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the Legislature of the State of New York, entitled "An act appointing Commissioners with power to declare the consent of the Legislature of this State that a certain territory within the jurisdiction thereof should be formed into a new State," passed the sixth day of March last, do hereby, by virtue of the powers to them granted for the purpose, declare the consent of the Legislature of the State of New York, that the community now actually exercising independent jurisdiction as the State of Vermont, be admitted into the Union of the United States of America, and that immediately from such admission all claim of jurisdiction of the State of New York, within the State of Vermont, shall cease; and thenceforth the perpetual boundary line between the State of New York and the State of Vermont shall be as follows, viz: Beginning at the Northwest corner of the State of Massachusetts; thence, Westward, along the South boundary of the township of Pownall, to the Southwest corner thereof; thence, Northerly, along the Western boundaries of the townships of Pownall, Bennington, Shaftsbury, Arlington, Sandgate, Rupert, Pawlett, Wells, and Paulkney, as the said townships are now held or possessed, to the River commonly called Poultney River; thence, down the same, through the middle of the deepest channel thereof, to East Bay; thence, through the middle of the deepest channel of East Bay, and the waters thereof, to where the same communicate with Lake Champlain; thence, through the middle of the deepest channel of Lake Champlain, to the Eastward of the Islands called the Four Brothers, and the Westward of the Islands called Grand Isle and Long Isle, or the Two Heroes, and to the Westward of the Isle La Motte, to the forty-fifth degree of North latitude. And the said Commissioners do hereby declare the will of the Legislature of the State of New York, that, if the Iegislature of the State of Vermont shall, on or before the first day of January, in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, declare that the State of Vermont shall, on or before the first day of June, in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four, pay to the State of New York the sum of thirty thousand dollars, that immediately from such declaration by the Legislature of the State of Vermont, all rights and titles to lands within the State of Vermont, under grants from the Government of the late Colony of New York, or from the State of New York, except as herein after excepted, shall cease. Or if the Legislature of the State of Vermont shall not elect to make such declaration, then that, except in cases where the grants from New York were intended as confirmations of grants from New Hampshire, all rights and titles under grants from the Government of the late Colony of New York, or from the State of New York, to lands within the State of Vermont, which may have been granted by the Government of the Colony of New Hampshire, shall cease, and the boundaries, according to which such grants from the Government of the late Colony of New Hampshire have been held or possessed, shall be deemed to be the true boundaries. And the said Commissioners do hereby further declare the will of the Legislature of the State of New York, that all rights and title to lands within the State of Vermont, under grants from the Government of the late Colony of New York, or from the State of New York, and not granted by the Government of the late Colony of New Hampshire, shall be suspended until the expiration of three years after the Governor of the State of Vermont, for the time being, shall have been notified that a Commissioner, to be appointed by the State of New York, after the first day of January, in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, and to reside and hold a public office at the City of Albany, shall have entered upon the execution of his office. And if, within one year after such notification, there shall be delivered to such Commissioner, either the original or a certified abstract, containing the date, the names of the grantees, and the boundaries of a grant from New York, and if, thereupon, at any time before the expiration of the said term of three years above mentioned, there shall be paid to such Commissioner, at the rate of ten cents per acre, for the whole or any parcel of the lands contained in such grant from New York, all right and title under such grant, shall, in respect to the lands for which payment shall so be made, cease; and a receipt, under the hand and seal of such Commissioner, specifying the land for which payment shall be made, shall be evidence of the payment; and in default of delivering the original, or such certified abstract of the grant, to the Commissioner, within the said term of one year, for that purpose above limited, all right and title under the grant, in respect to which there shall be such default of delivery, shall cease; but where the original or certified abstract of the grant shall be duly delivered to the Commissioner, and if thereupon payment shall not be duly made to the Commissioner, the right and title under the grant in respect to the lands for which payment shall not be made, shall remain; and suits for the recovery of such lands may be prosecuted in the ordinary course of law, provided the suit be commenced within ten years after the State of Vermont shall have been admitted into the Union of the United States, otherwise the right and title under the grant from New York shall, in such case, also

cease. In testimony whereof the said Commissioners have hereunto set their hands, and affixed their seals, the 7th day of October, in the fifteenth year of the Independence of the United States of America, one thousand seven hundred and ninety.

