egroes who came into
the British Lines under the proclamation of his Predecessors in
Command--That he forebore to express his sentiments on the
propriety of those proclamations, but that delivering up the
Negroes to their former Masters would be delivering then up some
possible to Execution, and others to severe punishments, which in
his Opinion would be a dishonorable violation of the public
Faith, pledged to the Negroes in the proclamations--That if the
sending off the Negroes should hereafter be declared in
Infraction of the Treaty, Compensation must be made by the Crown
of G. Britain to the Owners--that he had taken measures to
provide for this, by directing a Register to be kept of all the
Negroes who were sent off, specifying the Name, Age & Occupation
of the person, and the Name, & Place of Residence of his former
Master. Genl. Washington again observed that he conceived this
Conduct on the part of Genl. Carleton, a Departure from both the
Letter and Spirit of the Articles of Peace;--and particularly
mentioned a difficulty that would arise in compensating the
proprietors of Negroes, admitting this infraction of the Treaty
can be satisfied by such a compensation as Sir Guy had alluded
to, as it was impossible to ascertain the Value of the Slaves
from any Fact or Circumstance which may appear in the
Register,--the Value of a Slave consisting chiefly in his
Industry and Sobriety--& Genl. Washington mentioned a further
Difficulty which would attend Identifying the Slave, supposing
him to have changed his own and to have given a wrong Name of his
Master--In answer to which Sir Guy Carleton said, that as the
Negroe was free & secured against his Master, he could have no
inducement to conceal his own true Name or that of His
Master--Sir Guy Carleton then observed that by the Treaty he was
not held to deliver up any property but was only restricted from
carrying it way--and therefore admitting the interpretation of
the Treaty as given by Genl. Washington to be just, he was
notwithstanding pursuing a Measure which would operate most for
the security of the proprietors. For if the Negroes were left to
themselves without Care of Controul from him, numbers of them
would very probably go off, and not return to the parts of the
Country from when