Gentn. of His Majesty's Council, Mr. Speaker, and Gentn. of the Assembly.

Having in my Speech to you at your meeting told you that I shou'd in a more ample Manner lay before you the grand Plan of France to ruin & distress all the British Colonies on this Continent, I take the earlyest Opportunity of laying their wicked & enslaving Scheme before you, that you may see the Necessity there is of granting a reasonable & immediate Supply, and entering into a Plan of Union with all the British Colonies for our mutual future Defense.

The French ever active & ambitious under the insatiable & rapacious House of Bourbon, whose Ministers having destroy'd the Gallic Liberties by the establishing an arbitrary Power in the King alone, have for near two Centuries laid a plan for enslaving Europe, by ruining the Liberties of the Germanick Body & protestant Interest of Europe. Their first Attempt was to ruin the House of Austria, by playing the Germanick Body against their Head, and raising themselves upon its Ruin, and made Use of the Germanick Protestant Powers for that Purpose when at the same time they were ruining the Protestants in France, & depriving the French of their Liberties; whilst they were extending their Limits at the Expence of Germany and the Spanish Branch of the House of Austria; and by that Means had forced the House of Spain for the sake of Peace to intermarry with the House of Bourbon, upon their solemn Renunciation of their Right of Succession to the Spanish Monarchy. That fatal Match has been the Cause of the late expensive Wars, and has endanger'd the Loss of the Liberties of Europe; for by the Gallic Intrigues they have establish'd a younger Branch of the House of Bourbon to govern the Spanish Monarchy, which by it's pretension to, & Possession of, above half of America, which they claim as their Right only by a Papal Donation, have acquired a Dominion more extensive & rich than any Empire ever known on the Globe; Thus France from a powerful Enemy have made the Spanish Monarchy a confirm'd & potent Ally, with some hopes, I fear too well grounded, of it's being sooner or later united to the Gallic Monarchy!

But the French after two long & bloody Wars having been obstructed in their plan of aggrandizing themselves in Europe, by failing in their Attempt of ruining the House of Austria by the prudence, Magnanimity & steady Conduct of our most gracious King the Father of his People, who supported by the Courage Wealth & Naval Power of the British Empire, by powerfully supporting and assisting his Allies has defeated the Gallic future Schemes in Europe. The French was at their Disappointment finding that the British Liberties & Protestant Interest are secure under his Majesty's Government, and confirm'd by the protestant Succession in his illustrious House, and that Britain can't be conquer'd or reduced but by ruining it's Commerce, & with it our Naval Power, have chang'd their System, and have laid a plan to ruin the British Commerce, by confining, invading, & conquering all our American Colonies, by first attempting the Colonies on the Continent, for by securing the Fisheries & naval Stores of America, they wou'd increase their Marine, & ruin the Commerce, & with it the Naval Power of Britain, and then they wou'd divide America with the Spaniards, and the whole wou'd center in the House of Bourbon; for then, by the Assistance of France, Portugal must fall an easy prey to the Power of Spain, and the French wou'd stipulate to have the Brazils, Africa, & India yielded to them as the elder Branch of the House of Bourbon, and then the Wealth & power of Britain being reduced, all the powers of Europe tho united, cou'd not withstand the united power & Wealth of the House of Bourbon; it being demonstrable that those who have the Wealth Power & Commerce of America, Africa, & the Indies, must be Masters of the Liberties of Europe.

The Gallic Branch of the House of Bourbon, distinguish'd of late for their worse than Punic faith, have for at least a Century, never ended one War, but with a View to extend their power & Dominions, in time of Peace, by force or Intrigues, and to prepare for another War, and think it no Crime to invade or incroach upon their Neighbours, who obstruct their Schemes, in profound Peace, thinking themselves not bound by the most solemn Treaties, if they prevent their aggrandizing their Empire.