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"AN ACT directing the payment of thirty thousand dollars to the State of New York, and declaring what shall be the boundary line between the State of Vermont and the State of New York, and declaring certain grants therein mentioned extinguished. Whereas Robert Yates, John Lansing, junior, Gulian Verplanck, Simeon De Witt, Egbert Benson, and Melancton Smith, Esquires, Commissioners appointed by an act of the Legislature of the State of New York, entitled "An act appointing Commissioners with power to declare the consent of the Legislature of the State of New York, that a certain territory within the jurisdiction thereof, should be formed into a new State;" passed the fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety, did, by their certain act, on the seventh day of October instant, at New York, by virtue of the powers to them granted for that purpose, among other things, declare the consent of the Legislature of the State of New York, that the State of Vermont be admitted into the Union of the United States of America, and that, immediately from such admission, all claims of jurisdiction of the State of New York, within the State of Vermont, should cease; and thenceforth the perpetual boundary line between the State of New York and the State of Vermont should be as follows, viz: Begining at the Northwest corner of the State of Massachusetts; thence, Westward, along the south boundary of Pownall, to the Southwest corner thereof; thence, Northerly, along the Western boundaries of the Townships of Pownall, Bennington, Shaftsbury, Arlington, Sandgate, Rupert, Powlett Wells, and Poultney, as the said townships are now held or possessed, to the river commonly called Poultney River; thence, down the same, through the middle of the deepest channel thereof, to East Bay; thence, through the middle of the deepest channel of East Bay, and the waters thereof, to where the same communicate with Lake Champlain; thence, through the middle of the deepest channel of Lake Champlain, to the Eastward of the Islands called the Four Brothers, and the Westward of the Islands called the Grand Isle, and Long Isle, or the Two Heroes, and to the Westward of the Isle La Motte, to the forty-fifth degree of North latitude. And the said Commissioners, by virtue of the powers to them granted, did declare the will of the Legislature of the State of New York, that, if the Legislature of the State of Vermont should, on or before the first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and ninety two, declare that, on or before the first day of June, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four, the said State of Vermont would pay to the State of New York the sum of thirty thousand dollars, that, immediately from such declaration by the Legislature of the State of Vermont, all rights and titles to lands within the State of Vermont, under grants from the Government of the late Colony of New York, or from the State of New York, (except as is therein excepted) should cease:

Wherefore, It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, That the State of Vermont shall, on or before the first day of June, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four, pay the State of New York thirty thousand dollars. And the Treasurer of this State, for and in behalf of this State, and for the purposes mentioned in the act of the Commissioners aforesaid, shall pay to the State of New York the sum of thirty thousand dollars, on or before the first day of June, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four. And

It is hereby further enacted, That the said line, described in the said act of the said Commissioners, shall henceforth be the perpetual boundary line between the State of Vermont and the State of New York. And all grants, charters, or patents, of Land lying within the State of Vermont, made by or under the Government of the late Colony of New York, except such grants, charters, or patents, as were made in confirmation of grants, charters, or patents, made by or under the Government of the late Province or Colony of New Hampshire, are hereby declared null and void, and incapable of being given in evidence in any Court of Law within this State.

STATE OF VERMONT,

SECRETARY'S OFFICE, BENNINGTON, January 21, 1791.

The preceding is a true copy of an act passed by the Legislature of the "State of Vermont, the twenty-eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety.

Attest,

ROSWELL HOPKINS, Secretary of State.

"AN ACT to authorize the People of this State to meet in Convention to deliberate upon, and agree to, the Constitution of the United States.

Whereas, in the opinion of this Legislature, the future interest and welfare of this State render it necessary that the Constitution of the United States of America, as agreed to by the Convention at Philadelphia, on the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, with the several amendments and alterations as the same has been since established by the United States, should be laid before the People of this State for their approbation:

It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, That the first Constable in each Town shall warn the inhabitants who by law are entitled to vote for Representatives in General Assembly, in the same manner as they warn Freemens' meetings, to meet in their respective towns on the first Tuesday of December next, at ten o'clock forenoon, at the several places fixed by law for holding the annual election, and when so met they shall proceed, in the same manner as in the election of Representatives, to choose some suitable person from each town to serve as a Delegate in a State Convention, for the purpose of deliberating upon, and agreeing to, the Constitution of the United States as now established: and the said Constable shall certify to the State Convention the person so chosen in manner aforesaid. And,

It is hereby further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the person so elected to serve in State Convention as aforesaid, do assemble and meet together on the first Thursday of January next, at Bennington, in the County of Bennington, then and there to deliberate upon the aforesaid Constitution of the United States, and, if approved of by them, finally to assent to, and ratify the same, in behalf and on the part of the People of this State, and make report thereof to the Governor of this State, for the time being, to be by him communicated to the President of the United States, and the Legislature of this State.

STATE OF VERMONT,

SECRETARY'S OFFICE, Bennington, January 21, 1791. The preceding is a true copy of an act passed by the Legislature of the State of Vermont, the twenty-seventh day of October, in year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety.

Attest,

ROSWELL HOPKINS, Secretary of State.

