rica. That the
Congress of the United States shall, out of such grant, reserve the
defraying or discharging of the public debts or expenses; one fifth
part of all the lands, mines, &c. within said tract, to be disposed
of by the Congress, in such manner as good policy and the public
exigencies may dictate, the said one fifth to be sequestered out of
every grant or settlement made by the company, of equal goodness with
the rest of such grant or settlement. The company on their part shall
engage to have, in seven years after the passing such grant ----
thousand families settled on said grant, and civil government
regulated and supported on free and liberal principles, taking therein
the advice of the honorable Congress of the United States. They shall,
also, from and after their having one thousand families as
abovementioned, contribute their proportion of the public expenses of
the Continent, or United States, according to the number of their
inhabitants, and shall be entitled to a voice in Congress, as soon as
they are called on thus to contribute. The company shall at all times
have the preference of purchasing the Continental or common interest
thus reserved, when it shall be offered for sale. The company shall
consist, on giving the patent or grant, of at least one hundred
persons.

These are the outlines of a proposed grant, which you see contains
more than 25,000,000 acres of land, the one fifth of which, if a
settlement is carried on vigorously, will soon be of prodigious value.
At this time a company might be formed in France, Germany, &c. who
would form a stock of one hundred thousand pounds sterling, to defray
the expense of this settlement. By such a step, you, in the first
place, extend the circle of your connexion and influence. You increase
the number of your inhabitants, proportionably lessen the common
expenses and have in the reserve a fund for public exigencies.
Further, as this company would be in a great degree commercial, the
establishing commerce at the junction of these large rivers, would
immediately give a value to all the lands situate on or near them
within the above extensive description, and future grants might admit
of larger reserves, amply sufficient for defraying the expenses of the
war, and possibly for establishing funds for other important purposes.
It may be objected that this is not a favorable time for such a
measure. I reply it is the most favorable that can happen. You want
mone