The Derby Mercury from Derby, Derbyshire, England • 1

li 1 teifl. ME RCURY. DERB From FRIDA July 19, to FR1DAY July 26. 1754. Price Tw-hme Small Advertisements for this Paper taken in at 2 s.

61 eaeh Weekty at 2 s. To be paid before publish'd HvMBtR it. SATURDJY't POST. Frm tbi Vf un eh all and General Bvtning Polft 18. PLJNTJTtON NEtTSi BOSTON, April On the id Instant his Exccllency William Shuley, fq; was pleafed to makc the following SPEECH to the Great and General Court or Assembly then sitting herc, viz.

Gentlemen of the Ccuncil, and Haust os Represtntativts, Occafion of my lpeakingto you now, is to acquaint you that I have received a Letter from the Right Hon. the Lords Commissioners for Trade and the Plantations, fignifyingto me, that his Majesty had been pleafed to order a Sum ofMo-ney to be issued for Children, whilst the Men are gone to as the French do. would therefore earnestly recommend to you, Gentlemen ofthe House of Reprefentatives, to make suita able Provision for sending Commiflioners on the Part of this Government to join in the approaching Interview Albany, duly authorrzed to concert such Measures, in Ctinjunctipn with the Government of New-York, and Commiflioners of the before-mentioned Go-vernments, as ihall be judg'd proper to be ertter'd into for cerhenting a firm League of Friendfhip with the Indians of the Six Nations, and retaining them in the Britifh Interest and to give those Commiflioners Power to agree with the other Governments upon the Quota of Money and Men to Ke furnifhed by the Province for this Service. I have taken the Liberty to propose the same Thing to be done by the other Governments concerned in this Interview, in my Letters to his Majesty's Governors, and against the prefent dangerous Enterprizes of the French on every Side of them. I have already let you know, Gentlemen, his Majesty's Orders to me and his other Governors upon this Point, signified to Us in the Earl es Holdernesse's Letter ofthe 28m of August last; and how it is that such an Union sliould be immediately form'd in the common Cause Whoever takes a Survey of ths whole Extent of the Invasions and Incroachmentsi which the French are surrouuding bis Majesty's Territories upon this Continent with, from their mostEastern to their most Western Limits, must soon be convincea Close on the Back of the Settlements of his Majesty's Southern Colonies they are joining Canada to Miffisippi, by a Line of Forts and Settlements along the great Lakes and Rivers, and cutting off all Cornrnerce and Intercourse between the Engliih and the numerous Tribes of Indians inhabiting that Country, who they are attempting so engage In their Interest by all Manner of Hostilities ans Artifices And at the same time they are pufhing on their Encroachments with equa! Vigour quite round his Majesty's Eastern Colonies where they have secured all the Indians in those Parts to join them against the Engliih.

Should the French prevail in the former Part of their Scheine, andain a general Influence and Dominion ovet the Indians behind the Apelahea Mountains, which the must in the ordinary Course of human Events do in a ihort Time, if they are not timely prevented by an Union of his Majesty's Colonies, they will have in 3 few Years a most formidable Army of those Indians at their Command, rnaintained without any Expence to themsclves but, on the other Hand, vith great Prosit anfing from an immense Trade carried on with them And what fatal Cooscquences, such an Army of Warriors a few of which have been found sufficient tO keep a large Frontier in continual Alarm must havi upon all his Majesty's Southern Colonies, by continually harrassing them, at the Direction of the French, and iupported by them from Canada on one Side, and Missifippi on the oiher, and covered in, their Retreat behind the Mountains by a strong Line of Forts, com-manding the Navigation of all the Lakes and Rivers, easy toconeeive; efpecially if the Indians ofthe Six Nations sliould defert our Alliance, and join the French, which must in such Cafe bea decistve Blow to the Britifh Interest on that Part of the Continent. At the same Time, if they are not prevented by a Coalition of the Colonies from sinifhing the which it is most manifest they are forming against' ths Eastern Provinces, and alretidy far advanced in, they must soon have it in their. Power equally to distress them likewife and all the Englifh Colonies will be involved together in one general Flame. It is true, those Co-lohies are uperior to the French in their Nurn-bers and Strength but if that Strength, Gentlemen, is not properjy exerted by an Union among how littlc wjll ic avail It is not dtfficult to imagine sueh a Body of Trooj as the French may soon collect. toMther with the AOM scems to be depended upon the Warriort belonging to those Tribes, may be computed to amount to 16 or 17000 at least; and one, who must be a good Judge of the Strength of the Five Nations themsclves, upon being interrogated by me concerning the Nurriber of their fighting Men, made Answer, thathedidnotknow their Number, but well knew that they are a nume-rous People, a terrible Men, and able to burn all the Indians in Canada.

