lately _on the lands which evidently, belong
to the Five Nations_, or which these have made over to the Crown of
Great Britain or its subjects, as may be proved by treaties and acts of
the greatest authority.--_What_ the Court of Great Britain _maintained,
and what it insists upon_, is, _That the Five Nations of the Iroquois,
acknowledged_ by France, _are_, by origin, or _by right of conquest_
the _lawful proprietors of the river Ohio, and the territory in
question_: And as to the territory, which has been _yielded and made
over by these people_ to Great Britain (which cannot but be owned must
be the most just and lawful manner of making an acquisition of this
sort) she reclaims it, as belonging to her, having continued
cultivating it for above 20 years past, and having made settlements in
several parts of it, from the sources even of the Ohio to
Pichawillanes, in the center of the territory between the Ohio and the
Wabache."

In 1755, the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations were so
solicitous to ascertain the territory of the Six Nations, that Dr.
Mitchel, by their desire, published a large map of North America; and
Mr. Pownal, the present Secretary of the Board of Trade, _then_
certified, as appears on the map,--That the Doctor was furnished with
documents for the purpose from that Board.--In this map Dr. Mitchel
observes, "That the Six Nations have extended their territories, ever
since the year 1672, _when they subdued and were incorporated with the
antient Shawanesse, the native proprietors of these countries, and the
river Ohio_: Besides which, they likewise claim a right of conquest
over the Illinois, and all the Mississippi, as far as they extend.
This," he adds, "is confirmed by their own claims and possessions in
1742, which include all the bounds here laid down, and none have ever
thought fit to dispute them." And, in confirmation of this right of the
Six Nations to the country on the Ohio, as mentioned by the King's
Ministers, in their memorial to the Duke of Mirepoix in 1755, we would
just remark, that the Six Nations, Shawanesse and Delawares, were in
the _actual occupation_ of the lands _Southward_ of the Great Kenhawa
for some time after the French had encroached up on the river Ohio; and
that in the year 1752, these tribes had a large town on Kentucke
River,--238 miles below the _Sioto_:--That in the year 1754, they
resided and hunted on the _Southerly_ side of the river Ohio, in the
_Low Co