A clause in our Laws says "That all Deeds &o. affecting the mili-
tary Lands, which shall not be delivered to 4 deposited with the Olerk of
the County of Albany on or before the 1st Lay 1795 shall be adjudged fraud-
ulent & void against the subsequent purchaser or Mortgagee for valuable
consideration" by which you will see it is now too late to file your deeds
as above - I am told there are many delinquencies similar to yours - The
Law is generally considered too arbitrary & it is expected our legislature
will be compelled to contravene its effects in part by some future Law -
The best to be done with your deeds now is to have them recorded in Onondago
county^ whither I will send them by the first safe conveyance for that pur-
pose.
I am Sir

Your Obd Servt

S. DeV.'itt
.-.S. Will you ask Mr. Hittenhouse if he has some time ago reed a Letter
from me respecting a Transit Instrument & if he has an answer on that
Subject
John Nicholson Esqr



Having been requested by some of the members of the Legislature
to give my opinion whether ]|20,000 Dollars could be raised from the sale
of 20,000 Acres of Land belonging to the State in Totten and Crossfield's
purchase for the purpose of opening the contemplated Road between Albany
and the River 3t Lawrence, I have procured the information contained in
the preceding statement from one of the Commissioners appointed to lay
out said Road.
