Conolly issued a call to the public to assemble as a militia, and for this conduct he was apprehended by Arthur (afterwards General) St. Clair, a magistrate of Westmoreland County, and thrown into jail at Hannastown.
He was released on bail and returned to Virginia. Here he was appointed a justice of Augusta County, which the Virginians contended embraced the territory in debate, and shortly returned to Pittsburgh with a strong force.
He captured the court at Hannastown, and at Pittsburgh, April 9, 1774, he arrested Justices Mackey, Smith, and McFarlane, and sent them prisoners to Staunton, Virginia.
Conolly’s high-handed proceedings called for action by Governor John Penn, who wrote to Governor Dunmore, complaining of Conolly’s actions, and describing the boundaries of Pennsylvania.
Governor Penn gave a careful delineation of the several surveys and closed his letter by suggesting a temporary line of jurisdiction until the affair could be settled by King George III in Council.
Lord Dunmore replied March 3, 1774, in which he contravened the opinions of Governor Penn and refused to comply with his suggestions. He furthermore resented the arrest of Conolly and demanded the dismissal of St. Clair.
Governor Penn replied, March 31, when he recapitulated the history of the claim, and declined to dismiss St. Clair from his office.
On May 7, James Tilghman and Andrew Allen were appointed commissioners on the part of Pennsylvania to settle the question in dispute. They reached Williamsburg, the capital of Virginia, May 19.
Governor Dunmore demanded their proposition in writing, and they gave it to him on the 23rd.
The substance of the paper was that the Mason and Dixon’s line should be continued to the end of the five degrees from the Delaware River, and from the end of that line a line should be run corresponding in direction to the courses of the Delaware, and drawn at every point at the distance of five degrees of longitude from that river. This proposition would have the western boundary of Pennsylvania of the same form as the eastern.