"In Convention of the Delegates of the People of the State of Vermont. Whereas by an act of the Commissioners of the State of New York, done at New York, the seventeenth day of October, in the fifteenth year of the Independence of the United States of America, one thousand seven hundred and ninety, every impedi. ment, as well on the part of the State of New York, as on the part of the State of Vermont, to the admission of the State of Vermont into the Union of the United States of America, is removed: In full faith and assurance that the same will stand approved and ratified by Congress:

This Convention, having impartially deliberated upon the Constitution of the United States of America, as now established, submitted to us by an act of the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, passed October twenty-seventh, one thousand seven hundred and ninety, do, in virtue of the power and authority to us given for that purpose, fully and entirely approve of, assent to, and ratify, the said Constitution; and declare that, immediately from and after this State shall be admitted by the Congress into the Union, and to a full participation of the benefits of the Government now enjoyed by the States in the Union, the same shall be binding on us, and the People of the State of Vermont, forever.

Done at Bennington, in the County of Bennington, the tenth day of January, in the fifteenth year of the Independence of the United States of America, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one. In testimony whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names.

THOMAS CHITTENDEN, President_

Signed by one hundred and five members-Dissented four.

Attest,

ROSWELL HOPKINS, Secretary of Convention

STATE OF VERMONT.
SECRETARY'S OFFICE, BENNINGTON, January 21, 1791.

The preceding is a true copy of the original act of the Convention of the State of Vermont. Done at Bennington, the tenth day of January, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one.

Attest,

ROSWELL HOPKINS, Secretary of State.

By his Excellency THOMAS CHITTENDEN, Esquire, Captain General, Governor, and Commander in Chief, in and over the State of Vermont.

This certifies, that Roswell Hopkins, Esquire, is Secretary to the State of Vermont, and that all due faith and credence ought to be given to attestations by him officially

made.

In testimony whereof, we have caused the seal of this State to be affixed, in Council, this twenty-second day of January, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one.

By his Excellency's command.

THOMAS CHITTENDEN. [L. S.]

JOSEPH FAY, Secretary.

"BENNINGTON, January 22, 1791.

SIR: I have the honor to transmit to you copies of two acts of the Legislature of this State; the one directing the payment of thirty thousand dollars to the State of New York, and declaring the boundary line between the State of Vermont, and the State of New York, and extinguishing certain grants therein mentioned; the other, an act authorizing the People of this State to meet in Convention, to deliberate upon, and agree to, the Constitution of the United States; and also a copy of the proceeding of the Convention.

This will be delivered by the Honorable Nathaniel Chipman, and Lewis R. Morris, Esquires, who are appointed Commissioners to apply to the Congress of the United States for the admission of this State into the Union, whom I beg leave to recommend to your favorable notice.

I have the honor to be, with the greatest consideration and respect, sir, your most obedient and very humble servant,

The PREIDENT of the United Seates.

THOMAS CHITTENDEN.

BY HIS EXCELLENCY THOMAS CHITTENDEN, ESQUIRE, Captain General, Governor, and Commander in Chief, in and over the State of Vermont. To the Honorable Nathaniel Chipman, Esquire, and Lewis R. Morris, Esquire, greeting : You being elected, by the Legislature of this State, Commissioners to the Congress of the United States, to apply for the admission of the State of Vermont into the Union, are hereby authorized and empowered to proceed to the Congress of the United States, now in session at the city of Philadelphia, and negotiate on behalf of this State, agreeable to your said appointment.

In testimony whereof, we have caused the Seal of this State to be affixed, in Council, at Bennington, this twenty-fourth day of January, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, and in the fifteenth year of the Independence of this State. THOMAS CHITTENDEN, [L. s.]

By his Excellency's command.

JOSEPH FAY, Secretary.

"The President and Congress of the United States of America: Nathaniel Chipman and Lewis R. Morris, Commissioners, authorized and appointed by the State of Vermont, most respectfully represent, that the citizens of that State having shared, in common with those of the other States, in the hazards and burthens of establishing the American Revolution, have long anxiously desired to be united with them, under the same General Government. They have seen with great satisfaction a new and more perfect union of the People of America; and the unanimity with which they have recently approved the National Constitution, manifests their attachment to it, and the zeal with which they desire to participate its benefits.

Questions of interfering jurisdiction between them and the State of New York have heretofore delayed this application; these points being now happily adjusted, the meVOL. I.-53

morialists, on behalf of their constituents, most respectfully petition, that the Congress will consent to the admission of the State of Vermont, by that name and style, as a new and entire member of the United States.

They have the honor to accompany this memorial with such papers and documents as have relation to the same; and with the highest deference for the wisdom of Congress, the memorialists repeat their solicitations that, during their present session, they would be pleased to adopt such measures as will include within the National Govern ment, a People zealous to support and defend it.

Philadelphia, February 7th, 1791."

NATHANIEL CHIPMAN,
LEWIS R. MORRIS.

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