culty in draining requires a fire engine. The copper mines in Simsbury hills in New-England, about 90 miles N. E. from the copper mine in New-Jerfey, have been neglected for fome years, because they not only dip too quick, and therefore are not easily drained, but also the ore is of a hard nature not eafily fluxed, it is too much intermixed with spar, the veins or loads very uncertain and unequal, and frequently only fhoads or fragments.

In British North-America, hitherto no discovery has been made of tin ores, nor of lapis calaminaris, very little lead ore, and that not good.

All over North-America is much iron ore, both rock and bog ore. Three tun of bog or fwamp ore gives about one tun cast iron ware, which can be afforded cheaper than that which is imported from England or Holland. The bars of bog ore have too much scoria or drofs, and are much inferior to the bars refined from the pigs of rock ore.

In the American rivers there are many cataracts, precipices, pitches, or falls; generally from the river paffing over a ledge or ridge of rocks; that of Niagara, formerly mentioned, between lake Ontario and lake Erie, is the most noted. There are fome cataracts or great falls, not from a precipice of rocks, but from a very narrow pass in a tide river; that near the mouth of St. John's river on the N. W. fide of the bay of Fundy in NovaScotia is the most noted; in this cafe, from the narrownefs of the pass, the water not confined below falls off faster than the water confined above, the water above is not only what the tide of flood brought in, but also the river water damed up.

The higher up a tide river, the duration of flood is lefs, and that of ebb is more; for inftance, in the great river of Canada, or river of St. Laurence, anno 1748, a flag of truce was fent for exchange of prifoners from Boston in New-England to Quebec in Canada; in this great river by order of the general governor of Canada they were stopt at Lifle des Bafques, (5 leagues

U 4

leagues below Tadoufack, and 35 leagues below Quebec) where was good anchorage † in 10 fathom water, the tide flowed hours and ebbed 7 hours.

5

Amongst the many hardships which the first fettlers of new raw colonies and plantations fuffer, one of the most confiderable is, their fitting down in wilderness, foreft, or wood lands; where by the exhalations from the trees, there is a continual damp, which does not continuedly difperfe, but hovers about, and may be faid in some respect to ftagnate and putrify, and confequently produce in thefe human bodies many kinds of putrid diforders, fuch as putrid lingring fevers, putrid dyfentéries, all forts of fcorbutick complaints, and the like diftemperatures. The damp or vapour from wood lands, is much more confiderable than from the fame lands when cleared of trees and fhrubs. It is notorious in these countries, that many ftreams of water which in the beginning came from wood lands, and carried grift mills and faw mills; when these lands were cleared of wood, their streams vanished and became dry, the mills ceased, and in fome parts the cattle could not be conveniently watered. In the philofophical tranfactions of the royal fociety in London, we find many obfervations and experiments made relating to this fubject; for inftance, two veffels containing each a certain equal quantity of water, in one of these veffels were fet fome living plants, after a certain space of time, the veffel containing water with plants did evaporate much more of the water, than the veffel of water only.

+ The French by their reprefentations of the difficult and dangerous navigation of this river, endeavour to intimidate all other nations from attempting the river; but now we find that it is fafely practicable.

SECT.

SECTION XIV.

Concerning the PROVINCE of

PENSY

P E N S Y L V A N I A, LVANI

WE

And its TERRITORIES.

E have already deduced these settlements from their firft European discoveries, and from their tranfition by the name of New-Netherlands under the Dutch, to the duke of York's property by patents from the crown of England.

This province and territories are by three distinct grants. 1. The province of Penfylvania by patent from K. Charles II. dated March 4, 1680-1. 2. The duke of York, 1683, Auguft 24, fold to William Penn the elder, his heirs and affigns, the town of Newcastle alias Delaware, and a diftrict of 12 miles round Newcastle. 3. Duke of York by another deed of fale Auguft 24, 1683, made over to faid William Penn, his heirs and affigns, that tract of land from twelve miles fouth of Newcastle, to the Whore-Kills, otherwife called CapeHenlopen, divided into the two counties of Kent and Suffex; which with Newcastle diftrict, are commonly known by the name of the three lower counties upon Delaware river.

