[The director general and councilors of New Netherland, to all those who shall see or hear this read, greetings.[i]
Let is be known that whereas many complaints have lately been presented to us of the chopping of] firewood [ and cutting of ] timber [ on lands claimed by diverse of ] our inhabitants [ in virtue of ] patents, [ the principal reason and cause of which are ] that many land-grasping inhabitants of this province have received over many years many and large tracts of land on letters patent from the director general and councilors, on the express condition to cultivate and improve them, which lands many inhabitants have, for many years, allowed to lie, and which still lie unfenced, unimproved, indeed, wild and waste, without making any improvement or expending any labor upon them, merely claiming and retaining them by virtue of the obtained letters patent. Not only is the honorable Company deprived of and curtailed in its revenues, and the advancement of the country delayed and postponed hereby, but some of our inhabitants who seek to earn an honest livelihood by chopping firewood and squaring timber are frequently prevented and hindered in their design by those who, by virtue of letters patent, lay claim to such lands without improving and cultivating them, whence many quarrels and disputes have, at diverse times and places, arisen between inhabitants and inhabitants.
In order to prevent this as much as possible, [ the aforesaid director general and councilors do therefore again ordain and command, that all those who by virtue of patents or deeds ] claim [ any lands ], shall properly set off and [ fence them in ], so that the director general and councilors as well as the inhabitants may know and see what lands have been granted and what remain still to be granted. And, as long as the granted lands remain unfenced, the director general and councilors aforesaid do hereby declare and ordain that none of our good inhabitants shall be hindered or prevented to chop firewood or square timber on unfenced lands, wherever it shall best suit the convenience of the inhabitants, on pain of legal proceedings being instituted against those who will have hindered or prevented the same, as is appropriate. Dated as above.
On the 16th of January this placard was published and posted.
P. Stuyvesant Nicasius de Sille Pieter Tonnemans
[severa l lines lost] to continue [ ] tappers and to hawk by the small measure without having applied or received any license from us, or those qualified by us, which, then, is contrary to the good order and polity of our fatherland; besides that such inns, tappers, and hawkers of wines and beers or distilled spirits [left blank] It is resolved to draft a placard concerning this matter in English.[ii]