You must be sensible, Gentlemen, what frequent At-tempts the French have made from Time to Time to draw off the Six Nations from the Englifh Interest into their own and from the repeated Advices we have received from his Majesty's Southern Colonies on this Continent, what Eftorts they have lately exerted to win over their Allies, together with the other nu-merous Tribes inhabiting the vaft Countrics lying along the great Lakes and Rivers, and to the West-ward of the Apalachean Mountains all which may be reckoned to exceed double the Number of the Indians of the Six Nations, and those in their Alliance) as also what Measures the French are taking to exelude the Engliih from all Trado and Cornrnerce with those Indians. To compasi this, they have, in manifest Violationof the aforefaid Treaties, entered the Country of these Indians upon the Back of his Majesty's Southern Colonies, and within the Limits of his Territories, with large Bodtes of Troops, scized the Effects, and capti-vated the Perlons of the Englifh, whom they found trading there abfolutely denied' their Right to traffick with those Nations, and erected a Line of Forts upon the Lakesand Rivers from Canada to Mifsiftppi, to cut off all Cornrnerce and Intercourse between them they have cbmmitted Hostilities against fome of the Tribes in Friendfhip with the Englifh, engaged others to take up the Hatchet against them, and threatened those with Destruction who ihall interfere with their avowed Design to drive the Englifh out of that Country. Should the Indians of the Six Nations, at thiscritical Conjunctme, defert our Alliance, and go over to the French how fatal an Muence must such an Event have upon the Britifh Interest On the other Hand, sliould proper Measures be taken to attach them sinally to it, how greatly would it disappint and check the prescnt Scheines and Enteprizes of our dangerous Neighbours It is well known how wavering the Dispositions of these Indians hath of late been; and how viiibly they have abated their former Enmity to the French and we can't be at a Lofs to discover the real Causes of it. Nothingcouldat this Time so effectually reclaim them to their old Alliance with us as the Measures directed to by their Lordfhips of the Board of Trade one ge-neral League of Friendfhip, comprizing all his Majesty's Colonies, to be made with them in his Majesty's Name with Sthpulations to build such Forts in their Country, as they ihall chuse, and may be judged neces-sary for their Shelter and Protection against the French. Such a Coalttion of the Colonies for their Defence would he a convincing Prooftothem, that they might fasely depend upon bis Majesty for Protection, and con-firm them in their ancient Alliance with the Engliih and how necekary such a Confederacy of the Colonies for their Lafe-Guard is, may appear to you from the following Account, given by an Indian Trader, who for more thau twenty Years had carried on a Trade among the different Nations of the Indians, fome hundred Miles West of Philadelphia, the Truth of which I have great Reason to depend upon, viz.

That at the Commencement of the late War he, with sundry other Traders of the EnZlilh, was taken Pr isoner by fome Frenchmen, belonging to a Fort upon the River Ghio, and from thence was transported from Fort to Fort to Quebeck by Means of which Forts and the Lakes, the French, he seys, have a Communication open frqm Quebeck to Miilisippi; that 'they have Forts there within twenty or thirty Miles distance from each other, with a Command of from ten to twenty Men in each: in which, he says, they put the Squa's and Pappbses of the Indians in Alliance with them, for Protection, whilst the Men go out to War, and there keep them until the Men return; and he oblerves, that by Means these Forts, they bid fair, in a Ihtle Time, toreduce the Indians in Alliance with the Englifh, as the Englifh do not astord the same Protection to their Women and Prefents for the Six Nations of Indians, and to direct the Governor of New-York to hold an Interview with them for delivering those Prefents at such Place and Time as he (hall appoint and I am directed to lay this Matter you, and to recommend to you to makc a proper Provision for appointing Commissionen from this Government to meet Commiflionersof Virginia, Maryland, Penfylvania, New-Jersey, and New-Hampihire, (to the respective Governors of which Co-lonies their havewrote to the same Effect as also for making such Prefents as hath been usual upon the like Occasions. 1 have likewife to acquaint you, that I find, by a Paragraph of their Lordfhips Letter upon this Occasion, to the Governor of New-York, which his Honour Lieutenant Governor De Lancy, Commander in Chics of that Province, communicated to me, that he is tberein directed to take Care that all the Provinces be, if practicable, omprized in one General Treaty, to be made in his Majesty's Name. And that Mr. De Lancy hath given me Notice, that he hath appointed the faid Interview to be held.at the City of Albany, on the 14.tr! of June next. 1 am persuaded, Gentlemen, need not uss Arguments to convinceyou, that it is of very great quence to the Interests of his Majesty's Colonies upon this Continent at all Times, that as many of the Tribes of Indians inhabiting it, as may be those of the Six Nations more efpecially ihould bekept in Friendfliip with the Engliih, and a Dependance upon the Crown of Great Britain and that as free a Cornrnerce and InterCourse should be rnaintained with thern as is possi-ble; but I think itrny Duty, at this Time, to enter into a particular Detail of these Matters.

At the Treaty of Utrecht, which is confirmed by that of Aix-la-Chapelle, these were looked upon to be Points of that Importance to the Britifh Interest in North America, that Care was taken in that Treaty to have the Indians of the Six Nations acknowlcdged by France to besiibject to the Dominion of Great Britain and it is therein exprefly stipulated, that the French (ball give no Hindranceor Molestation, either to them or the other Natives of America, who were Friends to the Englifh It is also stipulated, that the Subjects of both Crowns ikould enjoy Liberty of going or coming upon this Continent on aceduntof Trade and that the Natives of the Countrics upon it ikould with the same Liberty resort, as they please, to the Britifh and French Colonies, for promoting Trade on the one Lide and the other, without any Molestation or Hindrance either on the Part of the Britifh Subjects or the French. 1 With regard to the Indians of the Six Nations in would observe to you, that aecording to an Account given by them in an open Council at Tur-pehawkie, at their Return from the Indian Treaty at Philadelphia in 1 742, of the several Indian Nations which have been conquered by them, and are now in their Alliance, and trade with the Engliih, and. which nee of all the Indians, scatsered throuehout this Con- n. tko i I 2T Miibiu uu unk ui mc x.ngiun orontes, as ths rench Settlements likewife are) when under the Com mand of the Governor General of New France, who upon all Emergencies, can direct their Force as he pleases, may reduce a Number of dikmit! ftoviaecs..