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Show El\1IGRANT'5 GUlDE. domains under our charge, 0:1nd that the contractor, the marquis de Maison Rouge, complied punctual~ly with the terms wh~ch he proposed in the said contract ; and that th1s may be made mamfest, confon~ably to the order above inserted, of this intendency general, we g1ve the present inN ew Orleans, the 5th of August, 1803. GILBERT LEON 1-\RD, MANUEL ARMlREZ. The Baron de Carondelet, knight of the order of St. John, marshal de camp of the royal armies, governor general, vice patron of the. provinces of Louisiana and West Florida, inspector uf troops, &_c. Forasmuch as the Marquis de Maison Rouge is near cQmpletmg the establishment of the Wash ita, which he was authorized to make for thirty families, by the royal order of July 14th, l795; and desirous to remove for the future all doubt respecting other families or new colonists who may come to establish themselves, we destine and appropriate conclusively for the establish1nent of the aforesaid marquis de Maiion Rouge, by the power granted to us by the king, the thirty ~uperficial leagues marked in the plact- annexed to the head of this instrument, with the limit!5 anJ bqunJaries designated with our approbation, by the surveyor general, Dt>n Charles Laveau Trudeau, under the terms and couditions stipulated and contracted for by the said marquis de Maison Rouge ; and that it may at all times stand go0d, we give the pi.·esent, signed with our hand, sealed with our seal at arms, and countersigned by the underwritten honorary commissary ()f war, and secretary of his majesty for this commandancy· general. New Orleans, the twentieth of June, 1797. The BARON DE CARONDELET, ANDRE:3 LOPES ARMLSTO. Note.-That in conformity with his contract, the marquis de Mai· son Rouge is not to admit or establish any American in the lands in· eluded in his grant. The BARON DE CARONDELET. Papers respecting Bastrop's claz'm on W,z"shita. 'ro the Governor General- The Baron de Bastrop, desirous of. encouraging the population and cultivation of the Ouachitta and it::- Beighbourhoou, of passing into the United States to complete the plan of emigration which he has projected, and from thence to return with his family, n1akes knowr.. to your lordship, that it is ab~olutely indispensable on the part ot the government, that a district be d<:signated of about twelve 1eagues square, including the Bayou Siard and its vicinity, in which your petitioner may, without the ]east obstacle or Jelay , place the f~milies he is about to bring in, on the express urndition that concesSions of land are to be made gratis, and m1der no title or pretext to exceed, at most, four hundred arpens square, with a view to prevent t~e ~ntro~uction of negroes, and the making of indigo, which in that. d1stnct Will be entirely contrary and prejudicial tu the cultivation of wheat, and will cause your petitioner irrecoverably to lose the eJt· EI\fiGRANT'S GUIDE. 9 .. penses of hi~ establis_hment. ~ot!r petitioner prays also that you will be pleased to grant h•m pernusswn to export for tbe Havanua the flour which may be manufactured at the mills on the Ou;\chitta without confining him to sell it absolutely in New Orleans and othe; po ts ~n this province, unless it should be necessary for th~ir subsistence~ m_whtch case they ought always to have the preference. It is also and1spensable that the government should char(Te itself with the ~onJucting and support of the famili~s which th~ petitioner may mtrodu~e from the p~~.t of _New :Maund to Ouachitta, by fur~ishing them w1th Rome pruvt s1on5 for the subsistence uf the fir t months and assistm~ theJ? to commence the sowing of their seeds, granti~g to th?~e mha~Jtant_s who are not catholics, the same liberty of conscwnce ~s JS enJ>yed by those of Baton Rouo-e Natchez :mJ other districts of t~e province, and without fixing on~·'tbe part of, the govern~ ent conclusively, the nu_mb_cr of families which your petitio~er 'is to mtroduce. The ~eal '~~1ch I feel for_ the prosperity and enctlurageme_ nt of the provmce, ~omed to a des1re of securing tranquillity and qUJetu?e to tl~at estabhshment, hy removing at once whatever obstacles nught he opposed to those interesting objects, have induced me to r~pre_sent to y~u w?~t l have here done, hopin~ that you will reeogmse m these ~1spositJons the best service of the king and advancet. ment of the provmce confided to your authority. New Orleans, June 20th, 1796.~ DE BASTROP. . New Orleans, June 21, 1796. s_eemg the advantages which will result from the establishment pro~ected_ by ba_ron Bastrop, the commandant of Ouachitta, Don John Felaol, Will .des1gnate twelve leagues square, half on the side of the :Bayou of S1ar?, and half on the side opposite the Ouachitta, for the purp?se of placmg there the families which the said baron may direct. 1t bPmg understood . that no greater concession vf land is to be give~ to any one than four . hundred square arpens, at most, gratis, and !re.e from a.ll dues. W 1th regard to the object of this establishment Jt IS to ~e tor t!1c culti.vation ~f wh~at alone. The exportation of th~ prod~cb .of th1s provrnce bemg ,iree, the petitioner n€ed not doubt that It w.tll be_ allowed to. him for the flour. that he may manufacture •t the I~Ills of the Ouaclntta, to tl1!" Havanna, and other places open !o the ~ree commerce ~f this province. The government will charge 1ts~lf With th~ co?ductmg of the families from New Madrid to Oua· c 1 h ~ta, am] wdl g•ve them such provisions as rna"- appear sufficient for tT 1be 1r sup po rt d. un·n g SI·X mo~t }1 s, and proportioJn ably for their seeds. R ey shall not_ be rnol~ ~ ted Ill matters of religion, but the apostolical 0~~n cathol1c worsbtp shall alone be publicly permitted. The ~etJt10ner ~hall be allowed tu bring in as many as five hundred famihes i pro~1ded, t~at affpr the Jap;;e of three years, if the major part of !he establ1s~ment shall not have been made goorl, the twelve JeagueSi quare destmed for those wborn the petitioner may place there, shall c: It ~s {resumed ~hat this date, as well as that of the decree of the Baron de ron e et, imrnedaately :mcceeding, ought to bave been 17951 instead of 1796. |
