lament so we should not endeavour by any Interposition of Ours to defeat the Hopes they may still entertain of recovering these Losses by their further engaging in that design but that we judge such a Prosecution on their parts must end not only in far greater Disappointments to themselves but at the same time prove very inconvenient to the Trade and quiet of this Kingdom On this occasion we humbly presume to put your Majesty in mind of the Address of both Houses of Parliament presented to your Majesty on the 17th of December 1695. In the close of which Address your Majesty will see the Unanimous Sense of this Kingdom in relation to any Settlement the SCOTS might make in the West-Indies by vertue of an Act of Parliament past about that time in the Kingdom of Scotland which was the occasion of the Address And we humbly represent to your Majesty that having received Information of some Orders your Majesty had sent to the Governours of the Plantations on this Subject the House did on the 18th of January last come this Resolution That your Majesty's pleasure signified to the Governours of the Plantations in Relation to the Scots Settlement at DARIEN was agreeable to the Address of both Houses of Parliament presented to your Majesty on the 17th of December 1695. And on the 18th of this instant February this House came to this further Resolution That the Settlement of the Scots Colony at DARIEN is inconsistent with the good of the Plantation Trade of this Kingdom All which we humbly hope your Majesty will take into your Royal Consideration and we are confident that your Majesty cannot be thought too partial to the Address of this House if your Majesty shall in the first place consider the Advantage and Good of the Trade of this Kingdom by the Preservation and Improvement of which both these Kingdoms and all your other Dominions must on all occasions principally be defended It is remarkable that this Address was carried only by Four or Five Votes and that the House of Commons absolutely refused to concur with it and that about Sixteen Peers entred their Protests against it His Majesties most Gracious Answer to the Address was to this effect Viz. HIS Majesty having received a very dutifull Address from the House of Peers in relation to the Endeavours lately used by some of His Majesties Subjects of the Kingdom of Scotland towards making a Settlement at DARIEN in which they humbly represent to him their Opinion That such a Settlement is inconsistent with the good of the Plantation-Trade of this Kingdom Is pleased to let the House know That he will always have a very great regard to their Opinion And to assure them that he will never be wanting by all proper means to promote the Advantage and Good of the Trade of England At the same time His Majesty is pleased to declare that he cannot but have a great Concern and Tenderness for his Kingdom of Scotland and a desire to advance their Well-fare and Prosperity is very sensibly touched with the loss His Subjects of that Kingdom have sustained by their late unhappy Expeditions in order to a Settlement at DARIEN His Majesty does apprehend that Difficulties may too often arise with respect to the different Interest of Trade between his two Kingdoms unless some way be found out to unite them more nearly and compleatly And therefore His Majesty takes this opportunity of putting the House of Peers in mind of what he recommended to his Parliament soon after his Accession to the Throne That they would consider of an Union between the two Kingdoms His Majesty is of opinion That nothing would more contribute to the security and happiness of both Kingdoms and is inclined to hope that after they have lived near 100 years under the same Head some happy Expediment may be found for making them one people in case a Treaty were set on Foot for that purpose And therefore he does very earnestly recommend this Matter to the Consideration of the House It is likeways remarkable that when the House of Lords fram'd and past a Bill of Union pursuant to His Majesty's said Answer The House of Commons rejected the same from Motives which I shall not presume to mention the same being already very well known to all those who know any thing of that Matter To His
their Settlement in Darien the of May. 1699. p. 41. A Second Memorial by Ditto p. 51 A Third Memorial by Ditto p. 54. A Memorandum concerning the Spanish and French Ambassadours at the Court of England in September 1699. p. 74. The Council of Caledonia's Address to His Majesty delivered to the Secretaries of State the of September 1699. Ibid. A Proclamation by the Governour of Jamaica against the Company and Colony the 8th of April 1699. p. 77. A Proclamation by the Governour of Barbados against Ditto the 13th of April 1699. p 78. A Proclamation by the Governour of New-York against Ditto the 15th of May 1699. p. 79. A Proclamation by Ditto as Governour of New-England against Ditto the 3d. of June 1699. p. 81. A Second Proclamation by the Governour of Barbados against Ditto the 5th of September 1699. p. 83. The Council-General of the Company 's Petition to His Majesty concerning those Proclamations c. the 19th of October 1699. p. 84 His Majesty's Answer The 2d of November 