LETTER OF GOVERNOR PATTERSON. 31

etors. For this purpose I advised sending the advertise- ments to England, which the law (lid not require. I, by the advice ot‘ council, postponed the sales from time to time, in hopes the proprietors would take some steps in consequence of the advertisements, and, with this View, prevented their taking place till the latter end ot‘ November, when every hope was over. This the. law did not require, and the advertisements not reaching England in time was not my fault, as the resolution of council directing their being sent is dated t\\'enty-sixth November, 1780, and the sales did not take place for a. year afterwards. I did more: I prevented all the lots from being sold belonging to proprietors who I knew were inclined to improve their lands, and this I did by taking the debt upon myself, which was not required by the law, nor perhaps in justice to my own family; nor do I believe there is an instance of such conduct in any other man. Among the number so saved is the lot belonging to this same Captain McDonald, though I had no hopes of his paying his quitrents, or of his doing any one thing relative to the settling of it; for he has repeatedly told me himself that he would not, as he thought he had engaged to pay too much money for it to the chief baron from whom he bought it. \Vhat I did was out of tenderness to his sisters, who live upon the lot, and to give him time to think better. I saved Lord Townshend’s, the chief baron’s, etc., and, in short, what I thought worth the saving,—and all at my own risk. I have done still more, for I have prevented any further sales since the tirst. This I also did for the benefit of the prt’tprietors, knowing the lands would not bring their value; and I did it at the risk of my commission, for I did it in the face of" a positive order from the treasury. So far, I hope I am not to blame.

“ As to the regularity and legality of the proceedings in other respects, I am not accountable. The lands were