This has been very notorious formerly in Europe, but their Schemes proving abortive there, they have of late prosecuted their plan in America. Have they not contrary to the most solemn Treaties depriv'd us of the greatest & best Part of Nova Scotia to the Westward of the Bay of Fundy? Erected Forts at Chenecto to confine us within the Peninsula? And made another, & are forming a Settlemt. on the River of St. Johns to ruin the trade of New England and the Northern Colonies by their privateers in the next war, when we shall be coup'd up by their Shipping there & at Louisburg? Have not they by their Hellish Missionaries spirited up all their Indian Allies to massacre & make Depredations, not only in Nova Scotia, but against all our Northern Colonies? Have they not erected a fort at Crown Point to distress & confine our Colonies of New England & New York on Lands which are the undoubted Right of his Majesty? Have they not erected a Fort at Niagara upon the Lands of the six Nations our acknowledged & declared Allies by the Treaty of Utrecht? Have they not laid a Claim to & erected forts on his Majesty's Lands on the Bank of Virginia, and pretend a Right to all the Lands beyond the Mountains as far as the Mississippi? Have they not contrary to the Right of Treaties depriv'd us of the Indian Trade, and seiz'd our Traders & all their Goods in time of profound Peace? Have not they privately sent over & increas'd their forces from time to time both in Louisiana & Canada, and have not they some forces from Louisiana to erect a fort on the Entrance of the Quabach or River of St. Jerome into the Ohio? Are not these enormous Invasions & Incroachm. in time of peace? Are not they gaining all the Indian Nations, interupting & depriving us of all our Indian Allies, & daily instigating their Allies to scalp, massacre, & destroy our Settlers; these are all facts too notorious & recent to be denied, & must naturally discover to us the whole plan & Scheme laid by the French to confine conquer and enslave all our Colonies.

A Scheme grand in it's Extent, romantic in Appearance, and even beyond the Power of France to execute, altho' the Crown has an absolute Power over all the private Purses of his Subjects, when he has a Call for them, provided the Colonies exert their native force immediately, and repel them to their inhospitable cold Colony of Canada, & confine them to the hot Sands of Louisiana. The plan that they have laid is no less than immediately to confine our Colonies betwixt the Mountains & the Eastern Ocean, by erecting forts from Canada to Louisiana upon the Ohio and principal Rivers between their 2 Colonies, fixing strong Garrisons in them & so forming a Chain for above 2000 Miles to prevent our corresponding or trading with our Indian Allies, when that is done, & they have by Menaces or by their hellish Jesuitical Missionaries, made Proselytes of them, not to the true Christian Religion founded on Peace, Benignity, & brotherly Love, but to the Pomps & outward Trappings of the Popish Hierarchy & Superstition & having inspired an enthusiastick fury into them against Protestants, whom they call Hereticks, making it meritorious in them to massacre and destroy them upon which they assure them their future Happyness depends. Then they propose proceeding further, and to seize & secure all the Passes on the Mountains, and lead the Indians against all our Colonies, and force us to become tributary or to submit to the arbitrary Government of France & become their Slaves or be massacred by them & their Indians, or be forced out of our Religion Liberties, & Properties, a fatal Dilemma shou'd they execute their Scheme.

This Scheme hatched in Hell, & supported by the Court of Rome, so iniquitous & unlikely to be brought to perfection, cou'd never be adopted by the Court of France, if they were not prepossess'd that the British Colonies were unwilling, or incapable of uniting & exerting their force, imagining (for which they have some Grounds) that the several Colonies are like a Rope of Sand, each guided by selfish partial Views, and that each planter is more wedded to his own private Gain; than to defend the Rights of his Community, or of the neighbouring Colonies, and will not part with a Share of his Wealth to secure the Remainder, imagining that he will be the last that shall suffer, or vainly expecting that Britain can & will be at the whole Expence, & let them indolently look on, so that before they can be brought to act, the French will have form'd the Chain, and gain their Ends. They also consider the military Genius of the French Gentry, who are all educated with a View to Pomp & Power, and their whole thoughts are turn'd to support the Glory of the grand Monarque, and therefore are never easy in time of Peace, but always forming Projects for aggrandizing France by the next War, so that this villainous Opinion they have of the British planters in the Colonies, and the enthusiastick Spirit of their Military Gentry, induce the French Ministry to undertake Schemes beyond their Power to execute.

If then we give the French time to execute the Scheme they have begun, the Liberties, Properties, & Protestant Religion in these Colonies will be unavoidably lost.

How miserable must be the Condition then of all our Colonies, when confined within the Mountains, depriv'd of all the inland Trade of the Continent, and the Indians from being our faithful Allies obliged to become our inveterate Enemies, drove by them from the Mountains towards the Sea Coast, our Sea Coast attack'd by flying French Squadrons, & Privateers; In this Situation we must submit to be Slaves to France, become their hewers of Wood & Drawers of Water, supporting them with most enormous Taxes.

God Almighty who by his Providence under the Conduct of our Messiah hath in many remarkable Instances defeated all Popish Schemes, when the protestant Interest & Liberties of Britain seem'd to be at the Brink of Ruin, our Messiah who is ever a beneficent Guardian to his true Protestant Church founded on Justice, Humanity, & social Love, hath now put it into our Power to make their whole Scheme abortive, if we exert our whole native force without Loss of time, by infatuating their Councils, & permitting them to discover and enter upon the Execution of their plan, before they are prepar'd & strengthen'd by a sufficient force from France, it being evident at present that we outnumber the French Colonies upon this Continent by above forty to one, and are yet strengthen'd with many brave Indian Allies, so that we vastly exceed both in Wealth and Number all the French upon the Continent; or those they can support, if sent from France, in their present inhospitable Colonies.

