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in possession of the said government, preserving and securing for you, the honours, favours, pre-eminences, and exemptions, attached to said office, and which are to be preserved full and entire, without loss of any. And I command all superior and inferior officers and soldiers, infantry, cavalry, dragoons, militia and all military persons whatsoever, residing in the said province, to respect and acknowledge you as such governor; and all who should obey you, from their military grade and station, to fulfil, keep and execute all orders, for my service, which you may give them verbally or in writing, without reply or delay; you and they being subject to the orders of the said captain general, or whoever may succeed him without office; you are particularly to advise him of all that may be proper for the security and defence of the said province, in order that he may inform me of what occurs, and proper steps may be taken thereon; however, in order to exercise the political government, you are to take out a patent to that effect, to be given by the chamber of the Indies in the accustomed form as I have commanded; it being understood that unless you do so, you are to receive no stipend; such is my will, as also that the minister of hacienda whose duty it is, should himself give the proper orders on this subject in the chief accountant's department, for an account to be opened in your favour for four thousand dollars a year, conforming, however, with the provisions of my royal resolution of the 16th of April, 1792, and with the determination that one-fifth of your said salary is to be retained in the royal treasury as security for your administration. And in order that all which is stated above, may be fulfilled and executed, I have ordered the present patent to be made out, signed with my royal hand, sealed with the secret seal, and countersigned by my secretary of state for the whole war department, of all which note shall be taken in the office of the accountants general of distribution of my royal hacienda, and of my council and chamber of the Indies.

Given at San Lorenzo, on the 24th of October, 1798.

His majesty names you military and political governor of New Orleans.

To Don Manuel Juan de Salcedo.

DOCUMENTS

RELATIVE TO

LOUISIANA AND FLORIDA;

RECEIVED

AT THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE OF SPAIN, THROUGH THE HONOURABLE C. P. VAN NESS, ENVOY EXTRAORDINARY AND MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY AT MADRID.

TRANSLATED BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

[No. 1.]

From the Minister of War to the Secretary of State of Spain.

MOST EXCELLENT SIR:

MADRID, September 27, 1833.

There being no papers of date anterior to 1789, in the department under my charge, and as the notice of the governors of the province of Louisiana which you require, should extend back to 1769, I have this day written to the keeper of the general archives of the Indies at Seville, to select the papers relative to those before the first date, and send them to me immediately. As soon as they arrive, I shall proceed to fulfil the official request of your excellency of the 23d instant; sending you, in the meanwhile, the annexed list of the governors appointed to that province from 1789 to 1800.

(Signed)

JOSE DE LA CRUZ.

LIST OF THE GOVERNORS OF LOUISIANA,

From 1789 to 1800, with the dates of their appointment.

Colonel Don Estevan Miro-appointed military and political governor of the province of Louisiana by royal decree of July 14th, 1785; which document is among the general archives of Seville. Colonel Baron de Carondelet-appointed March 17th, 1791. Brigadier Don Manuel Gayoso de Lemos-appointed October 28th, 1796.

Colonel Don Manuel Salcedo-appointed November 21, 1799.

N. B. The papers in the archives of this department 'of war, begin in 1789; therefore, no account can be given of the governors

to that year from 1769, as the secretary of state requires; it may be obtained from the general archives of Seville, where the papers of the Indies relating to those years are kept.

[No. 2.]

From the Marquis de Grimaldi to Don Louis Unzaga.

SAINT ILDEFONSO, August 24, 1770.

Lieutenant General Don Alexandro O'Reilly, in his letter No. 33, from this city, dated March 1, sent me copies of the instructions which he had drawn up, for the lieutenant governor established in the Illinois and at Natchitoches, and the new special (particulares) lieutenants of the districts (partidos) of that province. He informed me, that he had himself been to Point Coupeé, and, at the request of the inhabitants, had appointed a surveyor for each partido, at half the former salary. He also enclosed to me an instruction explaining the forms to be observed in this business, and declaring that the granting of land in that province, had been confided by his christian majesty, to the governor and comisario ordenador; and he considered it would be better in future, that the governor alone should be authorized by his majesty to make those grants; and that orders would be given for conforming entirely with the said instructions, which had been drawn up and printed, in the distribution of the royal lands.

The king having examined these dispositions and propositions of the said lieutenant general, approves them, and also that it should be you and your successors in that government only, who are to have the right to distribute (repartir) the royal lands, conforming in all points, as long as his majesty does not otherwise dispose, to the said instruction, the date of which is February 18th, of this present year.

I communicate this to you, in order that you may understand and carry it into effect. God preserve you many years.

Given at Saint Ildefonso, August 24, 1770.

(Signed)

MARQUIS DE GRIMALDI.

[No. 3.]

Royal Order addressed to Don Pedro Garcia, Mayoral.

