Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1906-12-06
Meeting Was Held
In Burlington
Yesterday.
OF GREAT VALUE

DOhblNG iON, DSG. u uCiu
was special session of the West
Jersey Proprietors here yesterday in
the Office of the surveyor general, in
Broad street, and it was voted not to
sell to the state of New Jersey the
records of the Proprietors, on the
the dissolution of the ancient and his
torical body.
Resolutions explaining in full the
reason for declining the states pro-
posals were framed and, will be for
warded to the commission which was
appointed by Governor Stokes to ne
gotiate for the transfer of the rec
ords
The officers of the proprietary
council present were: President, Hen
ry ]. Trick; vice president, Francis
Lee Cooper; clerk, l. Snowden
Haines; surveyor general. Henry
Haines; deputy surveyors, Frank Earl
and Henry /. Sherman. The COVER
nor's commission consists Of Assem-
blyman John D. Prince, Heulings Lip
pincott and Frankland Briggs.
The Historical Records.
The historical maps and papers
which the state sought have been in
the possession of the West jersey
Proprietors for more than two hum
dred years, and cover not only trans
actions after 1876. when the state
was divided by Carteret and Berkeley
interests, but much valuable earlier
data.
The commission held conference
with the proprietors some time ago
and made an examination of the rec
or The following report was made
IA overnor Stokes.
The West Jersey Council of Pro-
prietors has in its possession four ex-
tremely valuable documents. They
the the deed of lease Issued by James,
Duke of York, afterward James III. of
England, to Lord John Berkeley and
George Carteret, for the entire prov
ince of the Jerseys, dated June 1924.
1864; the book of commissions of the
lords proprietors (1676), which
forms the fundamental laws of our
state; the original deed of division
between the provinces of East and
West Jersey, the social "Quintipar
tite Deed" dated July / 1876, and.
finally, the book of the records of
the Society for the Propagation of
the Gospel, the earliest entry In
which dates from 1865, considerably
older than the West Jersey Proprie-
tors organization. The council has
also some twenty-seven books of sur
yeys, with a great number of war
rants and conveyances.
Must Advertise Sale.
In order to effect sale of these
records to the state, communications
must first be had with the general
hereditary proprietors who elect the
council, as they alone have the right
of disposal. Such communications
can only be established according to
the time honored precedent by ad-
vertisement in many newspapers
some of them in England, others In
France and Holland, as the exact
number of the general hereditary pro-
prietors is not known.
The report further sets forth that.
in view of the great historical value
of these papers, and inasmuch as ey-
cry title to land in New Jersey must
be traced to the books of one of these
corporations--either the East or
West Jersey Proprietors to secure
perfect validity-the possession OF
the records, maps, etc, is imperative.
In compliance with this report, All
advertisement was given wide public
ity, the time for presenting claims
being fixed for yesterday in Bur-
lington.
The records, which, of course, are
almost priceless, are safely guarded
and preserved now, but the state
should have them, it is felt. So long
as they remain as they have thus far,
in the hands of upright men, all is
well, but the state would feel easier
of they were deposited in vault IN
the custody of the state librarian. lt
may be that this can be arranged, the
documents passing to the care OF tne
state, but remaining the property q
the West Jersey Proprietors.
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