1699. p. 87 The humble Address of the Council-General of the Company to His Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council upon that occasion The 20th of October 1699. p. 88. A Letter from the Council-General of the Company to the Secretaries of State concerning their humble Address to the King with relation to Captain Pinkerton c. the 4th of December 1699. p. 91. The humble Address of the Council-General of the Company to his Majesty concerning Captain Robert Pinkarton c. The 4th of December 1699. p. 92. A Letter from my Lord Chancellor to the Directors of the Company the 4th of January 1700. p. 96 A Letter from the Directors to each of the Secretaries of State the 9th of January 1700. concerning the Lord Chancellours said Letter p. 97. A Letter from the Directors of the Company to Lord Basil Hamilton concerning the Premisses the 9th of January 1700. p. 98. His Majesty's Answer to the Company 's Address by a Letter to His Privy Council of Scotland the 10th of January 1700. p. 100 Another Letter from the Council-General of the Company to Lord Basil Hamilton the 29th of January 1700. p. 102 A Proclamation anent Petitioning The 18th of December 1699. p. 103. The humble Address of the English House of Lords against the Company 's Settling a Colony at Darien presented to His Majesty the 12th of February 1700. p. 138. His Majesty's most gracious Answer to that Address p. 140 The first National Address Petitioning that His Majesty would be graciously pleased to allow the Parliament of Scotland to meet c. presented to His Majesty the 25th of March 1700. p. 105 His Majesty's most Gracious Answer p. 107. The humble Representation and Petition of the Company to His Grace His Majesty's High Commissioner and the Right Honourable Estates of Parliament the 16th of May 1700. p. 108 The humble Address and Petition of the Heretors of the Shire of Haddingtoun presented and read in Parliament the 27th of May 1700. p. 124 The heads of several Addresses from other Shires and Burghs which were likewise read in Parliament at the same time p. 126. An humble Address to His Majesty from the Plurality of the Members of Parliament then present concerning the manner of Adjourning the Parliament presented to His Majesty the 11th of June 1700. p. 127. His Majesty's most Gracious Answer His Majesty's most Gracious Declaration by way of Letter directed to His Grace the King 's High Commissioner and the Privy Council of Scotland Given at Loo the 26th of July 1700 and published after the manner of Proclamations Ibid. The last National Address presented to His Majesty the 16th of November 1700. p. 133 His Majesty's most Gracious Answer p. 137 The humble Representation and Petition of the Council-General of the Company to His Grace His Majesty's High Commissioner and the Right Honourable Estates of Parliament the 28th of October 1700. p. 142. FINIS A CATALOGUE of the several Books and Pamphlets that have been hitherto Published concerning the Indian and African Company of Scotland set down according to Order of time for the Information of the Curious 1. A Letter from a Member of the Parliament of Scotland to his Friend at London shewing the reasonableness of that Act by which the Company is established Printed 1695 2. Some seasonable and modest Thoughts c. humbly offered to R. H. a Member of the House of Commons of England 1696. 3. A Letter from a Gentleman in the Countrey to his Friend at Edinburgh 1696. 4. A Letter from a Merchant in Amsterdam to his Friend at Hamburgh concerning the Designs of the Scot Indian Company 1697. 5. Some Observations on it in a Letter from Hamburgh by way of Answer to it 1697. 6. A Letter from the Commission of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to the Council and Colony of Caledonia 1699. 7. A Defence of the Scots Settlement at Darien c. 1699. 8. A short and impartial view of the manner and occasion of the Scots Colony's coming away from Darien 1699. 9. A Defence of the Scots Abdicating Darien c. Written by Herostratus Junior alias Harris 1700. 10. A just and modest Vindication of the Scots design for the having established a Coloney at Darien c. with a Prefatory confutation of Harris 11. An Enquiry into the Causes of the Miscarriage of the Scots Colony at Darien containing a full Answer to Harris 's Libel 1700. 12. A short Vindication of the Defence of the Scots Abdicating Darien c. 1700. 13. Scotland 's present Duty Or a Call to the Nobility Gentry Ministry c. 1700. 14. Scotland 's Grievances with relation to Darien c. humbly offered to the consideration of the Parliament 1700. 15. A full and exact Collection of all the considerable Addresses Memorials Petitions Answers Proclamations Declarations Letters and other publick Papers relating to the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies since the passing of the Act of Parliament by which it was established in June 1695 till November 1700 ☞ Nota The 4th 9th and 12th Pamphlets of this Catalogue are written against the Company and all the rest for it except the last which consists of a Collection of several publick Papers of different kinds upon the same Subject promiscuously gathered by an impartial hand Contraria juxta se posita clarius elucescunt