THE PARDO, January 28, 1771.

By decree of May 2d, 1765, I communicated to my council that I had appointed Captain Don Antonio de Ulloa, of my royal navy. to proceed to the province of Louisiana, which had been ceded by

my cousin, the most christian king, and take possession thereof as governor, by virtue of his warrants and instructions; making, however, for the time, no innovation in its system of government, which is to be entirely independent of the laws and practices observed in my American dominions; but considering it is a distinct colony, having even no commerce with the said dominions, and under the control of its own administration, council, and other tribunals; its direction and the correspondence with it being reserved to the minister of state, as far as regards the situation of the country, and the laws and customs with which its inhabitants are to remain conforming. But those inhabitants having rebelled, on the 29th of October, 1768, I commissioned Don Alexandro O'Reilly, lieutenant general of the army, and inspector general of all my infantry, to proceed thither, take formal possession, chastise the ringleaders, and (informing me of all) establish the said government, uniting the province to the rest of my dominions; all of which he did, adapting its laws, and after proposing to me that which he judged proper for the commerce of the country, and for the extinction of the council by which it was governed, establishing a cabildo in the place of said council, and taking other measures, as will be seen from the statements hereunto annexed; all of which were approved by me, as likewise the appointment of Colonel Don Louis de Unzaga y Amezaga, as political and military governor, with a salary of six thousand dollars, free from the duty of media anata, and of two royal officers, to take charge of the administration of my hacienda,* to wit: Don Antonio Jose de Aguier, as comptroller, (contador,) with a salary of 1600 dollars per annum; and Don Martin Navarro, as treasurer, with 1200 dollars per annum; and of three officers at salaries of 500, 400, and 360 dollars respectively. I have resolved, that all which has been established as above, should remain and continue fixed; the said province being, as to its spiritual concerns, annexed to the bishopric of Havana, and governed according to the laws of the Indies, and the regulations provided in them, and by special orders for my American dominions, by the ministry of the Indies and the council, as being incorporated with those my kingdoms; and also that it depend upon the captain generalcy and administration of the royal hacienda of Havana, just as the government of Cuba does; for which purpose I approved the formation of a tribunal composed of the captain general as president, and the auditors of war and marine; the attorney (fiscal) of the royal hacienda acting as attorney, and the clerk (escribano) of the government as clerk; to which tribunal these, my vassals, can appeal, and from it to the council, without being obliged to apply to the more distant audiencia of Santo Domingo. This shall be understood in the council, and in the chamber for its observance; and the cedulast shall be issued, and measures provided for carrying into

* Hacienda here comprises all that relates to the collection and distribution of the

revenue.

+ Cedula is a letter-patent, whether a commission or order from the government.

effect what has been determined; I being consulted on all doubts, and on all amendments which may offer.

Given at the Pardo, on the 28th day of January, 1771.

[No. 4.]

Report to the King, on Don A. O'Reilly's Statements.

COUNCIL AND CHAMBER OF THE INDIES.

February 27th, 1772.

Your majesty communicated, that you had appointed Don Antonio de Ulloa, governor of Louisiana, which had been ceded by the most christian king; and that in the instructions given to him, he was commanded to govern that province, independently of the practice observed in America, and under the direction of the council of state; but that the inhabitants, ungrateful for this distinction, had risen up in rebellion-for which reason your majesty had commissioned Lieutenant General Don Alexander O'Reilly, to proceed thither, take formal possession, chastise the ringleaders, and establish such a form of government, as would be most compatible with the condition of the country, its climate, and the character of its inhabitants.

Your majesty was pleased then to notify the council of the energy, promptness, and activity, with which Don Alexander O'Reilly had executed these difficult charges; and that the measures he had taken, were all so just, and so well adapted to the right intentions of your majesty, that they had merited your entire approbation; and that for their being carried into effect, you had commanded the proper cedulas and orders to be issued, you yourself being consulted on all doubts and amendments which might present themselves.

The council, entering into the spirit of the royal decree, has examined with scrupulous attention, all the dispositions of the said Don Alexander O'Reilly, with all his orders, and proceedings in Louisiana; to which effect it has referred to all the documents accompanying the said decree, viz.: the cedula by which his commission was given, with power to take possession of said province; and six statements, made by him; together with six draughts of royal orders, approving the same-the whole drawn out at length. O'Reilly sets forth in his first statement, that the province of Louisiana cannot subsist without trade, its inhabitants requiring flour, wine, oil, arms, ammunition, and all sorts of clothing; in exchange for which, they could give indigo, cotton, skins, Indiancorn, rice, and especially woods, which could be sold to great advantage in Havana, if that port were opened to a free trade with Spain, with the understanding, however, that the productions of the province should pay no duty on entering Havana; nor any new

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