As the three lower counties or territories are by distinct deeds or grants from that of the royal grant of the province of Penfylvania, when it was by the proprietary left to their option to be united with the jurifdiction of the province of Penfylvania, or to continue a feparate jurifdiction; they chose to be a feparate jurifdiction, and

not

not to be as it were annihilated by a prevailing jurifdic tion thus they continue at prefent two diftinct legislatures, governments, or jurifdictions, under the direction of one and the fame governor; but their municipal laws and regulations are nearly the fame.

K. CHARLES IId's patent of the province of PENSYLVANIA is dated March 4, 1680-1, of which an abstract is,"To our trufty and well beloved fubject William Penn, Efq; fon and heir of Sir William Penn deceased, to reduce the favage nations by gentle and juft manners to the love of civil fociety and the chriftian religion (with regard to the memory and merits of his late father in divers fervices, particularly in the fea-fight against the Dutch 1665, under the duke of York) to tranfport an ample colony towards enlarging the English empire and its trade, is granted all that tract of land in America, bounded eastward on Delaware river from 12 miles northward of Newcastle to the 43 d. of northern lat. and to extend 5 d. in longitude from faid river; to be bounded northerly by the beginning of the 43 d. of N. lat. and on the fouth by a circle drawn at 12 miles diftance from Newcastle northward and weftward unto the beginning of the 40d. of northern lat. and then by a ftrait line weftward to the limits of longitude abovementioned; faving to us and our fucceffors the allegiance and fovereignty, to be holden as of our castle of Windfor in the county of Berks, paying quit-rent two buck-fkins to be delivered to us yearly in our caftle of Windfor on the first of January, and the fifth of all gold and filver ore, clear of all charges. Erected into a province and feignorie, to be called Penfylvania. Said William Penn, &c. and his lieutenants, with the affent of a majority of the freemen or their delegates affembled, to raile money for publick uses, to establish judges, juftices, and other magiftrates, probate of wills and granting of administrations included; to pardon or remit all crimes and offences committed within faid

province,

province, treafon and wilful murder excepted, which however they may reprieve until the king's pleasure is known; the judges by them conftituted to hold pleas as well criminal as civil, perfonal, real and mixt: their laws to be confonant to reason, and not repugnant to the laws of England, referving to us, &c. a power to hear and determine upon appeals. In all matters the laws of England to take place, where no pofitive law of the province appears. A duplicate of all laws made in faid province hall in five years be tranfmitted to the privy council; and if within fix months, being there received, they be deemed inconfiftent with the prerogative or laws of England, they fhall be void. A licence for our fubjects to tranfport themselves and families unto the faid country A liberty to divide the country into towns, hundreds, and counties, to incorporate towns into boroughs and cities, to constitute fairs and markets. A liberty of trade with all our other dominions, paying the customary duties. A power to conftitute fea ports and keys, but to admit of fuch officers as fhall from time to time be appointed by the commiffioners of our customs. The proprietors may receive fuch impofitions upon goods as the affembly fhall enact. The proprietors to appoint an agent or attorney to refide near the court in London to anfwer for the default of the proprietors, and where damages are afcertained by any of our courts, if thefe damages are not made good within the space of one year, the crown may refume the government until fuch damages and penalties are fatiffied, but without any detriment to the particular owners or adventurers in the province. To maintain no corre fpondence with our enemies. A power to purfue enemies and robbers even to death. May transfer property. To erect mannors, that may hold courts baron. That the crown fhall make no taxation or impofition in faid province without confent of the proprietary, or affembly, or by act of parliament in England. Any inhabitants, to the number of twenty, may by writ