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My Lord,

I was honor'd with your Lordship's letter at Newbern the 6th instant by express relative to the extension of a Boundary line between the two Carolinas. The line your Lordship proposes and to which you desire my concurrence if carried into Execution would be highly injurious to this Colony. First by shutting out all its communication of Commerce with the Western Indians leaving only impassable mountains as was experienced when the Western frontier line was run last year as the Barrier between the Indians

and North Carolina. Secondly the whole of the Western line run at the expence of £2,000 would fall into your Government. Thirdly by an Act of the last Session of Assembly all that Tract of Land to the Westward of Catawba River and to the Southward of Rowan County is formed into a County by the name of Tryon County an Inferior Court established and provision ordered for erecting a Court house, Gaol &c: add to this commissions issued for Justices of Peace and Militia Officers and lastly I must beg leave to inform your Lordship that the plan you transmitted with your letter is prodigiously erroneous with respect to the course of the South Branch of Catawba River. It's real direction is not more by Mr Churton's map and every other credible Information than two or three points to the Westward of North and its branches run far into Rowan County and is cut off from the Cherokee Mountains by the meanders of Catawba River and the head branches of Broad River. For these and other substantial reasons tho' my inclination prompts me to comply with your Lordship's request the duty I owe to this Province forbids my concurrence. Besides I cannot think myself at Liberty to vary my solicitations carried home by Mr Collet that the boundary between these two Governments may be executed as Transcribed to your Lordship from where it terminated in 1764 a due west course till it intersected at right angles the line extended between the western frontier of this Province and the Cherokee hunting grounds and to which I was happy enough in understanding your Lordship that you believed there could be no objection to its continuance.

I thank your Lordship for appointing two Justices so much wanted near the Boundary House.

The moderation of the Assembly of this Province enabled me to go through a good deal of business and to ratify twenty one Acts; They now stand prorogued to the first of June next.

Captain Collet sailed two days before my arrival here.

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