May 6, 1691. An act was passed by the Governor, Council and General Assembly of the Colony of New-York, “for settling, quieting and confirming unto the cities, towns, manors, and freeholders within this Province, their several grants, patents and rights respectively.” By this act the freeholders and inhabitants of the town of Brooklyn were confirmed in the rights they possessed and enjoyed under their two several patents. October 12, 1694. The Corporation of New-York, not thinking their foothold on the Brooklyn side sufficiently secure, purchased of one William Morris, for no specific consideration, a piece of land in Brooklyn near the ferry. This deed is the foundation of the Corporation claim to their land in the village of Brooklyn. A copy of which will be found in the appendix marked with the letter A. Bent on unjustly wresting from the town of Brooklyn their water right, the Corporation on the 19th of April, 1708, obtained from Governor Cornbury, a man infamous for his vices, and disregard of justice, another charter, in which they came out more openly than before, and claimed the _vacant_ land to high water mark, on Nassau Island, reserving to the inhabitants of Brooklyn the right of transporting themselves in their own boats ferriage free, to and from New-York.[6] By this charter, no matter how ample soever they might have considered it at the time, they obtained nothing but _vacant_ land to high water mark; that is the land which was not already granted, and in the possession of some other person or persons, which was not the fact as to the land on the Brooklyn side, it being vested in the patentees, their heirs, successors and assigns forever; so that the only power or authority remaining in the Governor, was to grant the Corporation of New-York, the privilege of buying the water rights of the inhabitants of Brooklyn. But that would not answer their purpose, for those rights could be bought cheaper of Governor Cornbury, than they could of this town. This proceeding on the part of New-York stimulated the inhabitants of Brooklyn to obtain from the Colonial Legislature in 1721, an act confirming their patent rights. To obviate the effects of this law, and strengthen the charter of Cornbury, which from the circumstances under which it was obtained, the Corporation feared was invalid, on the 15th of January, 1730, they procured from Governor John Montgomerie, a new charter confirming their pretended right to the land to _high water mark on our shore_.[7]