To George Washington from Robert Morris, 25 August 1796
From Robert Morris
Philada August 25th 1796
Sir.
In the year 1791—I purchased of the State of Massachusetts a Tract of Country lying within the boundaries of the State of Newyork which had been Ceded by the latter to the former State under the Sanction & with the Concurrence of the Congress of the United States, This Tract of Land is bounded to the East by the Genesee River, to the North by Lake Ontario, to the West partly by Lake Erie & partly by the Boundary Line of the Pensylvania Triangle & to the South by the North Boundary Line of the State of Pensylvania, A Printed Brief of my Title I take the liberty to transmit Herewith,1 To perfect this Title it is necessary to purchase of the Seneca Nation of Indians their Native right, which I should have done soon after the purchase was made of the State of Massachusetts, but that I felt myself restrained, from doing so by Motives of Public consideration. The War between the Western Indian Nations & the United States did not extend to the Six Nations of which the Seneca’s Nation is one, and as I apprehended that if this Nation should sell its right during the existance of that War, they might the more readily be induced to join the Enemies of my Country I determ⟨ined⟩ not to make the purchase whilst that War lasted. When peace was made with the Indian Nations2 I turned my thoughts towards the purchase which is to me an object very interesting, but upon its being represented that a little longer patience untill the Western Posts should be delivered up by the British Government might still be of public utility I concluded to wait for that event also which is now happily accomplished,3 and there seems no obstacle remaining to restrain me from making the purchase, especially as I have reason to believe the Indians are desirous to make the Sale[.] the delays which have already taken place & which arose solely from the considerations above mentioned have been extremely detrimental to my private affairs, but still being desirous to comply with Formalities prescribed by Certain Laws of the United States, altho’ those Laws probably do not reach my Case, I now make application to the President of the United States and request that He will Nominate and appoint a Commissioner to be present and Preside at a Treaty which He will be pleased to Authorize to be held with the Seneca Nation for the purpose of enabling me to make a purchase in Conformity with the Formalities required by sd Laws of the Tract of Country for which I have already paid a very large Sum of Money.4 My right to the preemption is unequivocal, and the Land is become so necessary to the growing Population and surrounding Settlements that it is with difficulty that the white People can be restrained from Squatting or setting down upon these Lands, which if they should do, it may probably bring on Contentions with the Six Nations. This will be prevented by a timely fair & honorable purchase[.] This proposed Treaty ought to be held immediately before the Hunting Season, or another year will be lost, as the Indians Cannot be Collected during that Season, The loss of another year under the payments I have made for these Lands, would be ruinous to my affairs, and as I have paid so great deferrence to Public considerations whilst they did exist, I expect & hope that my request will be readily granted now when there can be no cause for delay, especially If the Indians are willing to sell, which will be tested by the offer to buy.5 With the most perfect Esteem & respect I am Sir Your most Obedt & most hble Servt
R.M.
ADfS, NHi: Henry O’Reilly Collection; copy, Gemeente-Archief van Amsterdam, Netherlands.
1. Morris enclosed Brief of the Titles of Robert Morris, Esquire, to a Tract of Country in the county of Ontario, in the State of New-York. … (Philadelphia, [1791)]). See also Seneca Chiefs to GW, 10 Jan. 1791, n.3, and Tobias Lear to GW, 8 May 1791, and n.5.
Both Massachusetts and New York had claimed the land in western New York. An agreement reached at Hartford on 16 Dec. 1786 gave New York sovereignty and jurisdiction over the land, but Massachusetts gained the right to quiet the Indian title and sell the land. Congress had encouraged a compromise between the two states and sanctioned the agreement in October 1787 (see 33:617–29).
2. Morris alludes to the Treaty of Greenville, 3 Aug. 1795 (see GW’s first message to the U.S. Senate, 9 Dec. 1795).
3. Morris is referring to the transfer of western posts from the British to the United States under terms of the Jay Treaty.
4. Section 4 of “An Act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes,” approved 22 July 1790, provided that no sale of Indian lands would be valid “unless the same shall be made and duly executed at some public treaty, held under the authority of the United States” ( 137–38). Subsequent laws reaffirmed the principle (see 330–31, 472).
5. Secretary of State Timothy Pickering wrote GW on Saturday, 27 Aug. 1796: “I have conversed with Mr Morris on the subject of his letter of the 25th requesting you to appoint a Commissioner to hold a treaty with the Seneka Nation of Indians, to give him an opportunity to purchase their title to a portion of their territory, of which he has the right of pre-emption. I showed him the written opinion of the Attorney General, that the President had not power by the Constitution to appoint a Commissioner without the advice and consent of the Senate, and that the appointment must unavoidably be postponed. In the conversation, I remarked, that the two great objections having been removed, by the peace with the Western Indians, & getting possession of the posts, the way was open for holding the treaty requested; and especially, if, as he suggested, the Senekas themselves desired to sell any portion of their lands. I also expressed my opinion, that the hunt of the Senekas was not so remote or of so much consequence, as to prevent their meeting in January next for the purpose requested.
“He desired a copy of the Attorney General’s opinion, which I shall send him this afternoon. Mr Morris thought a written answer would be necessary for him, to satisfy those persons who were depending on his purchase, that the delay was unavoidable: but he suspends his request on this point till Monday. That reverence for the laws & government of his country which has hitherto influenced his conduct, will prevent his pressing for any measure incompatible therewith; altho’ the situation of his affairs is singularly urgent” (ALS, DNA: RG 59, Miscellaneous Letters; LB, DNA: RG 59, Domestic Letters; LB, DNA: RG 59, GW’s Correspondence with His Secretaries of State). Pickering enclosed the opinion of Attorney General Charles Lee, dated 26 May 1796, when he wrote Morris on this date (see DNA: RG 59, Domestic Letters; see also House Exec. Doc. 55, 31st Cong., 2d sess., 3 March 1851, p. 36). For GW’s eventual nomination of a treaty commissioner, see Morris to GW, 23 Dec. 1796 (NHi: Henry O’Reilly Collection), and GW to the U.S. Senate, 2 March 1797 (DNA: RG 46, entry 52).