Great Britain which has form'd & nursed up these Colonies from their Infancy to a State of Manhood, & hath greatly increas'd their Numbers & Wealth by protecting them hitherto, & sending or permitting many British families to come and settle in their Colonies, and who by their mild free Government have encouraged many foreign Protestants to come over & settle & increase their Numbers and though they are loaded with Debts enormous, though necessary taxes, hath not only protected these Colonies, but indulged them in paying a small Quit Rent, & the easyest Taxes spent in their own Support of any civilized Nation on the globe, whilst Britain and every State in Europe are loaded with Taxes, and most of the trading Nations with heavy Debts, whilst Britain is strugling under these Difficulties, although the Parliament has a Power of taxing the Colonies for their own Support, by taking off the Premiums they pay us for some of our Exports, and laying on Duties upon what we export to Britain or elsewhere, yet His Majesty in regard to his faithful Colonies is only desirous that they shou'd unite & form a Society amongst themselves to raise a proper & adequate Quota or fund for their mutual Support & Defense, that the united force of the Colonies may act together, and have it’s due Weight, & leaves it to the Colonies to consider of the most equitable & proper Method of raising the taxes which are necessary for the Support of his Government, their own Peace & Safety, and a reasonable Sum from each of the Colonies to be laid up as a fund to support and increase our Indian Allies, & to prevent all foreign Invasions and Incroachments, and if France shou'd still go on with their romantick Scheme when they see we shall exert our whole native force, & shou'd pour in troops from France to enslave us, then his Majesty will exert his Power, & maintain the Rights of Britain by their Naval Power, and enable the Colonies to support their just Rights and Properties.

In this critical Situation, let us, his Majesty's faithful Subjects of the Colony of North Carolina, shew that we are true Sons of Britain, whose Ancestors have been ever famous for defending their valuable Religion & Liberties, and that we are still inspired with the same Spirit of Liberty, and are determined to support our Religious & Civil Rights and hand them down to our Posterity. Let us shew that though we are one of the latest settled Colonies, and scarcely arrived at the State of Manhood that our neighbouring Colonies have attain'd to, either in Wealth or Number, yet that we are still ready to exert our Power & grant an immediate Supply to assist in the general Defense of the Colonies, and that as we have already shewn a good Example, so we shall continue to be a laudable Precedent to the rest of the more opulent Colonies, & instead of entering into private party Quarrels, as some have done, or postponing, or putting off proper Supplies, as some others have done by an ill judged Occonomy, or out of a penurious selfish Consideration, as some proprietary & Charter Colonies have done, vainly imagining that the Danger is at a Distance, and that they will leave the Brunt of it to others, and that Britain loaded with Debts & taxes will Defend them, and indulge them in living without Taxes, or assisting in the general Defense of the Colonies. Let us then chearfully give what is reasonable, and proper for us, by an immediate Supply, as well knowing that a moderate Sum now granted will go further in securing our Rights & Properties, than ten times as much if longer delay'd; let us then inspire the othe Colonies with an equal fire to maintain their Religion & Liberties, and to preserve the friendship & defend the Rights of our Indian Allies. This, as grateful Men, we owe to them for the Happyness we enjoy in possessing these fine Climates & rich Lands of America, which was once theirs either by Possession or Conquest; this we owe to them as free Men & true Christians to promote their Happyness, and make them Partakers of our happy Constitution & extending it thro the Continent, by endeavouring to civilize & incorporate with them, and to lay a foundation for their becoming Christians, and this true Christian Zeal will heap Blessings upon all our Colonies & our Posterity.

Let us then behave like generous brave Men & true Christians, for a little while confine our Appetites & Luxuries, and part with a reasonable part of our Wealth to preserve the Remainder and our happy Constitution in Church & State to our latest Posterity. This will shew the Gallic Monarch & his insatiable Ministry that we are not to be intimidated or to be bullied out of our Rights, & that if he shou'd insist upon his romantick Scheme of surrounding confining & enslaving ^us,^ that we will jointly & unanimously support our valuable Religion Liberties & Properties with our Lives and Fortunes, and that whilst we behave like brave Men and true Christians we are sure of the Prosecution of God our Messiah, and that we shall not only be happy in this world but to endless Ages.

        North Carolina.
Governor Dobbs's Second Speech to the Council and Assembly of North Carolina

Recd. with his Letter dated the 19th. Decbr. 1754.

Recd. March the 18th.
Read April 8 1755.

C.47.