reduced
officers and privates of the hitely disbanded army, directing bounty
lands to be granted them. In view of this order, and the great
number of grants made by New Hampshire, in the disputed terri-
tory. Governor Golden, about the time of issuing his proclamation,
above mentioned, wrote several pressing letters to the board of trade
in England, insisting on the grant to the Duke of York, as conclu-
sive of the right of New York, and urging a speedy decision of the
question. In his letter of the 6th of February 1764, he represents,
that great numbers of the officers and soldiers had applied to him
for grants ; and in his letter of the 12th of April, of the same year,
he says, " about four hundred reduced officers and disbanded sol-
diers, have already applied to mefor lands, pursuant to his Majesty's
proclamation, which at this time are to be surveyed for them in that
part claimed by New Hampshire. Your lordships vt^ill perceive the
necessity of determining the claim of New Hampshire speedily."
It was charged also, at the time by the claimants under New Hamp-
shire, and stated by historians of that period, — on what authority
we know not, — that a petition, with forged signatures of many of
the New Hampshire settlers, was sent with the governor's letters to
England, requesting that the territo]^ should be annexed to New
York. In the public remonstrances of the New Hampshire claim-
ants, conjectures were expressed, that there were " more or less
wrong representations made to his majesty to obtain the jurisdiction,"
and that his " majesty and ministers of State had been egregiously
misinformed."