In fine, we must say, in justice to the house, that the proprietary's charge against the assembly, as being inclined by their authority to tax the proprietary estate 'disproportionately, &c.' is, to our knowlege, groundless and unjust. They had as little inclination as authority to wrong him. They have not, it seems, authority enough to oblige him to do justice. As to their inclination, they bear, every one of them, and maintain, the character of honest men. When the proprietaries shall be truly willing to bear an equitable part of the public burden; when they shall renounce their exorbitant demand of rent as the exchange shall then be ; make restitution of the money which they have exacted from the assemblies of this province, and sincerely repent of their extortion, they may then, and not till then, have some claim to the same noble title. The proprietaries have for a long series of years made a great secret of the value of their estate and revenue. By accident the following authentic paper is fallen into our hands, and will serve as a ground-work on which the reader may be enabled to form some idea of the value of that estate in Pennsylvania. It is a copy of an original paper drawn by Mr. Thomas Penn himself many years ago, and endorsed "My estimate of the province, T. Penn." ESTIMATE. 1. LANDS granted since my arrival are very near 270,000 acres, of which not 10,000 have been paid for; more than of old grants are remaining unpaid; is . Pennsylva. Curr. . £.41,850 0 2. The rent on the said grants is 5501. sterling a year, which at 20 years purchase, and 165 per cent. exchange, is 3. The old rent, 4201. a year sterling, at ditto, is 4. Lands granted between roll and the first article are 5701. a year sterling, which at 20 years purchase, and 165 18,150 0 0 15,246 0 5. To the difference between 4201. and 5701. for arrearages of rents which may be computed at half the time of the other arrearages, that is 11 years at 165 per cent. Ferries let on short leases, the rents being 401. a year, are worth 18,810 0 2722 10 0 1000 0 0 Carried over £.97,778 10 0 Pennsylva. Curr. Brought over £.97,778 10 0 7. Lands settled in the province, for which no grants are yet passed, except a few since the above account was The rent at an halfpenny an acre is 8337. 6s. 8d. a year sterling, reckoned as above is 63,000 00 27,500 0 0 £.188,278 10 0 MANORS. 1 Conestogoe, 65 M. from the city, 13,400 acres, at 407. per H. 5360 0 0 9 About 20 tracts in the several counties, mostly 500 acres 9 Lot in the bank at the north end of the town 200 feet at 31. 10 A front and bank lot between Vine and Sassafras street, 102 feet at 6/. 11 Bank lot between Cedar and Pine street, 204 feet at 31. 12 Front lot on the side of Cedar, 102 3 16 Ditto 200 acres at 1s. sterling rent, and 165. per cent. is Lands within the draft of the town, at least 500 18 The rents of the above manors and lands being 77,072 acres, at a halfpenny per acre. 20 years purchase, and 165 per cent. exchange, is The government to be calculated at no less than was to have been paid for it, viz. 11,000l. at 165 per cent. is 5398 12 0 £233,972 20 18,150 0 0 Carried over £252,122 20 1250 0 0 Pennsylva. Curr. Brought over £.252,122 20 In this calculation no notice is taken of the thirds reserved on the bank lots (a copy of the patents J. Penn has by him to shew the nature of them*) and nine-tenths of the province remains undisposed of Three-fifths of all royal mines is reserved in the grants, and in all grants since the year 1732. One-fifth part No value is put on the proprietor's right to escheated Register general, about £.200 Clerk of Philadelphia, Chester, Bucks, Lancaster, 300 400 300 200 200 Besides several other offices of less value. These are only guessed at. The above paper has no date, but by sundry circumstances in it, particularly there being no value put on the thirds of the bank lots, because they were not then fallen in; and by the valuation put on the lands (which is very different from their present value) it must have been drawn while Mr. Thomas Penn resided in Pennsylvania, and probably more than twenty years ago: since which time a vast addition has been made to the value of the reserved lands, and a great quantity of land has been disposed of, perhaps equal to all preceding. We must therefore add to the above sum of 252,1227. 2s. the following articles, viz. 1. For the increased value of the lands of the Conestogoe manor now valued at 4007. per hundred acres, and in the above estimate valued only at 407. per hundred, the said increased value being 3601. per hundred, on 13,400 acres, 2. For the increased value of Gilbert's manor, now worth 4001. per hundred acres, 48,240 0 0 10,560 0 0 Carried over £.311,922 20 * By these patents, at the end of fifty years, the proprietor was to have one-third of the value of the lots and the buildings, and other improve. ments erected on them. Pennsylva. Curr. Brought over £.311,922 20 3. For ditto on Springfield manor, now worth 500%. per hundred acres, . 4. For ditto on Highland's manor, now worth 350%. per hundred acres, 5. For ditto on Springtown, now worth 4007. per hundred 6800 0 0 8000 0 0 6. For ditto on Vincent's manor, now worth 3001. per hundred acres, 36,500 0 0 53,000 0 Ó 7. For ditto on Richland's, now worth 450l. per hundred acres, 43,500 0 0 9. For ditto on the 20 tracts, now worth 300l. per hundred acres, 26,000 0 0 2685 00 0 0 8. For ditto on Springetsbury, &c. at least 9. For ditto on all the articles of lots from No. 9 to 14, be- 15. For ditto on the Marsh land, now worth 201. per acre, [On the next articles for the reserved rent, and the value 5060 10,200 0 0 18,750 0 0 15,000 0 Ö Carried over £.537,217 2 0 * The lots of land within the plan of the town were originally promised to be given to the purchasers of land in the country. But that has been long since discontinued; and for many years past the proprietor has shut the office, and forbid his agents even to sell any more of them; intending to keep them all, till he can let them out on high ground rents, or on building leases. Five hundred acres divided into house lots, and disposed of in this manner, will alone make a vast estate. The old proprietor likewise in his plan of the city, laid out five large squares, one in each quarter, and one in the centre of the plan, and gave the same to the inhabitants for public uses. This he published in all his accounts of the country, and his papers of invitation and encouragement to settlers; but as no formal deed or conveyance of those squares is now to be found, the present proprietor has resumed them, turned them again into private property that the number of his lots may be increased; and his surveyor-general in his lately published plan of the city, has concealed all those squares by running intended streets over them. A proceeding equally odious to the people, and dishonorable to the family! 416 Pennsylva. Curr. Brought over £.537,217 2 0 reckoning every 20 feet of ground with its improve- 1 Thus far for the present value of what was then estimat ed, but since that time, very great quantities of land have been sold, and several new manors laid out and reserved; one of which, viz. that of Conedoguinet is said to contain 30,000 acres; the quantity sold since the estimate, must be at least equal to what was sold before, as the people are doubled, and the manors probably equal in quantity; we may therefore suppose, that a fair estimate of the lands sold, rents and manors reserved, and new towns laid out into lots, since the above estimate, would be at least equal to it, that is another tenth, and amount also to 573,6971 2s.. For eight of these nine-tenths of the province which were not disposed of at the time of making the estimate; note, the province grant to William Penn is of three degrees of latitude, and five of longitude; each degree of latitude contains 69 1-2 statute miles, and each degree of longitude about lat. 40, contains 53 statute miles; so the dimensions of the province are 265 miles by 208 1-2, which gives for its contents 55,252 1-2 square miles or thirty-five millions, three hundred and sixty-one thousand, six hundred acres; eight tenths of this quantity, is 28,289,280 acres, which at 15%. 10s. per 100 acres (the present selling price) is . For the yearly quit-rent on 28,289,280 acres at a half- 37,280 0 0 573,697 2 0 573,697 20 4,384,838 80 1856,484 00 8,486,784 00 £15,875,500 12 0 |